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Sunday, January 24, 2021

Get Ready


 Sunday  came and I had nothing pressing for the rest of the day. Oh sure I could have picked any room in this house and found some cleaning to do, but who wanted to clean? Not me! Instead I had a fridge full of produce, some newly purchased proteins and a meal plan for the week already stirring around in my noggin. 

It seemed like a perfect day to get ahead of the week and do some chopping and stirring while listening to some guilty pleasure podcasts. I took a page from Rhonda at If You Do Stuff, Stuff Gets Done, and chopped and diced salad and slaw fixings, then cooked a few things that could easily be made ahead  of time to be stored for later in the week.

Now the chicken chowder is made with the exception of adding cauliflower (keto substitute for potatoes)
and the cream. It smells delicious and I can't wait to try it, but for now it is headed to the fridge.

The Hungarian goulash is all put together and somewhat cooked but still needs a much longer cook time. I stuck it in the freezer for later in the week when I will thaw it and put it in the crockpot on low, to spend the afternoon simmering.

Spaghetti sauce is made and will just need to be reheated while noodles boil or zoodles get nuked.

I did get the collards cooked, but that is all I prepped for the vegetable dinner. I might go ahead and pre cook the squash, but then again I might not. The day is getting a little later and I am really ready to clean the kitchen and. move on to watching an episode of The Crown. 

All the salad fixings are washed, dried, sliced or cubed and living in little containers in the crisper drawer. I did wash the lettuce and spun it dry but I am tearing  the leaves on demand. They are currently wrapped in a kitchen towel inside an opened plastic bag so air can circulate around it. I did not make the dressings for salad because it takes just a few seconds  to whip one up and I like it better than making it in advance and having it cold. I have enough coleslaw made for 2 meals, but it is not dressed. I tend to season it differently based on what we are eating, so I made two different dressings that are waiting for coleslaw nights..

The cornbread I mention is not really cornbread at all, but is the keto substitute. Fortunately TheHub likes it and it has the taste and mouthfeel of real cornbread. One recipe of it will last more than a week, so it all went in the freezer to be thawed and eaten on demand..

I also had to make keto rolls for me. They do not taste and feel like real dinner rolls so I will buy some of those from the bakery for TheHub, but I did make a recipe of them to freeze.. They are decently tasty if they have butter on them, or to use instead of a bun for a hamburger, but  they serve mainly as a vehicle for other flavors and not as a stand alone "bread".. 

Now the only thing I have left is some sort of keto dessert and keto cookies. TheHub will actually eat some of them and I have tried several to cull the recipes to ones we liked well enough to make again. I am thinking crustless cheesecakes, and peanut butter cookies. Both freeze very well and actually pass the taste and mouthfeel test. It may happen tonight or I might make them tomorrow. It works either way, right?

So now I am all cooked out and ready for the week. This is going to be my test to see if advance cooking is really worth it to me. Since I tend to rebel against any plan it might feel too confining, or maybe I will love it. One way or another I will figure it out.


27 comments:

  1. You sure have been busy in the kitchen today! I love having things made or prepped ahead, makes daily meals such a breeze. I am thinking you will love it, but then again I know you are kind of spontaneous in the meal department. I can't wait to hear how it works out for you :)

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    1. I am usually pretty spontaneous, plus I have a husband who decides at the last minute that he wants to pick up some particular take out dinner.. It will be interesting to see how this turns out.

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  2. I am guessing your industry will stand you in good stead this next week. Some days, I plan to do like you and cook or prep ahead. But, I never do.

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    1. Cooking so many different things in one day is a different concept for me. I will either like it or I won't but I do have a boatload of foods ready or near ready to eat.

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  3. I actually love advance cooking, not when I'm doing it but when I reap the reward!

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    1. I often make large amounts of a single food to freeze it for a few meals, like chili or spaghetti sauce. This is the first time I have done so many different dishes at once, but I did make enough spaghetti sauce and goulash to freeze and have at least one more dinner of both.

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  4. Wow, I'm impressed. How long did all of that prep take?

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    1. I probably spent about 3 hours in actual hands on cooking time, but things were in various states of cooking for 5 or 6 hours.

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  5. I should prepare salad stuff in advance, and keep in the fridge like you do. Thanks for the time saving idea, Anne. :)

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    1. I had been reading about Rhonda doing it nearly every week and thought I would jump on her band wagon. I have been an idiot for not doing it forever!

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  6. Sounds like you had a very busy and productive day in the kitchen! Well done! You will probably appreciate having the majority of your meal prep done when it comes to dinner time during the week. :)

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    1. I hope I will and if I don't I will have a lot of stuff to freeze

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  7. Well done you.
    Preparing food in advance does work for me - when I get off my lazy fundament.

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    1. Oh do I ever understand the lazy fundament! I am a master of laziness.

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  8. I've been trying to prep the vegetables I get every Thursday in my farm share but occasionally I slip up. Last week I got some bok choy which I rarely have ever used in all my years of cooking. I let it linger and am about ready to compost it.

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    1. It is so smart of you to go ahead and prep everything!

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  9. Gosh I'm worn out just reading that. I wish I were that industrious!

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    1. I am not normally like this. While I was cleaning the fridge Saturday I realized I had an abundance of produce that needed to be dealt with. I did not plan to do so much, it just happened.

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  10. I'm impressed, that's a lot of prep work and I'm sure you'll appreciate it all as the week goes on. To be honest, I wouldn't think to chop and slice vegetables ahead of time. Do you need to put them in water to keep them from browning?

    Take care, stay well!

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    1. No idea about the veggies. Since this is the first time I did it, I guess I will see. I did not slice the cucumbers because I figured they would not hold up well, and the tomatoes are just grape tomatoes so they were only washed.

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  11. You did so much work! When I have dishes in the freezer or fridge that I have cooked ahead, it doesn't take me any less time or effort to make a meal than if I don't. I just fuss with flourishes and side dishes, and the time goes by. Leftover chili? I make it into chili mac -- no less work. Etc.

    Lucky you to be so industrious!

    be safe... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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    1. This is an experimental week for me and I will see if it actually works for me or not.

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  12. Well done. I am just trying to cook again, did manage Friday night supper and am attempting to cook again tonight. Only easy low prep things though

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    1. You need to take care of YOU! Cooking can wait until you feel up to it!

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  13. That's great advice "If you do stuff, stuff gets done!" Wow, you have been busy. Way to go....

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