First week of school is done! A couple bumps in the road… and I need a nap. But overall, it was a success.
The middle schooler loves his classes and has a bunch of his friends with him throughout the day. The little loves his elementary school’s new building and his classroom. And we’re all biking to and from school (the weather has been fantastic for it!). We celebrated with goodies at Snowflake Donuts this morning. And we’re set for a great school year.
Strict homework, dinner, chore time, and bed time routines… staying on top of the calendar activities… planning ahead. Everyone knows those are key to keeping our hectic schedules less crazy. But I’ve had a couple of people ask me this week how I keep homemade dinners on the table too.
1- I love having our garage freezer stocked with pork chops, ground turkey, grass-fed beef, and our farm-raised chickens. (If you can raise your own meat or split a steer with a neighbor, do it!) And the pantry keeps everything else on-hand. When getting ready for dinners, all I really need to worry about are snagging fresh fruits and veggies or fish during my next shopping trip.
2- I have scoured the internet for amazing recipes, googling “best ____ recipe” every time. I took the time to print each one out. And as we try them and love them, I put them into a three-ring binder. There are always great recipes on-hand!
3- I bought a big chalkboard for the kitchen. On one side, we plan out our dinners for the week. The other side is where we keep our shopping list. The boys totally have input on the menu, especially when they want to squeeze in one of their favorite meals.
4- I typically let one of the days be an easy Costco-meal day. It’s super-easy to do ravioli, tortellini, flautas, or tamalas on the busiest day of my week.
5- I also typically make way to much for the three of us. That means we can have a leftover night… or the boys are able to take lunches that are the envy of everyone at their table in the cafeteria. 😉
Voila! No big secrets. But I hope something inspires you to get in the kitchen!
