The Dinner Bell

“It’s five o’clock somewhere.” Words that strike fear in the hearts of moms across the country. “for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee “(the dinner bell that is). Yes, it is time to get dinner on the table and once again there is no plan, nothing is defrosted and everything sounds like too much work. Add to that, children who are whining because they refused an afternoon nap, a mom who is overwhelmed by the job God has given her to do, and we begin to see why husbands are not greeted at the front door by smiles and hugs from his loving family. How can we solve these problems? It has been awhile since I have had four kids 6 and under, but I still use some of the skills I learned then, and I’d love to help you out.
1. Start small. Next time you make spaghetti sauce, double the batch and freeze half. You can do the same with chili, soups, and many casseroles. It doesn’t really take much extra time and effort, and it will save you stress in the future.
2. Make a plan. Try planning for the week or two weeks. Know what ingredients you are going to need and make sure you have them on hand. I plan our dinners for a month at a time. It sounds harder than it is. Once a week is soup night. I have 8-10 soup recipes my family enjoys. This means we only get the same soup every couple of months. Once a week we have a meat free meal. There is Italian night and Mexican night in our house because those are popular cuisines here. We usually have a “clean the fridge” night and my hubby does Sunday’s (usually on
the grill) because that is my day off. All of that means I only have one night a week left that I have to plan. It might take a while for you to get a rotation you like, but once you do, meal planning for a month is a snap.
3. Pick up a copy of “Dinner’s in the Freezer” by Jill Bond. It is full of practical advice on freezing ahead. The best advice is to use heavy duty foil and top quality freezer bags so your hard work doesn’t go to waste.
4. Use your crock-pot. It doesn’t take long to assemble the ingredients needed for several crock-pot meals. Place all of the ingredients for each meal in a freezer bag. When you want to use it, dump into the pot in the morning, turn it on low and don’t worry about a thing until you are ready to eat.
I am sure that many of you have other ways to make dinner planning, shopping and preparation go smoothly. Please pass them along. I can still use some help. Think how happy our husbands
are going to be when we can greet them at the door with a smile and some yummy smells coming from the kitchen. Maybe they won’t notice the plastic toys all over the family room floor.