Organized Cook

Last week I was privileged to receive a subscription to Organized Cook. If you aren't familiar with Organized Cook, their founder Toni Spilsbury is the hostess of the recent Twitter parties (which I love) that I've been attending about meal planning.

Candy Apple Pork Chops - on this week's menu!
Toni Spilsbury/Organized Cook

It's become clear to me that I love to save, and that I love to cook. So while I have aspirations of talking about my wardrobe and giving myself a bit of a makeover, what really compels me is cooking and saving - so Organized Cook is a good fit for me!

I'm not going to give away too many secrets (you need to sign up for Organized Cook emails to get those - but here's a preview of the Candy Apple Pork Chops I made last night!) but here are a few awesome tips I've learned this week that I wanted to share to tempt you to join me in the land of meal planning:

• With meal planning, you really CAN save money at the grocery store. I do spend a little more because I try to buy organic when I can, but if you think ahead you'll save. Simple as that.
• It's pretty easy to make something as simple as rice a little fancier by adding a few seasonings. I am not a really talented seasoner, but thanks to Toni I simply added some garlic salt and parsley to rice last night and voila - rice pilaf that had my hubby asking for seconds! (Okay - I did give away that recipe just a little...)
• I have a cupboard full of staples, like flour and corn starch and poultry seasoning... Staples are good, and there are lots of good resources (including Organized Cook, Joy of Cooking, Cooking Light, Rachel Ray and other sources I like). If you're wondering about the most common staples, turn to a trusted resource and stock up!

I've followed the recipes the recipes pretty closely this week but found a few modifications for myself already...

• Instead of traditional rice (which is surely more affordable) I have been using boil-in-bag brown rice. It cuts a ton of time and a ton of cleanup. I cut this corner with the pilaf recipe above, and it seemed okay!
• Two meat-based recipes called for browning the meat in butter AND olive oil. Followed that last night, but it was a little too rich for me. Sticking to olive oil only tonight. We'll see how it goes!
• Instead of chicken bullion (again, probably less expensive), I bought low-sodium chicken stock. So far, so good, but probably added some pennies to the bottom line!

Stay tuned for the end of the week when I will try to pull together a recap. I'm very much looking forward to tomorrow and Friday's recipes which will use the pork and chicken I've already cooked for quick, delicious meals!