Weekly cooking routine

You know how it is: you get home from work, it's dinner time, no one knows what they want to have for dinner and any recipes you can be bothered to cook are missing a vital ingredient or two.  A quick trip to the shop is needed... or maybe takeaway would be easier?

Sound familiar?

Until recently, this was true for us.  Until we came up with a plan. Many people have said they're impressed with the plan, which I find surprising.  It's mainly common sense and most people, I'm sure, would say, "Duh!" -- but here it is anyway:

1. Find seven recipes for the next seven evening meals.  Write the meals down and stick them on the fridge (or somewhere else convenient).
2. Add the ingredients you'll need for those recipes to your weekly shopping list.
3. Buy the ingredients from the supermarket, or wherever.
4. When you've unpacked the shopping, check the meat and set a rough order for the meals using the expiry date as a guide.

I told you it was simple.  Now when you get home in the evenings it should be very simple to decide what to have for dinner and all the ingredients should be at hand.

Tips:

• If you make more than you need for the odd meal or two, you could save yourself a night or two of cooking.

Pros:

• It's a simple decision when it's time to eat.  Just take a look at the fridge and pick a meal.  Hey, it's like a menu at a restaurant!
• You can try out exotic and interesting recipes instead of eating the same meals week after week.  I really enjoy using our cookbooks every day instead of just for dinner parties.
• Shopping trips become quicker and more purposeful.  No more wandering the aisles aimlessly looking for inspiration.
• You'll find that your culinary skills will improve.  Practise makes perfect!

Cons:

• It's not much fun coming up with seven meals in a single sitting.  You could try splitting it out across the week so when shopping day comes you don't have to do it all at once.