Menu planning and weekly prep

Menu planning

It's hard to find a routine that works and then stick with it.  We all lead busy lives, some of us have children, jobs, careers, spouses, friends and extended branches of our family tree.  One routine Omega brought to mouse's life was organization.  Shopping is done for the week and a real menu for all the meals is planned.  Of course you plan out further but I've found that a week is long enough (7 days of meals).

Omega has serious dietary concerns, so we try incorporate those into each meal that's served.

The ideas begin when the sales come out of the paper (generally on Tuesday and Wednesday here), I canvass what's going to be on special for the upcoming week.  I set aside one day to shop.  My Days are generally Friday and Monday.  With the economy the way it is these days, it actually saves us a lot of money because I'm not running to the store and randomly and forgetting about things in the fridge.  Omega hates above much of anything wasting food.  He doesn't mind tossing out something left-over but something that NEVER makes it to the table just disturbs him.

On Sunday or Monday morning, I go through the fridge, freezer and pantry, making notes on everything we're running low on.  Stuff takes forever to defrost in the fridge, so I generally pull stuff out then that I plan on cooking a little later in the week.  Fish and shrimp normally just take a day or to defrost, so I pull those out the night before, so they're ready for the following day.  Whole chicken can take days to defrost, so I actually try not to freeze it anymore.  I buy fresh and cook within a few days of purchase.

Meal Prep

Once you've gone to the store and got your recipes in order.  I have to confess that I don't use a lot of recipes, instead often just buy staples that I know I'll use:

Onions
Peppers  (I prefer red bell peppers for everyday eating)
Garlic
Fennel bulbs
shallots
fresh thyme (when possible)
fresh parsley
other fresh herbs
Zucchini
Brocolini
Red (or swiss) Chard
celery (as needed or if I already have it)
carrots (ditto celery)
Spinach
Wine or dry sherry

Cut all and Cry Once

I hate with a passion cutting up onions, so since I use them in just about everything, I cut them up and store in a plastic freezer bag or container in the fridge.  One small onion generally is about a cup.  Larger onions can yield about a cup and a half.  Now, think about this and consider what you're making.  I generally slice onions, like three or four.  The other couple, I might dice.  Yes, I go through roughly 5-7 onions a week.  Onions can be stored in the freezer too, which is a huge time saver.

Garlic

I grew up in San Francisco, garlic was just something you added, depending on the flavor profile you want.  Never burn garlic...it's nasty -- you have to start over.  Chop finely and add it to the END of the saute process (before adding reducing liquids).  Hit with a knife (keeping it chunky) and throw it into so warm Olive oil at the Beginning.   The oil from the garlic will infuse the oil.  When the garlic starts to turn light brown, discard it (again don't allow garlic to burn).

Don't waste your money on preminced garlic, or even the prepeeled stuff.  Buy it tight cloves.  It will last a few weeks sitting on the counter.

If you want, you can mince a head of garlic, put it in a small container and cover it with Extra Virgin Olive Oil.  There's your minced garlic and garlic flavored oil.  No preservatives, nothing added and you know exactly what it's supposed to be.  I prefer a fine mince for that because I can use it anything from salad dressings, to adding zip to mushrooms.

Other veggies that can be cut up in advance and stored....

Just about anything...ya...even peppers, slice or dice them up (they freeze well too).

Avoid cutting up veggies that will turn colors tho, like potatoes, zucchini (ya made that mistake once), etc.  Ditto those that just lose their consistency, i.e., tomatoes.

Hardy red chard, collard greens, kale etc., wash and remove the stem, cut up the leaves and store in a ziplock back for up to a week in the fridge.  Ditto Spinach.  Leaf lettuces will only last a few days that way, much better to keep the leafs whole and wrap in damp paper towel.

Use Your Freezer

Canned goods...like those big cans of diced tomatoes...or Chipotle in Adobo, take what you need and freeze the rest.  Ginger can be frozen...just stick the arm in the freezer and peel off a frozen section with a spoon, grate with a microplane.  It works.

Happy cooking!