COOKING ON ALL BURNERS

Periodically, my freezer stock runs dry of some basic staples. I like to have chicken and vegetable stock as well as red sauce available at all times as they are the basis for many meals that I prepare.

I also like to batch cook, taking one meat item and making enough for two  meals or creating two different meals. One to eat during the week, one for the freezer for a later time.

My block of time of marathon cooking is between 2 – 3 hours on a Sunday and that must include cleanup. As a morning person when I’m most energized, I plan a strategy of what to prepare and in which order to prepare it.

The favorite appliances that are used during marathon cooking mornings are a crock pot, a pressure cooker, and large pots. If needed, a large toaster oven can also be called into action. That can be used for either baking pork chops, meatloaf/meatballs, chicken breasts or baked goods.

Along with cooking for the freezer, breakfast and lunch is simultaneously prepared for the work week. This involves cooking either oatmeal or egg whites; soup or sandwich and some form of salad. The salad will be either a leaf salad or a marinated bean salad with shredded carrots and chopped celery. A mid-morning snack will be a fruit and mid-afternoon will be a yogurt.

This style of cooking cuts down on the number and frequency of pots that needs to be washed making clean-up on a weeknight minimal.

SOUND THE BUGLE! Today’s tip: Post a menu on a kitchen cabinet each week of breakfast/lunch/snacks items to bring to work or school. Each morning as you load your lunch boxes, you can automatically fill it without thinking about what needs to go into it. If you’re like me, being frugal with time in the morning is mission critical to getting out of the house!