Domestic Moment

So for a very long time, I have been very frustrated with making dinner in the evenings. It is always a scramble, the kids are crazy, and dinner just needs to get. on. the. table. As a result, I've tried a number of different methods to get food on the table more efficiently -- on the fly, once a month cooking (OAMC), eat out all the time, just about anything. None of it really worked, and it just got more frustrating. In any case, lately, I'm on a bit of a roll, and it seems to be working pretty well. Well, at least I'm not spazzing as much.

1. The first thing that I need to do is plan. Nothing sucks more than having to run out and get missing ingredients, and if you want to see bad choices, watch me make food decisions 30 minutes before it needs to be on the table.

2. I hate planning. Sigh. And the amazing thing is that the people who eat the food I make *rarely* will give any input on what they want to eat. We also tend to eat from a variety of cuisines. So I put together a rough framework for different days for different meals/cuisines, as such:

• Monday: Soup and Salad/Sandwich
• Tuesday: Mexican, Central or South American
• Wednesday: Chinese, Japanese, or Thai
• Thursday: Indian or Italian
• Friday: Fish or Chicken, Veggies
• Saturday: Eat Out or Whatever
• Sunday: Family Dinner

3. On Saturday, I put specific meals within the framework, and then make a shopping list, shop, and prepare the veggies as much as possible (it saves time during the week). Last week, dinners looked like this:

• Monday: Potato, Sausage and Kale Soup and Bread
• Tuesday: Quesadillas, Mexican Rice, Chips and Guacamole
• Wednesday: Broccoli and Tofu Stir Fry
• Thursday: Spaghetti, Meatballs, and Green Beans
• Friday: Fish, Sweet Potato Fries, Greens, Brussel Sprouts
• Saturday: Eat Out
• Sunday: Curry Chicken, Vegetable Biryani, Curried Cauliflower, and some fun yummies from our local Indian grocery

This week, I need to add in the additional wrinkle of Mimi starting a cleanse. I love the challenge of making a good meal that permits everyone to eat it, and for it to taste good. This is going to be fun! I might not be able to follow the format I made, above, but we'll see what happens.