Wow. Who has time for all the cooking y'all do? I'm making pasta with canned sauce and a salad for dinner.

Coffee,
I was so busy last week that I feared that the groceries bought last weekend would turn into science experiments if I did not cook all day yesterday.

If we were having dinner at home tonight I would have pulled whatever protein out of the freezer before I went to bed last night and about now would be checking it in the fridge to see if it was pretty much thawed and if not, nuke it. There are some nice bottled marinades or marinades that are quick to throw together so now would be the time to put stuff in a marinade. Prep time is going to be about 30 minutes whether I am doing pasta with canned sauce and salad, or oven baked chicken or a casserole, etc. Things where I can compartmentalize the prep time to 5 min here or there work really well. I have a rack of ribs thawing in the refrigerator that will be Wednesday's dinner. Tuesday night I will hack them into appropriate size chunks and put in marinade. The marinade will have been put together some time during the afternoon because it needs to be boiled for about 5 min and then allowed to cool completely. Wednesday the ribs will just need to be drained, put on the racks in the pan, covered in foil and cooked. Putting them on the rack and covering with foil will take less than 5 min. I'll return in an hour or so to check how they are coming along and raise or lower the oven temperature. Final prep will be about 5 min under the broiler well sauced. I use timers a whole lot, and my shopping schedule allows me to see when I am likely to be home on Wednesday to get it all together. Heavy schedules are crock pot time.

Oh yeah, I guess if your eating meat that simplifies it. You actually sound super organized. I just keep stuff for salad in the house even though I'd rather be making mexican food.

And if you are eating vegan, starting from dry beans that need soaking (rather than opening a can) will provide you a better grade protein I've been told. I've also been told that a slow cooker works quite well for some of the higher protein grains. We all function better when we have a varied diet that provides the nutrients we need. We do enough restaurant shops that cooking at home needs to cut back on fats to compensate for the overly fatty restaurant food and provide more veggies and fruits.

I have learned a great deal from my dad's Cardiologist and so we try to limit our animal protein intake to one serving per day. As I cook for my dad, I have learned all kinds of ways to incorporate non animal proteins and good fats into his diet to keep up his weight. He hates bread so I try to find ways to put sneaky carbs. into his every meal. He loves fruits and vegetables so that is not a problem. Restaurant assignments put a wrench in this plan and I have to say that my spouse jumps for joy when I have them. We always cheat on the weekends.

Oh yeah, beans and tortillas are my other staple. I made tostadas tonight, as I got home early. And I even made some of my quick salsa. I"m not vegan, I'm vegetarian. I haven't figured out yet how to ditch cheese, although I've cut back a LOT. It's not a religion, I don't freak out over a bite of meat. I even taste the 5 guys burgers just like I'm supposed to.

Please understand that I did not mention 'vegan' with any sort of contempt. We all have our own ways of doing things. For us the challenge is getting more fruits and vegetables into the diet, though overall we are omnivores.

One of my biggest challenges was when my twins were just getting to the toddler stage. There was a nice couple in the building with a daughter about the same age that they played with in the sandbox and in play groups in each other's homes with or without other kids. The husband was Peter Singer, the Australian philosopher who at that time was writing what has become the textbook on animal rights. To be consistent, there could be no leather shoes, belts, coats, no animal protein, no feather pillows, etc. in their home. It would take me a week to figure out what I could serve them for dinner when we invited them over. We did not worry about getting animal products out of the house, only about not putting them on their dinner plates. It also would take me a bit to figure out what I could serve to Orthodox Jewish friends who kept kosher. At my house they saw a lot of kosher chicken cooked in foil and always served on paper plates and with plastic 'silverware'. When someone for philosophical or dietary reasons choses or must abide by a diet different than my own, I will honor it if I wish them to be my guest.

I am the same way. I even cooked a turkey for my family for thanksgiving.

Tonight I made a shrimp stir-fry served over rice. For dessert I made Easy No-Bake Peanut Butter Bars that taste like Reese's Cups.

Tonight was 'oven fried' chicken, pasta salad with veggies snuck in, apple cobbler for dessert.

What do you coat the chicken with? Do you use panko? Do you grease the pan?

Cold roast chicken, potato salad, cole slaw.

I have made a stacked burrito using frijoles, homemade shredded smoked pork tenderloin simmered with chipotles in adabo, enchilada sauce and shredded cheese on top, and a side of guacamole.

I made pinto beans overnight in the crock pot, and this morning I made bean enchiladas which I can just heat up for dinner. I keep the corn tortillas low fat by not frying them, instead I smear with a little olive or coconut oil and microwave a stack of 12 for 2 minutes. Then I layered with the beans, chopped onions and sliced olives, chopped red peppers and shredded cheese and poured a small can of enchilada sauce over the whole thing.
All that is left to do is heat until the cheese is melted and its all bubbly.

I am trying to figure out something different for Labor Day.

The ribs are marinated and will go in a very slow oven fairly soon. There is a bundt cake in the oven as an experiment for my sister's 70th birthday this weekend. It is a crazy pan that is often hard to get cakes out of and I'm trying inclusions in this practice cake to see if they will work or just make everything stick horribly. Fresh green beans and baked potatoes to go with the ribs.

KathyC,
You could call it Dia de los obreros, and serve any of the Mexican inspired dishes listed above. But, don't plan for The Donald to accept an invitation.

He's not invited. Hmmmm.................Mexican. I'd like to que carne asada, but the flap steak/skirt steak always comes out tough.

2 ramen noodle bricks, 1/3 can of spinach, 12 pepperoni slices, 1/2 cup of mozzerella cheese, wegmans pasta sauce (the best i have had and i have had a LOT of pasta sauces), powdered garlic, dried parsley, and basil

Tonight I had a two-pound lobster with melted butter at my sister's house on Cape Cod. What more could you ask for?

Ha, I thought my dinner was pretty good until hearing about the lobster

Anyway, a BLT salad with homemade croutons and roasted tomato aioli for the dressing.

Hubby and I enjoyed onion rings, boneless wings (for me), a burger (for him) and soft drinks at a restaurant compliments of a MSC!

Raising Canes Chicken Combo bonused!

Grilled bratwurst, potato salad, cole slaw, baked beans.

Cleaned out some frozen things that were nearing too-long frozen. Made paella with shrimp, chicken breasts and chorizo, threw in some fresh herbs and veggies, and steamed brown rice.

Thawing in the fridge to feed us in a couple of days, short ribs bought for $2.97/pound. Really, really looking forward to those.

Dinner at a friend's house: Portuguese Chicken, roasted potatoes, rice, salad and those lovely custard tarts.

My first day off of a week I planned, so I have potatoes that need to be used, potato salad coming up. Also my honey likes lemon bars, and I'll probably go to the deli and get a big tub of that superfood salad I love. Yes it has kale and it's delicious. I'll put some chili beans on in the crock pot and along with some tomatoes from the neighbors garden, that should easily feed us for a few days, which will give me time for yard work.

I made tacos, rice, and beans with a side of bonused Wing Stop!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/31/2015 01:16AM by ShopSouthTexas.

Dinner was just peachy. A bourbon peach cocktail followed by a smoked chicken and peach salad. Kicking myself for using up all the peaches or dessert would be some grilled then stuffed with a mixture of Limoncello and mascarpone