We lived in the basement at my parents house for a few more months before moving into our own home myprep. I was getting tired of this living situation after only a few months. I had to vent to my husband one night as we were sleeping in our bedroom. I said that I was sick of eating four courses every night. Dinner is a two hour affair and I cannot do it right. I can’t wait until we have our home! He had his head in the paper and looked at me. He didn’t say a single word. I looked at him and shouted, “Don’t you agree? He spoke slowly but steadily and said “Yeah, it’s okay, I can wait to get back to chicken nuggets or frozen pizza.” Wham. It hit me like an explosion. I tried to think of a way to make it back, but nothing came up. It was what I served as dinner every night. He was right.

After we moved in, I started planning dinners for our family. I used Sunday afternoons to go through my freezer and cabinets. I would search through my recipes looking for recipes that use ingredients that were already in the house. I would then create a grocery shopping list. I double checked the cupboards and crossed out any ingredients that were not needed. In an effort to save money, I would go to at most 2 or 3 grocery stores. It was exhausting! It took my whole Sunday afternoon. By the time I got home, I was too exhausted to cook. So we would usually order pizza. When I returned from work on Monday, it was too late for dinner so we ordered chicken nuggets. (This was my version). It was an endless cycle that resulted in us not being able to eat healthy meals. This added stress to our already stressful lives. I still remember my husband’s comment about when we lived with my parents.

I invited some friends to my first meal assembly. We cooked 12 meals together and I’ve never stopped making them. It has been such a blessing to our family. I don’t know if I like freezer meals because they save money or because my husband or babysitter can prepare the meals. Working Mom, sometimes I arrive home at 6:30 p.m. On those nights, I either prepare a meal in my slow cooker or I give instructions to the babysitter for her to bake the meatloaf or casserole in the oven. Dinner is ready when my husband gets home at 6:15 pm.