Working . . . Cooking

So I have been at the full-time job for 10 months now.  Wow.  When I was working full-time at home taking care of the house and children, I was always wondered how all those women who work full-time outside the home do everything.  I always thought it would be very hard.  And, I was right.  But, I have found with 10 months under my belt, that it is ok to let stuff go sometimes, and planning ahead really does help with getting more stuff done.

So a few weeks ago, I got just a little more deliberate in my meal planning.  In 3 weeks, I have done much better than I was doing, with just a little planning.  If I have all the grocery shopping mostly complete and a planned menu for every night, we save time and money.  I know.  It is nothing new.  I just rebelled against it for a long time.  I am in danger this next week of not being prepared, but I am giving myself grace until Monday night to get the full plan for the week underway.  Plus, my planning over the past month has me armed with a chicken enchilada casserole in the freezer.

I leave you with this recipe that I tried during week one of my “more deliberate meal planning” experiment . . .

Savory Grilled Pork Tenderloins with Herbed Vegetables

INGREDIENTS

 2 teaspoons onion powder

2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2teaspoon pepper

 2 to 2 1/4 lb pork tenderloins

 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 large red bell peppers, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

16 medium green onions, diagonally sliced (1 cup)

2 medium bulbs fennel, cored, thinly sliced

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

  • Heat gas or charcoal grill. In small bowl, mix onion powder, 2 teaspoons thyme, the garlic salt and pepper. Sprinkle thyme mixture on all sides of tenderloins. Immediately place on grill over medium heat. Cover grill; cook 15 to 20 minutes, turning 3 times, until meat thermometer inserted in center reads 160°F.
  • Meanwhile, in 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until hot. Cook remaining ingredients in oil 4 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently, until vegetables are tender.
  • To serve, cut tenderloins into slices. Spoon vegetable mixture over slices

When I made this, I used the broiler, and it worked great.  I also did not have fennel available, and we liked it fine without. Enjoy!

3 thoughts on “Working . . . Cooking”

  1. Planning is such a great idea for all of us! I find I save a lot of time when I make doubles of whatever I am cooking and freeze some for later. Often I don’t do the final cooking on that second meal (ie, after assembling a lasagna or chicken pot pie or some breaded chicken chests), but sometimes, as in the case of the meatballs I love to make to eat with our spaghetti, I cook them completely, and them pop em in a freezer bag (no sauce) to use with a later meal. I even learned recently you can cook pasta to “al dente”, cool it, pop it (again sans sauce) in a freezer bag, and pull out to use with supper in a pinch. SO lovely!

    My hat is off to you, with working full time outside the home and getting meals done too. Good job!

  2. ok, meant to say “often I don’t do the final cooking….BEFORE I FREEZE IT!” I do actually like to fully cook all our food prior to eating it! Hah!

  3. I knew what you meant 😉

    You’re a great planner. I am still not as committed to home-prepared things as I would like to be, but even meals using convenience items require some planning.

    Tonight we had meatball sandwiches using grands biscuits instead of buns. They were really yummy–and worse for us than any other kind of bread. But we also had corn on the cob and grapes and milk. So it wasn’t a junk food frenzy!

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