Cooking

Not just because Mr. B has been so busy at work of late but partly because of it, I've really started to get back into menu planning, grocery shopping, meal preparation and cooking. In fact, I've started a new routine whereby, each Wednesday (which is the day the grocery store circulars come out for the week), I pour over them, see what's on sale where, devise my menu plan for the week (Thursday-Wednesday), pull together the shopping list (noting what store to get what item in some cases), look through my coupons, and gear up for shopping day (which is Thursday).

WHY I'm sticking to a schedule now is another Blog entry in and of itself, but, I have my mother-in-law and father-in-law to thank for putting the idea into my head.

Anyway, so, yesterday was supposed to be shopping day but I was otherwise occupied with appointments, so, I'll head out today. Schedules are meant to be flexible, of course!

But, back to my point.

Another thing that's been making these particular activities fun is that my mom game me a subscription for "Cooking Light" magazine for my b-day. Last month's issue was crammed full of recipes that I wanted to try (and so far, we've had a lot of them; including both the roasted vegetables and the chocolate mint brownies we had as part of our Easter dinner).

So, here's what's on the menu for this coming week:

Beer Boiled Brats with Sauerkraut and Vermont Maple Baked Beans (actually left-over beans; I made this as a side-dish (recipe from "Cooking Light") a few weeks ago and it made enough for two extra meals).

Beef and Leek Pot Pie (another left-over; I made this Wednesday ("Cooking Light") and it made a huge amount so we can have it twice more). This was my very first attempt at pie crust and, other than having some difficulty getting it rolled into the proper shape (rectangular), it turned out great. The filling was time consuming (lots of prep work of slicing and chopping and dicing plus an hour or more of simmering on the stove) but definitely worth the effort.

Ham and Spinach Hash with Fried Eggs; obviously, a nod to using up left-over Easter ham! This recipe is from one of Rachel Ray's cookbooks and her recipes are almost always fantastic.

Open-Faced Chicken Cordon-Blue with Sauteed Spinach; this came from "Gourmet" magazine. Another way to use ham, plus, Mr. B LOVES sauteed spinach. Hey, I'm doing my best to keep him motivated through his busy season (even if it is only through his stomach).

Monterrey Shrimp on Linguine; a recipe I got from my step-mom. It's an interesting concoction of sauteed shrimp, basil pesto, blue cheese, garlic and diced avocado over linguine.

Chicken Souvlaki in Pitas (a nod to The Kid since this is one of her favorites, but, it doesn't look as if we'll be seeing her until the busy season is over, so, we'll have to eat it in her honor). It's from "The Dinner Doctor" and it's sort of a Greek chicken salad. Yum.

So, the planning is fun, the prep work is OK and the cooking is a lot of fun. The clean-up, well, not so great, but, that's the way it goes.

While I was preparing the pot pie the other day, I realized that, over the years, I've sort of changed my technique. I used to do everything all at once (prep and cook) but now, I tend to prefer to do all of the prep work that I can perhaps hours before I actually start the cooking process, then, when the time comes to throw it all together, I don't feel so rushed. Also, if I do the prep work beforehand, I can also get a lot of the clean-up out of the way so that I don't have a bunch of dirty dishes sitting in my sink and/or all over my counters (obsessive Mrs. B can't stand that).

Not to mention, as in the other day when we had company for Easter dinner, it was much more enjoyable being able to visit with everyone and then throw the dinner together rather than trying to talk, prep, cook and get thoroughly confused!

Now, I'm hungry!

Mrs. B