For my entire life, we’ve had a nice dinner on New Years Day. But for some reason, no one took responsibility for it this year. Bizarre. So I sprung into action at 11 a.m. for the 4 p.m. dinner. First, came the menu – clam stuffed mushrooms, a fruit platter, my amazing Ginger Soy London Broil, mashed potatoes, sauteed spinach, a lentil dish, green beans with brown butter, and hummus for dipping carrots. That seemed like the perfect quick and easy menu for this meal (and I will tell you more about some of the sides at a later date) and it would have been if Paige wasn’t in a HOLD ME NOW! kind of mood. Nonetheless, I was able to prep everything and have it all really for the quick cook when my family arrived. I did have to scrap the clam mushrooms though, but only because my fungus was growing mold. Eww. And I just bought them too!

The funny thing was that Virtual Frolic left me a comment in the past day or two about my time management skills and that was all I could think about as I cleaned the house and prepped the food. Do I have great time management skills? I don’t think so, but I do seem to get everything done. Perhaps it’s time to start taking stock of when I do things and how I fit everything in . . . her suggestion of writing about time management could just be my next big project. (Maybe it will help me too.)

Anyway, the dinner went off without a hitch.

Now, the secret to the quick marinade of this London Broil is to cut slits into the beef so that the marinade really permeates the meat. I like to cut the slits on both sides of the meat too. It also makes it super tender when you go to slice it later.

Ginger Soy London Broil
serves 4

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1-1 1/2 lb London broil

In a sturdy, medium sized bowl, whisk together soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, honey, olive oil and ginger until well combined.

Cut slits across the London broil – 4-5 of them – to let the marinade really soak in and then put the meat into a sealable bag and pour in soy mixture. Seal the bag and let sit for 1-2 hours, turning once halfway through.

To cook:

Method 1 – On a George Foreman Grill

Preheat the grill on medium. Remove London broil from the bag and discard marinade. Place London broil on the grill and cook for 6-7 minutes to desired doneness. Slice thinly, against the grain, and serve immediately.

Method 2 – In the Broiler

Remove the London broil from the bag and discard marinade. Place on a broiler pan and into the oven. Set broiler to high and cook for 8-10 minutes, to desired doneness. Slice thinly, against the grain, and serve immediately

How?

Chop ingredients like onions, carrots, peppers and potatoes or mince garlic over the weekend. Then use your FoodSaver to seal the bag. Store it in your fridge until you are ready to use it.

Think of all the prep time that will save!

Are you familiar with the Hudson River? If so, you might be interested in this piece about people who persist in fishing and eating fish from there…Definately not my bag.

For those trying to shed some pounds, this piece might be interesting to you on different online services devoted to help you do that through meal planning. If you are still interesting in knowing more about meal planning, this article will help too.

Hope you are having a splendid afternoon!

Are you familiar with the Hudson River? If so, you might be interested in this piece about people who persist in fishing and eating fish from there…Definately not my bag.

For those trying to shed some pounds, this piece might be interesting to you on different online services devoted to help you do that through meal planning. If you are still interesting in knowing more about meal planning, this article will help too.

Hope you are having a splendid afternoon!

Well apparently it is. I was leafing through the local weekly today and discovered two ads for local companies that provide this service. You choose however many dishes you want to prepare, register for the session (there are several daily) and then they have all the ingrediants chopped and ready to go. They instruct you on how to put the meals together and provide storage containers as well as directions for cooking. And best of all, they do all the cleanup.

And you know what? It’s not that expensive either -

The two services in my area both charge roughly $210 for 12 meals that will serve 4-6. Considering how much time I spend on meal preparation and how much I currently spend on groceries for dinner alone, I would say it’s worth it in some instances.

These are the two services I located in my area:

My Second Kitchen
Dream Dinners

Well apparently it is. I was leafing through the local weekly today and discovered two ads for local companies that provide this service. You choose however many dishes you want to prepare, register for the session (there are several daily) and then they have all the ingrediants chopped and ready to go. They instruct you on how to put the meals together and provide storage containers as well as directions for cooking. And best of all, they do all the cleanup.

And you know what? It’s not that expensive either -

The two services in my area both charge roughly $210 for 12 meals that will serve 4-6. Considering how much time I spend on meal preparation and how much I currently spend on groceries for dinner alone, I would say it’s worth it in some instances.

These are the two services I located in my area:

My Second Kitchen
Dream Dinners

So, I am currently choosing main dishes and side dishes for next week. I am also considering which days I eat at home and for which meals. It’s time to cut out the excess and only buy the things we are really going to use.

How do you meal plan? Simply write out a menu for each day – breakfast, lunch and dinner, if you eat all those meals at home. Try to make certain elements work in different situations – carrot sticks with lunch, glazed carrots for a dinner side dish, carrot slices on a salad. This way you have less to buy and are more likely to use everything, rather than leaving rotting half-used veggies in your crisper drawer.

From that point, you simply assess the contents of your freezer and fridge and make a list of those things you need to buy. Don’t forget a few drinks and snacks to round things out too.

I noticed last weekend while grocery shopping that a woman had a binder with recipes for the week in it, which she referred to every so often when choosing an item. Though cumbersome, this is a really good idea if you tend to be a bit forgetful when shopping like I am. If you know why you need that lemon, then you are more likely to get it.