So today is cooking day. I have made quite a bit of headway with this week's meals, but there's lots more to go. I'd like to start out with some tips that explain how I accomplish this.

1. I have a very well stocked pantry and freezer. I always have non perishable staples on hand like pasta, rice, canned tomato sauce and paste, canned black beans, canned corn, canned black olives. About once every six weeks, I go to Sam's and stock up on what is getting low. I think I need to devote another post just to my pantry.
2. I sit down with the sales flyers from the grocery store and plan to buy only what's on sale. If there is room in the freezer, I stock up on things like ground beef, chicken breasts, chicken thighs and legs, whole cut up chickens, top round roast, pork chops, pork sausage. These are all things I can use to plan meals that I know my family will like.
3. I plan all my meals two weeks in advance. I sit down with my schedule and figure out which nights need to be heat and go meals and which nights I have time to actually cook a meal. Then I make a list for two weeks.
4. Another thing I have figured out that makes life easier is to repeat meals on certain days of the week. Not every night or it would become too boring, but Friday's are nachos, tacos, or taco salad. Saturday afternoon I make a batch of homemade pizza dough. While I am at church on Saturday afternoon, the dough rises. When I get home, my family comes for pizza. I make individual pizzas. I put out a variety of toppings and the kids all make their own. This has been a big hit. On Sunday, I have decided to return to my Italian roots and  have pasta and meatballs.
5. I always try to make big batches of things we use often. I always make spaghetti sauce and meatballs to last for three meals and I always cook a large batch of ground beef with taco seasoning for our Friday dinner. Depending on the size of the package of meat, it will last two to three meals. Once it is really cool outside I also have at least one kind of soup on hand.
6. I also make good use of my crockpot and try to fix one crockpot meal each weekend.
7. When I have a cooking day, which is usually each Saturday, I gather all my ingredients before I begin so I am not running back and forth to the garage pantry or fridge to get stuff. I also do all my prep work at once by peeling and cutting up any veggies I need.

Okay, back to the kitchen. Later this evening I will give you a glimpse of this week's menu and what I have cooked today.