Preparing and planning

We both are starting new jobs in the next few weeks (and mine will involve a commute for the first time in a year) so I'm trying to rethink our daily routine and figure out how it can be adjusted for our new reality. Part of that reality is going to involve less time for dinner prep in the early evening and an increasing need to get dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes. While we weren't creating elaborate meals most nights anyway, I've been used to having the time to make this that require longer cooking times while I work around the house.

I'm also trying to use this time before all the jobs begin to create a stockpile of recipes (ha! as if I follow recipes!) as well as the building blocks for meals we like to eat. Today, that means that I need to turn 2 packages of ground turkey and one package of chicken breasts into something I can freeze for a future meal. I'm thinking that the turkey might become a batch of precooked meatballs and frozen burgers. I know that I'll slice the chicken up, but haven't figured out what to season it with. I've already got a package of "Asian-ish" chicken in the freezer. 

It's also Wednesday which means it's our local farmers' market day. I'll need to decide whether we're going in a couple of hours and then make some appropriate dinner plans. It's pretty overcast, so I'm leaning to a night staying home. 

Summer is coming!

With summer around the corner, I'm beginning to think about what we'll be cooking, canning, and growing this season. I've just reorganized the extra freezer and our garden is in and growing. On top of all of this, I start a new teaching contract in a few weeks for the summer. We're going to be busy!

So, what's on my agenda/wishlist for the summer? Well, I'd like to work on doing a better job of using and saving more of the food that we buy. It's so sad to find a soggy bag of carrots down at the very bottom of the crisper. So, that's priority number 1. In addition, I loved the little amount of canning I did last year (jams and the pickled beans). I even made a small batch of strawberry-lime-vanilla jam a few weeks ago! But, we don't go through as much jam as I like to make, so I'd also like to work on making things OTHER than jam! Where does this leave me? Well, I'm not entirely sure. We made yogurt a few weeks ago which was fun. Chickadee found it a bit too sour, so I might try making some lightly presweetened next time. We've also been prepping more beans and freezing them, which I like to do. In fact, there's a big batch of pinto beans in the fridge right now that I need to break down and freeze. And I started a pot of tomato sauce this morning while working from home that I'll also freeze. I also have a bunch of chicken breasts in the fridge (buy one get one at the store) that I think I want to cut up and freeze in different marinades. I've found that we like some of the TJ versions and why not make our own and save some money. And I'm also intrigued by the idea of relishes. I keep seeing recipes on line for them so that's definitely something I'd like to investigate. Alas, I also need to figure out if there are something we'd regularly eat because, as much as I love canning, it seems silly to can things we won't eat.

The garden will be providing us some nibbles soon. We picked a snap pea each on our way to school this morning for an early snack! And we can probably start taking some early potatoes from the plants as well. There are two teeny, tiny zucchini on the plants but no patty pans yet. And the eggplants are looking a little sad. The beans and edamame are about 10 inches high now, but I don't think we'll have enough of either to save, just enough for some meals in late summer. However, we ought to have LOT of tomatoes of all shapes and colors. I'm super excited about those!