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eat well on a budget with easy recipes from Jessica Fisher

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meal planning 101

7 Great Meals That Start with Leftovers

Jessica Fisher · February 24, 2020 · 20 Comments

pan of fried rice with potstickers and saucespan of fried rice with potstickers and sauces

Got leftovers? Don’t just want to reheat them? Try one of these recipes for leftovers that will have you wishing you made too much food last night. It happens to all of us. We overestimate how much food to cook. Someone doesn’t show up for dinner. Or appetites aren’t what you expected. The end result? […]

Filed Under: Main Dishes Tagged With: leftovers, meal planning 101

4 Ways You Can Find More Time to Cook

Jessica Fisher · February 1, 2020 · 64 Comments

Cheesy Potatoes green beans and dinner plate with fishCheesy Potatoes green beans and dinner plate with fish

Are you always “too busy” to cook? Here’s how you can be more efficient in the kitchen and find more time to cook. You may love to cook. (Sometimes?) You may love to eat. (Who doesn’t?) And you may love to spend time with family, pursue hobbies and interests, and work, of course, so you can […]

Filed Under: Good Stuff, Kitchen Tips Tagged With: meal planning 101

The Easy Meals You Need to Make When There’s “Nothing” to Eat

Jessica Fisher · June 17, 2019 · 69 Comments

A bowl of chili on a tableA bowl of chili on a table

Don’t know what to make for dinner? Sometimes it can seem like there’s “nothing” to eat. Nothing easy jumps out at you. This list of easy meals will change how you eat on those nights. It’s happened to all of us. You return home famished after a hard day full of grumbling coworkers, whiny children, […]

Filed Under: Meal Planning Tagged With: 30-minute meals, leftovers, meal planning 101

What’s Your Meal Planning Personality?

Jessica Fisher · May 3, 2019 · 10 Comments

collage of colorful cupcakescollage of colorful cupcakes

Fascinated by personality tests and understanding yourself a little more? Take our Meal Planning Personality quiz to learn what works best for you! Have you ever wondered why one meal planning system works really well for someone else but it’s a total fail for you? Do you feel like there’s no way that you will […]

Filed Under: Meal Planning Tagged With: meal planning 101

Is it time to makeover your meal planning?

Jessica Fisher · May 1, 2019 · Leave a Comment

meal plan makeover covermeal plan makeover cover

Stop spinning your wheels over meal planning! Take charge so that you can save both time and money. Do you ever find yourself staring into an open fridge wondering what to make for dinner? Have you ever dumped more than a few “science projects” when you accidentally let food go to waste? Do you feel like […]

Filed Under: Meal Planning Tagged With: meal planning 101

How to Plan Meals Quickly & Easily

Jessica Fisher · April 21, 2019 · 10 Comments

printable meal planning worksheetprintable meal planning worksheet

Sure you’ve heard about meal planning. Everyone says it will help you. But, how do you do it? And more importantly, how do you plan meals quickly and easily? Pictured: FREE Printable Meal Planner to Get You Organized Word on the street is that if you have a kitchen or a family or simply like to […]

Filed Under: Meal Planning Tagged With: easy meals, meal planning 101

How to Stick to Your Meal Plan

Jessica Fisher · April 21, 2019 · 23 Comments

A plate of Chicken and SaladA plate of Chicken and Salad

So, you’ve got your fancy meal plan of carefully chosen and paired recipes. Either you or a meal planning service put time and energy into said plan. So, do you know how to stick to your meal plan? Recipe: Santa Fe Salad Staring into the fridge, wondering what to make for supper? But, I thought you […]

Filed Under: Kitchen Tips, Meal Planning Tagged With: meal planning 101

How to Meal Plan on a Budget

Jessica Fisher · October 14, 2018 · 19 Comments

canned goods on shelfcanned goods on shelf

Meal planning is simply the process of choosing which meals to prepare in the coming days. Learn how to meal plan on a budget so that you can save money and waste less food while eating well! Poorman’s Chicken Caesar Salad Eating good food, both nutritious and tasty, doesn’t require an unlimited grocery budget. Some of […]

Filed Under: Budget Meals, Meal Planning Tagged With: meal planning 101

Cooking for a Small Family

Jessica Fisher · March 15, 2014 · 8 Comments

Meal planning can be tricky when you’re cooking for a small group. Here are some tips for making your intimate dinners easier and more economical. I regularly cook for a small army. With eight mouths to feed and a milk ration exceeding one gallon a day, you can imagine that I know the meaning of […]

Filed Under: Meal Planning Tagged With: meal planning 101

Planning Meals to Match the Grocery Sales

Jessica Fisher · March 1, 2014 · 13 Comments

We’re all looking for ways to trim the budget. Meal planning and working around sales are great ways to save money. Food keeps us alive. Cheap meals keep us solvent. Good cheap eats keep us happy. And really, that is the order of the day. We don’t need great food to live, but it sure […]

Filed Under: Meal Planning Tagged With: meal planning 101

How to Add Variety to Your Meal Planning

Jessica Fisher · February 22, 2014 · 13 Comments

Tired of the same old, same old? Try these easy and economical tips for spicing up your meals. Meal planning can be a joy or a chore. Everybody plans meals; it’s just a difference of doing it a week in advance at your kitchen table or five minutes before you pull up to the drive […]

Filed Under: Meal Planning Tagged With: meal planning 101

Meal Planning for Picky Eaters

Jessica Fisher · February 8, 2014 · 8 Comments

 Sweet and Sour Pulled Chicken Sandwiches One of the biggest challenges to meal planning is when your food preferences don’t match those of the people you cook for. My husband says that I like frouffy food. That apparently isn’t his favorite. When we got married, I had to completely rework my meal planning. The new […]

Filed Under: Meal Planning Tagged With: meal planning 101

6 More Easy Meals to Make When There’s “Nothing” to Eat

Jessica Fisher · August 10, 2013 · 17 Comments

Here are 6 ideas to get you cooking when there’s “nothing” to eat. They call for simple pantry ingredients that are easy on the budget. Last year, I shared my list of stand-by meals to turn to when Plan A fails. Oh, Plan A fails a lot around here. I get distracted. I forget to […]

Filed Under: Meal Planning Tagged With: meal planning 101

How to Choose Recipes for Freezer Cooking

Jessica Fisher · August 3, 2013 · 16 Comments

Green Salsa Chicken

We are going to fill the freezer this next week or two. I am coming up against some heavy duty deadlines in Cookbook Hell, I mean in Happy Cookbook Land. That means that there are some days this month when I’ll be cooking like a fiend, making sure that the final tweaks are just right […]

Filed Under: Freezer Cooking Tagged With: meal planning 101

How to Meal Plan for a Whole Month

Jessica Fisher · November 3, 2012 · 35 Comments

monthly meal planning calendar with pens and cookbooksmonthly meal planning calendar with pens and cookbooks

Make your month a little easier by planning all your meals at one time. You can easily meal plan for a whole month and save time and money in the process. Burning Love Mashed Potatoes I know what you’re thinking…. Meal plan for a whole month? What, are you crazy? I can’t plan two days, […]

Filed Under: Meal Planning Tagged With: meal planning 101

Meal Planning 101: Make a Two-Week Rotation

Jessica Fisher · October 13, 2012 · 10 Comments

roast chicken on a white platterroast chicken on a white platter

Make a two week meal plan and rotate it to make meal planning easier. One of the things that I’m learning about myself and cooking is that there are several factors that keep my interest in the cooking and meal planning that comes with every day life. Those would include: My children actually eating what […]

Filed Under: Meal Planning Tagged With: meal planning 101

Meal Planning 101: Create a formula for the week’s meal plan

Jessica Fisher · September 29, 2012 · 36 Comments

Create a formula for the week’s meal plan to make meal planning simple and easy. You’ll have a template to fill in each week for a quick menu plan. Meal planning is a proven means to help you improve your nutrition, increase quality family time, and save money. If you’ve got a meal on the […]

Filed Under: Meal Planning Tagged With: meal planning 101

Meal Planning 101: Ask the Eaters

Jessica Fisher · September 2, 2012 · 9 Comments

Including your family in the meal planning is a great way to ensure better dining for everyone and less waste. Meal Planning 101 is an ongoing series to help you find ways to make mealtimes easier, tastier, and more economical. As much I love takeout and letting someone else do the cooking and cleaning up, […]

Filed Under: Meal Planning Tagged With: meal planning 101

Meal Planning 101: Take Inventory

Jessica Fisher · August 26, 2012 · 21 Comments

chicken and vegetables on grillchicken and vegetables on grill

Take an inventory of the ingredients you already have to help you make a meal plan that makes good uses of your resources. There are many ways to approach meal planning. When I was a young newlywed, I just wrote a list of things that sounded good to me. When I shopped, I added to […]

Filed Under: Meal Planning Tagged With: meal planning 101

Meal Planning 101: Know Your Eating Habits

Jessica Fisher · August 19, 2012 · 12 Comments

black bean taco salads packed in boxesblack bean taco salads packed in boxes

Knowing your eating habits as well as setting goals for yourself can be a great starting point for successful meal planning. Last week, I introduced a new series here on Good Cheap Eats: Meal Planning 101. Over the next few months, I’ll be talking about different aspects of meal planning and how it can help […]

Filed Under: Meal Planning Tagged With: meal planning 101

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