Seems like errands and stuff to do around the house have been taking up loads of my time. Some days dinner time rolls around and I think, if only I’d thought ahead and put more ready-made meals in the freezer. I’ve promised myself that on the first rainy weekend, I’ll stay in the kitchen and put together some meal kits and freezable ready to eat ingredients. I’ve done it before and here are some tips on during just that.

Get Organized
One key to planning ahead is making a list. I’ll take a calendar and write down what meals I plan to serve on each day.

See What You Need
See what ingredients you’re going to need for each dish. For example say it’s a chicken stir-fry with rice…chicken, green peppers, onions, carrots, celery, rice, marinade for chicken, cornstarch. Check what’s in the pantry and what you need to buy.

Think Ahead
Can anything be prepared ahead of time? The chicken can be cut into strips and placed in the marinade. The green peppers, onions, carrots and celery can all be washed, chopped and put into a freezer bag and the rice can be measured out, ready to go into the saucepan or microwave when you get home.

Get Some Freezer Bags and Labels
If you’re going to make lots of meal kits at one time, I stock up on freezer bags and labels and make sure everything gets indentified. For example, ‘Chicken stir-fry/marinated chicken’ and the date I made it. That way recipe ingredients don’t get mixed up and family members won’t eat something by mistake.

Just About Anything Can Be Pre-Prepared
It’s not just whole meals that can be made into meal kits. Things like cheese can be shredded; dry ingredients can be measured and put into small containers, spices too. And even if you’re using canned foods, they too can be set out on the counter top ready for when you come home. I’ve even spend an extra hour in the kitchen chopping things like green peppers and onions because I know most recipes call for those two vegetables.

An Added Bonus
Being organized and saving time aren’t the only pluses to getting everything prepped. Because you’re cleaning and cutting up produce and have a specific meal in mind, rotting and forgotten veggies become a thing of the past. And yes, no more wasted money. When the weather gets warmer, one of my favorite lunches is a salad. I’m usually in a hurry to get back to my work, so now I wash lettuce, tomatoes, carrots and cucumber ahead of time and have my own pre-made salad bar waiting in the fridge.

Some Other Time Savers
Two appliances that really help me out during busy times are my slow cooker and bread machine. Warm weather doesn’t always make you think of heavy stews and casseroles, but one thing I like is vegetable soup prepared in the slow cooker. It’s light, low cost and if you combine it with a sandwich, you’ve got a perfect meal for warmer days. Or you can pair it with some wonderful homemade bread that’s been mixing and baking in the bread machine while you’re out running errands or even working in the yard.

One of My Favorite Cookbooks
A few years ago I discovered this cookbook and so glad I did. The Everything Meals for a Month Cookbook by Linda Larsen. Great recipes, easy to prepare, easy on the budget, tasty and they all freeze perfectly. I highly recommend this one.