How to Plan Great Family Meals That Your Family Enjoys

by Lois Breneman, © 2009, Heart to Heart 

 

Sit down with your husband and come up with a list of at least ten to twenty healthy dinners that you both really enjoy.  Next sit down with your children and do the same.  Some meal preferences will overlap, which is a good thing.  Then make a list of the ingredients for these meals.  It will save you lots of valuable time if you make at least two identical meals at a time and freeze one. 

My dear niece, Diane, recently assembled a large pan of lasagna while having her eleven year old daughter, Victoria, do the same right next to her.  Not only did Victoria learn how to assemble and cook lasagna, but the family had Diane's lasagna pan to freeze for a future meal!  This is a unique way to teach your children and grandchildren how to cook!

 

Many main dishes freeze very well, so why not purchase enough ingredients one week to make one, two or three of your family's favorite recipes in large quantities and freeze them to lighten your time in the kitchen this summer.   You might want to choose all chicken dishes one week and ground beef recipes another week, until you have your freezer well stocked with a variety of meals.  You will save yourself some work and time by cooking all the same type meat at once.  Then assemble and label the meals and "squirrel" them away for a carefree mealtime later. 

 

Casserole dishes can be reused for other meals even before those meals are eaten.  Here's how.  Freeze casseroles in dishes such as glass Corningware casseroles.  After the casserole is frozen solid, remove it from the freezer by running hot water over the bottom and remove the food by carefully inserting a knife around the sides.  It will pop right out.  Wrap, label and date the meal with a permanent marker.  Now those casserole dishes are ready for the next round of meal assembly!

 

Meat loaves can be assembled without any dishes.  Simply wrap those in freezer paper.   Unbaked quiche can be frozen for a delicious meal later.  For healthier quiche, you can make a "crust" out of brown rice, seasoning and a beaten egg mixed in.  Rather than adding sausage, use chicken or turkey and add sage and other spices to give it the sausage flavor.

 

Vegetables casseroles freeze well.  Prepare casseroles of broccoli, green beans, carrots or mashed potatoes for great side dishes or all-vegetable meals.