Weekend Wrap-up

And it was a big one!

Friday Z's daycare had Teacher In-service, so she stayed home with me.  I wanted to do something fun, so we headed down to the Aquarium with Gaga.  (Full disclosure: our aquarium in Houston sucks.  It is fully a Money Making Venture with poor labeling, not enough fish, extra charges everywhere, rides, etc.  But it is the only one we have, and I really thought the Z would like it.)  It was *brilliant* because she LOVED it!  Annnnnd took a 3 hour nap when we got home!  After eating TWO sandwiches (her own PBJ and then my grilled cheese that she totally bogarted)!  We need to go the aquarium every time Daddy leaves her home alone with me if those are going to be the results!  Firsts for the Z included: trip the aquarium, carousel ride (LOVED), ferris wheel ride, and little train ride.

On the train with Gaga.

Saturday morning I woke up at the butt-crack of dawn for a 6 miler.  I had planned on 5 in the form of 2 by myself plus 3 with the Red Halfers, but the Red Full group was doing 6, so I threw in with them and hoped for the best.  The result was the slowest 10K I've EVER run (just over 70 minutes), but it was hot and h.u.m.i.d as all hell, and again I was running by myself, and I got it done and am therefore pretty freaking pleased with myself.   At least I was after I cooled down!

Beet-face.

After that I had a planned AD house cleaning day.  I had hoped to completely get the interior clean of junk, but I overestimated the amount of stuff that was left and everyone's stamina.  But we did get through everything but P's old room and bathroom and the garage.  So I think, now with a clearer head, that 2 more days should do it: one on the interior and one for the garage.  And at least we can start getting contractors on in the interior before we finish the garage if we want.  Z and Gaga came with, and I also paid a friend from work to help out.  Z was really good, can't say enough about it.  She played and didn't throw any fits and ate a TON of shrimp fried rice at lunch.  She did refuse to go down for a nap, though, which was ultimately the beginning of the end of the day, but it was still a very productive day!

Walrus drinking.

Sunday was just about getting our feet back on the ground after that.  I tried a brisket in the crock pot, a new recipe to me, so I'll post if it comes out ok!  We also tried a new Rachael Ray recipe that was really yummy for our Sunday lunch with Gaga and Papi.  I don't know where we got the bravery to try an untried recipe with company, but there you go.  And OMG, my hamstrings were so sore from the day before!

Relaxing.

Also on Sunday: the Case of The Worst Dog Owners EVAR.  AKA: our next door neighbors.  So they've got this little chichuahua and she gets out ALL. THE. TIME.  At least once a week when we pull into the driveway, she's out and we take her home.  But never before have they not been there when we rang the doorbell.  So Annabelle came to visit.  And I remembered why I don't have a dog.  She hadn't even been in my house an hour when she pooped on the floor.  THen we put her in their backyard and she escaped AGAIN and came running in with M when she came to visit. Then she peed on my floor, again, hadn't even been in my house for an hour.  So back to their backyard she went.  Hopefully they came home and she didn't escape again, because she really is a sweet dog despite her owners!

Napoleon.  Houdini.  Annabelle.

Big Cooking Day(s) #7

This weekend the cooking joy encompassed 2 days, and once again, I think we've gotten a week's worth of food!

We've (finally!) had a "cold" front, so I was wanting foods that would warm our bodies and our home.  My favorite winter meal is roast, for that reason, so that's what we cooked on Saturday.  My recipe is simple: buy a big honking chuck roast (that's a technical term), put Season Salt and Garlic Powder all over it, rub it in, etc.  Put it in a (floured) oven browning bag in a 9x13 pyrex.  Cut an onion into quarters and place one in each corner.  Divide a bag of baby carrots on all sides.  Stick a bay leaf on top.  Pour in water until you're almost to the top of the roast, however much it takes.  Close up the bag, cut a few slits in the top, and bake for 2-3 hours (for a 2-3 lb roast) at 325.  It makes the house smell amazing, it gives you a roast so moist and tender that it is falling apart, it gives you some super-yummy carrots, and it gives you gravy that makes mashed potatoes taste like heaven.  We ate some that night, and have at least another meal's worth.

Sunday I did the slow cooker Barbecue Chicken, and a Quiche.  We had the quiche for lunch and have another meal's worth left over, and the chicken for dinner and have a meal's worth left over, and that takes us through Wednesday!  Thursday we can have frozen pizza or eat sub sandwiches.

I was also pleased with the 2 day approach because I ate more healthily all weekend using this method - we only ate out on Friday evening (for Preston's dad's birthday), and we never felt the need to eat out the rest of the weekend because there was always something nommy (also a technical term) about to come out of the oven!

Also, Zoë really really likes quiche, yay!

Big Cooking Day #6

(No run this morning - even though the Rangers got rained out last night, the Z woke up twice in the night, so I slept in.)

This BCD was a win for the bake sale, and a fail for family dinners.

I made 2 batches of the Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins and the Pineapple Pecan Cake with cream cheese icing.  Both totally made from scratch.  And they did very well at the bake sale - I reckon I was responsible for over $30 of what we earned!

I'm not only the baker, I'm also a client.

And I unfroze the 2nd half of the crockpot Chicken Curry and made that.  But it turned out that that was only 1 night worth of food, and we ate it on Sunday night!

So the rest of this week has been a total scramble.  Monday I had Preston pick up Murphy's sub sandwiches for us and my parents who are in town.  Tuesday we ate PBJ sandwiches, and Wednesday my mom did a Breakfast for Dinner night at her house with pancakes, french toast, and bacon.  (And the Z loved her pancakes and drank a ton of milk out of a glass, yay!)  I have absolutely no idea what we'll do tonight - maybe frozen pizza(s).  But I'm off on Friday so we'll be back in business with more healthy eating then.  All this daily uncertainty about what to eat for dinner has really reminded me of why I do the BCD's, and how I need to not lose my focus on the purpose, which is to feed my family Monday through at least Wednesday, preferably Thursday.  But the bake sale is for charity and only once a year, so I wouldn't go back and change things...  I do know that as the holidays approach, though, I'll probably be tempted to stray again.  I need to remind myself to keep on track - fun baking is extra!!

Big Cooking Day #5

Again, wasn't so gigantic, but the principle continues to work well for us.  Next weekend will be HUGE, so you've got that to look forward to!

I made Crock Pot Girls Chicken n' Dumplings, with a few modifications.  I used a whole bag of whole baby carrots (easy, less prep), one entire unit of celery (I really prefer to use the whole of what I buy if it is something like celery because I'm not likely to use it for anything else before it goes bad), and half of a giant sweet onion.  We also added 2 heads of broccoli.  And we used chicken thighs instead of breasts - we both prefer dark meat, and it is cheaper, win-win!  Preliminary reaction was that the crockpot was suuuuuuper full.  Scarily full.  So full that I was concerned that I'd be able to get the dumplings in.  Second reaction was that this is far more liquidy than the stuff I've been making.  Not sure I was looking for a soup, but it really looks like a soup.  Third reaction was that 8 hours is a long time, and unlike my other recipes, I wasn't given the 4 hours on high alternative.  Not sure if that'd have worked or not, so I went for the 8 hours on low, and added the dumplings at about 6.5 hours, and finished the dish prematurely at 7.5 hours.  The chicken appeared very fully cooked, so I don't think that was a problem, and I was ready for bed!!  Preston's first impression was that it tastes yummy. :-)  I'll be trying it tonight!

On Saturday, Preston and I made the Lemon Fish and Garlicky Cream Corn, so we have a little corn left over for the week.

For Sunday, I made the Maple Glazed Salmon.  We were going to have garlic veg (the kind you buy in a bag - probably need to develop/find my own recipe here), but I didn't make it to the store, so we just had rolls with it and called it a night.  This was only ok with me because I know we'll get a lot of veg the rest of the week from the crock pot recipe.

That was actually it for the cooking day.  I'm counting on 2 nights with the crock pot, 1 night we'll have steak and baked potatoes, and one night we'll have an Amy's frozen pizza.  And then Friday we'll go out!

Next weekend I'll be baking for an annual bake sale that my department holds.  I've alread pre-sold a batch of Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins, so I intend on making 2 batches.  I'll also make Brownies (not from scratch), Pineapple Pecan Cake (from scratch, and always a huge hit), and possibly some sort of cookie... I've got my eye on an easy looking Vinegar cookie recipe (from scratch).  All this means that it'll definitely be a weekend for one of the frozen halves of a crock pot recipe.

Big Cooking Day #4

Not so big, but not skipped!

On the list:
Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Healthy Mama Barbecue Chicken (from frozen from Big Cooking Day #1)
Florentine Quiche
Garlicky Cream Corn
Maple Grilled Salmon

Managed to accomplish everything but the corn and salmon = not bad! (We went to Freebird's instead. :-) Because it was RAINING, yay!!)

The quiche is the only thing on here that I haven't talked about before.  Here is the recipe (my mom's) in a nutshell (without amounts, because my memory sucks): thaw a package of chopped frozen spinach, wring out the water, combine with shredded cheddar that you've tossed in a bit of flour, plus mayo and eggs and some kind of small meat (I prefer turkey or ham cubes, but if we can't find that I do turkey bacon bits.  My parentals like regular bacon.), mix it all together, put in a frozen pie crust and bake for 40 minutes at 350.  This stores well in the fridge and heats up well in the microwave, so it is actually a great candidate for a Big Cooking Day.

Along those lines, I'm really looking forward to some cooler weather so that I can make Roast, Stew, Mulligatawny, and others that are best reserved for fall and winter!

Big Cooking Day #3

(Not quite as big as the last 2.)

Made the Chicken Curry slow cooker/freezer recipe.  Nom nom!  I think it's our second favorite after the Barbecue Chicken.  We'll do it again.

Last post we hadn't tried the Goulash yet.  Here's the review: it wasn't our favorite.  We found it a bit... dry.  I also didn't like the bell peppers I used (recipe called for sweet peppers, but I couldn't find those at the store).  I think I'll try it again, though, because I really want a recipe for beef to work.  Only without the bell peppers, and maybe with a nice big can of diced tomatoes added in.

Along the same lines, P was really worried about the Chicken Curry being too dry, so he added in 1/2 c of water, but I really don't think it was necessary.  Might try with only 1/4 c next time.

Other than that, we didn't do as much cooking as I wanted.  We did shrimp and mashed potatoes again because the store was still running a great deal on shrimp.  And we wanted steak this week, and that is sort of a same-day proposition.  I did want to do corn, but we ran out of time, and I figured the slow cooker would be 2 days worth, so we really didn't need to do much else this week.  That was nice in and of itself.

I think I'll probably skip next week for a Big Cooking Day #4 and use one of the frozen halves of the recipes I've done so far, since we'll be busy with/tired from guests and Z's big party this weekend.

Big Cooking Day #2

This Sunday we did the following:

Garlicky Cream Corn
Quinoa with Carrots and Sugar Snap Peas
Stephanie's Goulash
Grilled Chicken Breasts
Mashed Potatoes
Rosemary Shrimp (without the red pepper flakes)

The Aftermath

The shrimp and half the mashed potatoes got eaten last night.  I'd estimate the the rest is at least 3, maybe 4 meals worth!

Oh, and I also baked chocolate chip cookies. :-)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Big Cooking Days

So I've been trying something the last few weeks: big weekend cooking days.

Basically on Sunday my goal is to get either the cooking or just the prep done for several meals through the week.  A typical week's dinners look like this:  Sunday-Wednesday: stuff at home, Thursday: leftovers, Friday: out, Saturday: ?  What I find is that the tolerance for cooking dips exponentially the farther into the week we get, so I try to head that off at the pass, hence the Big Cooking Day.

Lately I've been trying to start off the Big Cooking Day with a slow cooker recipe.  My mom gave me a good creamy Italian chicken recipe that P and I both like, and that yields lots of leftovers.  I grabbed a recipe book at work the other week and tried beans.  I liked them, but they didn't really go over well with P, so that one'll not make a reappearance.  Then last week I found this blog entry and wanted to try her recipes, thinking that I'll get double out of my Big Cooking Day if I can freeze half!  I tried the Barbecue Chicken recipe, and we loooooved it!  I am especially excited because P actually ate bell peppers and zucchini and didn't complain.  He even tipped the bowl up at the end to drink the rest of the sauce.  WINNING!!  I followed the recipe closely, but substituted 15oz can of tomato sauce instead of 8oz, and I didn't use the tapioca.  I'm sure that made my sauce runnier, but it didn't bother either of us.  When I try it again, I may even use more chicken.  For us, the half of the recipe that I didn't freeze was only enough for 1 night's dinner for P and me and a bit for Z, with no leftovers at all.  We used it as a stand-alone meal.  I think if I added another pound or so of chicken, it'd still fit well into the crockpot, and we'd have leftovers for Thursday night.  I could also easily add another sweet potato or 3, because they turned out hella YUMMY.

This past Big Cooking Day, I rounded off my activities by baking my favorite blueberry oatmeal muffins (substituting regular milk for buttermilk, and no nuts, and chop the blueberries in a processor before adding) and making my favorite maple marinade for some salmon.  P made garlic corn and we had it and the salmon for dinner that night and the barbecue chicken on Monday.  We'll probably do frozen pizza tonight, then I'll pick up some fresh carrots at the Farmer's Market on Wednesday and we'll do quinoa (no water, substitute the stock every time it calls for water) and P will grill some chicken, then we'll have the rest of that and the remainder of the corn for leftovers on Thursday.

I really like the Big Cooking Days on Sunday.  I'm still refining the planning and trying to make the most of it, but who can argue with a slow cooker going all day, baking, and grilling - exploiting all my options!  The quinoa would actually also be a good one to add on Sundays... I'd probably have kept cooking, but I ran out of clean measuring utensils.