I love Prep!

I was so very excited to hear one of my dear friends is

using this method of madness... prep.

Kathy, in a sweet email, mentioned to me, that while she may not be cutting and chopping,

and mincing and slicing one day a week, SHE IS setting aside time to get her shopping

and other kitchen duties done. She noticed a difference when she didn't do her

particular prep routine, and it hit her that planning ahead makes for a much

more relaxed and enjoyable experience in the kitchen.

HALLEUJAH!

***

It is such a treat to have something work out!

***

Prep can be anything you deem important.

I read a comment that Dee Dee posted on another blog recently, and she quoted

the Flylady. I LOVE THE FLYLADY! She says we should "Shine our sinks" "Put on our shoes and be ready for the day, everyday" "27 fling boogies" and all sorts of cool things.

Way back when... a few years ago, when I would visit her website and get email alerts, it really helped me with getting a routine down, a much needed thing in my house when I had 3 under 5.

***

Prep is meant to be a helper to you. To help you "just get it done" so you don't have to worry about it during your busy week. Whether your prep is paying your bills up, ravaging the freezer for items that will expire soon, shopping for staples and food needs for the week,

or cutting and chopping all my dinner and lunch items for the week, so all I have to do is dump and cook it, as long as it creates peace for you...IT'S PREP!

***

Since my job is about food prep, and my kids are human garbage disposals these days,

my food prep has become my "peaceful place". When it's done... I feel like all I have to do for dinner is put it together... all the brain work is done on Sundays.

I just don't fret anymore. I rarely ask myself... "What am I going to make for dinner tonight?"

And now... I frequently have an answer for my men when they ask "What's for dinner?"

***

I have taken the whole prep thing to other parts of my life too.

If I know I am going to do lots of laundry the next day... I will sort EVERYTHING the night before, and just eliminating that one little step ahead of time, so all I have to do is

place the clothes in the washer and press start.

Sometimes... I'll even pre measure 10 loads worth of detergent and put it in an egg crates I cut up into individual little cups on the top of the washer, again, eliminating a step, so all I have to do

is dump the cup into the appropriate area of my washer and press start.

Okay, that's a rarity, but it works great when you are gone and you want the person watching your house to use the specified amount of detergent for your new fangled washer and make it easy as pie for them.

***

Onward and upward with prep... IN ALL AREAS OF OUR LIVES!

Have stress free day!

Prep!

It was a nice weekend... Not too much mayhem, got some things done...

But it is time to prep again for the week.

***

Since I have been baking my own bread, I have saved about 150 bucks on Artisan Bread I used to buy for 4.99 a loaf, and now make about 8 loaves for that same price.

I have a batch of regular and a batch of bagel dough all ready to go in the back fridge. I made the dough 3 days ago.

***

Today's prep involved the usual onions, peppers, pasta salad making and such, but I noticed that William's appetite has doubled since football training started, and he needs more sustainable food in the morning to keep him going the 4 hours until lunch. Cereal just isn't cutting it.

So tonight, when it gets cooler, I'll be making a big batch of pancakes with wheatgerm and flax seed, and boiling up a dozen eggs or so. The protein should help him not feel so hungry before lunch and help build the muscles he is building on a daily basis. He will be limited to one a day because of the cholesterol content.

***

I was at the little 99 cent store here in town buying clear plastic for my tables and chairs out back and I noticed the bags and bags and bags of shelled and roasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds on a bin. I bought a bunch of them, put them into my favorite Lock n Lock containers and will be using them to fortify my homemade bread by adding them to the dough when I shape it.

I love bread with chunks of seeds and nuts in it.

***

Have any of you jumped on the Prep bandwagon?

Or are you just laughing at me every time I post this?

If you are laughing... laugh away... dinner takes me 15 minutes to make now, from start to finish, and all the time consuming stuff is done in one day!

I have given myself more time to swim or read!!!

Hardee har har!

:)

Goat Cheese Appetizer

Our French toast dinner was awesome last night with the Brioche I made.

I even cooked it out back in my patio kitchen. So much cooler!

***

I forgot that I have a log of Chevre Goat Cheese from Trader Joes in my fridge that I need to use, and since my tomatoes are finally ripe, I am going to make my families favorite,

favorite, favorite appetizer tomorrow night.

***

I already have a bunch of onion chopped, so I just throw about a cup and a half into a bowl,

Dice up about 5 tomatoes with my Nicer Dicer

Chop a handful of parsley

and about 4 cloves of garlic.

Mix them all together.

***

Take the cheese carefully out of the package so it all stays intact

and place it in a stone with sides or in a pan with sides.

pour the tomato mixture over the entire log of cheese.

Bake @ 300 for about 5 minutes or until the cheese is soft and spreadable. or microwave it for 2 minutes.

***

Slice two long baguettes into cute little slices.

Slather on the cheese/tomato concoction and eat!

YUM. YUM.

Go on... tell me you love it...

Tuesday Tastings

Okay so my new book, Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a day, is the absolute best cookbook I have ever read. Last night, after it cooled down, My hubby sat at our island while I stir together

the ingredients for regular bread and another of Brioche.

***

He was mesmerized by how simple it was to do. He was waiting for me to knead the dough, get all messy, scrape my counter, and NONE of that took place. I just mixed the ingredients in the big plastic tub, put the lid on, and let them sit on my counter for 2 hours, then just put them in my backyard fridge! That's it! Today, if I need fresh bread for dinner, I just pull out a piece, form it, let it rise and pop it in the oven! Voila!

***

Okay, off the bread subject. My men are all home, and are always hungry it seems.

It's a full time job keeping them fed.

So now my prep involves cutting veggies into strips so they can have them for dips or salsa as an alternative to chips, which I don't buy.

I am also making a ton of cooked brown rice on prep day too. It is a great go to snack in a hurry.

You can mix it with salsa for a mexican style cold rice salad, or mix it with a little sugar and cinnamon for a quick rice breakfast, or you can heat it up and wrap it up with salsa, and cheese and a slice of roast beef or two for a quick burrito.

I'm also keeping hard boiled eggs around.

Packed with protein, they are a great grab and my kids love em. If they want two, I let them eat one whole and one without the yolk, unless they are having practice or a workout that day, then I let them have another yolk.

***

Tonights dinner is the 30 minute chicken recipe. Too hot to turn on the oven. I will be baking my bread in my back patio oven this summer.

I'll serving it with couscous seasoned with Pineapple Salsa and a tomato and onion salad dressed with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Stay cool today!

Prep 101

** I thought this deserved a re post. The weather is hot, all the kids are home, make your life easier with Prep!

***

The key to cooking a hot meal every night or at least some nights is...

ADVANCED PREPARATION!

In my household, it is key to success.

I set aside about 2 hours every week, usually on Sunday Evenings when Desperate Housewives is on, to cut, chop and cook whatever I can ahead of time.

I, ideally, like to plan what I am cooking ahead... but sometimes life gets in the way, and I have to rummage through my freezer and pantry and plan from there. THIS is where real recipes come from.. necessity.

90% of the time... I know I will need at least a few onions, some peppers and celery, and some ground beef, chicken or turkey browned up.

So here is a typical weeks list of dinners. Now... I don't set aside which day each dinner is going to be on... I just do all the prep for the 5 or so dinners I know I have ingredients for...

Enchilada Casserole

Pasta and Quick Pea Sauce

Roasted Chicken

Ravioli

Tacos

Okay... so I know what I am making... I look at the list and decide what I know I won't have time to prep the day of and do that in my prep time.

For example... for the Casserole...

I will grate the cheese, chop the olives,

slice the green onions and pre cook the chicken and pre shred it.

For the Pasta dish, I will just chop up the lettuce for the salad and all carrots, cucumbers and purple cabbage we like in it. Pasta takes only 10 minutes or so to cook, and the Quick Pea Sauce is just that... quick.

Roasted Chicken is 30 minutes so I do that the day of, but if I have some brown rice in my pantry, I will cook it up with some stock and put it in the fridge during my prep time on Sunday. When its time for making the meal, I just take it out, reheat it with a little Olive Oil in a big skillet, throw in some frozen corn, maybe some frozen peas and top it off with some fresh grated Romano Cheese.

For the Ravioli, that Costco Mozzarella and Spinach one is AWESOME, so that takes just a few minutes to cook the day of, and during my Sunday prep, I might make the garlic spread for garlic bread. Make a quick salad of cherry tomatoes and onion, and maybe a little feta cheese and a little olive oil and Balsamic Vinegar and you are in business!

My goodness I am a wordy girl. I need to learn to be more concise!

Tacos are the easiest if you prep ahead. Chop all the onion, tomatoes, cabbage or lettuce, shred the cheese, and cook the meat with your seasonings and bag it all up. The day of the meal, it is all ready to go with just the reheat of the meat and the shells! You can even jazz up some of that brown rice you made in advance and make it Mexican Rice with some black beans, salsa, cilantro and corn! Yummy!

I know, I know it sounds like a lot of stuff. But you would be amazed how much you can get done on one stove at one time. If all the veggies are right there in front of you and you have a bunch of either bags or containers to use, prep is a breeze and will make life SOOOO much more livable! You can have the meat going at the same time the rice is cooking and the chicken in cooking in the Rice Cooker Plus ,for those that know what that is, or your skillet!

I will be going into more detail about prep and how I do each thing, but I wanted you to get a general overview.

Even if you get all your onions and veggies done for the week, you are that far ahead of the game!

More soon!

Ciao!

Prep!

When we go camping, I like to make everything ahead of time,

then only re heat when we are there, so as to avoid too much hassle

and impede my picture taking, crotcheting, reading time.

Everyone can just serve themselves, heat up and we can all sit around the fire

and enjoy each others company.

So today, I major prepped.

I made...

***

Enchiladas

Salmon Mousse

Macaroni Salad

Carrot Raisin Salad

Tuna Salad w/o Mayo

(we add the Mayo as needed, don't like it gooey) blah!

Chopped up a bunch of carrots, celery, and radishes for dipping

(way better for us than chips)

Oh! and my FAMOUS Goat Cheese Appetizer!

My families absolute favorite thing to eat!

So now, I'm done, we just pack it up and head on out!

Easy as pie!

Now I just have to drive that behemoth and make sure I keep the shiny side up!

A tool I can't live without!

I bought myself this thing off QVC during Christmas, on a whim. With all the chopping, and slicing, and dicing I do, sometimes I just want a little help.

This picture doesn't show all the components I have with mine, but

I FREAKIN LOVE THIS THING!!!

GET ONE NOW!!!

I sell Pampered Chef, and I SOOOO wish we sold something like this!!!

I would sell millions of them!!!

It is awesome!!!

My kids use it, it dices onions to microscopic little perfect squares,

it'll make shoestring potatoes, it is just plain ole' awesome.

All you have to remember is to wet the blade every time you take it out of your drawer. After that, the food automatically wets the blades.

I use it to cut peppers, onions, celery, zucchini, you name it... into perfect tiny squares!

It'll do big and medium squares too, just change out the handle, it is sooo easy!!!

My boys fight over who gets to use it, and I get them in the kitchen with me! Win Win!

My cornbread muffins are studded with restaurant style confetti now.

Pasta Salad looks like a party in the bowl!

Genius Nicer Dicer from QVC... other places may sell it, but you won't get as many components unless you buy it from QVC.

Try it!!

Ciao!

PREP NIGHT!

I have another show today...

So after the lovely ladies leave, my day will officially begin.

I have onions, celery, and peppers to slice and chop.

I'm going to make 7 PB & J sandwiches and a bunch of celery with peanut butter, for a quick kid snack during the week. There are 2 baseball games, 2 basketball games, 3 Tae Kwon Do classes, 2 baseball practices, 2 basketball practices and 2 shows this week, so, handy, good for them snacks, are a must.

I'm also going to make another huge batch of carrot/raisin salad for the week. William loves it packed in his lunch. I think he is looking orange this week.

For dinner tonight, it's Pasta and Garlic Bread with Spinach Salad, and dessert of frozen grapes, peaches and mangos.

I will post my menu for the week when I go grocery shopping in the morning.

Go get whatever you know will be difficult to accomplish this week, as far as food goes, and get it prepped. It is freeing... I promise!

Happy Chopping!

Ciao!

Vegetables, Fast, Fresh and Good for You!

An easy, quick way I maximize my weekday time is loading up on fresh veggies that store and marinate well. Marinate? you might ask? Yes. Marinate.

I have to confess, I do a little prep each night for the next day. Just a little.

If I know I want to roast some veggies for a Roast Dinner the next day, while I am making lunches for the kids for the next day, I will grab the veggies and cut them all up in to chunks and get them seasoned and in a sealed bowl.

My favorite, go to veggies to use year round are...

Broccoli

Sweet Potatoes

Red Rose Potatoes

Eggplant

Onions

Baby Carrots

Queen Table Squash

Butternut Squash

And the flavoring/seasoning I use is

Salt

Pepper

ANY Pampered Chef seasoning

and Costco's

Mesquite Steak Rub

First I chunk all the veggies up, place in a stainless steel bowl, drizzle with a little Olive Oil,

sprinkle on the seasonings, toss them around a bit,

and put a lid on the bowl and place it in the fridge. YUM!

All I have to do when I am ready to use them is preheat my oven to 400, place them on a sheet pan or stone with sides, and bake them for about 30 minutes.

We fight over them!

I keep all the skins on, for more nutrients and phytochemicals,

and they are all fresh so they are very flavorful.

You can use any veggies that you and your family love... but don't be afraid to experiment with something your family 'thinks' it doesn't like. Sometimes it is just the way the "hated" food was prepared for the reason for it being "hated". My kids love all veggies. They eat everything.

We attended a dinner at a friends house years back and she had a bunch of bowls of cooked vegetables on the table. My boys took spoonsful on their plates, but when they tasted them, they left them on the plate, whispering to me that they no longer liked peas, corn, or beans.

I noticed the peas weren't really green, and the corn looked a little mushy.

I peeked into the trash can and noticed what I suspected. Canned vegetables.

NOT THE SAME FLAVOR AT ALL!

I had to re-educated their palates that they DID like those foods.

Preparation and seasoning is key to kids eating well.

There is still a plethora of winter produce in the markets for great prices. Try some of them this week and let me know how you liked the recipe!

Enjoy!

Ciao!

WELCOME!

OKAY! HERE IT IS!

I get asked all the time..."Saundra, how is it that you have 3 kids, your kids play in 4 different sports sometimes at the same time, you have your own home business that you do truly at home, a husband that works far from home, and you cook almost every night?!?"

My answer to that is simple "ORGANIZATION AND PREP TIME" & I do with my time what I deem important to me and my family, not what others deem important.

Ladies... women are natural organizers. We compartmentalize everything in our lives. Our kids, our work, housework, even our free time!

I know everyone likes to say they don't have any free time. We seem to be brainwashed into thinking that the less time we say we have, the more important we become. Well, we all get the same 24 hours in a day, and we all get a choice on how we use them.

I want this blog to be extremely useful and timely and necessary.

I will not coddle anyone.

We ALL have "busy" lives. Just because I have 3 kids DOES NOT automatically make me more busy than a woman with one child or even no children! Just because I don't have a "regular" 9-5 job does not make me less busy than a Mama that works 10 hour days.

Our times are just shifted.

Everyone has their own priorities, quality of life, family time, reading time, craft time, sport time etc...

We all have choices... and if one of your choices is to find time to do the things you have been wanting to do, but don't get too, this is the place for you!

I have had 25 years experience in how to do things in an organized, methodical, (my hubby says "sickeningly methodical" ) way. (He just doesn't get my way of doing things... but he sure isn't complaining when he sits down to a 4 course, hot, ready meal 5-6 nights a week, and made for pennies on the dollar) And yes ladies and gents... the kids do the dishes... every night.

I have rules that I love to adhere to and have put forth on the kids since they were able to hold a dish scrubber.

Here is the rule for this blog...

Use what you love, don't listen to what doesn't sit well with you or your family, and comment on what works for you!

My way isn't the only way... for everyone, but it is for me. If I can help even one guy or gal get a good, hot, easily made, satisfying meal on their table a couple times a week, I am a happy girl.

Seem like a plan?

Good!

So let's journey on... shall we?

First on the agenda, you need a kitchen!

Check!

Now for some utensils...

TO BE CONTINUED!