Since most of our late afternoons look like the picture above–no shower, no makeup, still in workout clothes, baby in Bjorn, sitting on couch or outside– I have had a hard time finding time to make dinner. Lucky for us, we had great friends and family cook and bring us dinner for about six weeks a few nights each week. It was the most helpful thing someone can do!
Even for someone like me who enjoys cooking and grocery shopping, I have had no interest in spending any open time I have standing in the kitchen. I also have had a hard time even remembering how to put a meal together. We had one disappointing night of cereal for dinner, and then I realized I need to be a better planner.
Another difficult thing is that our peak fussy times are in the late afternoon leading up to the last feeding of the day. I feed Logan at 7 p.m., which leaves the 5 p.m.-7 p.m. hour as fussy time, where we are outside, he’s in the Bjorn, or we are trying to entertain him. I’m not sure when I could get dinner together! At 6:45 p.m., we do a bath, I feed him, and get him to bed. By the time that’s over, it’s about 8:30 p.m. and I get ready for bed too. You see, if I don’t eat by 6:30 p.m., it’s too late.
However, now that our meals from friends has ended, we have no choice but to meal plan on the weekends, resume Sunday grocery shopping, and prep during the day as much as I can before the dinner hour. One thing on our list is to buy a crock pot. Anyone have good make-ahead recipes?
I’m also lucky to have a husband who enjoys cooking too. We have lots of cookbooks and tagged recipes, and he even has grocery shopped more since March 1 than in our whole marriage probably. He preps dinners, cleans when I feed Logan, and empties the dishwasher too. It’s the little things!
(herbed turkey burgers with steamed green beans and Alexia waffle fries)
You’ll see in this post a few pictures of food. I don’t know where the recipes are to type them, but the point is to show you how we’re easing back. It’s important to me to cook at home and not rely on restaurants, and I’m learning how to have things in the pantry and freezer to make meals quick.
(Giada di Laurentiis avocado pesto pasta with roasted asparagus and cherry tomatoes)
And remember how much I used to love to bake? The one loaf above is the only thing I’ve baked so far. No cookies, brownies, or homemade challah. Just one strawberry loaf using Spring’s best fruit–the strawberry. I made that on a Tuesday at 10 a.m. I just realized that free time had about five things ahead of baking and then there was no time left.
(single serving pancakes with Vermont maple syrup)
Two mornings though, we did have pancakes. One Jeffrey made and I ate over Logan’s head while he nursed (not an ideal way to dine), and the other I made when my mom was visiting and entertaining him.
So there you see, we are getting back into the swing of homemade meals. They aren’t too exciting or “blogworthy,” but they are square meals and I’ll try to write more about that.
In the meantime, back to tend to our growing boy!
Recent Comments