Tuesday’s Table: September 1–7

Cook Once, Eat More Than Once

As a busy mom, I like to plan meals that are not only healthy and cost-effective, but that also make dinner easier later in the week.

I use the phrase “planned overs.”

Instead of simply hoping we have leftovers, I intentionally cook extra ingredients while I’m already in the kitchen so I can use them for another meal. If I’m cooking chicken tonight, why not cook enough for another dinner? If I’m making homemade sauce, why not make a big batch and freeze some for later?

Cook once. Use it twice. Save time, dishes, and money.

As you follow along with my Tuesday’s Table series, you’ll see how I use planned overs throughout our monthly menu. Hopefully, you’ll find a few ideas that make your own busy schedule—and grocery budget—a little easier.

And I’ll admit something right up front: not everything we eat is made from scratch.

Life has been BUSY, and right now I simply don't have hours to spend in the kitchen every day. I've learned that there's nothing wrong with incorporating a few ready-made foods into our menu while still making most of our meal at home.

This weekend I found chicken on a huge discount at Costco, so you'll see plenty of chicken on the menu. I also found organic ground beef at Aldi for $5 a pound, so we're working that into several upcoming meals too.

Here's what we're eating this week!

Tuesday — Cheese Tortellini, Garlic Parmesan Chicken & Garlic Bread

Tonight we're having cheese tortellini with homemade sauce, garlic Parmesan chicken and garlic bread.

I'm taking a shortcut and using tortellini from Costco. I'll make our homemade family sauce to go with it, but I'll make a BIG batch. Some will be set aside and frozen for our baked ziti on September 9.

Planned over #1: Sauce for baked ziti.

I'm also making extra chicken tonight. That chicken can be refrigerated and used later in the week for nachos.

Planned over #2: Chicken for another dinner.

The chicken couldn't be easier. I cut chicken into pieces and cook it in a little butter until it begins to brown. I season it with salt, pepper and garlic powder, and sometimes add my homemade garlic herb seasoning.

When the chicken is almost finished, I sprinkle Parmesan over it and let the cheese cook onto the chicken and brown slightly.

Easy, tasty, and a great way to add extra protein to a pasta dinner.

Wednesday — Teriyaki Ground Beef & Rice

This dinner actually happened completely by accident!

Years ago, I tried making turkey burgers, but they fell apart while I was cooking them. Suddenly I had a pan full of crumbled turkey and absolutely no idea what I was going to serve for dinner.

I opened the pantry, saw a bottle of teriyaki sauce and thought, Why not?

I browned the turkey, added teriyaki sauce and served it over white rice.

It was a hit!

It has since become one of our go-to quick dinners, and now I make it with whatever ground meat I happen to have on hand. This week, I'll use some of the ground beef I found on sale.

I'll also save some of the teriyaki sauce because we're going to use it for another dinner later this month.

Planned over: Teriyaki sauce for another meal.

Thursday — BBQ Chicken & Roasted Potatoes

Thursday we're keeping things simple with BBQ chicken in the air fryer and roasted potatoes.

But while that air fryer is already running, I'm cooking EXTRA chicken.

I'll chop up what we don't need for dinner and refrigerate it for Sunday's BBQ chicken pizza.

Planned over: Tonight's BBQ chicken becomes Sunday's pizza topping.

One cooking session—two completely different dinners.

That's exactly why I love planned overs!

Friday — Hamburgers

Friday night is hamburger night.

You can absolutely buy premade hamburger patties when you need the convenience. Or, if you have a little extra time, buying ground beef and forming your own patties can save some money.

I make my own burger seasoning and mix it directly into the ground beef before forming the patties. Then I add our house seasonings while they cook.

Normally we'd grill them, but we haven't gotten a grill since moving back into a house, so this week's burgers are going in the air fryer.

Whatever works!

Saturday — Easy Nachos

I'll be gone Saturday, which means dinner needs to be something the guys can throw together quickly without much work.

Nachos it is!

We have leftover pepper chicken and rice from another meal, so they'll use those to make nachos. I've already grated the cheese, too. We don't care for pre-shredded cheese, so I buy blocks and grate our own.

Everything is ready to go, and they can assemble dinner themselves.

This is another reason I love looking ahead when I'm cooking. A little extra work on one day can make a busy day SO much easier.

Sunday — Make-Your-Own Pizza Night

Sunday is one of my favorite ways to clean out the refrigerator:

Make-your-own pizza night!

I make a big batch of homemade pizza dough, put out the toppings, and everyone is on their own.

I'll use the extra BBQ chicken from Thursday along with some BBQ sauce to make BBQ chicken pizza. We can also pull out any extra meat, cheese or vegetables left from the week and turn those into pizza toppings.

It's fun, everyone gets what they like, and food that might otherwise sit forgotten in the refrigerator gets eaten.

And really...who doesn't like pizza?

Monday — Sausage & Pasta Casserole

For whatever reason, Mondays are hard for me.

Maybe it's coming off busy weekends filled with weddings, gigs and all the things, but by Monday evening I usually do NOT want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen.

So Monday dinners tend to be quick one-pan meals or casseroles.

This week it's a simple sausage and pasta casserole.

Quick. Easy. Filling.

And I'll purposely make enough to have leftovers for lunches during the week.

This Week's Planned-Over Strategy

This week is a perfect example of how I make meal planning work harder for me.

I'm making extra homemade sauce Tuesday to use for baked ziti later. I'm cooking extra chicken so I don't have to start from scratch for another dinner. Thursday's BBQ chicken becomes Sunday's pizza. I'm saving teriyaki sauce for another meal. And Sunday's pizza helps clean out little bits of meat, cheese and other ingredients left from the week.

None of this requires complicated meal prep.

I'm simply asking myself:

“While I'm already doing this, what can I make extra for another day?”

That one little question can save time, money and energy later.

If you want any of my recipes—or have questions about how we do planned overs—let me know. My inbox is always open. :)

I'll be back next Tuesday with another week of meals, recipes and planned-over ideas.

Until then, I hope there's something yummy on your table.