Investment
cooking is an allotted amount of time I set aside to prepare meals, condiments,
desserts, breads, etc. This allotment of
time can be one full day, a half day or just an hour or two.
I do a
lot of half day sessions. I love to
spend time in the kitchen and I like to have a variety of scratch made items on
hand for my family to enjoy.
This is
what I made on my latest half day investment cooking session:
- Navy Bean Soup – cook some for supper and freeze some for a future meal
- Sloppy Joe Filling – cook and freeze in lunch size meal portions
- Beef & Bean Burritos – freeze for individual lunches
- Salad dressing – 1 pint buttermilk; 1 pint Italian
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough – bake a dozen, freeze the rest in logs
- Peach cobbler
- Cornbread
That
morning I:
- set out everything I needed to get the job done
- set out the frozen meats to thaw
- measure out, pick, rinse and put beans on to soak in warm water for about three hours
- if I happen to be hungry, eat breakfast
- do something else – laundry, tickle the kids, water the yard, whatever
That
afternoon I:
- put the beans into the slow cooker on high to begin cooking
- cook up the Sloppy Joe filling, allow to cool, place in freezer containers, label and freeze.
- get one of my kids to grate cheese
- mix up the burrito filling, make burritos, place in zipper freezer bag, label, lay flat in the freezer
- clean up cooking mess
- mix up cookie dough, bake a dozen, wrap the rest in logs with plastic wrap or waxed paper, label, place in zipper freezer bag, label and freeze
- add ham and carrots to beans
- mix up cornbread, bake and set aside for supper
- mix up peach cobbler, bake and set aside for Sunday’s dessert
- make salad dressing
- clean up baking mess
- finish cleaning up kitchen
- season soup to taste, set aside some for supper, place remainder in freezer containers, allow to cool, label and freeze
- make a salad, eat supper, have a cookie, finish cleaning up the kitchen
- pat myself on the back for a job well done.
A huge
part of my plan is to make sure I have everything I need on hand, not only food
but storage containers and bags too.
Setting everything out before I get started helps me make sure I have all
the items I need at my fingertips.
Cleaning
as I go minimizes the workload and final clean up. I reuse as many bowls, utensils and pots as
possible so I don’t end up using everything in my kitchen and having to wash a
ton of dishes.
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