Kicking the Fast Food Dependancy

In the last 6 years, years I affectionately term my birthing years, our family has fallen into the dreadful habit of eating out. Not only will eating out pack on the pounds it is incredibly expensive! Granted it was an ebb and flow of eating out. If I was pregnant or had a 6 mo. old or younger we were much more prone to load up and let someone else do the cooking and cleaning up. I am so grateful for a husband that will support my need for help in what ever way!

But now, I am fast approaching that 6 month mark with Judson. I am more rested, or at least used to less rest, and not to mention trying whole-heartedly to live as frugally as possible. Sometimes you just don't have the choice. You have to save money some way. There gets to be a point where the only way to save is to stop eating all together. (this is sarcasm ONLY!! We have never been so financially strapped that we couldn't eat!) Thankfully we aren't there yet but we do have to sinch up the belt a little tighter these days. There just isn't any wiggle room in our budget. Not even for eating out. We know ourselves pretty well though so we did make an allowance for a mail order movie rental but even that is way cheaper than going out once every two weeks.

So how do I compensate when I have gotten lazy in the kitchen? What do YOU do when money is tight and you need to LOVE cooking again?

I have recently fallen back in love with my bread machine! It saves lots of time and those fresh made goodies keep mouths watering and hoping for more. I recently made some cinnamon rolls. It made two batches and I froze one. I also am loving this soft italian bread sticks recipe! See, for us it's the little things that make meals yummy. I am making an effort to make special things or if we are really craving something I head to the computer and search out a recipe that will fulfill our wildest dreams!! It is amazing how many different recipes you can find on the internet for any given thing. Ellen turned me on to Recipe Zzar and it's great but I usually just google what ever it is I am wanting to make and get tons of different web sites.

Some other tried and true tricks for making meal prep easier are the crock pot, freezer meals, and early prep. I realized that the reason I had gotten lazy in the kitchen is because I wasn't doing any work on the meal or putting any thought into it until about 4:30 or even 5. That's obviously too late! SO for days that still happens I have some 10 min. meals handy on stand by.
Things like tacos, grilled chicken fettucine alfredo, spaghetti and mac and cheese. ( my kids are 5 and under so we can still make a whole meal from one box of mac&cheese;) Every time I shop I make sure to get the ingredients for these meals. So I always know I have a stand-by that both Dan and I can make in a pinch.

Some other time saving tips :
-When I make cookie dough I usually bake a pan and then roll the rest into balls and freeze them for future use. That way I have something for dessert if someone shows up at dinner time AND it saves me from eating cookie dough all afternoon!
-My family LOVES french toast so I always buy a loaf of french bread for breakfast. To keep it from going bad I slice it up the night I shop or soon after and freeze it. Then when ever we want french toast it's cut and ready.
-I also buy green peppers on sale and cut them up and freeze them.


Baby steps! But I AM loving to cook again. It is so much fun to cook when your husband can tell you at lunch how excited he is about dinner! The girls are getting better about eating and it is just more fun to cook for people that eat!

My biggest problem is getting in a menu rut. I need some easy, yummy meals. What are your favorites? What meals do you always keep on hand for those crazy days when there just isn't time to cook? What are your crowd pleasers? Do you have a dish that you are famous for? Do share!! You don't have to give me Aunt Ethel's secret recipe but at least tell me what it is and I can google it!

Maybe I will share some of my most requested recipes as well......