A week of cooking in just a couple hours

I'm busy - I really am.  OK, I'm overbooked, over-scheduled, and over-busy (all my fault!).  When this happens (regularly), one of the places that I steal a bit of time from is cooking dinner.  Why cook when I can stop by my favorite drive-through & pay someone else to cook for me?!  Well, that's easy, but it's really hard on the budget, not to mention the nutrition-less problems!  So, this week, I planned ahead, spent some Saturday time cooking the meats, and I hope that the food will last much better this week!

Here's my menu:
     Saturday - Madison County Chicken
     Sunday - Sweet and Sour Meatballs + Summer Veggie Slaw
     Monday - Olive Garden Copy Cat Zuppa Toscana
     Tuesday - Southwestern Grilled Chicken Salad with Tomato and Black Bean Salsa
     Wednesday - Crock Sloppy Joes + more of the Summer Veggie Slaw
     Thursday - Pesto Vegetable Soup
     Friday - Ham and Potatoes Au Gratin (I substitute ham for the chicken in this recipe)
     Saturday - Slow Cooker Beef Enchilada Stack



I pulled the recipes out of my cookbook binder, checked my stockpile for what needed to be purchased, made a shopping list & went to the grocery store.  When I got back, I started cooking the meat, rather than stuffing it in the bottom of the fridge.

First, I started with the bacon & chicken for both the Madison County Chicken and the Salad.  They had different spices, so I couldn't cook those together.  Since dinner today was the Madison County Chicken, I wanted it available early.

Next, I cooked the hamburger for the Sloppy Joes and the  Slow Cooker Beef Enchilada Stack.  Both needed to be cooked with onion & garlic, so I did them together, then divided the end result for the two recipes.

The ham is super easy.  I go to the deli counter at the grocery store & ask for a couple thick slices of ham.  Then all I have to do is dice the slices - it'll only take a moment, so I just left the ham in the fridge.

Several recipes need potatoes, so I washed them today - when I'm ready to use them, that step is already done.

The Summer Veggie Slaw will be time intensive, so I first put it on Sunday, & will make enough for the whole week, since this won't wilt like a lettuce salad would.

With all the recipes begun, and ready for finishing, making dinner each evening won't be too hard!  Now for determination to follow through!!