Motivation Monday - Menu Planning and Freezer Meals

I know I was supposed to be concentrating on the One a Day Challenge this past week and ready to share results this week, but it was a fail for me this week. If you have continued your decluttering please link your posts on the sidebar or tell about your accomplishments in the comment section.

I have a feeling with the holidays coming thing will just continue to get busier, my projects will have to be pushed aside. During these busy times I'd like to remind you just how important menu planning is and how much easier it can make our lives. It saves time, money and so much effort on a daily basis!

I haven't been doing menu plans for the last couple of weeks - what a disaster! I thought I could do it all mentally and know what I was doing from day to day, but most days I'd either stand in front of the fridge wondering what I could pull together or picking something up on the way home. Not good. Needless to say we haven't had the healthiest meals lately either.

This weekend I decided to get back to menu planning. I kind of fell back into it after needing to come up with some premade homemade meals for the freezer for a friend at work who is going to have surgery over our Thanksgiving break, and also for another friend, who when asked what he wanted me to make him for his birthday responded that he would love some homemade freezer meals. I guess that really is a nice gift for the single guys who don't cook for themselves!

                                                                   Source: joelens.blogspot.com via Martha on Pinterest

Yesterday I was making egg casserole for brunch, my family loves it and it's easy. Instead of making one, I made four - one for brunch, one cut into single serve pieces for the freezer for the boys during the week, and one for both friends all cut into single serve for the freezer - that's 12 breakfast servings for each friend!

Later I browned 12 pounds of ground beef with taco seasonings (at Sam's Club we get ground beef marked 50% off 6 pound packs by shopping later in the evening). We had tacos and burritos tonight with yellow rice and cheesy refried beans for sides. After dinner I made up two burritos each with the sides for my two friends, labeled and put right in the freezer - two meals for each of them.

Today I will use the leftover beef to make a huge pot of chili. It's quick and easy to make with the beef already cooked. My guys will have it for dinner and then I'll package up the rest to divided between my freezer and probably two servings each for my friends.

Already I have prepared meals for us for two nights, made four nights worth of meals for my friends each and have at least one freezer meal left for us.

Tomorrow is Sam's Club run day, those big plump rotisserie chickens are on the list for a few recipes this week!

Anyone have any great freezer meal recipes to add?