What's for Dinner? (Part 3)

Saving Time

I never did the Once-A-Month-Cooking. It just didn’t work out for me. Maybe you do, and you could share your ideas and methods with us. Here are a few things that did work for me to save time and effort at dinnertime.

• I brown several pounds (5-10 lbs.) of ground beef/ground turkey at a time, drain it, and put about 3 cups cooked meat into a quart-size zip-lock freezer bag. I lay them flat in the freezer. These bags are great to get out, thaw in the microwave and use for nachos, spaghetti, etc.
  
  Know what’s for dinner early in the day. I used to prepare everything I could ahead of time when the children were napping and then, when the “gorilla hour” arrived, it was much less stressful for us all! I still do this today even though the gorilla hour is gone. It allows me to enjoy mealtime since I’m not worn out from an hour or so of preparation before eating.
  
  Clean up the kitchen as much as possible BEFORE dinner. Even if that only means filling the sink with hot, soapy water to soak pots, pans, and utensils that you used during preparation.
  

What are your dinner time-saving ideas? Please share them with us!