This is the method I used to get ready for back to school when I was teaching. Honestly, looking back now, this is one of the few things that saved my sanity! My first year of teaching–I had a one year old and we had just received his special needs diagnosis. My second year of teaching–had a special needs 2-year-old and I was pregnant. Which of course means my third year, I had a special needs 3-year-old and an infant! Gah, I really don’t know how I stayed sane, except for planning, planning, planning, and not losing my footing on the hamster wheel!

Meal prep and meal planning is a smart way to save time and money. Chances are your family will eat healthier and cheaper than if you’d get carryout or go out to eat. Also, prepping the meat portions of the meal means it helps me use up my stockpile of very cheap items. Think of it as “convenience food that you control.” I can buy organic beef and chicken, and prepare it and freeze it without preservatives.

Back then, when I would do this “afternoon in the kitchen, dozens of meals prepped” plan, my lil guys would take a significant afternoon nap and that’s when I would do this. I still want to do it this back to school season, but am going to have to find a creative way to keep them busy. So here’s what I do-I prep a whole bunch of different meal starters and freeze them. Some of what I do:

• meatballs
• hamburger patties pre-made
• loose, ground beef already cooked off, then frozen–for chili, cheeseburger pie, tacos, Shepherds Pie or Hamburger Helper if your family likes it
• diced up chicken for stir fry, soup, stews–both cooked and uncooked
• shredded, cooked chicken for chili, chicken BBQ and so on
• grilled chicken breasts, then diced and frozen for salads or pasta
• whole chicken breasts, cleaned up in correct portions, then frozen
• chicken & sausage diced up for jambalaya

When I say “meat” you put in whatever your family uses, whether that be ground beef, ground chicken or ground turkey. The key is–it’s all prepped and ready to go and frozen in the portion sizes that will make one meal for my family. So, my family would use up 4 hamburger patties at a sitting, and for the size meatballs I make, 6 meatballs. If you make Cheeseburger Pie (one of my go-to favorites for quick weeknight meals), it uses 1 lb of ground beef. I fry off ground beef in 1 lb portions and freeze it that way. For Shepherds Pie, I use a huge ceramic dish that takes 2 lbs of ground beef.

This way, when school and sports and activities are in full swing, you already have your meals started. In the morning, before you head off to work & school–grab something out of the freezer. I check the pantry–pasta check, sauce check….grab a bag of meatballs out of freezer and I have a meal. Bag of lettuce in produce drawer that will expire soon? Grab the grilled, diced chicken to thaw. Boil a few eggs, add cheese, carrots, tomatoes…healthy weeknight salad.

Keep in mind, that I am a “supercouponer” who keeps a substantial pantry and stockpile of items I get cheap or free with coupons. It’s a given that I will have things like pasta, sauce, taco mix, Bisquick (cheeseburger pie), shredded cheese in my freezer, frozen veggies and other items like that already on hand. Of course I always double check prior to getting something out, but I usually have it.

This is what I use and really like it. Click to see it on Amazon.

What you need:

• Vacuum sealer-I use the Ziploc one and love it. Low tech, inexpensive and nothing is ever in my freezer for more than 6 months, so it’s fine.
• Marker to mark bags
• Bags
• Various frying pans and pots
• Strainers to strain meat
• Cutting boards
• Sharp knives for dicing

Makes it easier but not absolutely necessary:

• KitchenAid Mixer-I use it to mix up my meatballs
• Food Processor-for shredding beef and chicken after it’s cooked, the fork method works too

To start, write down all the meals that your family eats that uses these basic prep items–ground meat, chicken breast and a few others that you eat regularly. Sure, we eat fish and grilled pork tenderloin and other “fancier” meals too. But this is just for a few filler meals each week, usually your staple items, comfort food and the like. It’s just to make it easier on you for several nights each week, not every night. The planning part is important.

Then, keep an eye out for big meat sales, or go to your butcher and ask him for a lower price if you buy a larger quantity. Hit your stores on Tuesdays & Wednesdays if you can, when they are more likely to be marking down and clearancing meat in order to clear out for the next weekend. Better yet, just call your store and ask when they usually mark down meat. Dutchmans has 10 lb bags of ground beef on sale this week, I may head up there.

Finally, set aside an afternoon and go! Enlist the help of older children as appropriate and have them help. I think I will put a movie on for my little guys, that’s a real treat for them and will keep them occupied. I usually have all 4 burners going at once, plus I do my meatballs on baking sheets in the oven. I’m sauteeing diced chicken in one pan while ground beef cooks off in another and I’m boiling chicken breasts for shredding in a different pot. While things are cooking, I’m forming hamburger patties and making meatballs and shredding already cooked stuff and packaging and sealing. Somehow at the end of the afternoon, I have dozens of meals half-done and ready for completion. And it makes the busy hectic weeks so much easier to handle.

So, here is the spreadsheet I use for planning. You can view it below but won’t be able to edit it. You can edit it by using this link. It will multiply and add for you automatically. It’s on Google Docs, so if you don’t use Google Docs, you’ll have to register the first time, but any email address will do (don’t have to have Gmail). As you plan, just type in the boxes the staple items that you’d need to buy to keep on hand, and then you also have a handy shopping list just by printing the spreadsheet.

Good luck, have fun, and trust me, this does help!

Meal Planning Spreadsheet