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I walked in the door tonight and said to myself, “I need to get back to my friend about Friday night.” And then I thought, “Oh, crap. It is Friday night.” That pretty much sums up my week. I burnt the pecans I was toasting this morning. I’m exhausted. My cat is sick, and I’ve been stressed all week over it.
I called my friend to apologize for my inattentiveness, popped open a bottle of kombucha, started munching on my burnt pecans, and decided it was time for a random blog post. What have I been up to? Besides burning the pecans.
This week I’ve been busy making food, just not for me so no pretty pictures. I’ve been freezing it for a family member battling cancer. Last weekend I made the Bacon and Superfood Meatloaf from the new edition of Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfilippo. I doubled the recipe and made half for myself and half for my family member. This recipe alone is worth buying the book. Please check it out at the link above. I split the meatloaf for myself in half since I’m the only one eating it, and, I swear, it was gone in two days. I kept going back for more. It was that yumtastic! The best part is that I have another meatloaf in the freezer for when work gets crazy later this month. Score! I’m still reading through Practical Paleo so I’m sure I’ll have more to comment on in the coming weeks.
Earlier this week, I happened upon some chicken on sale at the store and bought three packages of it so I could cook up some extra meals for my stepbrother. I made some of my Chicken Cacciatore, some salsa chicken (recipe in progress) and some Yumtastic Chicken, modified for chicken parts instead of a whole chicken. I think I will test that version of Yumtastic Chicken out soon and do a blog post on it. I’m all for anything that makes the process easier. My Instant Pots (yes, I have two. Don’t judge.) did all the work that night. I had two of those recipes done in about an hour. I’ve got those chicken meals frozen, some beef stew, some shredded pork and other random finds, like the bratwurst I was craving and bought thinking it would be perfect only to find out it has dairy in it. I was so disappointed. I’m adding a jar of sauerkraut to the stash to go with the bratwurst, though, because if they are going to eat my bratwurst, they will need sauerkraut to do it right.
My lunches this week were all the same: spaghetti squash, marinara sauce, and sausage or ground beef. I mixed it up a bit with some salad from the cafeteria at work. I was just too stressed about my cat and busy making food for others to mess with getting too creative. That said, a great tip is to keep it simple where possible and utilize your resources, like the salad bar at work. Is it perfect? No. But I don’t have to prep it so it saves me time, money, and energy I can better use elsewhere. I bring my own dressing and toppings and pick veggies off the bar. It works for me.
I did manage to get a recipe posted this week so if you haven’t seen it yet, take a moment to check out my Chicken in a Pot recipe. I usually let the Instant Pot do all the work for me. Although with these chilly fall days, using the Dutch oven is nice too. There is something about a meal cooking in the oven with the lovely scents of herbs and roasting meat wafting through the air, a comfy couch, a warm blanket and a good book that makes for a perfect fall day. It might even make up for the burnt pecans.
