Yesterday began a solid week of evening plans for our family. I'm making a conscience effort to enjoy the joys of Christmas this year & not feel stressed out the entire month of December. I'm trying to enjoy the concerts, parties and shopping instead of just checking things off my never ending to-do list. When looking at the calendar and realizing we will be running around every evening I know I'm going to have to be very organized (not my strong point) in order to enjoy it. With so many in the house that have food sensitivities, the days of popping in a couple frozen pizzas are long gone. Here's how I manage gluten free home cooked meals on a busy schedule in no particular order (see? I'm not very organized):
#1 Use paper plates/bowls. I do not like eating off paper, but this saves a ton of time with clean up. As much as I don't like it, I dislike coming home to a kitchen full of dishes. 7 people make a LOT of dishes!
#2 Put away any clean dishes and run the dishwasher before going to bed. This goes along with number 1 as a cleaned up kitchen is much more inspiring for food prep.
#3 One dish meals and Crock pot meals. These can be prepped and mostly cleaned up prior to supper. These take fewer dishes to serve & are eaten quicker.
#4 Plan meals that use some of the same ingredients. For example, if your meal on Tues & Thurs both call for shredded carrots, shred all you need on Tuesday and only wash the food processor once.
#5 Have simple things that can be pulled out of the fridge or freezer to complete a meal. At our house that is frozen applesauce or berries, cut up veggies & dip, GF or Paleo biscuits/ muffins/ breads.
#6 Thaw meat the day before.
Merry Christmas to you all! May you enjoy the sights, sounds and tastes of the season, but most of all the best gift of Jesus!
Here's what we'll be eating with links to recipes:
Monday:
Sweet & Sour Meatballs
Cooked Rice
Green beans
Berries
Tuesday:
Leftover Roast Chicken Soup I plan to use frozen turkey & broth I've already made
Crock pot Chili
Herbed biscuits - I use this recipe and add about 1 Tbsp of dried herbs & brush the tops with garlic butter
Veggies & Ranch
Wednesday:
Double batch of Pad See Ew
Applesauce
Thursday:
Choose Your Own Adventure (That's a fancy way of saying warm up whatever leftovers are in the fridge!) I intentionally will make extra Mon-Wed for this since this is the evening we have to be out of the house the earliest.
Friday:
Double batch of Hamburger- Rice Skillet
Fruit tray
