In the Bag

It's Saturday afternoon, you're headed for the grocery store with the usual weekly dilemma--how to plan a week in advance for a family of 3-5? Without fail, when I do a week's worth of shopping in one day I always manage to forget the one crucial item that prevents me from making several of the fabulous--or dismal--meals I had planned in my head.

Luckily I have discovered an alternative solution. When I am pressed for planning time, feeling less than creative, or just don't want to bother making my own grocery list, I rely on Kraft 1 Bag 5 Dinners. Visit Kraft's website and you'll find there are many options, so you won't be rotating the same 5 meals each week.

It's as simple as click and print. Choose an appetizing week, and they all are, and print the list with recipes. Before you go to the store, make sure you're not already stocked up--many of the ingredients tend to be handy to have around anyway. Then head for the store and pick up what you don't have...done!

Last week I did the Chicken & Seafood Bag: Monday was Delicious Broccoli-Cheddar Chicken Bundles; Tuesday we ate Cheesy Shrimp and Rice; for Wednesday we had Toasted Tuna Melts; Thursday was Creamy Chicken Pasta Toss; Friday they always suggest an easy open and your done meal, like Mac & Cheese or a frozen pizza--which I agree with!

The lists are always short and affordable. My shopping list was composed of 15 items, several of which I already had--like Miracle Whip--others were familiar reliable products I have trusted for years--like Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Kraft Shredded Cheddar Cheese, Oscar Meyer Bacon and Shake'n Bake--and the rest of the list included produce, to keep my family healthy and eating right.

Sometimes when I am feeling a little more creative--but not entirely--I'll mix and match meals or search Kraft's site for different ideas. Doing this I have found lunch and breakfast ideas too! I have found recipes for breakfast burritos, breakfast sandwiches and ideas for ways to make boring old pancakes exciting--like the Dutch Boy Pancake recipe I made last Sunday, it's an oven-baked pancake topped with fruit and cream cheese sauce!

Kraft Foods makes my week so much easier by removing the stress of planning for what I will make a week ahead. Their ideas are healthy and affordable--plus, when I go to their store page at ShopAtHome.com I get extra savings with Kraft coupons for most of my grocery list!

Submitted by Ann Marie from ShopAtHome.com