High five to future me: the meal prep edition

 This shouldn't be so revolutionary to me, but old habits die hard, I guess.

Instead of passing out on the couch at like 9:00, I have been spending 30 or so minutes after I put the kids to bed and take a shower prepping the next day's dinner. Is this what I deeply want to be doing in my heart of hearts?  Um. No, not really. BUT. Dinner has to be prepped, and isn't it better to do the work with Ben's help and a glass of wine and no toddler running around getting hangry? I mean, yeah. It is.

And it has been a dream to just have dinner READY. Like, we had fish tacos, and the fish was prepped in the fridge waiting for the air fryer. I pre-made sauce and also pineapple salsa, and the whole dinner was on the table in less than 15 minutes. AND! Ben and Cooper could eat before hockey, and Minnie and I could eat with the boys later (Dorothy has a long night at dance and takes a packed lunch to eat between classes) because I could air fry the fish individually. One night, we had chicken salads with miso dressing, and I filled my covered veggie tray with all the toppings and cooked the chicken the night before. Tonight is slow cooker mac and cheese, and the mac and cheese sat ready to go in the crock pot over night waiting to be plugged in 3 hours before dinner. The chicken is all seasoned and is hanging out in a casserole dish anticipating its time in the oven,I’m sure, and the broccoli has been washed and cut and is chilling (LITERALLY— it’s in the fridge) on a cookie sheet with some butter, salt, and pepper.

Will this habit last? I don't have super high hopes to be honest. If I can make it through one bout of PMS with meal prep still happening, then I think I have a chance... It takes like 60-some days for a habit to stick, right? So let’s see if I am still night-prepping meals in May? I am concerned it will be like school lunches. The kids were making their own, and then things got busy and I stepped in ONE DAY and suddenly it was SECOND SEMESTER and I was packing elementary bentos on the regular. That’s how it will happen, you know? One day I will skip prep to collapse on the couch and then suddenly its’ my 35th witching hour in a row managing raw meat and marinade and toddler TV requests and fifth grade long division and high school dramZ all at the same time.

This salad was THE BEST. I worked super late on Monday so I could just bring Coop home from dive practice on campus at 7, and this salad was waiting for me after I FINALY put the world’s most stalling-est toddler to bed. Arugula! Peppers! Carrots! Blanched snap peas! Mandarin oranges! Green onion! Tomato! Roasted chicken breast! Crunchy noodles! Miso dressing! A TASTE EXPLOSION.

Ben chopped the veggies while I cooked the chicken and prepped potatoes and cleaned up

Fish taco prep happening, and  another bonus! It’s so much easier to clean dinner up when the major prep mess is all dealt with the day before.

A few months ago I read The Lazy Genius Kitchen and ever since then, I have been psyching myself up to make my kitchen work better for me. It took a hot second because our kitchen is big with lots of  drawers and cabinets, and they were all a freaking mess.

Saturday, though, Minnie, Dorothy, and I were home alone all day doing NOTHING, and I finally got to work.

I took EVERYTHING down from above the cabinets (except the old crystal we have from Ben’s grandparents and the antique cookie jar from my grandma’s kitchen that I legit do not want to get broken) and found homes for it in the cabinets, and I got rid of 3 contractor’s bags full of stuff. Some broken, chipped, or otherwise decommissioned that could be recycled and a ton of donations. I only kept water bottles with lids,. And there is a WHOLE DRAWER just for lids and straws. I have another drawer just for baking needs (I CAN MEASURE ANYTHING NOW DOWN TO THE 1/8 tsp) and one for spoons, spatulas, and spoon rests located RIGHT NEXT TO THE STOVE DUH.

I can now grab a cookie jar when I have fresh bakes or actually use my juicer to make salsa instead of just squeezing limes with my hands and fishing out the seeds. THERE IS AN ENTIRE EMPTY SWATH OF COUNTER because I have room to store my chopper, blender, and sandwich maker out of sight. (I did not touch my 2 shameful spice cabinets because I could not bear it. SOMEDAY MAYBE).

WHO CARES ABOUT WEIRDLY PLACED OUTLETS when there’s SO MUCH room?

SO MUCH MORE PLEASANT.