My wife and I were just talking yesterday how, with kids, especially, weekends now seem like it is another work day it is just work at the house. Sure, you can sit around or in previous times go out and have fun, but that work don't do itself for Monday-Friday.
A slight tweak, is I make the ingredients and then assemble the night before each night. I don't love meal-prepping lunches on Sunday, but I hate more having to sleepily assemble something together before we have to rush out in the morning.
I did more Sunday lunch prep in the before times since I had to actually leave my house ... not as much now, and my lunches are definitely less healthy now (I'd guess in part because there are no co-workers around to admire/judge). But I do plan our meals for the week in advance (usually for the whole month in one go so I can make sure to use up anything that'll be left over), and then use that for the grocery list.
You can pry my chicken thighs from my cold dead hands, cookbook! I only use chicken breast for making Indian food nowadays for the reasons you mentioned. I found that drowning them in spices makes them tolerable.
Yeah, we're an all-thigh household at this point except for soups, stews and other "soak them in a sauce of some kind" meals. I reason the chicken-aspect of it (as in, I'm hoping it's healthier than the other animals at the farm) is good enough, no need to go overboard and suck all the flavor out. Guess I'll find out in 20-30 years.
Filling the fridge and freezer and cabinet with food has been one of the few joys of this idiot year. Yesterday I finished up 23 burritos that I eat for lunch at work, I'm at work full time in a research lab. Usually have 3-4 different kinds of soup in there, I make granola, a 13x9 will get me 16 or so small tupperwares to bring into lab for breakfast. I keep bags of veggie scraps to make stock, usually 2 or 3 gall bags will make 4 quarts of trash stock. I should start cooking beans from dry instead of buying cans I guess.
I'll cook a bunch of chicken breasts and add it on top of rice and broccoli, or just some veggies, but most of the time, I just make a big batch of soup that gets 8-10 portions out of it for the wife and I. Good for the week!
If our freezer was bigger, I'd make and freeze bigger batches.
Getting a basement freezer has really opened up my soup options. I'm happy to do "two days of soup now and two days of soup later", but usually burn out if it's four days in a row.
Ya, it would be nice to have a little more variety and the freezer space allows you to do that.
I usually leave the office for lunch on Fridays, so the 3rd and 4th soups are more of a reminder that I get to eat poorly on Friday and that helps power me through.
I am in awe of people who do this. I completely agree it probably saves time, certainly nudges you to eat healthier because you're not faced with the wednesday night "hell, i'm tired, let's just order pizza" dilemma...but yeah, I also think it can suck all the joy out of cooking. Makes it into, well, a process. And you might end up further ahead at the end like Alabama football, but was it worth it Scott? Was it really worth it?
But I don't have kids so as far as I'm concerned you're already playing on a different level than me and whatever keeps y'all sane, keep it up.
I think it ends up a balance... if I prep and suck the joy out of all the already-who-cares meals like workweek lunches and Monday night dinner, by Tuesday or Wednesday I'm recovered enough to have fun making a decent dinner.
you put in a hell of a lot more effort than i do. saturdays i marinade boneless/skinless in italian dressing. sundays i toss it in the oven, slice it up, and give it a handful of frozen california blend.
Time to do the dishes again. And again. And again.
We put most things in the dishwasher...but not the nice cocktail, wine, or beer glasses.
I've been doing a lot of dishes this year.
My wife and I were just talking yesterday how, with kids, especially, weekends now seem like it is another work day it is just work at the house. Sure, you can sit around or in previous times go out and have fun, but that work don't do itself for Monday-Friday.
A slight tweak, is I make the ingredients and then assemble the night before each night. I don't love meal-prepping lunches on Sunday, but I hate more having to sleepily assemble something together before we have to rush out in the morning.
I did more Sunday lunch prep in the before times since I had to actually leave my house ... not as much now, and my lunches are definitely less healthy now (I'd guess in part because there are no co-workers around to admire/judge). But I do plan our meals for the week in advance (usually for the whole month in one go so I can make sure to use up anything that'll be left over), and then use that for the grocery list.
* gets up and pre-heats oven because I might as well prep these sweet potatoes at 9 a.m. on a Monday since you reminded me *
The overnight marinated chicken for broiled breast/thigh for weekday salads makes them tolerable.
The lunchboxes in the photo must qualify you for some kind of parenting award.
Those are for the grownups! The kids' lunches are far more appetizing.
You can pry my chicken thighs from my cold dead hands, cookbook! I only use chicken breast for making Indian food nowadays for the reasons you mentioned. I found that drowning them in spices makes them tolerable.
Yeah, we're an all-thigh household at this point except for soups, stews and other "soak them in a sauce of some kind" meals. I reason the chicken-aspect of it (as in, I'm hoping it's healthier than the other animals at the farm) is good enough, no need to go overboard and suck all the flavor out. Guess I'll find out in 20-30 years.
You always read stats about how much of our lives we spend asleep. But nobody is talking about how much of our lives we spend doing dishes.
Filling the fridge and freezer and cabinet with food has been one of the few joys of this idiot year. Yesterday I finished up 23 burritos that I eat for lunch at work, I'm at work full time in a research lab. Usually have 3-4 different kinds of soup in there, I make granola, a 13x9 will get me 16 or so small tupperwares to bring into lab for breakfast. I keep bags of veggie scraps to make stock, usually 2 or 3 gall bags will make 4 quarts of trash stock. I should start cooking beans from dry instead of buying cans I guess.
Meal prepping lunch is the best thing.
I'll cook a bunch of chicken breasts and add it on top of rice and broccoli, or just some veggies, but most of the time, I just make a big batch of soup that gets 8-10 portions out of it for the wife and I. Good for the week!
If our freezer was bigger, I'd make and freeze bigger batches.
Getting a basement freezer has really opened up my soup options. I'm happy to do "two days of soup now and two days of soup later", but usually burn out if it's four days in a row.
Ya, it would be nice to have a little more variety and the freezer space allows you to do that.
I usually leave the office for lunch on Fridays, so the 3rd and 4th soups are more of a reminder that I get to eat poorly on Friday and that helps power me through.
I am in awe of people who do this. I completely agree it probably saves time, certainly nudges you to eat healthier because you're not faced with the wednesday night "hell, i'm tired, let's just order pizza" dilemma...but yeah, I also think it can suck all the joy out of cooking. Makes it into, well, a process. And you might end up further ahead at the end like Alabama football, but was it worth it Scott? Was it really worth it?
But I don't have kids so as far as I'm concerned you're already playing on a different level than me and whatever keeps y'all sane, keep it up.
I think it ends up a balance... if I prep and suck the joy out of all the already-who-cares meals like workweek lunches and Monday night dinner, by Tuesday or Wednesday I'm recovered enough to have fun making a decent dinner.
you put in a hell of a lot more effort than i do. saturdays i marinade boneless/skinless in italian dressing. sundays i toss it in the oven, slice it up, and give it a handful of frozen california blend.
well la-di-DAH, look at Mr. Coastal Elite over here with his "California" Blend. I eat Kentucky Blend! (It's just corn and bourbon.)