We're back from a wonderful weekend in PA where we surprised Mom Mom with an 80th birthday party! I have lots of pictures to share from the festivities, but at the moment they're still on the camera, waiting their turn on my to-do list. When we made it back home right at dinnertime yesterday, I really wished I had a menu plan to refer to. However, as I have learned over the past couple of weeks, simply having a plan is only a small portion of the battle. You've still got the shopping and prepping and cooking and cleaning to get done. While I love the idea of having a plan, I think my plans have been a little too ambitious. I mean, really, my entire evening can't revolve solely around dinner. Washing dishes at 9 o'clock just can't be happening. So, what did I learn in those two weeks? I learned that more than anything I want to feed my family healthy, nutritious meals, but they've got to be easy to prepare. I'm pretty sure that's what every mom (or anyone) out there wants to do and I'm convinced that it IS possible. I haven't quite figured out how yet, but I'm going to work on it. Beth told me tonight that she used to rely on the crock-pot and did a lot of 'batch' cooking on Sundays, where you make several dishes and freeze them for later in the week. Those are two great options. Well, the batch cooking could only work if we ever spent time at home on the weekends.
So rather than sharing a menu this week, I'm going to share a couple of goals.
1. Make homemade meatballs. I've never done this before, but I know they are so much better than the frozen kind. I could serve them w/ the obvious, spaghetti, or I could do Swedish meatballs or meatball subs. There are actually several things I could do with them and I think it has the potential to qualify as 'batch' cooking. Make a pile of them, then freeze what I don't need for the immediate recipe.
2. Roast a chicken. I've been thinking a lot about this lately and I'm not even sure I have the right pan for the job. I'm very interested in buying local, farm raised chickens and the ones I've found (for the most reasonable price) are whole. So rather than cutting the chicken up, why not just cook the whole darn thing, then pull the meat off the bone. My options at that point are endless. Pretty much every chicken dish out there can be made with chopped chicken.
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The shrimp dish I made last week, while pretty time consuming -- lots of chopping, was excellent! It definitely had a kick to it. There's no way, even if would have been ready before his bedtime, that Jackson would have touched it. Spicy is good, but this was so spicy that by the last few bites, I really couldn't taste much. I think next time, I'll cut back on the cayenne just a tad bit. :-)
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