Last month, I made a couple of small purchases, in an attempt to give myself an easier Sunday, each week. I've been working at making Sunday a truly restful day for me. For lunches, I set out leftovers or a jar of peanut butter and loaf of bread, and everyone helps themselves. But I was still left with making Sunday dinner.
So, in February, trying to simplify dinner prep, twice I bought flour tortillas from Dollar Tree, for making bean burritos. Now these only cost a dollar a package, so no big deal, right? But for this month, at least, as I try to cut my spending to catch up on our budget, I had to make the decision to *not* buy any convenience items, like those flour tortillas.
I have a new plan for Sunday dinners, for the month of March -- making something during the week to heat for Sunday supper. This past week, that was pizza. I made 4 large pizzas during the week, and froze the leftovers. On Sunday, all I needed to do was make carrot sticks, a dip, some dried fruit, and reheat a pizza. For a dip, I made a quickie marinara sauce in the microwave, with tomato paste, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, oil, water, basil and oregano. Both the carrot sticks and the pizza could be dipped in the marinara.
Cooking ahead is not a new idea. However, it's an idea that I'm dedicating to my Sunday dinner prep for the month. This should save us $4 in extra grocery purchases (by not buying those packages o tortillas) for the month of March.
This is not a "forever" plan. But it's helpful in a pinch. If I remind myself that a change from routine is short term, it easier to carry out. In April, once the budget is back on track, I may return to buying packaged tortillas to keep my Sunday supper work to a minimum.
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