Made it Ahead -- Last Week!

I made a big hunk of beef last Sunday.  It was an inexpensive bottom round cut.  It was pan seared and then baked on a cookie sheet with carrots and radishes, along with assorted small potatoes.  We had a nice dinner and it was a swell way to wind-up the weekend.  The meal was made with the intention that it would turn into stew -- bottom round isn't the most tender cut of meat.

Once we were done with the meal, it all got chopped up and put into a pot with some stock.  I also sauteed onion and mushroom to go with it.  We let it cook low and slow over-night and into the next day.  Having 24 hours on the stove let the flavors meld and the meat ended up very tender.  The Big Guy came home for lunch and dumped in some cream of mushroom soup.  The stew was a great dinner, and then TBG made wide egg noodles to provide another couple of meals.  We had it for dinner another night and he had some for lunch.

In addition to making stew, I turned some left-over turkey jambalya into burritos.  I just mixed it all in with a can of re-fried beans and shredded cheddar, and baked them all up at the same time.  I had a burrito for lunch every day and TBG had a few too.

Making ahead and eating left-overs for lunch saves a lot of time any money.  I had also made a huge batch of wheat and yam pancakes.  I had three yams left from Thanksgiving, so I used them with some walnuts and pecans.  Work is so busy I'm generally there by 7AM in the morning.  Some days I bring my breakfast and eat there.  Mostly I just quickly nuke my pancakes and throw a burrito with a side of sour cream into a bag. I fill an old salad dressing bottle with iced tea and sometimes toss in a piece of fruit.  No matter how busy I am, I take a half an hour for lunch.  I have been staying past 5PM most days and it's hard to have the energy to exercise. Since all I do is take the dog for a walk, it at least helps that my meals are pre-made so I'm not ordering lunch to save time.

This  makes for a busy weekend, but it's the only way I can think of to get it done.  I was too busy with Christmas shopping, wrapping, and cards to get any advanced cooking done. Now I know I'm going to be scrambling all week and I hope I can catch up!