I have found if I schedule some time in my week consistently for a food preparation day, my kitchen runs so much smoother and it also helps everyone make better healthier choices. This way we have healthy options available and it’s not taking forever to prepare on the day of eating.

We do a kitchen prep day once a week where we get everything cut up, baked, or cooked for the week.

• Make a jello salad
• Chop fresh veggies
• Cook corn on the cob
• Boil eggs
• Grill chicken breast
• Make Sheet Pan Pancakes
• Bake Sheet Pan Cookie Bars
• Baking Potatoes
• Make brown rice

This is a long list but I don’t do it alone. As I always say, “I’m not raising a small army for nothing”! Everyone chips in and does their part.

These tasks are divided amongst all the kiddos based on their skill level. We do buddy them up so everyone can help and they all can be trained to do it someday on their own. For example, Sam may be paired with Georgie Lou to bake potatoes. Bella has been teaching Randa and Alex how to make cookies and pancakes so that someday really soon they can lead it.

Depending on what tasks we need to accomplish that particular week, it takes us between one and two hours to get them all done. I do count this as a school project because it teaches life skills, math (fractions and measuring), and language arts (reading, spelling, and writing).

Make a jello salad

We make this delicious strawberry jello salad as a treat or snack option. We serve it with whip cream and it is so refreshing. Having an option like this ready to go helps me make good decisions. Instead of eating a cookie I will grab this.

We heat 4 cups of water in the microwave for approximately six minutes until boiling. While we are waiting for the water, we put 2 cups of sliced frozen strawberries in a 9 x 13 pan. After the water is done, one of us adults will help the child get the water out of the microwave so no one gets hurt. We dissolve 3 packets of jello in the water by whisking the mixture really fast as we pour the jello in.

Once the jello is dissolved, we pour it over the strawberries, cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or until it is set.

You can use other flavors of jello and other fruit too. Sometimes I will add blueberries, canned pineapple or a couple of sliced bananas.

Chop fresh veggies

We chop fresh veggies like onions, jalapenos, sweet mini peppers, lettuce and cucumbers by hand or in the food processor. We store the onions, peppers, and cucumbers in individual mason jars so they will stay fresh longer. Our veggies generally stay good for about a week. However, a word of caution, if you hear a “pop” when you open the jar, get rid of it. They are no longer good.

We store the chopped lettuce in a plastic Ziploc bag with a paper towel in it. This seems to absorb the moisture and help it last longer.

We can build salads or nourish bowls quickly by selecting the veggies we want from the jars we have already prepared. It is a delicious way to incorporate fresh veggies into your everyday life.

For a quick snack, I will eat a few slices of cucumbers dipped in ranch dressing. It’s ready and available so I am more inclined to choose well.

Cook corn of the cob

Something about eating corn on the cob makes me happy so I try to have some cooked and ready to reheat for a quick snack or a lunch side.

We place about 12 frozen corn cobs in the instant pot, add one cup of water and a half stick of butter. Secure the lid on the instant pot and set manual high pressure to nine minutes and let it cook.

When it is done, you can manually release the pressure by moving the knob on the top of the instant pot to vent. I usually place a kitchen towel over the top of it so the water that is being released isn’t spewing all over my kitchen walls and cabinets.

I let the corn cool and bag them up in a plastic Ziploc bag for storage in the refrigerator.

Boil Eggs

We boil about 24 eggs every week and it looks like we may have to increase that number really soon. My kiddos really like boiled eggs! We enjoy them as sides for our breakfasts or lunches, add them to our salads, or make a quick deconstructed deviled egg by topping it with a little mustard and relish. Same flavor without all the work.

Gently place the eggs into the Instant Pot and add one cup of water. Cook under manual high pressure for 9 minutes. When they are done release pressure immediately by moving the knob on top of the Instant Pot to vent. Once all of the pressure has been safely released, move the eggs into an ice bath and once they are cooled store them in the refrigerator in a bowl.

I don’t know if it just me, but I am convinced they peel much easier when they are cooked in the Instant Pot. But again, it might just be my opinion.

Grill Chicken Breast

It’s Sam’s job to grill some chicken breast for us every other week. I buy the ten-pound bag of boneless and skinless chicken breast at Sam’s Club. We brine the chicken the night before and then Sam grills it all on our Pit Boss Pellet Grill the next day.

Brining the chicken helps the chicken turn out moist and juicy. Brining is basically a saltwater bath that helps the chicken absorb the water resulting in delicious chicken.

Sam sets the temperature on our grill to 350 degrees and grills the chicken flipping it about every 3-5 minutes until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

Once it has been cooked and cooled, Rick slices it and divides it into two Ziploc plastic freezer bags. We use one bag for the week and freeze the other one for the following week.

I like to use the chicken to make a chicken wrap using a low carb tortilla, mozzarella cheese, a small amount of salad dressing and all the fresh veggies I want. Served with a side of corn on the cob and I’m very satisfied with my quick and easy lunch.

The chicken can be used in whatever you can imagine like nourish bowls, salads, sandwiches or just by itself. It is very versatile.

Make Sheet Pan Pancakes

Our kiddos love pancakes in the morning. However, making pancakes is a very time-consuming job for a large family. We bake them in a sheet pan and it is so much more efficient.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray generously with non-stick cooking spray. Mix your favorite pancake batter or use the recipe we use. Spread the batter evenly on the pan and bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.

We let them cool and cut them into squares. Bella wraps each square in plastic wrap and stores them in a Ziploc plastic freezer bag in the freezer. When they want to eat a pancake, they reheat it in the microwave and top with butter and syrup.

CrewTip: The Concept Behind My Crazy

Whenever you are cooking or baking with a cookie sheet, cover it with aluminum foil for quick clean-up. Trust me, taking a few extra minutes to cover the pan will save you tons of time soaking and scrubbing the pan.

Bake Cookie Sheet Cookie Bars

We use the recipe “Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars for a Crowd” because, well, we are a crowd.

Bella bakes these cookies about every other week because it makes a cheap treat for the kiddos. She lets them cool and then Rick, our master cookie-cutter, cuts them evenly (because you know what happens when one kid gets a bigger cookie than another kid!).

Bella does the same thing she does with the pancakes and wraps them individually in plastic wrap. She puts them all in a Ziploc plastic freezer bag and stores them in the freezer.

These cookies taste really good frozen but if you don’t like that, they thaw pretty quickly.

We use different kinds of baking chips like butterscotch, white chocolate, and peanut butter to change things up a bit. We have even mixed them with the semi-sweet chocolate chips too. My favorite is butterscotch.

Special note: I do try to plan it where we bake enough cookies and pancakes to last us for about two weeks. This way we can alternate the baking by baking cookies one week and the next week, pancakes.

Baking Potatoes

We bake about sixteen potatoes ahead of time every week. We heat the oven to 425 degrees. Wash the potatoes with a potato brush. Poke each potato at least three times with a fork so they won’t explode while cooking. Trust me, this is a mess you don’t want to have to clean up in your oven. Bake for 45-60 minutes. I test them by poking them with a knife. If they slide in easily, you are good to go.

We use these potatoes in a variety of ways but our two favorites are:

• Hashbrowns
• Stuffed Baked Potatoes

Hashbrowns

Rick has been frying potatoes, onions, sweet peppers, and mushrooms in our cast iron skillet until they are golden brown. Having the potatoes already cooked decreases the cooking time you need on the morning of serving. It also requires less oil.

After they are all caramelized and a golden-brown of yummy goodness, we fry eggs and places them on top of the hashbrown. We like the yolks of our eggs to be runny so it can run over the hashbrowns.

I don’t know if it’s because he makes this for me but this is one of my favorite breakfasts. Even Sam is requesting this from his dad.

Stuffed Baked Potatoes

For a quick lunch, I like to heat a baked potato in the microwave. I do cut it up so it will heat more quickly and evenly. I top it with whatever I have available like:

• Chili
• Cheese
• Chicken
• Taco Meat
• Broccoli
• Sour Cream
• Prairies Farms Jalapeno Fiesta Dip

Pair this with a side salad or some corn on the cob and I am a happy camper.

Make Brown Rice

This is a new addition to the kitchen prep list. A friend of mine introduced me to the concept of a nourish bowl. A nourish bowl is when you layer a starch, beans, your choice of veggies, a lean protein of your choice and a choice of salad dressing.

I’ve kind of figured out that you change the flavor profile by changing the dressing because I tend to like all the same veggies and proteins. My traditional nourish bowl consists of the following items layered and chopped together in a bowl.

• Brown Rice
• Pinto beans or chickpeas
• Cucumbers
• Sweet Peppers
• Onions
• Fresh Jalapeno
• Shredded Cabbage (I just buy the coleslaw mix from Sam’s Club. It gives a great crunch and lasts for a while.)
• Grilled Chicken Breast
• Prairie Farms Jalapeno Fiesta Dip or Sweet Vadalia Onion Salad Dressing

I layer these all in a big bowl and use kitchen shears to chop and mix it all up. It can be whatever I want it to be and I like the freedom of choice.

Just a quick tip, put small amounts of each item in. It is a lot of food! Plus all the veggies fill a person up quickly!

The Key to Success

The key to making the kitchen prep day a success is to make a plan. We usually do it around the same day every week so it becomes a bit of a routine. Otherwise, we run out of things or they go bad and lose freshness.

This is an item on my weekly to-do list that I schedule a time for. If I don’t, trust me, things feel very out of sorts because it’s very disorganized.

How to Plan a Kitchen Prep Day

• Make a list
• Get Supplies
• Give assignments
• Do the Prep

Make a List

Make a list of the things your family enjoys eating including veggies, fruit, treats, and proteins.

Get Supplies

Before you go running to the store, take inventory of things you already have and maybe need to use. Make a grocery list of the things you need to get.

Give assignments

Every kitchen prep day, I write the tasks that need to be completed on the dry erase board in our kitchen. I divide the tasks up between the kiddos based on skill level and the time required to complete the job. Beside each child’s name, I write the job they are responsible for.

Do the Prep

The last step is to simply just do it and keep doing it. It is so easy to forget or get lazy but the best thing to do is push through and get it done!

I’ve included a free PDF download to help you get started.

The first page is for you to make a list of your family’s favorite foods. This will get you started and you can brainstorm about the possibilities.

The second page is a supply list.

• Write down the item and how much you need of that particular item to prep the food.
• Check your pantry and refrigerator and cross off any of the items that you already have so that you know how much you need to get.

The third page is for the day of preparing. You list the task and the person it is assigned too. This way everyone knows what is expected of them and it will cut the chaos down a little bit.

Thanks for reading! I hope this helps! Let me know what you think!

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