If getting from your car to your door seems like a march through the tundra during cold winter days, a trip to the grocery store may be excruciating to think about. You may be entertaining thoughts of staying in your nice warm car and driving through a fast food place for dinner instead. But, that sort of impulse can really defeat a grocery budget, even though the nice warm car is tempting.
How can you feed your family a nice hot meal without suffering those icy cold trips? By planning one shopping day with one goal in mind - creating enough crockpot meals for a week. Let's see how this can be accomplished.
Start by gathering together your favorite crockpot recipes, picking a variety of dishes so your family doesn't get tired of the same old food. Make a grocery list that includes everything you need for the week based on the recipes you've chosen. Check your pantry for the standard supplies, too. Now do all your shopping for the week.
When you get home, carefully wrap and freeze the meat for the meals later in the week, chop up all your veggies for each meal and seal in containers. You are well on your way to a week of cozy meals without having to venture out in the cold. Here we go.
- Sunday - Begin the week with a wonderfully aromatic Rotisserie Chicken. Your crockpot will produce a nice, crispy and juicy chicken just like a deli rotisserie. Make it a Sunday dinner by including your garlic mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli.
- Monday - A Crockpot French Dip Roast is an easy way to serve a hot and satisfying sandwich for dinner. It may be just a sandwich, but it sure seems more like a meal when you use a good, hearty hard roll and add mozzarella cheese on top.
- Tuesday - Time to spice things up a bit with a hearty White Chicken Chili. You control the spice, so this meal will satisfy everyone's tastes. Serve with a nice crusty bread and no one walks away hungry. You may have enough leftover chicken from Sunday for this dish.
- Wednesday - This is your night to go meatless with a fabulously rich Minestrone Soup. You could replace the beef broth with chicken broth if you choose, but, as is, this is a frugal meal that will please even your staunchest meat eater.
- Thursday - Time to surprise your family with Homemade Calico Beans for dinner. This dish is wonderfully satisfying and relatively inexpensive to make using dried cooked beans and ground beef. Save the leftovers for next week's lunches.
- Friday - It's Smorgasbord time! One day of the week is always busier than the rest. You'll be glad to have a refrigerator full of leftovers for that day. You can use your creative nature to re-invent some of the leftovers into new dishes or you can simply arrange your leftovers on the counter with plates, bowls, and silverware, and have your family dig in.
- Saturday - The races are on TV and we're not budging. So, when it comes time to eat, putting a platter of Pulled Pork Sandwiches on the table and having everyone help themselves, is a great way to enjoy the races and fill our tummies without missing a moment of the action.
Stocking up and preparing for a week's worth of meals ensures that you have a house full of food for your family. But, equally as important, when your family finally gets home in out of the cold, they will walk into a house fragrant with the savory aromas of a delicious dinner ready to enjoy. Give this plan a try for one week and I guarantee you won't miss those stops at the drive-through for a moment!
- Editor's Note: Visit HillbillyHousewife.com to find helpful information for cooking delicious hot meals in your crockpot. Want to learn more about how crockpot cooking saves both time and money? You can with the Hillbilly Housewife's informative new guide, Crockpot Cooking Made Simple. Order your copy today to begin enjoying tasty family-pleasing meals for every budget and appetite.