I was thinking back over one of the busiest seasons in our family, right after the birth of our twin daughters.  My life went from 12 weeks of permanent bed rest to the hospital, NICU, preemie babies, and a lot of other activities.  As I was reflecting back on those days I began thinking about the various ways that we prepared in advance to make the whole season more enjoyable for the entire family.  Every family has a busy season whether it is due to an upcoming birth of a baby in your family, travel, work, school, Holidays, or something else.  That time in my life was busy, stressful, and completely new to me.  I have an amazing supportive family, friends, and church family that pitched in by physically helping us (cleaning our home, making meals, helping feed the girls, and so much more) and praying for us (although it was an exhausting and stressful time in our lives God was good and the prayers of many were answered).  Looking back over that period of time in our life we can see even more clearly the multitude of love and blessings that were sent our way.

Since I was on permanent bed rest for 12 weeks I was limited on what I could do as far as menu planning, however, while the girls were in NICU and I was on the mend physically I began preparing for a busy season when they came home.  I spent the majority of my day and late evening in the NICU with the girls, however, I had a few hours every day at home to rest, prep for their homecoming, make meals and more.

Recipes / Menu Planning / Preparation Work that I can do in advance to be better equipped for the busy season:

• Ground Hamburger – cook up your ground hamburger in advance and freeze it cooked in measured out portions.  My favorite way to cook it is to get a large pack of hamburger put it in the crockpot and heat it on low stirring occasionally to break up the meat.  At the end pour the hamburger into a strainer (over a bowl) drain, and blot with a paper towel.  Allow it to cool them put into baggies or containers.  I typically do between 2 to 4 cups per item.  This allows you to pull the meat out prior to dinner make your meal and eliminates a lot of time, prep, making the meal, and mess.
• Chicken – precook chicken breasts and freeze into appropriate portions.  If you want shredded chicken I like to cook it in the crockpot, shred it at the end and drain it.  When I wanted cubed chicken I baked the chicken in the oven then cut it up into cubes and measured out the portions in baggies or containers.
• Casserole – make up a few casseroles in advance like lasagna, Green Bean Tator Tot Casserole, Grandma’s Western Meat Loaf, Cheesy Spaghetti Bake and freeze them.  You can do this in one day or spread it out over the course of several weeks.  When you make lasagna or a casserole for dinner make two and freeze one, if your making casserole for a new Mom make an extra one to freeze.  Over a few weeks you’ll be stocked and prepared for your upcoming busy season.
• Cookie Dough – I always enjoy making freshly baked cookies for my family and friends, however, during a busy season I don’t always have the extra time to whip up a fresh baked batch of cookies.  There is something about fresh cookies and if you cannot get a great deal on the ones in the store you can still do it at home in advance.  I will make up a double or larger batch of our family’s favorite cookies (Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Raisin, and a handful of others).  Mix up the dough, mold it into a rectangle, wrap it in saran wrap, put it in a Ziploc bag, and freeze until we were ready to eat them.  When I am ready to make cookies during the busy season I will pull out one of the cookie dough packages, use a knife to cut them into the size of cookies I want and bake them.  It works really well especially for those “surprise” guests or neighbor kids dropping by for a snack.  The majority of the work was done in advance, but it allows me to still offer freshly baked goodies during the busy season.  I still do this when I make a fresh batch of cookies because it is a great way save a little extra time in the future.
• BBQ Chicken or Steak – we have several favorite BBQ sauces.  When I our favorite BBQ sauces go on sale I stock up.  I will often find chicken or steak on clearance at the store.  When I get home take the entire package of chicken or beef and divide it up into several portions.  Sometimes I will put one of our favorite BBQ sauces on the steak or chicken, split the meat into two portions (one to put on the grill for dinner that night and the other half into a container to freeze for a later meal).  When it has been a busy day I will pull out the container of already marinated meat, defrost it, put on the grill, add some veggies, salad, and a meal is ready in no time.

I love finding ways we can make our meals time more efficient, especially during those busy seasons.  Having the ability to make and store already prepped meals saves us the cost of going out to eat or allows us to eat more than sandwiches every meal.  By just prepping the meat you can save a lot of time and still have the opportunity to put together a healthy meal for your family.  What are some ways you prepare for a busy season in your family?

Photo by armigeress