Economy of Time

Lately my mind and activities have been all awhirl with one theme - budget, budget, budget. Money, money, money. I fed my family for two weeks on what was in the pantry already plus a whopping $11.84 worth of white gold, aka: milk. In thinking about running my household effectively and efficiently I have also realized the importance of running it well. You know, with the ability to partake in life's finer pleasures while still being on a budget. I just hate the word "frugal." To me it connotes cheap polyester knits stretched over hips too big from eating too many tator tots and corn dogs. No, I don't want any part of cheap eating and yet I am on a tight budget. The solution has been to prepare a lot of simple but delicious meals and bake a lot of bread. Cooking from scratch is so much more affordable than buying anything prepared and a ton more nutritious, delicious and safe. Safe, as in, no preservatives, no fillers, no chemicals.

Cooking from scratch is so efficient and delicious it makes one wonder why doesn't everyone cook? Time is an answer. But a false one, I think, because really, with proper planning and preparation cooking wonderful meals from scratch can be done with economy of time, that precious commodity. A girl could write a whole book on the topic - and maybe I will - but in the meantime, my simple advice is - just think forward. Like with the awesome and amazing budget spreadsheet where you do not spend a dime without seeing its impact over the rest of the year, don't cook anything without thinking about the next week's menu. And a week is a lot easier to get your arms around than the whole year.

So, what am I talking about, exactly? Here is an example of what I mean - You're making mashed potatoes for dinner - boil an extra 4 or 5 potatoes and stick them in the fridge. Tomorrow morning for breakfast fry them up, throw in your leftover veggies and a pat of butter and there - wholesome homefries for breakfast. Your family will be dazzled. Or, make a light potato salad for lunch - the cooking is done already so you can have fresh food in a matter of minutes. Another example - Toss a whole chicken in the oven for dinner. Serve the breasts for dinner tonight, pick the dark meat for chicken quesadilla lunch tomorrow and then boil the carcass with some onion, carrot, celery and turnip for stock. The stock is great to keep around for almost every recipe, or just turn it into soup. You are in the kitchen anyway, pre-cook for multiple meals. Everyone is eating healthy food, you are saving money and you've got the time to sit and read this post, or clean something, or play dinosaurs with your kids. See? Economy of time.