Adding to "QUICK AND EASY" Ideas!!!!

Ruthy here! So for those of you who are NOT writers, you're about to take a ride on the wild side of quick meals, great taste and time-saving steps which is what writers do to pump up production of books...

Tomorrow we kick off our annual March Book Push with "SPEEDBO" our version of "Book-in-a-Month."

Our job at the cafe is to provide water, coffee (hydration and wakefulness necessary to the cause) desserts and great tips on how to GET IT DONE!

I've loved cooking for a long time. But now, with a full time job and a wonderful writing career, time is scarce....

PANIC, RIGHT?

Naw.

It's all good because there are tons of quick, delicious recipes that get the job done. First I examine the parameters:

Seven days....     7

Dave's only around on five of them for supper.

Down to five days now:   5 

I don't eat breakfast. (That makes morning easy-peasy, right? Except my little peeps DO eat, so I don't worry about what's going on with the day job. I examine the writing time only and target that.)

Instantly I've minimized my worries and woes.

Five nights: I elect Dave to procure food for two of those nights. That's the partnership part of the extra paycheck.... And he loves the extra paycheck!!!!

So I've whittled my week down to three nights because the two nights that Dave isn't around I'll grab a salad or a salad or a salad.

:)

THREE MEASLY NIGHTS!!!!!   3

Geez, Louise, anyone can come with something quick for "three measly nights"

With  a little help from your friends!

This past weekend I slow-roasted 3 humongous, ginormous chuck roasts in the oven. Here's how:

Place large chuck roasts in big roasting pan. Sprinkle liberally with pepper, salt, garlic, and dried onion. Cover tightly. Roast at 275° for a day or so, adding water now and again as needed. The entire house smells like you're a master chef, and you're literally doing nothing but working on a manuscript.

Use one pan of meat to make pot roast. Add in potatoes and carrots, re-seal (add more water for broth if needed ) and return to oven. Raise temp to 350° and cook for an hour to an hour and a half.

Let the other pans cool somewhat, then (using your hands, it's so down-home-country FUN!!!) pull the fat from the meat...

:)

and then pull the very tender beef into pieces. Toss them into a big bowl. Add two bottles of Famous Dave's Rich and Sassy Barbecue sauce... (or your personal favorite)....

And then toss into freezer bags for quick, thaw-and-heat deliciously wonderful hot beef "Q" sandwiches.

We like ours on grilled Kimmelwick buns, a big fave up here from the German immigrants. Kimmelwick buns are chewy hard rolls covered in sea salt and dill seed. Just a wonderful taste, to die for.

So from those chuck roasts we have three meals of frozen Barbecue Beef (that I'll put up against anybody's, anytime!!!) and a delightful pot roast dinner.

I also used the juices/drippings to make beef gravy. I froze that and I'll use that for either biscuit pie or to make hot beef sandwiches later in the month. 

EASY PEASY! 

Happy Last Day of February!!!!