I Am NOT Martha Stewart or Rachael Ray

I like to cook but often find that I don't always have the time to prepare healthy, well balanced meals on a daily basis. It isn't a matter of organization...it is a matter of timing and there are certain periods of time that are busy. One stretch of time is October - December. We have a couple of birthdays in the family, soccer and of course Thanksgiving and Christmas. Another stretch of time is quickly approaching - the spring with T-ball, church softball, Easter and many family birthdays.

Last October I prepared and froze 30+ meals. It took a lot of planning but after spending $200 and about 16 hours (over 3 days) we were set with healthy yummy meals that made my life very easy for the next 3+ months and relieved a lot of stress. It also gave me some "extra" money in the budget for the birthdays and holidays of that season. Simms loved it and I must admit it was a relief to not have to work my whole day around what I was going to be making for dinner.

Now it is January and there are only 2 meals left in the freezer. Time to prep a bunch of meals again. However I can't just do the same thing I did last time. We are bored of those meals (even though there were only 2 or 3 of each). I was up for the challenge (or I am just crazy) and searched the sale circulars and cookbooks with the goal of finding new recipes that would use the meat that was on sale. I successfully put together a plan of 17 recipes which should result in 36 meals. Add that to the 4 pizzas and 2 hotdog dinners and I should have 42 meals!

Yesterday I finished the food shopping and have spent about $250 this time around. Now, to begin preparing the meals. I had all of the food and was ready to go but something was wrong; amidst all of this organization I was feeling quite unorganized. It took me a little time to figure out the problem...I have NEVER cooked 13 of these recipes! As a result, I didn't know where to begin. I sat down and drew up a plan while Barber ate lunch and began to implement the plan after lunch. Barber spent the afternoon watching mommy, playing trains, pushing the Swiffer around, and watching a Winnie-the-Pooh movie. We even danced to some music too...well he danced while I smiled and worked with meat - my least favorite thing to do.

I must confess I HATE touching raw meat. Simms doesn't understand this because I can handle dissecting fetal pigs and cats and enjoy watching medical procedures on TV. "It's just different," I tell him. In my mind, raw meat is "dirty", adding bacteria (which I can't see) to an area that I like to have clean...my kitchen. Those other things (dissections and surgery's) take place in a laboratory or an operating room. I am NOT going to eat there. So yesterday I worked with about 23 pounds of raw meat to produce/prep 18 of the 42 meals. You can ONLY imagine how many times I washed my hands and how many paper towels I went through (I use paper towels instead of a regular towel...only when my hands have been washed after handling meat...I know they are clean but just in case...). When all is said and done, my countertops and sink will be scoured and VERY CLEAN again.

My plan is to have all of the meals completed by Sunday. This also requires me to reorganize the freezer in the garage as well as the one in the house. Therefore, if you don't hear from me until after Sunday...you know what I am working on.

It does take a lot of time but as I have mentioned before I am a "big picture" person.