I apologize for the lateness of this post, but with my break this week I figured you wouldn’t mind!
I love Kitchen Prep Day when I have it all planned, and I am not in a rush. This one was more fun because I let myself work on things throughout the day (actually two!), instead of trying to cram it in in the late afternoon. I am more fresh and have more energy in the morning, and it made for a more productive cooking day! All was good, until I turned around to see how full the kitchen sink was…hehe!
I started off my day dropping by Krogers to get a few items to round out my day. While there I was able to get $1 pepperoni (for our pizzas!), $.59 Boco Organic Granola Bars, in addition to the other needs on my list. In all I spent about $56 at Kroger and I spent another $20 or so at Publix. This will be two weeks of budget, because next week I will just be getting milk and produce, since we have plenty of food!
Once I got home, I got the Cinnamon Rolls going, so they could be on the dough cycle (takes 1.5 hours) while I got some other things done. Next, I got the Pot Roast started, then tackled the Granola. While the Granola was in the oven, I put the Breakfast Burritos together. During that time, the Cinnamon Roll dough was done, so I assembled those and took a break for lunch.
After lunch, I got a few recipes up for you! Then when the kiddos were down I made the Steak Fries and cut up the hashbrowns for the freezer. I changed my Master Plan a little to accommodate my budget and time. Here is what I ended up with. (I did this on two separate days, so only half of the items are pictured below.)
- 2 batches of Homemade Granola – 5 large containers
- 8 Breakfast Burrito (will make more next time, trying out how to reheat first)
- 4 Pans of Cinnamon Rolls
- Pot Roast (4 lbs for dinner and leftover meals)
- Steak Fries
- Hashbrowns for freezer
A few notes on my experience:
Granola – For my second batch of granola I changed up a few things. I learned that I liked the brown sugar taste better than the honey. Oh, and a tip…be sure to stir frequently and keep an eye on it. It burns VERY easily. Burnt granola is not very tasty.
Breakfast Burrito – I undercooked the eggs a little, once I put them in the microwave to defrost and heat up, it cooked the eggs a little more than I liked. Anyone have any ideas on how best to make the eggs taste good when reheating?
Cinnamon Rolls – These were just the best things I ever tasted, but you need to know it will be hard to do more than two batches a day. It takes about an hour and a half for each dough cycle, so I did one batch on different days.
All in all this was the best Kitchen Prep Day yet for me. I am learning that for my family, I am best served preparing breakfast, lunch, sides and snack items ahead. I feel like those are the items I get the most bang for my buck. Those are the meals when I am scrambling the mos and have the least amount of time for prep and cleanup. Dinner seems to be easier to prepare a meal and get it cleaned up.
==============================
How about you, how did your Kitchen Prep Day go? What did you cook? Be sure to leave your results here in the form of a comment, or a link, if you did a post.
You were very productive! We make breakfast burritos, too and have found that the best method is to thaw overnight in the fridge. My husband then puts them in the oven or toaster oven at 325 for 25-30 min. He puts them in when he gets up and they are perfect when he's ready to leave for work. Not the most convenient method, but it works and they taste great!
You were very productive! We make breakfast burritos, too and have found that the best method is to thaw overnight in the fridge. My husband then puts them in the oven or toaster oven at 325 for 25-30 min. He puts them in when he gets up and they are perfect when he's ready to leave for work. Not the most convenient method, but it works and they taste great!