Menu Plan Monday – Working Ahead

Our weeks are busy. How ’bout you? For our family, week days seem to be the busiest, and that means life attempting to sabotage our menu plan regularly. I’ve shared with you how multitasking in the kitchen made a big difference in actually carrying out our plan. This week I’m adding another strategy.

Working Ahead

I’ve tried two-week freezer cooking in the past, and that was a lifesaver. I just didn’t have a block of hours to devote to it this weekend, and I didn’t feel like going back to the grocery store. Instead, I decided to do as much as possible ahead of time to make this week’s meal prep even easier through the week. Let me share what I’m making and what I did ahead of time for each meal.

:: Dinners ::

Chili & Cornbread
Working Ahead: I browned the ground beef for the chili and mixed the dry ingredients for the cornbread.
Day-Of Prep: Throw everything for the chili in the Crock Pot and add a few ingredients to the cornbread.

Southwest Chicken Wraps
Working Ahead: When we grilled this weekend, I had Jason grill extra chicken seasoned only with olive oil, salt & pepper.
Day-Of Prep: Combine chicken with beans and salsa, wrap, and bake.

Chicken Spaghetti with DIY Pizza Hut Cheese Bread
Working Ahead: I mixed the dry ingredients for the cheese bread. Jason grilled enough chicken for this meal when he grilled last weekend.
Day-Of Prep: Make the noodles, heat the chicken and sauce, and mix and bake the bread.

Soup & Leftover Cheese Bread (Last-Minute Meal for our busy night)
This one is super-quick because it’s canned soup and leftover bread. We need meals like this for the night we get home late from Emma’s dance class.

Pepperoni Rolls
Working Ahead: Shhh… Don’t tell. I’m going to cheat and buy frozen bread dough, making the prep for this meal painless. I just have to thaw the dough.
Day-Of Prep: Simply assemble and bake.

I think that working ahead is going to pay off in a BIG way this week! Do you have meals that you like to prep ahead of time? I’d love to try some working ahead meals if you want to share them.

If you’re looking for some general menu planning inspiration, stop by Menu Plan Monday hosted by I’m an Organizing Junkie.