Looking for Ideas-cooking in a Day for a Week

While I don't actually cook the dinner on the weekend, I do a few things to reduce prep time for dinners...

I buy 1 or 2 whole chickens and boil them up, cool them, and de-bone them... I then chop up the meat and package it in 2-3 c freezer bags, and frequently save the broth... it is unseasoned and unsalted. I save the broth in 1 or 2 cup freezer bags, also.

I also will buy a 5 lb package of ground chuck and cook it up, then package it in meal size portions....

I also will cook up 1-2 lbs of dry beans and package them in 2 C bags.... this is just about the same amount as a can of beans, and you don't have that slimy stuff or extra sodium.

If you like meatloaf, you can easily make a couple of meatloaves and wrap and freeze them.. I've done that many times in the past....

I love having a big chest freezer!

When I am cooking in advance I cook with my largest stock pot. I cook a whole bag of chicken leg quarters from Walmart that are about $.50lb. I cook a whole 5lb. chub of HB meat then I add some stuff to maybe half of it once I take some out. If I'm planning something where the meat will taste better if it has onions cooked with the HB meat then I take out the rest and add some onion to the rest and cook it a couple more minutes.

I take the chicken out of the boiling water when it's done, de-bone it, and then put the bones and skin back in the boiling water. I separate the chicken into zip-lock freezer bags. The water that is boiling with the chicken debris in it can be turned off and let cool a bit. Once you can manage it and not get steam burns pour the broth into another large pot but strain it through a strainer that is mesh, I also use a piece of cloth or a hand towel that is thin. This removes the bones, skin, all the tiny pieces of stuff you would not want in a broth.

I put the broth in a container, I usually wash out the stock pot since it's already being used, and put it in the fridge overnight. I sit it on a hot pad and a towel so it won't break the glass. In the morning I skim off the fat and put the broth in gallon size freezer bags. Once they are sealed I tend to put them laying flat so they will freeze that way. In my freezer they just fit better. They can wrap around the shelf as they get colder and make it nearly impossible to get off while they are frozen.

Now that you have frozen homemade chicken broth you can come in some evening, pop a frozen broth into a big pot. Get it boiling, add pieces of biscuit and make a huge pot of chicken and dumplings. The dumplings cook pretty quickly so I don't leave the kitchen.

OR you can add some Reamus frozen noodles and make chicken and noodles, if you like you can add a couple of cans of cream of chicken soup and make it a creamy chicken and noodles. Takes about 20 minutes to get it all up and boiling. Then you can go get changed while the noodles are cooking.

With the prepared HB meat you can pop out a bag of cooked meat into a skillet, add taco seasoning and make tacos. You can heat some up and make HB Helper, this one is so easy for me to use because we can afford the cheaper HB meat. So I have bags of this frozen all the time. Anything that uses HB meat can be made like this.

Adding oil based salad dressing to meats always makes a nice meal. I like adding balsamic vinegrettes to chicken, pork and beef and then baking them. They have all kinds of flavors - raspberry, onion, rosemary etc etc.

I don't do quite as you describe, but I used to plan out my whole week very detailed. If you are looking for new ideas, I would cook a large portion of your meat, then separate them into bags for cooking with later in the week. Ie: Cook ground beef and cook some chicken (or debone a rotisserie chicken). Portion it all out. Dice a lot of veggies and keep them in tupperwares so all you gotta do is sprinke/pour the diced veggies as you cook. Then have very little actual cooking and chopping to do during the week.
Monday - chicken enchiladas
Tuesday - ground beef taco soup
Wednesday - chicken nachos
Thursday - spaghetti with ground beef
Friday - Caesar salad with diced chicken on top

I dunno. Just my ideas. We actually cook with a lot of sausage since every member of the family likes it and you can take it from freezer to stove in a matter of minutes and not have to thaw. Plus, we have a few nights of "baked potato with chili & cheese on top" and "chili dogs", which are very easy to put together last minute (as long as I remember to put the potatoes in the oven in time).

Shepherd's Pie

Spaghetti Casserole

rotisserie chicken in a baking pan w/cream of mushroom soup, can of peas (drained), boiled/chopped diced carrots. Freeze. Bake when ready to eat. Serve w/biscuits

Updated

Shepherd's Pie

Spaghetti Casserole

rotisserie chicken in a baking pan w/cream of mushroom soup, can of peas (drained), boiled/chopped diced carrots. Freeze. Bake when ready to eat. Serve w/biscuits

Checkout allrecipes.com
They have an app that has so many great recipe ideas for all types of cooks.

Hello, how about lean ground beef? You can make a large amount and season it differently; one for tacos (hard or soft) and another batch for
spaghetti/pasta. We call it lazy spaghetti and it's easy. For the tacos fry the meat and drain, seperately mix a little taco seasoning with water and pour over meat. Some people do it dry over the meat, but when you add water it makes a little more plus not so strong tasting. Also, it work great with shredded chicken. For the spaghett/pasta, fry the meat, drain, season
and add your favorite pasta sauce.
Meatloaf is always good, too. Kids could have mac n cheese or any kind of potatoe. Just a few ideas, good luck.

My family loves manicotti and meatballs and that is easy to fix ahead. I use the recipe on the back of the box and add some spices and garlic salt. Easy salad to go with it is spinach salad with hard boiled eggs, bacon, and ranch dressing.