Actually it is my "lack" of meal planning that causes me to do what I do -- leftovers getting moldy in the frig because you are tired of eating it and going to the freezer only to find these big bags of meat or vegetables, some of which are so freezer burned and full of ice crystals, which got tossed back in and I just got in to the car and went to McD's.

First I learned never to get more than 1 serving of leftovers in the frig at any time. Anything more got bagged, marked, and put in the freezer as a future meal. That cut down on a lot of the strange growths in the frig.

I then learned to vacuum-seal everything with a FoodSaver. Expensive, yes, but much less than the food I was wasting from freezer burn. Then I learned to take those big bags of meat pieces and vegetables and vacuum seal them too, into smaller bags since that was the size I had.

Later I realized it was very easy to prepare a meal because everything was in individual portions, meats and veggies. I just grabbed what I was in the mood for. Yup, absolute laziness in meal planning. And the vacuum sealing allowed stuff to be buried in the freezer for a year or long without any loss.

Of course then I got even lazier by precooking those chicken pieces, the ground beef, the rice, and even the oatmeal and freezing them so I could just reheat in the microwave or make a casserole without all the work.

Hi Cathy - Like CanMan my separation of single portions is more of a process of survival. Mostly it's chicken, salmon and hamburger patties. My veggies are usually from fresh produce. I can do a 6 or 8" skillet of squash, green beans, potato wedges and now even asparagus on the grill when I'm grilling the meat. Just put it on when you light the grill (gas) and start the meat 10 minutes later. Most of that will be seasoned with olive oil, onion and maybe bell pepper or something and finally sprinkle it heavy with Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy or Southwest Chipolti.

My sister in law did a seafood fry one year for their Thanksgiving. They all enjoyed it.
On the holidays I like holiday food.

Maybe it's the Italian in me but I can't cook unless it's a large meal. We do eat leftovers a lot and since we got the food saver whatever we know we won't want to eat a lot of, at least we can save it for the future. The only thing I never tire of is gravy, macaroni, meatballs, and sometimes a nice piece of pork thrown in the gravy too.

Back to the original thread question..........................

We've got a turkey w/stuffing, a ham, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, some other veggies, and maybe a lasagna planned. Who knows where or when we'll eat it because our daughter is due the 27th with our newest grandaughter.

Congratulations Rick! You may have a baby turkey that day!

I have several friends that were turkey babies.

If that is the case - you can celebrate anytime! and get a "Welcome home cake and a "0" birthday cake, etc.