This week I’m trying to get back in the swing of things around here. In another words, the “babymoon” is over and the real world is calling. Last week I was able to keep up with my cleaning rotation but didn’t attempt much more than that. It is going to take some experimenting to find a routine that works for everything else now that I’m home full time.
The theory I’m testing this week is one general focus for each day. Example: Monday = Baking Day. There are a lot of things I can make from scratch to save $$$. Some I have been making regularly, others will be new for me. I need to make bread on the weeks that we run out of the good stuff from our neighbor. Muffins for breakfast, snacks for Brian’s lunch, rolls for dinner, granola bars to munch on while nursing – the list is endless. I’d like to tackle any freezer cooking/big meal prep on Mondays too so the kitchen only looks like a war zone one time each week.
So, here’s what I made on this very first “Baking Day”:
- No High Fructose Corn Syrup Granola Bars – double batch
- Apple Bran Muffins – my own recipe, coming soon
- Salvaged Hashbrowns – bagged up some that had been “flash freezing” for far too long
- Freezer Garlic Bread – recipe coming soon (I promise – it’s already done in my drafts except for a picture!)
How was baking with a newborn in the house? Not bad at all, I just had to be more flexible. The oven had to be shut off in between the granola bars and the muffins instead of making them back to back. The garlic bread had to sit on the counter for a few hours before I took the time to run it down to the freezer. The two biggest snafus: I forgot to add the raisins to the granola bars, and I forgot to grease the waxed paper before pressing the bars on to it. The latter turned out to be a BIG problem. I don’t have an hour to peel sticky bits of paper off those bars even in my pre-baby life, nevermind now. I’m currently experimenting by freezing them to see if that helps the paper come off more easily. I’ll keep you posted on THAT mess.
The garlic bread was a nice success. I feel good about that one. Two loaves of french bread made up and frozen, plus enough for my lunch tomorrow and dinner tonight. Oh yeah, about dinner. This is the first week I’ve committed to cooking meals again. Dinner was ready on time. Actually, it was ready 5 minutes early if you want to get technical. I can definitely see the advantage to doing most of the meal prep in the morning and leaving very minimal to do at dinnertime. Kent’s schedule is much more predictable in the morning and it is quieter around here. Once afternoon comes people start getting out of work and we have more phone calls/visitors/etc.
So anyway, overall I’d call it a success. The cleaning is done, the baking is done, dinner was yummy, the cat, the baby, and all four dogs are contentedly sleeping here near me. What more could I ask for? Hmm… ice cream please. 😉
This posted is linked to a Week Long Blog Hop at Homemaker by Choice.
good for you doing all that! I find that things go so much better when I make or prepare most of our dinner in the morning…(and Colton is 16 months!) otherwise I just cook. The kids are cranky at that time and it just doesn’t work for us. (and Steve would rather NOT EAT and watch the kids as soon as he gets home so I can cook in peace… obviously I can’t let that happen!)
Glad I’m not the only one. It seems funny to think of dinner first thing in the morning but whatever works! Brian is really happy about it because when I was working I got home after him and we didn’t ever eat until really late, like right before bed. This is much nicer, and healthier.
What you accomplished is seriously impressive for having a newborn. Kudos to you for getting to a routine so quickly! I’m looking forward to your apple bran muffin recipe 🙂
Thanks Jess! 🙂
Are Larry and Susie your parents?
Nope, not sure who they are?