What Are You Having for Supper?

“What’s for supper?” may be the most popular question in a home! Everyone wants to know what’s coming! As the cook, we can feel overwhelmed by the constant need to come up with the next meal, but can I encourage you that there are easy steps to meal prep that will simplify each day?

1. forethought. Even if you’re not necessarily on board with being a full-out planner, just giving thought a couple hours before the next meal to “What will we have for lunch (or supper, or breakfast)” can make it so much easier.
   If you think, “We’ll have grilled cheese sandwiches, chips and apple slices for lunch,” make sure that those items are ready to go. Does the butter need to be set out so it will be soft enough to spread on the bread? Do it. Could you slice up the apples and put them in a little lemon juice so it’s one less thing you’ll have to prep when everyone is waiting for the meal?
   Giving forethought could also include setting out the meat to thaw, cutting up ingredients for a salad, or even simply setting the table. By the way, this setting the table is a good encouragement for your family that something good is coming!
2. Use what you have. While it’s tempting to run to PInterest to find a recipe that includes items you do NOT have on hand, causing you to have to run to the grocery store, it’s not the best way to cook. Look in your pantry, cupboards and freezer and ask the Lord to help you use what you already have.
   I will often go to Pinterest and search for recipes with the items I have in stock! For instance, “Recipes using Ground Turkey and Canned Tomatoes.” Then I’ll scroll until I rind a recipe that sounds good and that requires only things I already have on hand.
3. Make good use of leftovers. If you made homemade soup and there’s only one serving left, pour it into a muffin tin and freeze it. When frozen, pop it into a freezer bag and LABEL IT. It will make a nice lunch for someone in the future!
   You can create your own “Frozen dinners” by putting those servings of mashed potatoes, green beans and sliced turkey into a divided storage container and freezing it. Those kind of dinners have been a blessing for my husband when I’m away for whatever reason.
   Leftover side dishes are terrific on a busy night. I’ve been delighted to find a potato casserole in my freezer. I know I can cook a steak and not have to make a starch to go with it. But here again, I have to think about it ahead of time so I can thaw it out before supper!
   Slices of pie, cake or a few cookies tucked into the freezer can serve as a “Dessert smorgasbord!” Pull them out and let your family choose from the variety you’ve stored away! I usually always have some kind of dessert tucked away for impromptu guests!

I took these pieces of advice for my own Sunday dinner yesterday. On Saturday I invited my daughter and her family over for dinner after church, but wanted to only use what I had on hand. As I prayed about it, I remembered that I had ham slices from Christmas that could be the main dish. I also had ham stock that would enable me to make a gravy for the meat. There were homemade loaves of French Bread and also a whole Fudge Pie that I’d made a week before just waiting to be used. I took those things out of the freezer on Saturday. My fridge provided a bag of lettuce, fresh strawberries and Goat cheese. My pantry had a can of Cranberry Sauce for our favorite salad dressing! I whipped that up and set the table on Saturday afternoon. Then I could feed six with very little effort, simply because of these three principles – Forethought, Using what I had, and Making good use of leftovers!

So…What’s for dinner???