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Find a partner.
Decide on a menu. Be careful to choose recipes that aren’t too complicated. I also like to choose recipes that are easy to prepare a lot of. It makes your effort last longer. Also, use adds to see what is on sale. Make sure to include variety in your menu. No one wants to eat casseroles every night. I always include cooked meats such as hamburger, chicken, meatballs, shredded roast beef that I can quickly incorporate into meals during the week. Another Tip: Check to make sure the recipe will freeze well. See attached list.
Gather your recipes and create your shopping list. I love to use MasterCook to do this however the Freezer Cooking Manual has great forms to help you do this if you have to do it by hand.
Check your pantry for items you have on hand. Also make sure to look inside containers to make sure there is enough inside!!
Decide who will do the shopping or if you will divide it up. Do your shopping on a separate day from your cooking session.
If possible do some prep work i.e. chop vegetables, cook the chicken and make stock for other recipes, etc . . . before hand. Again, divide up the work.
Plan your cooking day. You don’t want to be trying to assemble a casserole only to discover your meat isn’t ready yet. I normally try to cut all the ingredients first, cook the meats and then assemble everything.