Cooking Dinner: Save Time and Money!

• Preparing meals in the crock pot is my favorite way of cooking because it's such a time-saver! I simply prepare the meal and toss it in the crock pot. I go about doing my other chores, stirring occasionally, and an hour or two later, dinner is finished! My family gets a healthy meal, and I get to finish my work for the day.

• When making a crock pot meal, prepare enough for two meals, and freeze one in a freezer bag. On your next carpooling day, soccer practice day, work-late-at-the-office day, etc. just let the meal thaw in the freezer bag in your crock pot while you're gone. One hour before you're ready for dinner, empty the bag into your crock pot on high and you've got a fast, healthy meal.

• Meat is one of the most expensive and time-consuming parts of cooking dinner. Think of meatless meals you can make to save money, and make a healthier dinner for your family. Italian dishes, soups, and sandwiches can all be made without meat for a great-tasting cuisine that your family will love. If you have a carnivore in the family who just has to have meat, try using a seasoning to replace the meat, such as 'garlic & herb', 'chicken', 'mesquite', or another seasoning that can be found on the spice isle in your local grocery store. If the flavor of meat is there, your favorite carnivore just might like it as much as the real thing!

• Make lasagna for dinner one night. You'll have plenty of leftovers for lunch the next day, or you can freeze some for dinner the following week. You'll save energy from your stove by not having to cook it again next week. Just warm it up in the microwave. Try chopping up your family's favorite veggie and putting it in the lasagna. It doesn't change the flavor much, and you get everyone to eat their vegetable serving. Plus, you can make this meal a meatless one...my family loves it!

• Anytime you cook something in the oven, line your pans with aluminum foil. It makes cleaning up so much easier, and you don't have to use oil or a spray to keep food from sticking to the pan; this will also cut down on calories in the meal.

• Save leftovers! Even though your beloved Spike will love you for throwing him that extra hamburger, you can turn those leftovers into another meal! When cooking, plan on having leftovers. Make enough hamburgers to have two left over. Cut up those burgers to use in spaghetti with meat sauce the next night. Cook a small, whole chicken or turkey in your crock pot, and pick the meat off the bones to use in chicken & dumplings or turkey pot pie for the next night. You can purchase a small bird at your local grocery store for $3 to $5 (less if you catch a sale!) and it feeds your family for two nights!

Here's to happy, time-saving, healthy cooking!