You just have to think of it a bit differently.
For you, feeding 8 (the infant doesn't eat food yet) seems overwhelming, but that's because you'd be jumping in at 8. We grew one at a time, and I've had time to figure it out one at a time over the course of 15 years
The 2 pound portions are because we can make most meals with 2 pounds of meat. That's 1/4 pound per person for 8 people (again, the baby doesn't eat table food yet). Naturally a meal isn't just meat- all ground beef dinners have tons of sides to go with them- hamburgers have buns (lettuce, onions, tomatoes), fries, salad and usually beans as well. A taco salad will have rice, beans, tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, etc plus the chips or tortillas. We use our garden a LOT to fill in with lots of heathy side dishes!
The other reason for 2# is because that's what fits nicely in a quart ziplock bag
It is very possible that next year I will need more meat, in which case I'll gauge if we need to make half of the bags in 1#, or if we'll just jump to 4# per meal. Depends on what the growth spurts are doing at that time
If we make a roast, I do 4-6 pounds because the meal is more meat heavy, and less side heavy. There will usually be some left overs from that, and I'll make soup with it.
Breakfast is a mix of made ahead items (we have big cooking days and fill the freezer with breakfast food) and oatmeal/fruit/yogurt/bread. For the past couple of years, Dave has stepped in and taken over lunch
We'll have more soups and burritoes in the fall/winter. You are right- making sandwiches takes forever. We only do that when we are traveling! When we do that, we just make a big assembly line down the counter
It isn't very filling, either. With growing boys (and girls, but wow- the boys) who are burning a LOT of calories on the farm, each meal needs be really filling.
Dinner takes about an hour or less. I try to keep meals simple and healthy. I use the (biggest available) crockpot often to keep things simple. Breads are almost always made in bulk (I'll make 6 loaves of sandwich, some rolls for dinner and 6 breakfast at one time), then I don't do it again until we're out. That saves a ton of time. I'll also double a meal and freeze it, especially if I know that I'll be especially busy later. It doesn't take any more time to make 2 as it does to make one, so it helps keep the time spent cooking (and thinking about what's for dinner!) short.
And for laundry- each person 9 and older does their own laundry on their own day. That includes their sheets and towels. I take care of the three smallest, mine and Dave's, and the household towels (kitchen). It's really not bad.
