The afternoon did not turn out how I planned, but it worked out for the best anyway

Unbeknownst to me, when my husband went out to the small freezer to bring in a new package of butter this morning, some of the contents of the freezer shifted and prevented the freezer door from closing all the way. This is our small upright freezer that we use to keep all of our meat, our butter, and various stocks. With an upright, if something prevents the door from fully closing, one might not notice. That's what happened with my husband.

This afternoon I went out to the fridge/freezer right next to the small upright one, in order to get another container of applesauce. I noticed the door was ajar. When I went to close the door, it wouldn't hold shut. I opened it to find a bunch of frost on some of the items. I checked every item, moved some to the chest freezer to make room for the door to close, and came across 3 packages of meat that felt squishy, but cold. Those three were nearest the opening where the door was ajar. Fortunately, everything else was okay. But it alarmed me

I brought the three packages of meat into the kitchen and took the temperature of each using a digital thermometer. They were about 32 degrees F. Two packages were ground beef and one was a steak. I decided just to play it safe and cook all three packs of meat this afternoon.

Today was supposed to be one of my easy cooking nights. I cook 4 nights a week. My husband cooks with me one night (I do some of the sides and he does the main). And my two daughters each take a night. This week of all weeks I am super busy with Christmas work. So I had planned for tonight to be tuna melts, a quick and easy dinner. I was forced into changing plans, and instead I combined the two packs of ground beef and made an extra large meatloaf. In addition, I turned the steak into a pot of stew. I'm wiped out. Not because I cooked a lot. But because I hustled and worked all morning and into early afternoon, and then cooked for the rest of the day.

But here's the good part. When I decided to just bake a huge meatloaf, I also decided to make double the side dishes for tonight. So, I have dinner made for tomorrow and ready to reheat,.And I have a pot of stew for lunches for tomorrow and maybe Friday.

You know how the saying goes "necessity is the mother of invention?" Well, in this case, necessity was the mother of productivity. I'm now far enough ahead in cooking daily meals that I can use my time to be more productive in other areas. It all worked out for the best.

Do you want to know what ChatGPT suggested for my family's Christmas Breakfast/Brunch?

So I asked AI (ChatGPT) for suggestions for our Christmas brunch, looking for a menu that is high in protein, limited sugar, and with fruits and vegetables. It initially gave me a couple of good suggestions, but it still sounded like a lot of work. So I asked it to refine its answer and reduce my work even further. 

I thought I'd share its answer, for one, perhaps you can see problems with a suggestion, and two, some items actually sounded good and do-able for many people.

Here's its reply:

15-Minute Christmas Brunch (Minimal Prep)

Main (10 minutes active prep)

Sheet-Pan Scrambled Eggs with Veggies

(no chopping required)

1. Preheat oven to 400°F (or use stovetop if preferred).

2. Whisk together:

10–12 eggs, ½ cup cottage cheese (optional but boosts protein), salt & pepper

3. Spread on a parchment-lined sheet pan.

4. Sprinkle on:

Frozen spinach (thawed & squeezed) or fresh baby spinach, pre-sliced mushrooms, jarred roasted red peppers (drained)

5. Bake 12-15 minutes while you prep everything else.

Protein Side (2 minutes prep)

Fully Cooked Chicken Sausage or Turkey Bacon

1. Toss on a second sheet pan

2. Heat in the oven alongside eggs (5–8 minutes)

Cold Protein Option (3 minutes)

Plain Greek Yogurt Bowls

1. Scoop yogurt into bowls

2. Top with:

Fresh berries, nuts or seeds

Veggie Plus Healthy Fat (2 minutes)

Avocado Plate

1. Slice avocado

2. Add lemon juice, salt, pepper

optional: toss on cherry tomatoes straight from the container

Fruit

Grab-and-Go-Fruit

Berries, kiwi, or grapefruit—washed, no cutting if you keep it simple

Drinks

Coffee, tea, sparkling water with lemon

Total Active Time  12 to 15 minutes

So, what did I think? Overall, it had some good suggestions. I'm not sure how sheet pan eggs on parchment would work out. Wouldn't the eggs, when uncooked, run on the parchment? It sounds liquidy and messy to start. If it worked, the eggs would obviously set and no longer be a mess possibility. Have you ever done a sheet-pan meal that was on the runny side to start? Do you think eggs on parchment on a jelly roll pan would work? I may want to do something else for an egg and vegetable dish. I can't have cottage cheese (lactose), and frozen spinach is hard to source in my area, still (recall earlier this fall). I could do a garden kale, cherry tomato, eggs, and cheddar cheese dish, only needing to buy cherry tomatoes. I don't think the eggs would bake thoroughly in 12-15 minutes. AI can be wrong about details like this.

The fully cooked sausages would work well in the oven, as suggested. As it would happen, I have several of those small boxes of pre-cooked turkey breakfast sausage that I could use. And this would be easy.

I love the idea for yogurt bowls. I would do this as a yogurt bar, and let everyone help themselves. I could add several small bowls of toppings, such as roasted and chopped nuts, dried fruit (I have cranberries, prunes, apples, pears), banana slices, frozen raspberries and blueberries (I'd put them out still frozen for better texture), honey, and maple syrup. I have everything except the Greek yogurt. Do I think my family would enjoy this? Yes, I do!

I don't think we would need the avocado plate. But I would like some fresh fruit. I bought 3 bags of tangerines the other day. If they still look good on Christmas Day, I could put out tangerines. 

I will be baking our almond-filled bread. I'm both Swedish and Danish, and both countries have almond-filled pastries common for the holidays. My family looks forward to this every year. And as it would happen, I have almond paste in the freezer. Since my daughter-in-law has a nut allergy, I will also bake cranberry-orange muffins, using fresh cranberries leftover from Thanksgiving. I can do both breads in advance and freeze.

We have coffee, tea, and sparkling water. I would want to buy some orange juice.

I could do this menu, especially if the eggs-on-a-sheet-pan idea was really do-able. 

What are your thoughts on ChatGPT's menu suggestions? What do you think of the egg dish? Do you see any problems with its other suggestions? Would you (or have you) consult AI for menu suggestions?