Do you have a meal planning schedule? Convience foods?

[crazyeight]

Like do you have certain days that you bake and cook and make quick stuff? I know many of you make your own sauces, stocks, dried beans, canning etc. Unless something is tied to your garden schedule do you like make bread on monday, sauces on tuesday, casseroles on wed, stocks on thursday?

I don't use alot of sauces, stocks or beans but i think i could utilize more of my time to make food i just don't know where to start.

Also does anyone make their own conveince foods? Like the little pizza's at the store; do you make 50 of them yourself and freeze them individually so you can use them as lunches? How do you package them? I would like to make indivudual casserole/mac n cheese, pizza, hot pockets, chicken nuggets, etc....i just don't know what to PUT them in (and i lack recipes).

So tell me your schedule! I'm very interested...large posts welcome and recipes are greatly wanted!

[Alyantavid]

Not really. Most of my sauce/bread cooking happens on weekends when I have more time. I make big batches of sauce and bread (and other breads, cookies, all kinds of stuff) and freeze most of them.

I rarely make my own convienence foods. I do chicken nuggets though, just pieces of chicken, dipped in egg or milk then dipped in seasoned bread crumbs (whatever seasonings you want) and then bake until they're done.

[audsma]

My schedule is based on my family's schedule, which changes sometimes weekly. I guess the main inspiration for my planning is Farmer's Market, Saturday mornings. I often make jam or juice or some other big project on a day when I don't have to go anywhere, such as Sat. afternoon or Sunday. I usually plan too much cooking for this tired, pregnant body in a kitchen which reaches 83 degrees very easily.

I've been trying to get a beans and crockpot schedule going, but that hasn't happened yet. I want to have soccer nights be crockpot nights, but I've still been preparing foods and then eating early/reheating as we need it.

For instance, tomorrow I'm making enchilada casserole (was on the menu for today, but decided not to make my babysitter have DD try something new) from Sunday's leftover roasted chicken breast, Monday's new enchilada sauce recipe, and Monday's refried beans which were made with thawed pintos from 2 weeks ago Sunday's crockpot day.

[*Jessica*]

Bumping because all of those moved threads are distracting!