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[quote=Anonymous]12:35 here.  Sign up for something, anything to get ideas.  I use eMeals but there are so many others.  The cost of the membership alone will be recouped when you start saving on groceries.  This, and Google.  Seriously.  You just Google the ingredients you have and plan a meal around it.  The internet abounds with recipes.

I basically plan two weeks in advance.  On the weekend I take a quick stock of my pantry/fridge/freezer.  To the Google for recipes using things I already have; the meal plan and other recipe sources help for filling in the gaps.  Then I make a list of everything I need for those recipes and all the staples I need for breakfast and perhaps lunches.

Every Monday morning I place a Peapod order to arrive at the end of the week (usually Thursday or Friday); then I have ingredients for meals for that Saturday through the following Thursday/Friday.  I have my meal plan already written down and tacked to the refrigerator.  No guessing each night what I am making.  You get out whatever needs to thaw the night before and get to work when you walk in the door at night.

I usually plan at least one crock pot recipe (hello, soup, chili and whole chicken in a crock pot (google it - it's ridonk how easy it is) and and my rules are that no weeknight meal can take longer than 30-45 minutes to prepare from start to finish.

Does this take some time/work?  Yes.  But once you have done this for months it becomes routine and you have a stable of recipes to fall back on.  I make my grocery lists and meal plans in a Google doc so that I always have a running record of what I've made in the past.  I hyperlink it to online recipes - you can pull them up on the iPad or such in the kitchen for while you are cooking.

One other thing - I do not plan a meal for every night of the week.  I usually only plan for 5 meals b/c inevitably we will eat out one night and end up at a friends house for another.  I also plan for meals that take fresh produce for earlier in the week so it doesn't go bad before I can use it.

Questions?  Let me know.  I'll do my best to help.  This system has totally changed our evening routine and saved us so, so so much money.  Seriously.  Like $250-350 a month.  We used to waste a ridiculous amount of food.  It's embarrassing to even say that.[/quote]

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