The Joys of Not Cooking

Dinner is always a crazy time in our house. Brian doesn't get home until 6:00, and we try to eat dinner as a family. Sometimes I think I'm nuts for doing this, but we do it anyway. My friend Lara told me about "30 Minute Meals" when I was pregnant with Brandon, and I'm a big fan of Rachael Ray's recipes (minus some of the excess EVOO). I've never been one to cook long meals, on average, anyway. Slow, simmering sauces are great, but not practical for every day. Over the summer another mom here in Colorado told me about a book her MOPS group used, called "Don't Panic, Dinner's in the Freezer." I put it on my Christmas list, and got it in December. The recipes are great! I've thought about doing freezer main courses before, but I've always hated the recipes found in the books I've seen. I've thought about using my own recipes, which I have done in small quantities, but I didn't want to experiment on my family with stuff that looks too horrible to eat (i.e. - peeled raw potatoes turn black in the freezer), or food that tastes nasty once thawed (such as frozen cooked pasta), or food that is mushy. Can-not handle mushy. I wanted to do it the easy way.... I wanted someone to tell me what to do, tell me what works, and tell me what doesn't. I just wanted to be a follower.

Since then we have dined on grilled buttermilk chicken (grilling in 25 degree weather is always fun. May not do that one again until summer), breaded chicken breasts stuffed with pesto butter, and lemon-honey glazed chicken. Tomorrow night we are trying the chicken breast stuffed with proscuitto-wrapped mozzarella and sun dried tomatoes in a tomato cream sauce. I hope we like it, since I made 6 of them! You still have to make the occasional sauce, side dishes, or something to accompany your main dish, but the stress of that when both kids are screaming is a lot smaller than thinking of the whole dinner. The recipes are pretty simple (for those of you who aren't a whiz in the kitchen), and don't call for any exotic ingredients. Funny thing was I had the turmeric and smoked cumin, but not marjoram! On the downside, you use a lot of plastic baggies for freezing, which is so bad for the environment, and you do have to remember to take your lovely creations out of the fridge the day or morning before your meal and thaw them, or you may be having eggs and waffles for dinner!

Albertson's has had some great deals on chicken lately, so I've only tried the chicken recipes. I'll try some beef meals as soon as that meat goes on sale at the market. I'm really bad at cooking beef, so I'm hoping that this book will alleviate the anxiety I face whenever I cook with beef! Since the meals are made with raw materials and frozen right away, they are tasty on the day they're cooked. I'm hoping to get down to cooking two or three times a week, replicating the meal a few times for future eating each time I cook.

Some friends have asked for my favorite recipes, as well. Here are a few links to some of my favorite eats that are tasty and easy!

Stir-Fried Broccoli Beef (I cut out most of the red pepper, as hot spices are not my thing): http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/13212

Chicken Picatta Pasta Toss (don't use a pound of pasta unless you love it!) http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_21995,00.html

Chicken Tortilla Soup (I also add black beans)
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chicken-Tortilla-Soup-V/Detail.aspx

Chicken and Dumplings
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_21772,00.html

Keep in mind that I'm not huge fan of leftovers, so I do cut most of these recipes in half. The soup and the Picatta are good the next day, though!