Now I know I’m Crazy

Tuesday night I sort of had the night off. Will belongs to a bible study class called Dad’s With Young Children and someone wonderful decided it would be fun if the Dads and their kids all went out for pizza together. So I had nearly two hours all to myself. I immediately changed into comfy clothes and my first inclination was to find the remote and hit the couch. But then I thought why not use this one night off and turn it into several nights off? So here is the breakdown of what I did:

6:05 – Cook 1 lb of ground chicken with salt and onions. Set aside to cool (This will be added to a jar of Green Chile Stew to make a 5 minute dinner some other time)

6:10 – Cook up another 1 lb of ground chicken, this time added basil, oregano, salt, pepper, onion and garlic. Once browned, I added 1 large can of tomato sauce and a bit of olive oil. Cooked for ten minutes.

6:20 Poured into casserole dish with 8 ounces of cottage cheese. Without washing the pot, added 4 cups of water, brought it to a boil

Meanwhile:
I cooked two packages of Better Crocker instant mashed potatoes & added a tablespoon of yellow mustard & sprayed a 2nd casserole dish with Pam

I also got out the vacuum sealer and sealed up the following from Monday night’s shopping trip:

4 pork chops
6 chicken breasts bone in (2 packages of 3 each)
The above mentioned pound of ground chicken

6:30 The water is boiling so I add 8 ounces of whole grain pasta and let it cook for 11 minutes.

Meanwhile:
Spread ½ potatoes on the bottom of the casserole dish
Chop up 1 package of link turkey sausage

6:40 Drain pasta, add to casserole dish, add mozzarella cheese and cover.
Lasagna Casserole – DONE.

Added mustard and some Worcestershire sauce to the sausage & browned it up (just used the same pot as the pasta – didn’t even rinse it)

Meanwhile: Open can of sauerkraut, get out Swiss cheese & Caraway seeds

6:45 Put browned turkey sausage over 1st layer of baked potatoes, then layer sauerkraut, then another layer of mashed potatoes, top with Swiss cheese and caraway seeds.

Sausage & Potato casserole - DONE

6:50 PM : Clean kitchen, put away vacuum sealer, put casseroles in fridge and meats in garage freezer, wipe down stove & sink, prep coffee for tomorrow and unload dishwasher, rotate laundry.

7:05 – Curl up on sofa with a good book for nearly 40 minutes of blessed silence, with a clean kitchen, a stocked fridge and freezer, and a happy heart, knowing I won’t have to cook again until Saturday!