Today I am spending quite a bit of time in the kitchen, preparing my meals for this weekend. We have lots of Christmas events going on and I do not want the stress of “what is for dinner” dampening my Christmas spirit. I find that by being prepared we eat more nutritionally sound food, are not tempted to eat out, and actually have more time to enjoy rather than cooking the meal and then cleaning up the resulting mess.
A few years ago, I started watching Rachael Ray’s cooking show “30 Minute Meals“. I loved the title and really enjoyed the ideas she presented in her show. If you are not familiar with it, ”30 Minute Meals” is a cooking show on the Food Network, and she takes you step-by-step how to prepare a meal in under 30 minutes. Being the time deprived gal that I am, I thought that 30 minutes to dinner would be a real treat! I learned lots of her shortcuts and methods of cooking foods quickly, and have incorporated that into my own meal preparation. My version of it is 30 minute meals x 2 = cook once but eat twice!
I made 2 meals today. One was a chicken dumpling casserole and the other was a pasta dish. These are my own adapted recipes of family favorites.
Chicken & Dumplings
Ingredients: 4 boneless chicken breasts
1 can of chicken stock
1 package dumpling noodles
Coat the bottom of a large skillet with olive oil and cook the chicken breasts until nearly done. I usually cut them up into bite-sized pieces which makes them cook faster. When they are nearly cooked through, I add the can of chicken stock and about half the package of dumpling noodles. Reduce the heat to a low simmer. Sometimes I add more water if needed so that the noodles can cook. When the noodles are nearly done, I stir in a tablespoon of flour which helps to thicken up the sauce.  I placed this dumpling mixture into a rectangular casserole dish and after cooling it, put it into the refrigerator.
While the dumplings were cooking, I was working on my second dish, pasta.
Pasta
Ingredients:
1lb Ground Turkey (You could substitute beef)
28 ounce can of diced tomatoes
6 ounce can tomato paste
Basil
Oregano
16 ounce package of penne rigate (or other spaghetti type noodle of choice)
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While the ground turkey or beef is browning, start the water boiling for the pasta noodles. When the turkey is done add the can of diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and the seasonings to taste. Stir to combine and simmer on medium low heat to let the flavors combine. Cook the pasta per the package directions and drain it well. Combine the pasta noodles in with the sauce and stir until it is mixed together. I put this pasta mixture into another large casserole pan, let it cool, and placed it into the refrigerator.
Now for the next 2 days (48 hours) our main meals for lunch and dinner are made. I can even give the kids a choice (dumplings or pasta?) combined with a side salad (from a pre-made mix) and bread that I made in the bread machine.
This method of cooking has helped my stress levels tremendously. It feels so good to wake up in the morning and know that the meals are prepared and only need to be heated up. It does give me the feeling that I get a “break from cooking”, even if it is only for a day or two. But just that little bit of a reprieve can really go a long way.Â
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