cooking with kids
Often, day to day schedules just don’t happen like you plan them, especially with kids.
Sometimes, they go exactly how you plan them, but it’s the next few days that go array.
A few days ago, I shared about my temporary cooking rut, and how I really wanted my bulk baking/cooking day to help me climb on out of that mealtime madness hole.
I spent time baking, grilling, mashing, and cooking only to have the majority of the food that was prepared…GONE…three days later!
As a mom of five blessings, three of them teenage boys, I know a little something about cooking for large groups, but I won’t make excuses and say this was part of the plan.
I doubled the Shepherds Pie…one to freeze, one to eat – both pans eaten at nearly one sitting. The ten pounds of mashed potatoes used to top that shepherd’s pie with some left over to freeze for my gourmet freezer potatoes…gone. I baked three loaves of  Easy Zucchini-Banana Bread…gone in two days. (Although, it’s a foolproof recipe, even when you forget the butter.) I grilled ten pounds of chicken and beef…only one small zip lock bag left.
All this to say…it’s STILL worth it.
I cherish the time that I spent in the kitchen with my girl, and know that this kind of meal making modeling with reap rewards that last a lifetime.
I cherish the time that my boys sat around our candlelight dinner table three nights in a row with a plethora of food and a precious husband reminding me…”They are growing boys, you can make some more.” I needed that reminder. They will be out of the house before I know it and then I will regret rationing food so much.
I cherish the time that conversation was savored and shared with grandparents, and because of my Saturday preparation, I could whip together a Monday night meal in minutes because the chicken was already grilled, sliced and ready to serve for chicken salad.
I cherish the time I spent stockpiling groceries this week. It’s not often you purchase thirty boxes of groceries for a “Hamilton,” and it certainly offsets this weekend.
So even though our best laid plans may or may not be executed, are you still Cherishing the Journey along the way? These moments are flying by, and we can not redeem the time.
chicken
Posted at Melissa’s Inspired Room