Meal Planning 101: Pre-Cooked Meals

Ever wonder what it would look like to cook four dinners at a time?

It looks a little bit like this:

and this...

and it produces this:

and also leads to this:

(Thank goodness for the dishwasher!)

After a very long and restful break, I'm going back to work in full throttle this weekend. (Four night shifts in a row, baby!) My meal planning techniques thus far have resulted in a less than 25% success rate so I'm trying a new tactic this week! Instead of planning which meals I'm going to frantically cook in record time speed before going to work, I decided to try cooking the meals beforehand and storing it in the fridge. Easy to serve and more time to spend (for me) before my night shifts reading, praying, etc. Sweet deal :)

I also learned this trash collecting technique from my sister K who learned it from Rachel ray, and its pretty genius. Cooking can get pretty messy. Jars and sauce bottles with lost lids, unwanted vegetable peels and scraps, eggshells, empty cans.. I've found the most effective way to keep your work station clean is to have some sort of bowl or bag nearby to throw your trash away as you go.

Seems pretty obvious but it was a life-changer for me. Still learning! Baby steps, people, baby steps!

Eugene and I have been pretty busy lately as we're anticipating many changes to come our way in the next few months or so. We also just got back from a trip to the East Coast so we're still in unpacking, adjusting to real life again mode. Two days of cleaning and five loads of laundry later, I'm still working on it. Update soon!

Give thanks: sturdy tupperware, learning more about ISO, appeture and shutterspeed on my camera (pretty complicated), celebrations, mint.com, fellowship with sisters, opportunities to serve, Jesus - my Perfect Example of humble servanthood, iced tea, comfort and peace in the midst of much change, anticipation and excitement for my long streak of night shifts

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.                                               Philippians 4:4-7