Tag: kitchen tips

Recipes and Cooking

Creating Simplicity in a Working Mom’s Life

Brandi C

Creating Simplicity in a Working Mom's Life

Creating Simplicity in a Working Mom’s Life

In this season of life, I need things to be easy. While most of my children have “flown” from the nest and life is quieter, I’m busier than I have been in a long time—though it’s a different kind of busy. So, I have been Creating Simplicity in a Working Mom’s Life.

A Realization of My Reality

The other night, I was sitting in the living room, multitasking because if I don’t do something now, I’ll forget. I was cooking dinner, listening to H chatter, hearing about my husband’s day, answering emails, working on a grocery list, and planning the menu for the upcoming week.

In the midst of all this, I stopped working, looked at my husband, and said, “I have cooked, almost daily, for you and the children for almost 31 years.” Don’t get me wrong, I love to cook. When my kids were young, I would freezer cook for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks for a month. I baked all the time—breads, cookies, and such.

I loved challenging recipes, shelf-cooking, freezer cooking, and experimenting. But now? I’m tired. T.I.R.E.D. I have no desire to plan, grocery shop, or cook. It is SO hard to go from cooking for 16 people to cooking for just a handful.

Not a fan.

My creative juices are drained by my job, exhaustion, lack of appetite, and zero desire to work harder than I absolutely have to. So, my wheels started turning, and I came up with a plan. We’ll see how long it lasts.

How My Mind Works

When I work on my list, I add to it as soon as I realize I’m out of something or need something. If I wait until a “normal” time to do it all at once, I’ll surely forget. One of the first things I do is call my son. He comes over during his lunch hour occasionally, and I want to make sure I have things that he likes when he’s here.

Next, I figure out who gets to pick the dinner menu for our Saturday meals. Once I know, they create the menu and I ask if anyone else wants something specific. I add that to my list, then order what my grandchildren need or want to make sure they have plenty of snacks and food they like when they are here. Finally, I work on the rest of the menu and order what I need. I’m very good at not wasting food.

Sundays, I don’t cook. Tuesdays, my husband makes me a pizza. Wednesdays, we eat out (most nights). Saturdays, a different person picks the menu each week. That leaves me with Monday, Thursday, and Friday to handle.

Here’s the Plan

I sat down and categorized the foods we like: soup, Mexican, Italian, chicken, miscellaneous things, and side dishes. From there, we all picked about 7 (or more) items in each category. I’ll use that list to rotate meals throughout the month. For each meal, I’ll make an editable grocery list. I’ll mark off what we don’t need and checkmark the items we do need. As I cook, I’ll post the recipes. Some are already posted, and I’ll link them back.

Does that make sense? It does in my mind. All we have to do is pick from this list, and the grocery list is already created. I just add it to the cart, and my husband picks it up. These are simple meals to make, and I’m still working on the chicken part. We love chicken, but I don’t usually write recipes down; I just make it up as I go. Most of these meals can be made by my husband if I’m tapped out, which makes it even better.

A “Mostly” List (with the Exception of Chicken)

Soups:

  • Chicken Noodle
  • Chili
  • White Chicken Chili
  • Potato
  • Lasagna
  • Cheeseburger
  • Broccoli and Cheese
  • Zuppa

Mexican:

  • Tacos
  • Mom’s Tacos
  • Taco Ring
  • Chili Cheese Dog Casserole
  • Fajita Casserole
  • Standing Baked Tacos
  • Sheet Pan Nachos

Italian:

  • Spaghetti
  • Baked Spaghetti
  • Lasagna
  • Cheesy Chicken Lasagna
  • Baked Pasta
  • Chicken Alfredo Lasagna with Ravioli
  • Coal Miner’s Pasta
  • Baked Tortellini

Chicken:

  • Alice’s Chicken
  • Pan Fried Chicken breasts
  • Baked Whole Chicken
  • Baked Thighs
  • Fried Chicken
  • 40 Clove Chicken

Side Dishes:

  • Rice (burnt, fried, plain, broccoli & cheese, Mexican style)
  • Green beans (plain or green bean casserole)
  • Corn (or corn casserole)
  • Rolls (cheesy bread, bread, bread sticks)
  • Potatoes (so many kids)
  • Sweet Potatoes
  • Lima beans
  • Peas
  • Macaroni and Cheese
  • Buttered Noodles

Miscellaneous Foods:

  • Breakfast
  • Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches
  • Kielbasa, broccoli, onion, mushroom, potato, peppers sheet pan
  • Goulash
  • Steak
  • Hamburgers and hotdogs
  • Ham and Hashbrown Casserole
  • Pizza
  • Breaded Chops
  • Pork Tenderloin
  • Roast

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Recipes and Cooking

Traditional Pound Cake Recipe

Brandi C

Traditional Pound Cake Recipe

Traditional Pound Cake Recipe

I will weigh a thousand pounds by the time this quarantine is lifted. Cooking is something I enjoy doing. It brings me peace. So, with that being said, I haven’t made a pound cake in a month of Sundays. Here is my Traditional Pound Cake Recipe with a powdered sugar glaze. Forgive the “angel food cake” look because I couldn’t find my bundt pan.

The Traditional Pound Cake is a cake that you have to “baby,” but I’m telling you, my KitchenAid mixer made all the difference. You can use your hand mixer, as well. My mixer died a long, long time ago, bless its sweetheart.

Ingredients

1 pound butter, softened

3 c. sugar

6 eggs, room temperature

4 c. all-purpose flour

3/4 c. milk

1 tsp. almond extract

Vanilla extract, 1 tsp.

Directions

In a bowl, place the pound of butter and mix the crap out of it. It should be a pale yellow, whipped look. On a medium to high speed. Why am I singing the song “Whip It.” Good grief, now it won’t leave my head. Dangit.

Where was I? Oh, and a PSA, do not try and “sip” the almond or vanilla extract. My son-in-law learned a lesson on that one. I am just passing along the kindness to everyone. God love him. He’s a special boy, LOL.

Quarantine. Bunny trail. I cannot focus.

Cheesecake…no…Pound cake. I can do this.

Once the butter has been whipped, add an egg one at a time. Whip it till the yolks are blended. Next up, get your milk and flour. Go in this order: a bit of milk, whip, a cup of flour, whip, repeat ending with flour. Mix it until it is smooth. Lastly, add in the extracts. You can leave out the almond extract, but it was good.

Grease a bundt pan (yes, I used an angel food cake pan). After you grease it (spray or Crisco), you need to get some flour and swirl it around there. Add your batter—Bake at 300 for about an hour and 40 minutes. I started checking it at 1:30, but I did up it to 1:40. It was done.

Icing

Eyeball this part. I think I did 2 c. powdered sugar, a tsp of vanilla, and enough heavy cream (you can use 1/2 and 1/2 or milk) to thin it out. I made WAY too much, so Big Daddy drizzled all the leftovers over each slice he ate. My daughter put it on the cake.

For the love, people, it is good.