Ashley's Tip of the Day!

Barb asks: "do you plan your menu a week or month ahead of time or wing it?"

Well, Barb, I probably don't do things right. I go to the grocery store and wing it. I pretty much buy the same things over and over and a few "this and that" if it's a good deal. If something we usually get is on sale, then it's embarrassing how much I get! The pizzas we usually get for $5 were on sale for $3 and we got at least 10 of them, saving ourselves at least $20. Don't worry, we will eat them all eventually!

I always keep rice and a variety of beans around. Frozen vegetables. "Fast food" like frozen pizzas.

The day after I get home from the store, I use the receipt to enter what I bought into a spreadsheet. Then I separate everything into columns "Main, side, dessert". Then I start a new spreadsheet and see how many meals I can create with what I have on-hand. I date them, but I don't follow it to the letter. Life can screw up the best laid plans!

Once I have 14 meals in black and white, it's very easy to say, "Ok, what are we in the mood for tonight?".

If you're planning a meal around meat, this gets a little trickier. If you pull meat out to thaw and then don't use it, throw it in the crock pot to cook anyway. If you still don't get around to eating it, you can re-freeze it after it's cooked.