Two-Week Cooking Project

Two-Week Cooking {a.k.a. Saving My Sanity}

July 15, 2011

When I think of summertime, I always think I’ll have more time to cook. Well that couldn’t be further from the truth! We’re hoppin’ busy, and that means that dinnertime can be a HUGE stress if we don’t plan ahead. And it’s even more than planning. I have some great plans. I just seem to be too busy to carry out those plans!

To keep myself sane and my family fed, I decided to do another round of Two-Week Cooking. I didn’t cook anything today. I just assembled everything and stuck it in the freezer. Here’s what I made:

Italian Chicken Packets
Southwest Chicken Rollups
Grilled Chicken with Spice Rub
Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan
Grilled Pork Chops & Mushrooms with Garlic Balsamic Marinade
Chicken Fajitas
Slow Cooker Chicken & Sausage Stew
Grilled Chicken with Garlic Balsamic Marinade (Doubled this so we can have grilled chicken salads the next night)
Flatbread Pizzas (2 meals-worth – I didn’t assemble these, but I bought what we need to make them.)
Chicken Tetrazzini (I’m making this tomorrow. I’ll bake 1/2 and freeze 1/2.)

I didn’t plan to not cook, but it did work out that way. I bought two rotisserie chickens at Kroger yesterday. (I had some good coupons for them!) So I cheated a little. Most of the dishes that I assembled today will have a little prep work involved on the day we’re eating them, but it will be WAY better than starting from scratch each night. Plus, some of it is grilling, and that’s my hubby’s task… my favorite kind of cooking indeed.

The whole project took me about 90 minutes today start to clean-up. I did start with an empty dishwasher and trash can. Those seem to be two things that help me more than anything else. I don’t have to stop and make room for what I’m done with. I shared a few more of my tips to make freezer cooking easier in this post. Hopefully that will help you jump in and give it a try!

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Filed Under: Two-Week Cooking Project

Two-Week Cooking & Menu Plan Update

September 22, 2010

I just didn’t have it in me to cook last weekend. That’s when we used up the last of our Two-Week Cooking Project meals, but I couldn’t bring myself to shop and cook. I’m sure you’ve all had those weeks too, so I know you understand!

When I had to meal plan for this week, I didn’t have the luxury of being able to grab food from the freezer for each meal. Instead, I decided to use up some things that we had in our freezer. I bought several rotisserie chickens last week, so we had the meat from those. We also had some odds-n-ends in the pantry. I just had to pick up a few filler items from Kroger, and we were set for the week!

I’ll be doing my two-week menu plan today and tomorrow, so I’ll be back to share that with you. Feel free to share your planning ideas too. I love to try new recipes!

Here’s our plan… a few days late!

Monday
Grilled Pork Chops (the last freezer meal)
Frozen Peas
Cornbread

Tuesday
Southwest Chicken & Refried Beans Wraps

Wednesday
Homemade Pizza

Thursday
Chicken & Noodles
Salads

Friday
Soup & Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Saturday
We’re doing dinner with my parents while we watch the Ohio State football game!

Sunday
This will probably be cooking day for us, so we’ll use one of the meals for this evening.

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Filed Under: Menu Plan Monday, Two-Week Cooking Project

Two-Week Cooking Plan: My Recipes with Links

September 4, 2010

This round of Two-Week Cookingis taking me in a little different direction. I usually use my old stand-by recipes and add in one or two new ones. This time my plan has a different twist. I’m using other people’s recipes. I need to try some new ones, and there are TONS of great bloggers out there sharing their tried-and-true recipes. Here are the recipes that I’m planning to make this time.

Crock Pot Chicken Marsala from Finding Joy in My Kitchen
Grilled Chicken with a Spice Rub from Good & Cheap Eats
Southwest Chicken Roll-Ups Recipe from Money Saving Mom (2 meals worth)
Spaghetti Pie II from Allrecipes.com (suggested by Lauren on Facebook) (should be 2 meals worth)
Mini-Meatloaves from A Few Shortcuts
CrockPot Mongolian Beef from Kansas City Mamas

I also have some things on-hand from the last round of Two Week Cooking, so I’ll be using these things up too.

BBQ Pork Chops with Teriyaki Marinade (Marinades are on sale at Kroger through tomorrow… $1/bottle!)
Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan from $5 Dinner Mom
Pita Pizzas
Homemade Pizza
Chicken & Cheese Quesadillas (not a freezer meal… but I have what I need to make them!)
BBQ Chicken in Teriyaki Marinade

You may have noticed (if you’re a counting kind of person) that I only have 13 meal’s worth of recipes listed here. I seem to be over-planning each time I do two weeks’ worth of meals, so I’m backing off my one meal this time. We’ll see how that goes!

Have you been planning another round of freezer cooking? Are you getting into the swing of prepping meals for two weeks and enjoying less hassle?

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Filed Under: Freezer Cooking, Two-Week Cooking Project

Ask the Readers: Two-Week Cooking Project with a Twist

September 2, 2010

I’m going to be doing my two-week cooking this weekend, probably on Monday. I’m taking a little different twist on things this time. Instead of using all of my old standby recipes, I’m going to be using recipes found on other blog sites and recipe sites. When I put out a call for recipes on Facebook, Lauren suggested the Spaghetti Pie II recipe from allrecipes.com. Looks like a winner to me, especially since I already have almost all of the ingredients!

Does anyone have any other links to recipes they love - either on your site or on someone else’s? My family does mainly chicken, fish, and beans. We can do 2 beef and/or pork meals each week. (We’re trying to keep my hubby’s cholesterol numbers in check, and that was the suggestion of the dietitian.) Of course, they need to be freezer-friendly meals, ones that can be assembled, frozen, and thawed before the final cooking. I’m also trying to keep it budget-friendly since that’s what we’re all about around here! Feel free to chime in with your links in the comments section.

As soon as I choose our meals, I’m going to be posting my shopping list. So follow along and join in if you want to stock your freezer full of two weeks’ worth of meals!

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Filed Under: Freezer Cooking, Two-Week Cooking Project

Two-Week Cooking Project: My Progress

August 24, 2010

I decided to take advantage of a quiet house yesterday, and I tackled my Two-Week Cooking Project. I have everything in the freezer and can breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that I don’t have to stress over what’s for dinner each evening.

I ran into a little snafu with my Sesame Beef recipe. I couldn’t find flank steak at Kroger. I asked one of the meat department staff members if she had any, and she went into the back to check. They had it… for $7.99/pound. I don’t think so.

Needless to say, we’re NOT doing the Sesame Beef this time around! I opted for grilling pork chops instead. It was less expensive, tastes just as good, and is cooked by my Grill King Hubby. What more could a girl ask for?

I also learned that the Kroger enchilada sauce is pretty spicy. I ended up having to dump it and get the more expensive name brand sauce. I would rather throw out two cans of sauce than a whole casserole that’s too hot to eat!

The only thing I didn’t do was take a picture of everything after it was all put together. Oh well! Maybe next time.

So did you cook for two weeks? I would love to hear your stories too. Feel free to leave a comment to share it!

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Filed Under: Freezer Cooking, Two-Week Cooking Project

Two-Week Cooking Project: The Shopping List

August 19, 2010

Update: I just realized that I missed adding two ingredients to the shopping list. I had these items in my pantry, so they weren’t on my list. If you’re using my recipes, you’ll need to add 2 jars of pasta sauce and 1-2 pizza sauces. (We usually get multiple pizzas from one jar.)

I’ve created a printable shopping list for my Two-Week Cooking Project recipes. If you’re using my recipes list, you’re also welcome to use my shopping list. You can “shop” your kitchen first and mark off the ingredients that you already have. Then pick up whatever you need to do your cooking.

I’m planning to shop Friday evening or Saturday morning and then cook on Saturday afternoon. I’m hoping to recruit my hubby’s help again. That made a HUGE difference last time!

*** Remember: If you’re planning to cook one day soon, don’t forget to have an easy meal ready for dinner on your cooking day. Or plan to eat something you’re assembling. Going out to eat on cooking day probably defeats some of the purpose of our Two-Week Cooking Project sessions.

Are you ready to shop and cook?