Eat at Home

Everyday Food for Busy People

cooking tips

Make Your Slow Cooker Programmable for just $4!

by 11 Comments

This little tip was mentioned by Loretta, one of my readers.

You can use a timer (the kind you use for Christmas trees, lamps, etc.  Find them in the hardware section.) to set your slow cooker.  It isn’t quite as good as a programmable slow cooker, but it is very close.

And it’s perfect for slow cooked oatmeal.  I set it to start about 3am and at 7am breakfast was ready, without being overcooked.

Another cool tip, mentioned by a reader (I can’t remember who!) – Walmart now has Rival 2 quart slow cookers on sale for just $4!  I bought one, especially for fixing oatmeal.  It’s a fantastic price.  The same thing on Amazon costs $20 or more.

Happy cooking!

Drive. Play. Feed. Sports Season Suppers – 15 Minute Meals

by Leave a Comment

Judging from the comments, this is a series that hits close to home for many of you.  Juggling kids, activities and dinner can be difficult.  But it can also be done, with a bit of planning.

So far, we’ve covered packing meals, grocery store meals that can be put together in a quick buzz through the store, and rockin’ the slow cooker.

Today, we’re talking super-quick meals you can cook in just minutes.

Gather Your Go-To Meals

We all have meals we can make quickly.  You know the kind.  Your family likes it and you can make it with your eyes closed.

Make a list of those meals.  Post it in a visible place, like the inside of your pantry door.  That way, when you come in with hungry, frazzled kids you know exactly what you can fix.  Minimal thinking required.

Be sure to keep all the ingredients on hand for those meals.  If you know you’ve got the makings of a 15 minute meal at home, it will be much easier to drive right past the fast-food places.

Having a plan saves you money!

One spin through a fast-food restaurant sets my family back at least $20, often a bit more.  And that’s with sharing fries and only ordering water to drink.  I can make dinner at home for less than half of that and often have enough leftover for lunch the next day.

Once a week = $80 per month = $960 per year!

Twice a week = $160 per month = $1920 per year!

Have you been trying to save for a big ticket item?  Are you eating your vacation/new furniture/debt reduction little by little each month?

My fastest meals can be found in my ebook, Feast in 15.

Meals like Garlic Lime Shrimp and Italian Nachos are fast to fix, but taste like you spent lots of time cooking.

Much better and cheaper than drive-thru.

Want to save a little bit more?  Use the code DrivePlayFeed for a 20% off discount, bringing the price to just $3.99!

 

Drive. Play. Feed. Sports Season Suppers – Rock the Slow Cooker

by 14 Comments

Whoever invented the slow cooker should be held in high esteem, right up there with the inventor of the Ziploc bag.

You can make your slow cooker work even harder for you by choosing the perfect recipe to coordinate with your day.  What do I mean by that?

Well, some days you may only have 5 minutes to throw food into the slow cooker.

Some days, you need the recipe to cook all day long.  Not every meal will hold up to that.

And some days, not only will you not be home to cook dinner, but some members of the family will need to eat before you get home.  I’ve found on nights when Jim or the older kids are going to have to fix it themselves, it needs to be ready to go.  No veggies or rice or pasta to cook to go with it.  It’s got to be simple and done.

With all of that in mind, here’s a list of meals to fit each category.  If you want to check out all the slow cooker meals on my site, click the recipe box at the top of the page.

5-10 Minute Prep  [Read more…] about Drive. Play. Feed. Sports Season Suppers – Rock the Slow Cooker

Drive. Play. Feed. Sports Season Suppers – Grocery Store Meals

by 5 Comments

Last week, we talked about packing food to eat on the sidelines.  Or in the car.  Whatever works, right?

But there are times when packing just isn’t going to happen.  When you didn’t make a plan, didn’t have time to think about it, forgot to look at the calendar (please tell me I’m not the only one!).

You still have to eat, but it doesn’t have to be drive-thru.  Here are some grocery store meal ideas.  Print this list and keep it in your purse or glove box of your car.  It will only take a couple minutes to run into the store and grab dinner.

Don’t miss the tips below that will help this plan run smoothly.  With most of these meal ideas, you will have leftovers that you can take home and eat later. [Read more…] about Drive. Play. Feed. Sports Season Suppers – Grocery Store Meals

Drive. Play. Feed. Sports Season Suppers – Pack it!

by 16 Comments

It’s that time of year!  Fall sports schedules, combined with school starting can lead to lots of drive-thru dinners (and an empty wallet) if you’re not careful.

In my family, the sport of choice is soccer.  We often find ourselves on the sidelines, watching a game during the dinner hour.

And even if it’s not game time, practices usually run at dinner time.  It’s hard to cook when you’re not home to do it.  But with a plan, it is possible to get everyone fed without resorting to the drive-thru.

That’s where this new series comes in.  Tuesdays in August, you’ll find lots of ideas and tips on dealing with dinner, when you’re in the car, on the sidelines or coming home late after a long day.

Here’s the series schedule:

  • August 9 – Pack it!
  • August 16 – Grocery Store Meals
  • August 23 – Rock the Slow Cooker!
  • August 30 – 15 Minute Meals

Pack It!   [Read more…] about Drive. Play. Feed. Sports Season Suppers – Pack it!