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Tuesday, March 10, 2015

I feel so efficient! #SOL15


I haven't always cooked. I had many reasons for not cooking: There were only two of us, and my husband was never home for dinner anyway. I didn't know how to make anything. I was very busy. My feet hurt. Produce goes bad too fast. Pinterest wasn't invented yet. It took too long. I was afraid I'd mess it up. You see? Many reasons! 

After my second child was born (she's now 2 1/2 ), I decided I was going to start cooking. I spent hours and hours wearing her in my Moby wrap reading recipes, dicing vegetables, measuring spices, and cleaning up enormous messes.

 (Baby wearing while cooking or using a knife is not advised--by anyone-- anywhere--ever.)

This week I feel like I'm approaching mastery of family cooking!

The menu (planned in advance!)
Mexican Lasagna 
enchiladas
honey garlic chicken (crock pot)
chili
cheese burger casserole



On Sunday I made all the filling for the Mexican Lasagna, enchiladas and the meat base for the chili. While I was doing that, I also steamed rice to go with the chicken. Another onion is already chopped and in the freezer for the cheese burger casserole. I froze the chili base because I won't need that until the end of the week. I also froze the rice for the same reason. I put the other fillings in the refrigerator. 

This evening I rolled up the enchiladas, poured on some sauce and put them in the oven, it only took about 10 minutes. Clean up took about 4 minutes, and now I'm sitting on the couch holding a baby and writing on my blog.

It's lovely.

The unexpected surprise is that I actually have more than I need, so I can freeze some extra enchiladas for another meal, and I can have a leftovers day and save one meal for next week. 

What meals do you make that are easy to prep in advance, healthy, and delicious?


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6 comments:

  1. I find cooking so much more enjoyable when I menu plan and don't have to figure out what to cook. Pinterest is definitely a huge help with that. Keep up the yummy cooking!

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  2. I find cooking so much more enjoyable when I menu plan and don't have to figure out what to cook. Pinterest is definitely a huge help with that. Keep up the yummy cooking!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This has always been on my to-do list (meal planning), however, I can't seem to carve out enough time to do it. I have even thought about trying to cook most of it over the weekend, but even that is difficult for us. How much prep time did it take you on Sunday?

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  4. Deb,
    You are my hero. I wish I was better at prepping multiple meals for the week at one time. I guess it's the planning part I just can't wrap my head around.

    This was a fun piece to read. Your detailed list of reasons why you didn't used to cook made me laugh. Oh, the gift of Pinterest.

    Thanks for sharing,
    Cathy

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  5. Truly impressive! Beyond efficient - a role model! I have always needed help in this department - cooking is not my favorite activity, but a chore. You have helped me change my outlook! Know your family is loving the meals.

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  6. This is awesome! I prep a week of salads every sunday for my lunches but it's just me, so I usually make one meal a week and have leftovers. Here's one of my new faves:
    One Pot Chicken Alfredo: http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/19408_one_pot_chicken_alfredo/

    ReplyDelete

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