So I am not actually planning any meals this week.  We have some family in town and my days/evenings will be consumed by them.  But in a good way.

So I thought I would share something else useful with you.

I love sandwiches. Love them.  Eat them a lot, probably would every day if I could.  Apparently I have passed this on to Ian, along with some family OCD.  On his first day of school I made him a ham and cheese sandwich.  Now I have to make him one everyday he goes to school, luckily he only goes three days a week.

I tried to switch it up and make it on a tortilla, or give him other things for lunch.  Nope.  Always a sandwich, preferably ham and cheese.  Even though he likes other kinds of sandwiches.  We have had a discussion about it.  He has rules for me to follow.

I thought I was pretty smart when I would buy a pound of deli meat and then freeze half of it.  Or sometimes I would buy more than one pound, if it was on sale.

Let’s be honest.  Making sandwiches everyday is a lot of work.  So I would never go through a half pound, let alone a pound of deli meat before it went bad.  Lots of waste with that.  (even though I love sandwiches)

When I would freeze some, I would have to remember to take it out to defrost on Sunday.  Not always possible.  If I didn’t take it out on Sunday night, I wouldn’t take it out that week and would end up buying more deli meat.

There was the logic for that.  I most likely wouldn’t eat it on the weekend, but I might get through most of it by Friday.  So if it wasn’t defrosted by Monday morning, it would just be a waste.

Even with all these problems, I still always did it this way.  Buy a pound of ham, freeze half, leave in freezer while buying more ham…

Till one day.  I didn’t have any normal sized zip lock bags.  I only had the small snack size.  But I had to freeze the deli meat.  Like right then.

So I put three pieces of ham in each bag, which happens to be the perfect amount to make Ian sandwiches all week.  Or enough for one adult sandwich.

I realized I could buy a pound of ham, spend five minutes putting it in to many snack sized bags and freezing them.  I could pull out one bag for a week of Ian’s lunches and if I wanted a sandwich, I could grab another.  It takes way less time to defrost three pieces of ham then half a pound.  If I didn’t use it all then I was only throwing away one piece of ham.  Way less waste.  And the pound lasted longer, so I am only buying about a pound a month.

OK.  I know, seems like common knowledge but I was pretty excited about my idea so I thought I would share it with you.

It’s ok, you don’t have to use the word genius, even though I know you will *wink, wink*

Menu Plan 12/09-12/15

Mon: Dinner @ mom’s

Tue: Dinner @ sister’s

Wed:not sure

Thr: Dinner @ mom’s

Fri: Dinner with hubby 

Sat: Kitchen is Closed

Sun: Gingerbread House Day!!!

Happy Cooking

Need something to help plan your meals?  I use the Plan to Eat online meal planner.  Try it free for 30 days

Find more recipes at I’m an Organizing Junkie