Lesson 3: Fast, Delicious Meals at Home

I feel a need for a break from the moving theme.  I arrived home last night from a mini-vacation to an empty fridge and pantry, with very little time for grocery shopping today. Fortunately, I had the tools to make my trip to the commissary (military grocery store) very quick and painless!  I had my menu made and my grocery list done in 15 minutes. Then, I shopped and checked out in 45 minutes, which included a decent amount of time browsing the ice-cream aisle.  I honestly could not believe how much time cataloging recipes and using a grocery list form really does save until I tried it myself.


Personally, I use the Better Homes & Gardens Recipe Box to keep and organize my recipes. It has a shopping list function, too, but I like mine better, to be honest :). Since I have a smartphone, I can access these recipes wherever I go.  Even if you don't have a smartphone, I recommend keeping an online catalog of your recipes.  I started to do so after the movers lost ALL of my cookbooks.

Here is my usual process for meal planning:

1.  Search for recipes. I do this in two steps:

1. I have all of my favorite recipes copied into folders in my online recipe box.  Each folder usually has 4-5 main dish dinner recipes in it, which is enough to last my husband and me a whole week. I'll write more on cataloging recipes in a separate post.
2. If I'm not feeling inclined to make one or two of the scheduled meals, or just yearning for some variety, I'll search cookbooks and websites for something new and appetizing. 

2. List the meals I plan to make on my grocery list.  Now, my grocery list is not just any grocery list.  I took about 20 extra minutes one day at the commissary and wrote down the aisle number and its corresponding items. I also noted which aisle end-cap items, like the meats, were close to.  Below is an example of what I use each week. I entered in the items I typically need to buy every week, then saved a blank copy of the list.  Each week, I open the blank file, hit "save as," and create a new list under today's date.  I keep these in a folder called "shopping lists." Pretty creative title, I know :).  I transfer these word documents onto my phone, but you could also just print several blank copies of the list (this one takes 2 pages, front & back, when you leave room for items in the boxes) and fill them in before you shop.

  3.  Lastly, I check the pad on my fridge.  This pad is the list that my husband and I use to jot down items we've run out of during the week.  This week we were out of coffee, face wash, and AA batteries.  These are random and not bought often, so I make a note of them whenever I notice we need more.  I add these items to their appropriate aisle on my list before I go shopping.

Produce ·         Lettuce ·         Fruit ·         Carrots ·         Celery/broccoli	Menu: ·
Deli/Bakery ·	Packaged deli items ·
1.       Drug & diet ·         Protein shake mix ·         Protein bars	Sausage & ham ·
2.       Bath, fem, Kleenex ·
3.       Cleaning supplies ·
4.       Pets & plastic supplies, charcoal ·	Beef ·
5.       Paper & pop ·
6.       Snacks & candy	Pork ·
7.       Breakfast ·         Cereal/cereal bars
8.       International & Juice	Turkey ·
9.       Canned, pasta, spices & gravy ·	Chicken ·
10.   Canned fruit, condiments, baking ·	Misc. from BX ·
11.   Bread, frozen fish, pizza, fish, ice-cream ·
12.   Frozen meals, poultry, baked goods, veggies ·
13.   Frozen meats, juices, poultry, waffles ·
14.   Fridge ·         Butter	Eggs & milk ·         Milk ·         Eggs