My day began by going outside in the fog to let our two dogs out. I usually stay with them due to the coyotes that roam the neighborhoods. My tee shirt and shorts didn't do too much for my comfort this morning. So more than normal I am enjoying my cup of Door County Vanilla Cappuccino Coffee. I did tire both dogs out so it is pretty peaceful right now.
Life is filled with changes and to coin a phrase from a Clint Eastwood our goal should be to "overcome and adapt" to the changes. Rene and I put in some long hours at work over the years and we always appreciated a hot dinner when coming home. With our personal schedules and work hours we had to avoid making dinner a huge process. So we learned how to use a timer and a crock pot to save time, and yet provide nutritious meals for us.
1 Corinthians 10:31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God?
We would decide what would be on the menu a week in advance. We purchase the dry goods and freeze or refrigerate the meat. If anything fresh was needed like vegetables one of us stopped on the way home from work and quickly picked it up. On Sunday night we started cooking two meals, one for our Sunday dinner and one for Monday's dinner. We doubled the recipe so as to have leftovers for lunch on Monday. Once we were home on Monday we would reheat our dinner made the night before and pack the leftovers for Tuesday's lunches. Once that was complete, Rene would start the clean up and I would start a crock pot dinner for Tuesday. Now we did eat a lot of soups and stews until I purchased a "Crock Pot Cook Book". I even made lasagna in the crock pot.
I work at growing our own tomatoes and I make pasta sauce out of them and freeze it. So we don't need to use a processed pasta sauce. We eat healthy and very well. It took time to get into this routine and now and then we would make salads to take to work. This was all done as a team and since we both like meat in our salads the leftover meat from dinner was tossed into the salads for our lunches the next day.
Back to the crock pot usage. We set the timer and went to bed. The first one up and out of bed put the finished dinner masterpiece into the refrigerator to be eaten in the evening. It was a simple plan yet very effective and it took teamwork. We reserved getting fancy or elaborate with our meals for the weekends.
We learned to be grateful for what was on the table. We always pray together before eating. Not only do we asked God to bless our food and thank Him for it. we lift up prayers for others. This is a must for us.
We did vary our diets now and then by eating breakfast stuff for dinner. For instance pancakes, eggs and sausages would be our Friday meal. Leftover pancakes aren't very good so we would plan it for an evening when neither of us had to work the next day. If one did have to work (Rene) we did keep a small amount of sandwich materials available and that next day a sandwich, some fruit and a few carrot sticks would be the menu and it was packed the night before. Usually I did the sandwich making for both of us. Rene worked a regular schedule of weekends and I worked one now and then.
Now to the point. We are to take care of ourselves. This includes eating and reducing stress. Meals are meant to be enjoyed, not stressed over. Leave the stress at work and come home to a nice hot dinner in your residence and relax for awhile. The meals need to be planned out and the schedule stuck to. It worked for us and it can work for you. Do your meal times glorify God? They should.
Marty
Crock Pot Roast
Ingredients
One, two to three pound beef chuck roast.
Three to four large potatoes peeled and cut in half
Six large carrots peeled.
One medium size onion, peeled and cut in half.
Six washed stalks of celery cot in half .
Meat tenderizer, salt, and pepper
Garlic powder.
Two Bay Leaves
Sprinkle the roast with tenderizer, salt and pepper. Lay the Bay Leaves on top of the roast. Place it in the crock pot on high for an hour.
Just before going to bed place the vegetables in the crock pot. Season with garlic powder and pepper. I slice the onion in half. It can be left whole.
Depending on how long you sleep the crock pot can be set on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. This takes a time or two to figure out your own crock pot. We have a few and each one is a little different.
The whole meal is in one pan. This usually takes me 15-20 minutes to prepare.
Adjust to a busy life by beating the stress and eating well.
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