Archive | January, 2012

What Made Your List?

By on January 5, 2012 in Giveaways and Promotions, Making Dinner, Saving Money, Saving Time

New Years Resolutions

Eating Healthy.  Saving Money.  Getting Into Shape.  Taking A Painting Class.  Spending More Time With Family……

What made your list this year?

As a busy mom, many of our New Year’s Resolutions can relate back to family dinners.  Even if your goal is to train for a triathlon, finding the time to do so will require cutting back on time spent elsewhere.  You can’t cut family dinners out of your schedule when pressed for time, but you can find ways to spend less time on family dinners, thereby freeing up your day to check off that long list.

Meatloaf Recipe

Here are more examples of how tackling the chore of family dinners by making it simple and organized will help keep you on track with your New Years resolutions:

Saving Money

Whether you’re wanting to pay off credit card debt or save money for that dream vacation, family dinnertime is a good place to start by looking for ways to spend less.  Eating out less is one way to start spending less on family dinners, but there are also ways to cut back on your grocery bills, like through meal planning with The Organized Cook Weekly Meal Plan System.

Grocery Store Driveby Trap from The Organized Cook

Saving Time

Finding the time to fulfill the long list of other resolutions on your list probably requires the commodity of time.  For me, time is my most precious resource and is rationed carefully to ensure my New Year’s intentions, priorities- and yes, resolutions, are met.  This is where meal planning comes in. Through careful planning and organization of my weekly family dinner menu, I have time to do the things I love to do (and the things I don’t love to do, but need to do).

10-minute meal from The Organized Cook

Making Dinner

Eating healthy is always high on my list of priorities, not only at New Year, but throughout the year.  Staying out of the drive-thru and preparing healthy, home cooked meals for my family is my solution.  However, it’s not always that easy.

Portabella and Steak Stroganoff Recipe by Toni Spilsbury

Meal Planning

Here are some simple tips used in The Organized Cook Weekly Meal Plan System to help you reach those goals for 2012:

 

Have A Plan

Most moms tell me that “just knowing what to make” is one of their biggest challenges when it comes to preparing family dinner.  Having your family dinner menu planned in advance will help the week run so much smoother.  Without a plan, many moms get caught in the “Grocery Store Drive-By Trap” and end up running to the grocery store daily which ends up costing more time in the end, not to mention more money.

meal planning with The Organized Cook Weekly Meal Plan System

Make A List

 

Defend yourself against impulse buying by arming yourself with a grocery list.  By making a list and grocery shopping only once a week, you’re saving yourself money by decreasing your exposure to impulse buying.

meal planning with The Organized Cook Weekly Meal Plan System

Cooking Methods

In The Organized Cook, I take the task of meal planning a few steps further by planning and organizing my weekly family dinners in a way that reduces waste and saves time, like Reusing Time and Reincarnating The Leftover.

Reusing Time

If I’m going to steam rice to serve with my Thai Shrimp Curry, I’ll cook twice as much as I need and store the extra rice to use later on in the week in a Pork Fried Rice or Spanish Fried Rice.  By planning my meals using this method, I’m making my time have double its value.  Not to mention, that’s one less pan to clean!

Pork Fried Rice recipe

Reincarnating The Leftover

If your family is like my family, they don’t like to eat leftovers.  So what you’re left with at the end of the week is a lot of food to throw out.

Not only do I use my leftovers, I actually plan my weekly family dinner menu so that I intentionally have leftovers.  For example, when I saute chicken to make Chicken Madeira, I’ll cook more than I need and store the extra cooked chicken to use later on in the week for another recipe like Tomato Basil & Chicken Penne or Chicken Enchiladas.  I slice up leftover London Broil and store to make French Dip Sandwiches the next day.

By reincarnating my leftover food, dinner takes just a few minutes some nights.

Italian Baked Chicken recipe

Italian Baked Chicken

Chicken Asparagus Wraps

Italian Baked Chicken reincarnated into Chicken Asparagus Wraps

 

The Organized Cook is making it easy this year to stay and track with New Year’s Resolutions and is offering the Weekly Meal Plan System at 50% off in January only.

meal planning with The Organized Cook Weekly Meal Plan System

Saving time this New Year will help me reach more of my goals on my resolution list.

 

New Year’s Resolution Twitter Party

Thursdays just got more organized.  Each Thursday The Organized Cook and our panel discuss topics related to meal planning, cooking, recipes, organization and busy family life during our #mealplanning Twitter Party. twitter party

Join us this Thursday, January 5th to discuss “What Made Your List”!

 

 

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Spanish Paella

By on January 3, 2012 in Complete Family Dinner, Entrees Recipe, Gluten Free, Recipes, Reincarnating The Leftover

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Spanish Paella

Spanish Paella

Ingredients

  • Chorizo- 1 lb
  • onion, yellow- 1 medium, diced
  • red bell pepper- 1, diced
  • green bell pepper- 1, diced
  • long grain rice- 2 cups
  • diced tomatoes with green chiles- 1 14oz. can
  • tomato paste- 3 tablespoons
  • chicken broth- 1 quart (32 oz.)
  • cooked chicken, chopped (I use leftover chicken from one of my recipes like Chicken Under A Brick)
  • cooked shrimp, medium- 1 lb, tails removed
  • STAPLES
  • • olive oil- 3 tablespoons
  • • spanish saffron- a pinch

Instructions

  1. Heat a oil in large heated deep skillet or paella pan over medium-high heat.
  2. Add bell peppers and onions along with chorizo to sauté until peppers are tender.
  3. Add rice, diced tomatoes, tomato paste and saffron to sauté for another minute.
  4. Add chicken broth and bring to boil.
  5. Once boiling, lay chicken and shrimp on top then cover the pan (if you’re using a paella pan without a lid, you can use aluminum foil to cover), reduce heat to low.
  6. Simmer until rice has absorbed liquid, approximately 25 minutes.
https://tonispilsbury.com/spanish-paella/

This is the perfect recipe to make with leftover cooked chicken.

 

Weekly Meal Planning For Busy Families

Weekly Meal Plan

Weekly Meal Plan Menu

 

 

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Chicken Under A Brick

By on January 3, 2012 in Entrees Recipe, Recipes

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Chicken Under A Brick

Ingredients

  • split chicken breasts with ribs, 3-4 lbs or boneless chicken breasts, 2-3 lbs
  • dijon mustard- ½ cup
  • olive oil- ¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons to heat in skillet
  • poultry seasoning- 3 tablespoons (like Lawry's Perfect Blend) or:
  • one teaspoon each of salt, fresh ground pepper, rosemary, parsley and paprika

Instructions

  1. Combine mustard and olive oil in a mixing bowl
  2. Heat olive oil in non-stick skillet or heated stainless steel skillet over medium-high heat
  3. Rub each chicken breast generously with mustard mixture and season with poultry seasoning
  4. Place chicken in hot skillet then cover with a large sheet of aluminum foil
  5. Place a weighted object on top of aluminum foil like a brick or a smaller cast iron pot
    6. Cooking the chicken with the weight on it over high heat makes the chicken extra juicy on the inside and crisp on the outside
  6. Cook until chicken is crispy brown on the outside and cooked through, approximately 10-15 minutes depending on thickness of chicken
https://tonispilsbury.com/chicken-under-a-brick/

 

 Weekly Meal Planning For Busy Families

Weekly Meal Plan

The Organized Cook Weekly Meal Plan System

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Your Best Year Yet with Pinterest

By on January 1, 2012 in Eye Dream Gallery, Survival Guide for Busy Moms

I admit it.  I’m a Pinterest junkie.  Where else can you find so much inspiration, creativity, cuteness and humor in one place?

I’m convinced that 2012 is going to be Your Best Year Yet.  Why do I think so?  I’ll let my Pinterest Board, “Just Saying” do the explaining:

 

Share Your Favorite Pins Twitter Party!

Thursdays just got more organized. Each Thursday The Organized Cook and our panel discuss topics related to meal planning, cooking, recipes, organization and busy family life during our #mealplanning Twitter Party. twitter party

Join us this Thursday, January 19th where we will encourage one gigantic PINFEST of of everyone’s favorite foodie pins.

 

 

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