Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Deadlines, Procedures and No Cooking

Yep, that title pretty much sums up my week. I had a proposal due Friday and since things have been a little crazy around here, I needed every bit of time to make sure I met that deadline.  Then hubby was scheduled for a procedure and had to be on a clear liquid diet for a short time. Yeah, broth and Jell-O get pretty boring when that's all you can have. Trust me, I speak from experience.

Then I discovered this at the grocery store.

Oh boy, oh boy! Clear liquids with flavor.

These new discoveries made my husband a happy camper. He even said the Mexican Tortilla was hot. Like spicy hot. When he says something's hot, I know it's probably too much for me.
But these were only two of the flavors I saw. There was a Thai Ginger, Hot and Sour and a couple others that escape me now. But what a great basis for a quick soup. You could dice up some leftover chicken, maybe add some veggies and you've got a quick and easy meal. For those of us who have deadlines (heck, even if you don't have deadlines), quick and easy is always a plus.

Speaking of deadlines, my next one is already closing in. I need to come up with a plan of action. Make double-size meals and freeze half so all I have to do is heat them up later. Now if I could just come up with a way to make laundry do itself.

14 comments:

  1. Oh, I understand this 100%! Not the procedure part as yet, but the no time to cook thing! I try to make double meals so that we can eat the same thing twice... because red sauce is never a bad thing! But I don't even have time to do that always, and that's where the trusty can of tuna comes in. :) But honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way. Dave appears to be surviving and I love writing! Happy/Happy!!!

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    1. Ruthy, there are some days when time just gets away from us, aren't there? I start writing and then the next thing I know, I've got a long, tall drink of water boy standing over me, asking what's for dinner. This is why we keep Red Barons in the freezer. But then they pull this, "But I want YOU to fix me something" stunt. I mean, what's a mother to do?

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  2. I'm a big fan of double meals. But this broth idea is tremendous. I have all sorts of spice blends that I could just throw into my homemade broth and voila. Duh!!!!!

    Thanks for sharing the idea and prayers for strength to finish strong.

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    1. Julie, I bet they're Penzey's spice blends, aren't they? Love me some Penzey's. 😉

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  3. Ooh, I hadn't seen these yet either!! Thanks for letting us know about them. I'll keep some on hand for before medicals tests and for making soups with lots of flavor.

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    1. You should have no problem finding these at Walmart or your local grocery, Missy. There right with the regular broths.

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  4. If you figure out the laundry thing, let me know. I'd love the laundry to do itself around here and I'm only washing for one! LOL Those broth mixes look great -- and I like your idea of adding veggies to them ---mmmm, even kale and then a nice grilled cheese sandwich on the side. Yum. Well, not if you have to be on a liquid diet. My goodness, things have been hopping down your way for quite a while. Good luck on the proprosals...cause that means I get to read more great books. Selfish wishes there. :-)

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    1. Kav, I want to congratulate you again on making it to the next round of BTB. So exciting. I'll be cheering for you.

      By the way, you had me drooling at grilled cheese sandwich. Love those. But you're right, not if you're on a liquid diet.

      Still working through the laundry thing. Haven't made any advances. You know, I don't mind putting stuff in the washer or even the dryer. It's the folding and putting away part I hate. Maybe I need a robot to do that for me. ;)

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    2. Thanks, Mindy. I'm still happy dancing, but the nerves are setting in now LOL

      I hate the putting away part of laundry too. It was great when my daughter was home because she loves to fold and iron and I don't mind tossing the dirty clothes into the washer and dryer. We made a great team.

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  5. A great quick soup idea! Thanks, Mindy!

    Too bad on the liquid diet, though. Poor guy.

    As far as making more time, I've toyed with the idea of hiring someone to clean the house...the same way I toyed with the same idea back when we were homeschooling. As much as I love having a clean house, there are only so many hours in a day!

    But laundry isn't as much of a problem since the younger generation who live with us started doing their own laundry. It's part of their chores for the privilege of living here :) I have a laundry schedule for the rest of the laundry so that I don't do more than two loads a day, and then I fold them in the evening. Not too bad, as long as I keep on schedule.

    Speaking of keeping on schedule, I have a deadline looming, too. Time to get at it!

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    1. Hubby is happily back to eating regular food now, so all is well.

      I'm with you on hiring someone, Jan. I guess I just can't justify spending that much money on something I can do myself. Of course, WHEN I will do it is another story.

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  6. Oh, this is great! I so hear you on the time crunch. Homeschooling six kids and the cooking/ cleaning/ chauffeuring to sports/ lessons/ games/ appointments/ teaching religious ed at our church/ teaching piano/ teaching German-French-Russian to other kids/ and plus family and church commitments... My writing happens at night, between 10-4AM.
    I cook in big batches (because I cook for 8, anyway) so I usually just triple it and freeze. I bought another freezer just for made-ahead foods. I couldn't decide between paying for outside help or investing in the freezer, and decided that since I already knew all the recipes, I'd just put them money into a nice freezer.
    But I'm also learning (slowly, 'cause that's how I roll!) that some dinners just don't freeze well. Also, some dishes do better from freezer to oven (like Fiesta ware- awesome).
    OK, great post. We're off to sing at the nursing home. My friend Barbara teaches us really old (to me, I've never heard them) hymns and we go sing to the old folks. Maybe it's their hearing, but they seem to love it.

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    1. Virginia, my eyes crossed looking at all you have on your plate. Holy crow! No wonder you're up at 3 AM. I don't know how you do it all AND homeschool. My hat is off to you, girl.

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  7. P.S. Congrats on making B2B, Kav!!! That is awesome!! So proud of everybody who made the cut!!

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