PurpleJedi said:

InternationalLover82 said:

Me too!!

...but do you think that we'd behave ourselves in front of her children, or would Paintedlady be kicking us outta her home quicker than you could say 'cafe-con-leche' ???

After we eat we can not behave

InternationalLover82 said:

PurpleJedi said:

...but do you think that we'd behave ourselves in front of her children, or would Paintedlady be kicking us outta her home quicker than you could say 'cafe-con-leche' ???

After we eat we can not behave

I've dined out everyday for the past 12 days.

I'm in this kitchen this weekend.

Cooking at home these days. I'm controlling. Keeping it simple, though. Did the crockpot 2 weekends in a row, shrimp and sausage gumbo sans the okra, and some Chicken stew.

PurpleJedi said:

InternationalLover82 said:

After we eat we can not behave

i have so been meaning to reply to this thread. my work life is full of fun at this time.

so this is how it goes for me.

early (7am) saturday and monday mornings are my time in the kitchen. in searching for ways to trim my budget, i've found that cooking most of my staples for the up-coming week helps me to save time and money. since i work from home, i like to just pop over to the refridge, put my food on a plate and nuke it. in less than 5 minutes i have my dinner.

so on saturday, i

1. bake a couple of pans of corn bread. (slice it up and bag it for the fridge)

2. fry up 2lbs of bacon - bag it in two slices per bag

3. fry up a sausages enough for 5 breakfast meals (bag it 2 for each meal)

then (for the following week's dinner meals). i fix one of the following in a large cooking pot:

1. spaghetti

2. chili with beans - all meat is seasoned and prepared with veggies that have been chopped by hand. so it is ready to add to fully cooked beans. beans are pre-soaked simmer until tender.

3. cabbage, carrot, onion and chicken stew (this is great for maintaining and helping weight loss)

> cook up enough rice for 4-5 days so it can be eaten plain or see #4

4. stir fried rice. one w/brown rice the other with white rice.

all items will stay safe in the fridge for at least 5 days. with the spaghetti, i sometimes freeze for future dinners.

(note: i keep potatoes for if someone wants to fix a baked potato w/cheese and bacon, w/salad as an alternative meal. house rule is - no stove cooking for at least 4 days per week-only nuking)

when monday comes, i

1. cut up salad greens and chop veggies into a large salad bowl for individual salads. also i cut up carrots and celery for healthy snacks. they are bagged.

2. steam up enough brocolli to last for three days.

make garlic bread biscuits (from biscuit rolls purchased from the local bread store). then i bag them, put in fridge. they are great snacks. or i prepare parmesean cheese rolls from the same.

also once a month i make white castle knock offs. these can stay safe in the fridge for at least 5 days, and in the freezer for about a month.

(both days of cooking i'm finished by 12:00-12:30pm. save for the beans for the chili. chili has to simmer longer to get better taste - at least that's what i was taught)

so that's my cooking agenda. i prepare nuke-able food for me and my household members. i've found this helps me to save time, electric energy, and has really help me on lowering my monthly power cost. and most importantly, people can just go to the fridge for themselves, not have to turn on the stove to prepare their dinner. what i do in those two days saves money and allows me to stay focused on my work and art projects uninterrupted for days at a time.

how did i get to this? well, one day i asked myself, why cook every day, turn on the stove, run the water, pop the fridge open and shut countless times and make my meal prep work time a daily chore. so this has been my winning formula to save time and money, while enjoying a holsom and tasty home cooked meal.

i've compared my energy bills from before i started doing the above, with the energy bills i have now. i've save $15-$20 dollars each month as compared to the prior related bills. two of my friends are doing this on their free saturdays. they tell me it really helps them to have more time during their work week.

so anyway, my meal tonight was corn bread, rice and chiliw/beans, and 1/2 of a chilled sliced avacado and carrots.

it was goooo-uuuu-oood!

[Edited 10/29/11 20:14pm]

baked ziti

garlic bread