Follow Up Friday

As promised, I'm following up on all the happenings of the week, namely, the cooking. Even with my hours adjusted, it is still difficult to cram in exercise and cooking a quick meal at the end of the day. May I suggest these three things too all you moms, working and stay at home alike, or even those of you who don't have kids but don't have a lot of time on your hands: PREP, PREP, PREP.

Most of the meals you will see on shows like, Robin Miller, 30 minute meals, Giada at Home, etc are really not that difficult. I think what intimidates and thwarts people from cooking is the prep work. But let's face it; if you want to cook, you're going to have to prep, there's just no getting around it. I think the key to making this all work is having a prep day. Robin Miller does this on her show and I think is a great idea. I think a lazy Sunday afternoon is perfect for this. Just review all your recipes, and decide what items you can prep. Have all your grocery shopping done of course, and then just go to town. Slice, dice, chop and store away in Ziploc or Tupperware until it's time to cook your meals. That's the hard part, really. Once it's time to cook your meal it will cut way back on time.

So I may save the details for "Confessions" next week, but as you know if you've been reading, the system kind of broke down and I got a late start this week on meals because of my friend migraine. So there's one meal I haven't cooked yet and am planning to do so on Saturday (that's still this week, right?). Here's my review:

Salami Sandwiches - This was an interesting twist on a Sandwich that I never would have thought of. I think Tim probably liked these more than I did...maybe because they're kind of a man food. I liked them because of the different kinds of cheeses. I did have a horrible tummy ache all night that night, so maybe if that weren't the case, I'd be raving a little more. The best thing about this meal though is that it was so quick and easy.

Slow Cooker Rosemary Chicken - Rosemary makes everything better. That's what I've learned this week. It's such a hearty herb and really tastes great on chicken. Word of warning, though, if you use the dried kind use very sparingly. A little goes a long way. I use fresh whenever possible. The best part of this meal was it's fragrance when you walk in the door from work and that you don't have to do anything but grab a spoon and serve. However, this is NOT a meal you want to be prepping right before you walk out the door. You will be late for work. The prep work took me about 15 to 20 minutes. For this to work for you, prep on a prep day or the night before. I did the night before. But it tasted great. It's nice to have something from the slow cooker that's not chili or pot roast.

Herb Chicken and Veggies - Well, I completely screwed up the veggies on this one. I marinated them in Dales liquid seasoning upon the suggestion of my cousin Kelly. However I apparently misunderstood. If you use this seasoning, all you need to do it squirt a couple of drops in the pan with some olive oil and sautee them up. Well this stuff has the salt content of soy sauce and I MARINATED the veggies in it overnight. Yea, we didn't eat those. Just one slice of squash would have given you a heart attack. However the chicken was really good and easy. A little bit of a mess, but worth it. However, anytime you are working with flour you are going to make a mess. Again with the rosemary - such a good addition to the seasoning!

Spice Pesto and Asparagus Salad - this is the meal I haven't made yet, and I think Saturday will be the perfect day to make it. It's light, perfect for spring, and there's a little more cleanup involved. There are so many meals I wouldn't want to make just by seeing them on paper, but I saw Giada make this on TV and wanted to make it immediately. The whole thing sounds weird but seeing it on TV...it looked delicious and I can't wait to make it. I love all the food Giada makes.

Another word to the wise. When preparing for the week, another thing that helps me besides prep work is to actually sit down and read all the recipes and directions so you'll know what you're getting yourself into. I have friends who are notorious for picking out a recipe that sounds like a lovely meal, but come to find out, they would be slaving away in the kitchen all night. Some of the recipes you might come across really aren't that complicated, but again have some prep work involved you weren't prepared for. I like to read my recipes a couple of times at the beginning of the week and before I get started so I know what I'm getting myself into and so I'm not constantly referring back to the recipe. It's kind of like studying. So there you have it. That's my follow up on the meals for this week. I've had some people respond and email saying they had tried some of the recipes. Did anyone else try them? How was it?

Until next time!