Tomorrow, Thursday, will be a busy day from the moment I wake up until dinnertime. As life would have it, my husband will be busy with work all day and has a deadline he's working on. And both daughters will be busy all day, as well. Problem -- somebody's got to make dinner.
I considered getting burgers at dinnertime. But then I thought about all of the wonderful food that we have at home. And honestly, home-cooked meals are so much tastier than burgers to me.
So, this afternoon I came up with a plan. Between my daughters and myself, we could cook 2 complete meals this evening, one to eat tonight and the other ready to heat and eat tomorrow. That's what we did. I've found that as long as I'm in the kitchen preparing dinner for us, I have lots of small bits of time to do other kitchen work. Often times that means baking a dessert or making granola for the next morning. This afternoon I was able to do both main dishes, a dessert, and get a start on sides. My daughters took over after dinner and completed all sides for tomorrow. We even came up with a plan for all of our lunches for tomorrow, so none of us waste time in the morning figuring out what to pack for lunch. Planning and preparing two nights of meals in one afternoon made it possible for us to continue eating down our freezers, have tasty home-cooked foods, eat healthier both nights, and save some money.
Of course, you all probably do this sort of thing on a regular basis. My mother always cooked meals fresh every evening, and I learned her habits. So for me to prepare in advance is a big deal. I will say that I sometimes double up recipes to freeze half for another night. But this is probably the first time I've (with help of daughters) made two completely different dinners on one day to feed us two days in a row.
Anyway, have a wonderful day, friends.
Good job! All it took was a plan and a little cooperation, which you had both of, and your meals are ready. Most of the time, when we cook, we make enough to have leftovers for a couple of days. Some people don't like leftovers, but we are happy with them. Occasionally, we cook enough that extras go into the freezer for a quick meal for when we don't feel like cooking.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was growing up, we generally cooked a new meal every night. When my mother went back to work (she was a nurse and worked long hours.), my sister and I were responsible for them. Occasionally, my mother would take all of the leftover bits and heat them in the oven for dinner that night.
Isn't it funny how childhood habits are so ingrained? I think meals taste best when they are freshly cooked (with the exception of some soups) but I'm thoroughly enjoying this stage of life, where I cook once/eat twice. You did well, Lili. :)
ReplyDeleteI believe my mom cooked and evening meal every single night. With 5 children and a hard working husband there were no leftovers so she had to cook every night. When my children were still at home I cooked every meal at home too but now with no kids at home anymore, I often cook a regular sized meal and we eat two from that. Anything after that gets packaged up in sizes for a meal for the two of us and gets put in the freezer. Those are the meals I rely on when I've had a very busy day and need to pull a ready made from the freezer in order to be fed that night. I am so tired after work that going out to eat is just not an option. I just can't drive somewhere, order, wait, eat, then go home. That is very exhausting to me. I love having a few meals to choose from in the freezer.
ReplyDeleteI know you are trying to empty your freezer but there is good reason for a few ready made meals! Good job with you all working together!
Alice