Unclutterer

1. Posted by Karen - 10/05/2009

   Planning ahead. We shop the same night each week, so the day before I go through my recipes, especially the tried and true ones, and plan dinner for each night. Then i plan my grocery list, taking inventory of the pantry and fridge, of course.

   My husband isn’t picky, he just wants enough food on the table for the family. So i keep it simple; lasagna, or beef stew, or roasted chicken. No need to try new fancy recipes. In fact, if a recipe has exotic ingredients, that pretty much knocks it off my list, because i’d rather not hunt around at the grocery store for new ingredients i haven’t used before.

2. Posted by Laura - 10/05/2009

   I find that I tend to get in ruts when it comes to cooking and meal planning, so I work to try one new recipe a week (or at least every other week). It doesn’t have to be gourmet or complex, but something we haven’t tried before. I do plan to cook it on a calmer night since it seems that the first time I cook a dish it takes a little longer than it should. Sometimes the new meal makes it into our rotation, other times we never make it again, but at least it was something different.

3. Posted by Lose That Girl - 10/05/2009

   My husband has Crohn’s disease so our meals are pretty limited. We tend to have the same things over and over again which by default makes for pretty easy grocery shopping.

   We do one shop per week but often, I will pop out to the shops at the end of our road to pick up a fresh salad or some chicken if we have run out. We never have a ton of food in our cupboards/freezer – just staples that will definitely get used up before they pass their best before date. It definitely helps to have the grocery stores a block away so we don’t have to load up during one shopping trip.

4. Posted by Rachel - 10/05/2009

   I like to cook family-sized batches of food for my single self. I put all but one serving in the freezer and that way after a couple of cooking sessions, there’s enough variety that I don’t get bored eating the same thing (like I do when I keep leftovers in the fridge).

   I also like to do batch cooking on weekends. I group a bunch of recipes that use some similar ingredients – especially those like celery, since I can never get through an entire bunch of celery before it gets gross in the bottom of my fridge. So I made 4 batches of soup the weekend before last, and I used up all the celery I had, and it also gave me enough workday lunches to last me through all of October! Plus it’s easier to chop up all the carrots and celery at once. I’ll do another batch cook this weekend and that will give me dinner for the month, after which I don’t need to cook for another several weeks.

5. Posted by Haley J. - 10/05/2009

   I write a food blog, so I often try to plan weekly meals that incorporate recipes I am developing. I check schedules and look for evenings on slow days where I have a lot of time to play in the kitchen. I have to be organized, or else I’ll never produce new content. (Sometimes, publishing is slow while I work to get some recipes just right).

   First, I make a meal plan and stick to it. I check my calendar and figure out which days are going to be miserable and which nights we’re going out. This allows me to plan for takeout and eating out. I plan meals for the other nights, including making some things in bulk for use later in the week (extra rice with one meal for fried rice the next, etc). And, I always have a few staples in the cupboard or freezer in case of surprises (produce going bad quickly, etc.). Spaghetti is a great fill in for the unplanned for disaster.

   I keep a running list going throughout the week, and I add staples I run out of to it. After I make my meal plan, I add my new ingredients that are needed to it. I shop once a week. Using this system, I have decreased my grocery bills by at least 30%. And, we never ask the question, “What’s for dinner?”

6. Posted by SN - 10/05/2009

   We’ve started cooking the ground beef and chicken before freezing it, and it makes a huge difference in how quickly we can throw a variety of meals together. I’m about to try browning some stew meat before freezing it – I’m hoping I can just toss it into the slow cooker (with a few other things) and make an easy stew…

7. Posted by Ruth Hansell - 10/05/2009

   @Rachael, I do the same thing re batch cooking. If I’m making one of our favorites, (spaghetti sauce, bean soup, etc) I always make enough for at least 3 meals. I also try to do a batch of something different at least 3 weekends in a row, then I can take a couple weekends off because there’s a variety of things in the freezer.

   Labeling is a must!

   I’ve also started a new commitment to my own health – eat vegetables at least 2x/day, preferably 3x/day. What helps enormously with this is my basic salad topping mix. I chop cabbage, (red or green) bell peppers, carrots, a turnip, and celery and mix it all, winding up with about 6 cups of chopped vegetables. I don’t put in tomatoes, cucumber, onion, (anything that gets slimy quickly) or dressing. This basic mix will last for about a week in the fridge.

   I can then use a handful of the basic mix on top of greens, by itself, and add any number of things at serving time, like the tomatoes, etc mentioned above. Add canned garbonza beans and you’ve got a meal. It also makes a great stir fry mix, again adding mushrooms, bean sprouts, etc at cooking time.

   The mix itself takes less than a half hour to make, and I love always having a salad or stir fry or whatever more than half done.

   Ruth

8. Posted by Dawn F. - 10/05/2009

   I write my grocery list on a legal-size envelope and put the coupons into the envelope immediately as I am making my list – sure saves a lot of money.

   I also write my list in order (somewhat) of the way I walk through the grocery store – keeps me on track and makes the trip more efficient.

   I like to make homemade pizza with leftover veggie toppings, etc.

   Thanks for this great post, Unclutterer!

9. Posted by Sylvia - 10/05/2009

   I am fortunate enough to live practically across the street from our local Tom Thumb although I try not to rely on it as I can save money by planning ahead and shopping elsewhere.
   We also shop once a week and cook 1 large meal and save the leftovers, all other lunches and dinners are quick and as simple as possible during the week. Having staples and a few frozen favorites on hand is key!
   I love the meal swap idea, what a great way to still enjoy mom’s cooking and add some variety as well!

10. Posted by Karen - 10/05/2009

    My household uses a weekly theme for food and it has drastically reduced the ‘clutter’ of food items to store and keep track of. There were alot of small food items I kept on hand at all times–Asian sauces, taco and hot sauces, sour cream, specialty cheeses, beans, canned tomatoes, certain spices…all those ‘supporting ingredients’ that really make a recipe. The fridge and the pantry were always over-full and it was a chore to make sure I didn’t run out of. And by narrowing the focus, it’s easier to choose what to have each night.

    Now we’ll have Asian food for a week, Tex-Mex the next, and so on. Surprisingly, we don’t get bored. By the time the week comes back, we’re hungry for that kind of food again. So one week I’ll stock up on brown rice (and make a big batch) plus some interesting sauces, freeze some extra tofu for sauteing, and buy fresh veggies that work well with Asian meals. That hunk of ginger actually gets used up instead of lingering at the bottom of the fridge! Everything I make that week goes together, so putting even small amounts of various leftovers together for a lunch works. That means I can make bigger batches of things and end up not cooking at least 2 nights. It also means that on nights that people revolve through here (rather than family dinner), there’s always something for them to eat that feels like a real meal.

    I like the narrowed focus, planning becomes easier. We also seem to eat less volume of food (a good thing!) The variety we had before was more work and encouraged overeating. The food now is still delicious, but the redundancy of flavors puts more focus on the companionship of the meal rather than on the food.

11. Posted by Sheena - 10/05/2009

    Honestly, I don’t like leftovers. After day three I’m tired of it. However I live alone and cooking for one is pretty hard. What works for me since I don’t want left overs but I don’t want my food to spoil before I’ve used it, is instead of swapping foods, I’ve have one or two friends over for dinner once a week.

    They help me cook, bake, and even clean afterwards. If there are left overs I divide them between all of us. That way I’ll eat it the next day but not for the next week.

    Cooking with/for each other once a week amongst a friend or two is a great way to keep from food from going to waste and a great way to keep my food free of too many leftovers.

12. Posted by Susie Fire - 10/05/2009

    I got tired of asking “what should I make for dinner tonight?” so I created a Dinner calendar in my Google account and shared it with my significant other. If I don’t feel like cooking what’s on deck, I just switch around the meals to a different day.
    I also try to buy things in bulk when its on sale to save money. So when chicken goes on sale, I cut it up into little pieces and cook it, which makes throwing a casserole or stir-fry together even quicker

13. Posted by Gillian - 10/05/2009

    The ideas here are excellent. I’m a registered dietitian and this is how I work with people, to help them get more out of the kitchen. And I learn from reading other people’s methods. So thanks.
    One trick I’ll add is to rinse and drain canned beans. Then take the amount you need and freeze the rest in a zipped bag, flat. When you take it out of the freezer, you can knock off a chunk to thaw and put the rest back to keep for longer. You can do the same with cooked rice.

14. Posted by Lib - 10/05/2009

    I got a very classy looking frosted glass whiteboard for my kitchen that goes right next to the fridge, on my basement door. On the left side I have a section for Groceries, which I update as soon as something goes empty, so I always know what staples I need. In the middle, I keep a list of things I plan on cooking for the week. That helps me avoid things spoiling, because they are right there. On the right side I keep a list of the wines I’ve tried and loved so I can remember them, plus other little to-do notes. And I have an area where my guests can doodle. This keeps me organized, and works way better than writing everything on scraps of paper like I used to do!

    The other trick I use in the kitchen is to cut up vegetables and meat for the week as soon as I get home from the grocery store, before I put them away in the fridge. That way when dinnertime comes, I can just grab stuff to cook with, which makes preparing dinner much faster.

15. Posted by Jenna - 10/05/2009

    Cook once, and eat it twice.

    I do this at least once a week: grill 2 lbs of chicken, eat as a main one night, make quesadillas (or salad, or tacos, or bbq sandwiches, etc etc) 2 nights later.

    Right now, my 6 quart Crockpot is full to the brim with black beans: tonight is Cuban black bean soup by mixing some beans in more veggies like a can of Rotel, some corn, and chopped onions/peppers, brown rice. The chicken quesadillas in 2 nights will get some of the beans and corn, I can make a pureed bean dip for snacking, toss some in a salad, freeze some for future meals, and still have the soup again this week for lunches.
    (This works REALLY well with pinto beans too…beans and cornbread, refried beans, etc.)

    Many meats and sides can be prepped all at once and made into a variety of meals for the week. Planning for it is essential though. Make a 1 or 2 week menu!

16. Posted by Ally from Zwaggle - 10/05/2009

    Thanks for the great tips! I’m going to try to implement some of them into my routine!

17. Posted by Celeste - 10/05/2009

    I know several families that are fans of making a meal rotation. Then there is no game of “pantry chicken”, where you stand in front of the cupboard and try to figure out what’s for dinner.

    Ina Garten has a book on homestyle cooking in which she says all you need is 10 meat, 10 veg, and 10 starch dishes that work for your family, and with this repertoire you can combine them in a rotation such that it takes the stress out of figuring out dinner.

    Desperation Dinners is a cookbook and newspaper column about stocking your pantry such that you can make easy, tasty suppers fast.

    I like to have pre-cooked meatballs for their versatility. One night they can go into spaghetti sauce, the next night they can be the meat in a casserole or added to a pilaf with some cheese, and another night they can turn up in a long bun with either Italian sauce or barbeque sauce. Of course ready-made frozen meatballs can serve this purpose for you, too, and have found they do well in a crockpot with whatever sauce you like–cheesy, tomato, bbq.

18. Posted by Liz - 10/05/2009

    I plan all my dinners on DinnerBeat (http://www.DinnerBeat.com). As I’m scheduling, I keep track of what I can use from each meal to the next. For example, I know that if I make mashed potatoes with chicken one day, I should schedule a shepherd’s pie the next day to use up the leftover mashed potatoes. The website keeps track of what I need for each meal and lets me print out the shopping list that includes only what I need for those meals.

    I also split larger meals into two portions and freeze one half, especially casseroles or skillet meals. I try to always have at least one main dish in my freezer. That way I always have a meal on hand and don’t have to resort to take-out.

19. Posted by Karen - 10/05/2009

    My best meal planning tool is a dry erase board. I really like Lib’s system, which sounds very useful. But I just use a magnetic dry erase calendar, which you can get from an office supply store. I can plan out what I plan to make for the week, but if I change my mind, it’s very easy to switch things around. And it sticks right on my fridge, so it fits even in my tiny kitchen.

20. Posted by Lilliane P - 10/05/2009

    Good suggestions all. I’m definitely going to try Ruth’s sugggestion of preparing a basic topping mix. Love that one.

21. Posted by Almost American - 10/05/2009

    Some pantry staples for us that haven’t been mentioned already: frozen peas; canned corn; couscous (ready in 5 minutes!); jars of curry sauce (adds lots of flavor without having to have a ton of ingredients in the house).

22. Posted by Mickey - 10/05/2009

    I love to cook, but agree, I sometimes don’t feel like making on Thursday what I planned on Sunday. So when planning my weekly menu, I pick 2-3 meals depending on how many evening events and then know that the other nights are filler meals – meals which can be made with stuff I always have on hand. I keep a few go-to recipes, such as my pasta and cauliflower, or a veggie stir fry or even simpler pasta and jarred sauce or box mac and cheese with a salad of mixed greens and viniagrette.

    So I always have stocked pasta, chicken broth, tomato sauce, mac and cheese and veggies.

    And in the winter, when I make things like chili or lasagna, I freeze single portions after and then can pull them out for a quick lunch or a lazy dinner.

23. Posted by Wendy - 10/05/2009

    I always create a vision for the week around our meals and clean and healthy eating. I have many staples dishes that I rotate every few weeks — meals that are quick, healthy and delicious. I’m always discovering new recipes so I like to add one new recipe per week. Something that’s not too time consuming.

    I like to plan for the following week on Friday, shop on Saturday at the farmers’ market and health food store and then start the weekly prep on Sundays. Breaking it up makes it some much easier to navigate for me and doesn’t feel overwhelming.

    I tend to make a few dishes on Sunday — yesterday it was sweet potato bisque soup, fresh tuna burgers and a saute of fresh veggies. That will keep us going for a few days. I have an easy pasta meal planned for tomorrow and quinoa stew for Wednesday when I’ll have more time to cook.

    All the pre-planning makes the execution during the week nice and easy.

24. Posted by PATTY - 10/05/2009

    I’ll do the same, good a bigger meal and package it up. Though if it is cooking weekend, I’ll maybe make 4 to 5 main dishes, with 3-4 meals per dish, I’ve got more than a month’s worth of meals.

    After packagaging them up – I do NOT label them! Then as I come through the door at the end of the day – the proveribal “honey I’m home, what’s for dinner” I’ll say to myself and with a great smile – pull out a dish and have a surprise meal waiting for me!

    I’m a great kidder – and after a long day – it’s nice not to make a decision.
    (ps- ok I may return one to the freezer and select another!)

25. Posted by Jay - 10/05/2009

    Great suggestions.

    I have two more:

    (1) Don’t cook or turn on a stove/microwave. Find a meal or two that you can eat without heat. Fresh fruit and vegetables (raw); nuts and seeds; nut butters; cereal; and yogurt are possibilities.

    (2) Use canned goods. For example, in a pinch, my wife and I mix canned chicken, chili, corn, and spinach, add black pepper and garlic powder, heat it up, and surround with large corn chips. It is quick and tasty. Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s sell most of the canned goods, which are more healthful than they used to be.

26. Posted by Bonnie - 10/06/2009

    Single here but I try to cook most nights as opposed to eating out/having processed stuff. I also try not to go for tinned vegetables because once open you have to use the whole tin, and there also a remarkable amount of salt in the can! Frozen veges I find have far less salt.

    Some things I’ve found that helps:
    - Freeze fresh produce. Ham, bacon, half bottles of wine, shallots, mince, herbs, things which which I am forced to buy whole bunches of/cheaper to buy in bulk I will chop up finely, label and seal in ziplock bags, flattening the bag to make what’s inside as thin as possible. Then they are all ready for the day when I need half a glass of wine in my risotto or a tsp of basil. I don’t have to defrost the whole bag, just snap off a piece of whatever I need.
    - I buy my meat in bulk, then cut them up into servings for one when I get home. Loins of lamb get divided up into mini-roasts with olive oil, rosemary, mint and honey. Meat and marinade goes into zip lock bags in the freezer and then in the morning I just let whatever I want to eat defrost. At night I just have to place the mini roast in a baking dish with vegetables (or not), and I have a great meal for one half an hour later. I also do this with chicken satay skewers, portuguese chicken pieces etc.
    - I am not such a stickler to menus and recipes which means I can be more flexible with ingredients. leeks and onions are interchangeable, and most herbs go well with most meats, and if you have run out of breadcrumbs to coat your schnitzel, bashed up potato crisps work just as well. Who knows, you may discover a new family favorite ;p
    - I’m not afraid of making “big meals” like roasts, lasagnas, curries etc. Usually I will have friends around happy to take the leftovers, or I reinvent the dish for the next day. Lasagne topped with mashed potato the next day makes an awesome shepherds pie

27. Posted by Tania - 10/06/2009

    There are some great tips on this thread however after years of trying to adjust my parents old shop once a week routine to single life, I’ve finally come up with a solution that works well for me. I basically shop every second day.

    It may seem like that would increase my grocery bills but what I’ve found is that I throw out far less food than when I was doing a weekly shop and then having unexpected scheduling conflicts that had me going away with work for a few days. I found I would make the extra frozen dinners and then never feel like eating them.

    What makes the system work are the basic following tips…

    * Go into the grocery store each day with a basic idea of what you need but be flexible. As you’re eating the products straight away you can save a fortune on using discounted items.

    * I keep a stock of deli items etc marinated feta, chargrilled mushrooms / eggplant, olives, capers, parmesan cheese, salami – these have a long shelf life and can be used in salads, risotto’s, pizza, pasta etc

    * Other items I keep on hand are
    – one or two GREAT salad dressings
    – fish sauce, soy sauce, palm sugar, lime juice
    – Single serve fresh herb satches that can be kept in the freezer for up to six months.
    – jasmine rice; aborrio rice; pasta; asian rice noodles; rice paper
    – in the freezer – package of frozen chopped onions

    * Meat, chicken etc – any uncooked gets frozen in individual portions.

    * Lunches get made while I’m cooking dinner that night. And the meals for the two days will have some relation to each other but not necessarily be the same. Best way to illustrate this is to give an example.

    Buy: 1 salmon steak (make sure it’s a nice big one)
    1 pack of mixed lettuce leaves.
    1 pack of veg stock

    Chop salmon steak into three equal portions.

    Dinner first night – grilled salmon with salad,
    Next days lunch – cold grilled salmon rice paper parcels
    Dinner second night – risotto with salmon (cut into small pieces and cooked in the risotto), mushrooms, eggplant and parmesan cheese
    Second lunch – Lettuce with deli stuffs from fridge.

    ** I don’t necessarily cook from receipes as I tend to find I have to buy a heap of ingredients I’ll never use again but what is really really useful is taking note of flavour combinations you enjoyed eating at a restaurant then experimenting at home.

    A side benefit I’ve found I’m eating a lot better since trying this way of shopping as nearly none are my foods are pre-processed or packaged. Hope’s this helps someone. My biggest bit of advice is to fit your shopping / cooking eating system around your lifestyle not the other way round.

28. Posted by Katrina - 10/06/2009

    Curries are excellent freezer food.

    My favourite curry to freeze is a 500ml jar of mild Rojan Josh simmer sauce, half a kilogram (about a pound) of beef or lamb or chicken cut into 1 inch pieces, and 3 cups of whatever vegetables are to hand (good way to get rid of ‘stray’ leftover vegetables or get people to each brocolli & cauliflower). Cook in a pan on low simmer for 1 hour. Then freeze in portions. It can be reheated in the time it takes to cook some rice.

    Rachel: celery keeps for about 2 weeks in the refridgerator if you cut in into managable lengths and wrap it in aluminium foil.

29. Posted by Ruth Hansell - 10/06/2009

    These are some great ideas! I’m moved to add another comment, due to Tania’s remark about not necessarily following recipes.

    My mom, who was an excellent cook, almost never used a recipe. She’d start with a basic idea, and use whatever was on hand to expand it or flavor it a little differently just for fun. One time a chocolate cake fell apart when she took it out of the pan. She put all the crumbs into a mixing bowl, whipped up something pudding-ish and minty tasting, and made layered desserts for that evening. That was 40 yrs ago, and I STILL remember how good it was.

    Cooking outside the box is a fun way to live. Yes, there is the occasional flub, (I’ll never try soup in a pumpkin again) but day to day, it uses up bits and pieces from the fridge or the pantry and is always at least a little surprising. And very uncluttered.

    Ruth

30. Posted by Rue - 10/06/2009

    @Bonnie: To combat the salt in canned vegetables, you can simply drain the vegetables using a colander, and then run cool water over them for a minute or two. It rinses out most of the salt. Bonus is that if, after rinsing, the vegetables don’t have enough salt, you can always add a little back to them.

    I really need to get into the habit of cooking meals that can easily be frozen or refrigerated for leftovers. I just hate leftovers. Eating something once or twice is enough for me.

31. Posted by Vicki K - 10/06/2009

    When I first read the title of this post, I immediately thought about the mealtime itself, not the food. Having mail, books and homework stacked up at the end of the table was detracting from the peace of our dinner time meal.

    So now I am trying to clear the table completely, shake the day’s crumbs from the tablecloth, set a nice (but simple) table and have everyone turn off their cells, zunes etc etc. While soft music might be good for some, I still think it is distracting to my family and detracts from our conversation about the day.

32. Posted by Ann Rose - 10/06/2009

    Eat cooked vegetables hot the first night. Save the rest and use cold in salad the next day. Helps with salad variety!

33. Posted by JJ - 10/06/2009

    I’ve simplified our eating by teaching my children to cook when they were small. I work part/full time (depending on the caseload at work), am homeschooling a 14 year old (she uses a spare office at work to study in), and our 11 year old is in 6th grade public school. On nights when the children have no homework or karate, they cook supper. Last week they made the family tacos while my husband and I took a walk together.

    We are fortunate to have the space for a huge pantry. I have home canned veggies/beans/soups and berry preserves on hand that can be quickly made into interesting meals. We have lots of staples and not many “prepared” food items, mostly just pastas.

    On nights that are busy, we plan to eat simple soups and breads, pasties that I have previously frozen, or I put something in the slow-cooker for the day. I am usually up by 5:30 a.m. and have time to make bread a couple times a week before we all have to leave. Although sometimes I do, for pasties, I usually don’t like to spend the weekend cooking large batches of food. We usually have major chores like getting in wood for the winter, or have planned all day hiking/fishing/hunting trips. On Sunday we will usually have a nice meal with interesting sides, leftovers that can be frozen or eaten during week.

    A few years ago we ate one meal each week from a different country. We worked our way south from Greenland, through Europe and the middle east and ended up in the Pacific Isles. We’ve incorporated some of our favorites into our regular meals.

34. Posted by gypsy packer - 10/07/2009

    From that three-job period of life:
    Make a huge pot of rice and freeze it in meal-sized portions. Cook the biggest pan of cornbread you have and do the same. Buy huge roasts and cut them into pieces just large enough for a stir-fry or a curry; purchase bagged veggies. Keep plenty of soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and white wine and do fast stir-frys. Cook a big pot of beans with soul-food or Mexican seasoning and (if single) eat it all week, or freeze additional portions. Can your own country relishes to eat with the beans. Freeze burgers in single patties. Buy chicken breasts on sale, freeze individually, and poach them in herbed liquids or that cheap white wine.

    Cook everything except crock-pot and stir-fries on low heat and put your feet up with a good book and some herb tea until dinner is ready!

35. Posted by What I’m Reading 10/9 - 10/11/2009

    [...] Uncluttered mealtime @Unclutterer (Very similar to the eating pattern I’ve developed lately) [...]

36. Posted by Rose - 10/12/2009

    If I could hire out one thing for our family – it would be a chef. I’ve been part of sooo many conversations on this topic – probably because it is part of daily life for most of us – and requires at least a little variety/thinking, unlike some of the other household chores.

    I’ve tried many different methods for getting a healthy meal on the table, and am very curious now about DinnerBeat.com. Have thought many times that there must be a site like this – instead of the 3-4 that I have in various places.

    My method – I try to cook 1 Day each – Fish/Pasta/Chicken/Veg/Beef-Pork/Salad(summer)orSoup(winter). On the extra day, we’ll have takeout, leftovers, maybe a new recipe, etc. I have 5-6 basic recipes for each category that I know my family likes, and I rotate those across the months. I’ll also occasionally try a new one in a given category, but for the most part, there’s not much room/time for anything but the basics for us these days.

    I preprinted grocery lists by category and try to quickly get the shopping done.

    Finally, for the days/weeks when our system is down
    I have two preprinted grocery lists/recipes in the glove compartment so that I can stop and get the req’d items, and know that I’ll be able to cook a quick meal.

    Meal preparation/cooking for me is much more of a necessity/chore than something I enjoy, and sometimes I feel bad that I do it mostly out of obligation to my family.

37. Posted by Betsy - 10/27/2009

    I love the idea of theme weeks–we do something similar. I cook a “big meal” (the Meat and Three idea) on Monday. That meat gets figured into at least two other meals that week, depending on type and kind of seasoning (herb roasted chicken provides great stock for risotto and great chicken to top a salad later and so forth). I keep stock frozen in the freezer IN THE AMOUNT I’m going to need it (1/2 cup portions for stir-fry, 1.75 cup portions for “can” amounts and so forth). I keep the basics on hand, rely on a terrific cookbook (How to Cook Everything), and keep a running list on my fridge of what our “options” are (meals that will use up perishables, leftovers, and the like). I think each person’s system will differ on what their lifestyle is like.

Subscribe to this entry's comments