My parents let us live in their basement for a while until we could move into our house. After only a short time, I began to feel tired from this living situation clicking here. My husband and me were in our bedroom at the time, so I decided to vent to him. I said to my husband, “I am sick of these 4 course meals every evening!” Dinner is an hour-long affair, and I’m incapable of doing it right. I can’t wait to own our home! My husband was still looking at me while he was reading the newspaper. He didn’t even say a word. I looked at my husband and said “Don’t we agree with us?” He spoke slowly and steadily and said, “yeah. I can’t wait for me to go back to frozen pizza and chicken nuggets.” Wham. It hit me like a ton. I was looking for a reason to come back but could not find it. This is what I served every night for dinner. He was right.

When we settled in our new home, I attempted to plan our meals. I would go through our fridge and freezer every Sunday afternoon. I would go through my recipe books looking for recipes using ingredients I had on hand. I would then make a grocery checklist, checking all the cupboards twice to ensure we don’t have any. To try and save money, then I would visit at least 2 to 3 grocery stores. It was exhausting! It took all of Sunday afternoon. When I got home, it was too late to cook. We’d order pizza instead. After work, I came home to find it too late to make dinner so I made chicken nuggets. We didn’t have healthy meals. It was stressful for me and my already full life. It was my husband’s words from the time we lived with our parents that ring in my head.

I brought along some friends, and we held our first meal assembly. We made 12 meals and I have never looked back. This has been an incredible blessing for our family. I’m not sure if I prefer freezer meals for the cost savings and trips to the supermarket, or because the meal prep is so simple that either my husband or our babysitter can make the meals. Some nights, as a working Mom, I sometimes don’t arrive home until 6:30. On those nights, either I make dinner in the slow-cooker before I leave for work, or I leave instructions for the babysitter to cook the casserole or meatloaf in oven at 5:00. My husband then arrives home at 6:30 and dinner is already cooked and ready.