Adventures in Cooking

Normally on my day off I like to cook a real meal because I have enough time to not feel rushed. For some reason a few weeks ago I decided I wanted to do a cooking extravaganza. I had recently found a menu in Self magazine called Cook once, eat healthy all week and thought it would be a good time to try it out. First I checked the cabinets for items on the shopping list, and then found the list to be very helpful at the store. Ross is an expert chopper so he helped me with the prep work. I got started later than I hoped, so I only got about half of the cooking done. I made three of the building blocks, the mini turkey loaves, and the shrimp enchilada bake.

Starting the next thing as the Adobe-Glazed Mini Turkey Loaves cool.

Layering the Cheesy Shrimp Enchilada Bake.

At this point it was now after 10 and we were tired and ready to eat. I used left over ingredients as a side and just dished out one loaf even though two are a serving. It worked for our late night meal since we had been snacking.

I promise I don't starve my husband.

As soon as we got home from work the next day I changed into my pjs and started cooking. I had to cook the sweet potatoes and make the ragout, thai soup, and shepherd's pie. It didn't take as long since most of the prep work was done the night before. However, I still felt buried under dishes.

We ended up eating the Spicy Thai Soup with Lime Shrimp since it seemed the least appetizing to reheat. I was so concerned about making sure the shrimp cooked that I over cooked them. Ross was glad there ended up being only one in his bowl.

Lessons Learned:

• Don't start this in the late afternoon. Especially if you plan on doing other things around the house that night too.
• Chipotle chiles in adobo sauce are stinkin' hot. Either make sure there are absolutely no seeds or just half what it calls for in the recipe.
• Almond milk is not needed since it's just used to soak bread. (Although it's super yummy in coffee.)
• Don't buy the chives until you're ready to eat the shepherd's pie since they aren't in any other recipes and are a garnish.
• Only cook shrimp the recommended time.
• Keep trying and HAVE FUN!

Have you ever tried a week long meal plan? Do you have any recommendations?