Food Prep.

Warning: this post consists of a lot of nothing more than me rambling about cooking and baking. Please skip if you find these subjects boring. Don't worry: I won't be offended if you leave, just please come back tomorrow :P

I made my gumbo for supper today, only I replaced the eggplant with zucchini and I added some beans and a roasted sweet potato to the mix. Delish. I love one pot meals so much (note: this meal did not take only one pot to make, more like three or four, but it is served from one pot and that is what I love about it; a giant collage of food, mixed harmoniously into one bowl and served. I've never really cared for "main dish plus sides" kind of meals. I want all of my food mixed together!).

I recently obtained my class schedule for this upcoming Fall semester. I am happy to report that some days I am done class at 3 PM or noon, so making home-cooked meals those days won't be a problem, but for the days that I finish at 5 or 6 PM, I don't want to rushed to prepare din-din, thus I hope to have those meals made ahead of time and stored in the fridge or freezer. I am starting to compile a list of my favorite "one pot" meals that I can make on the weekend and store for the days when I won't get home until somewhat late. I think this gumbo (or at least a variation), this fabulous meal, and this chili-like dish will be in the rotation.

Like last year, my goal is to bake my weekly loaf a bread, make some sort of dessert or snack, and prepare two "one pot" meals, all on Saturday or Sunday so that all of the big cooking is out of the way for the week. It may seem like a lot to prepare and that it would eat-up a lot of time, but on average, preparing the meals/foods listed above usually takes me two hours (start to finish, including clean-up time). That's really not too much of a time commitment for a week of healthy, home-made eats. And if you love cooking and baking as much as me, then those two hours will be pure bliss :)