Yes, I do the same. Prepackaged mixes are so convenient, and cost a fraction of what you find at the grocery store. I write the wet ingredients and baking times right on the bag with a sharpie, so I don't have to look up the recipe again.

I like to measure bread mixes for the bread machine, muffins or cakes, marinades, dressing, spice mixes for tacos, soup and anything I may have planned for around the next two weeks. I've noticed in the past that if I plan any farther ahead than that, sometimes my plans change! Also, I don't want to overwhelm my storage space or the amount of energy I May Not Have for what I've planned, so this works for me. It's a great planning tool for that time of day I don't always have the energy to ''start'' dinner, and I can use that part of the day for most of the prep when my energy is best. I also do something similar by cleaning and pre-prepping all my veggies for the week. What I noticed is when I starting doing that, we were eating better, more nutritious food, and I quit finding moldy, rotted remnants of things I couldn't identify in my fridge. Of course in order to do that, I have to make a plan. (Some days are better than others regarding planning!)

I'm also good about making a double batch of dinners and freezing them for ''home-made take-out''. Right now, my freezer has cooked and shredded pork, chicken and turkey, chili sauce, spaghetti sauce, home-made egg noodles, jars of home-made soup, and a couple of rice and vegetable casseroles, sliced and prepackaged garlic bread, in addition to the things I plan to make.

I have a list of things I'm planning to make for the next six weeks, and am working from my freezer inventory. If I don't do that, I forget what I have.

I think smart planning is my best ''secret''. Not to mention that we eat much better too!

Haven't done that - but thank you for the idea!

I do cook a bunch anytime I cook - enough to get at least a couple of extra meals. Should have thought about doing this for some things as well. Just never thought of it for baking before.

I've thought of premixing dry mixes for baking, but I fear I'd run into a storage problem.

I do often cook extra to freeze for quick dinners. Most recently I found ricotta for a steal, so I bought several containers and made lasagna rollups with swiss chard. I froze those in packages of two, and they can be easily warmed up for a quick meal.

I am terrible at meal planning. I grocery shop once a week, with good intentions for the week ahead. But then things happen, and we end up making sandwiches because some nights just get too busy. The next thing you know, I'm throwing out vegetables that haven't been touched. I have wasted so much rapini in the past few months, that last week when we were unpacking groceries, DH took the rapini out of the grocery bag and asked, "Should I just throw this out now?"

And the problem I have with freezing things? I always think, "I'm saving that for a rainy day..." but the rainy day never comes. And then I find things at the back of the freezer that have been damaged, or are starting to get freezer burn. So, I'm slowly making myself overcome this. The first step is recognizing that you have a problem... =)

For the amount of times I make pancakes, scones, and corn muffins however, it would be a good idea to premix these. How do you store your mixes so that they don't get overlooked?

I've been making mixes for over 30-years, and with the advent of Gifts-In-A-Jar type recipes, I've altered the recipes to include more wholesome ingredients and lined my pantry with vacuum-sealed quart jars that have become some of my new "convenience" foods. They aren't just for giving (LOL)!

I believe it started with Friendship Tea and Bisquick (aka baking mix) substitute, which eventually evolved to my own multi-grain mixture I use today. I also make a wholegrain pancake mix. I had a cake mixture that made a number of different cakes, same with a basic cookie mix and muffin mix.

Today I make a cocoa mix with Ghirardelli 100% Cacao Unsweetened Chocolate (the good-for-you stuff) that can also be used for chocolate pudding. I also make other dry pudding mixtures.

Another mixture I use all the time is "Magic Mix". The recipe was developed by Utah State Extension Service and you can find more information about it on-line. This is a mixture of dry powdered milk, all-purpose flour OR cornstarch (I use cornstarch), and butter (I use coconut oil). This makes into white sauce, cream soups, a great sauce for homemade mac & cheese, pasta sauces, vegetable sauces, gravy, pudding, even fudgsicles. I never buy canned Cream of ________ Soup, but use this mixture to make them and avoid all that sodium and who knows WHAT else...

And don't forget several varieties of flavored cocoa mix for gift-giving and home use, flavored coffee mix, coffee creamers, tea mixes, spice and herb mixtures, dehydrated soup mixtures, bean flour mixtures for "instant" refried beans....

I still use recipes out of the books:

Make-A-Mix Cookery (copyright - 1978) and More Make-A-Mix (1980) Cookery by Karine Eliason, Nevada Harward & Madeline Westover.

-Grainlady

I have never done this, but what a good idea. I often make cookies ahead and freeeze them, but just never thought of making a dry mix to store. Although, I still have to measure and mix the wet ingredients to add to it, so I am not sure it is that much of a time saver for me.
Maybe I will try some cookie "mixes" this weekend and see if it is actually a help to me. Thanks for the idea.
Sherry

Susytwo, storing the mixes so they don't get overlooked is part the meal planning. I have a Baking Center where all my baking supplies are stored (flours, sugars, cocoa, baking soda, powder, flavorings, chocolate, etc.) so it all goes there.

Meal planning helps me keep from getting overwhelmed. If you think about the shopping, the prepping, the cooking and the clean-up, it's not hard to figure out why people don't cook (or want to) much any more. For me, the trick to this is doing it regularly. My tips are mostly about planning (short) increments of time, but doing something everyday. I keep binders with my regular favorite recipes, with notes to myself for substitutions or tips for making the process easier. If I find half a recipe works better for me, I rewrite it; the same goes if I'm doubling for freezer meals. The binders hold the ''plan for a week'' along with ideas for the month, and the Freezer Inventory. I check for ingredients I already have, make a running grocery list, and pull the recipes I want to make for the week to store at the front of the binder. Typically, this way I only do an afternoon of kitchen time two or three times a week or so, as most of this includes cooking and prepping a main dish, cleaning the produce or sometimes making a dessert. Everything gets portioned for easy meals, frozen on a sheet pan, and packaged.

You know, I only starting doing this because I never feel like cooking dinner at dinnertime. I admire those (and am actually a little envious of) people who come home and can get quick, easy dinners on the table. I never mastered that. I don't know how people used to make full dinners from scratch. I think they were cooking All the Time! I decided to try and figure out how to make my lack of energy work for me, by getting organized.

Today, I'm making a mix for home-made yeasted waffles and oatmeal buttermilk pancakes. We make a double batch on the weekends, and freeze them for the toaster. They are incredibly good for ''fast food''!

Gosh. You sound so organized! I'm envious.

Normally, I wander to the fridge at 5pm, gaze inside and wait for inspiration. ;-)

Wednesday is hell-day for me, because I work later that day, plus DS has hockey practice, so we are always rushing. If I planned better, that evening wouldn't be nearly as stressful.

But you have inspired me. This weekend I will try to craft a meal plan for the week, and try to get a few dry mixes into the pantry.

Suggestion.....I don't think these pre-mixes (especially flour based ones) work well in Food Saver bags, tossed in the freezer...and I think grainlady posted to that effect as well. (don't ask me how I know)

Since I got my GT Xpress I have been having some baking mix in the fridge. I used to make my own using a not-so-healthy ingredients but lately I have been using Karen's (grainlady) Good-For-You baking mix recipe. Even my picky husband likes it. Thanks, Karen!

Jessy, that's a good point, and the reason I don't make my mixes (anymore) to hold any longer than a week or two. They're fine for that long!

Susytwo, I keep them in a large basket on one of my kitchen shelves and have an idex card tucked in the side with a list of which ones are currently in there.

I only make extra dry ingredients for favorite recipes I make a lot so it doesn't take too long to use them up. My inventory is usually about eight packages.