Shortcuts to Cooking Healthy Meals, a Five Day Plan

Are you looking for shortcuts for cooking during the week? You come home tired worn out and the last thing you want to do is make a home cooked meal. You need to save money and don't like eating fast food all the time. This is one way that has helped me to save time, money and a lot of preparation. I get tired of thinking about what to cook for dinner and having to make it. My husband is not one to do cooking unless it is grilling. In Indiana our weather is not conducive to cooking outdoors all year around.

First take an hour to chop up about four or five onions. If you don't like onions, or if you like your meals milder, you can used the dried diced onions. You have just saved yourself a step. If you choose to use regular onions, chop them up fine, I use a Pampered Chef chopper. It gets the vegetables as fine as you want them. If you hate chopping onions, but a piece of bread in your mouth and it keeps your eyes from tearing when you cut up your onions.

Put them in a freezer bag and either refrigerate or freeze them after getting as much moisture out of them as you can. You can drain them or just let them sit and blot with paper towel so they don't all freeze in a hunk together. Do the same with a green pepper. You can have chopped up celery and mushrooms on hand too if you like them. You can also buy them already frozen and chopped. When they are on sale this is even less work and a great bargain.

I also have a Pampered Chef garlic press. I love it and use it nearly daily. You can buy garlic already chopped but I don't like the idea of all the preservatives. It just takes a minute to press a clove of garlic.

Fresh made store bought tortillas, corn and flour are excellent to have on hand and rolls if you are not a Mexican food fan. With canned refried beans you are never short of a ways to make a quick meal.