Yesterday was another normal day in the Rakow house - school, work, training, dogs,..., 15 meals, 6 snacks, and a trip to the grocery store. I got home at 7:45pm with no leftovers in the fridge, and no dinner ready to go. Here is how I prepared and fed all 5 of us dinner plus re-supplied our protein for tomorrow.
Unloaded the car. Let out the dogs. Preheated the oven to 350. Put an oven-safe plate in the oven to warm it up. Quickly unpacked the 4 grocery bags. Pulled out the salad fixings and assorted veggies. Coated the cast iron skillet with olive oil and fired up the stove. Generously sprinkled some Tuscany seasoning in the pan. When the skillet was hot, I added the skinless chicken strips. While they cooked, I chopped a head of broccoli. I made three quick salads for the girls.
I flipped the chicken to the other side. In a glass baking dish, I prepared 1# of chicken with seasoning and a little olive oil. I put it in the oven and set the timer for 30 minutes. By this time, the chicken on the stove was done. I took it out of the skillet and placed on the warm plate.
At this point, I recruited two of my girls to set the table. I instructed the youngest to get a small bowl and fill it with some nuts.
I added a little bit more olive oil to the skillet and tossed in the broccoli. While it cooked, I chopped 1/4 onion, 5 mini carrots, 2 stalks of celery, and 1/2 green bell pepper. I minced 2 cloves of garlic. I left all the veggies on the cutting board and pulled out a small stock pot. I coated it with a little bit of olive oil.
In 5 minutes, I was done chopping and the brocolli was done.
I called everyone to the table and we ate a flavorful dinner of chicken, brocolli, and tossed salad.
When dinner was over, I turned on the stove again. This time to heat the stockpot. I tossed in the pre-cut veggies. Cooked them until soft and added 1# ground turkey. Yep, I making another quick batch of beanless paleo chili. (I make this about once a week.) When the meat was done, I added two cans of chopped tomatoes. Then, I sprinkled in about 1 Tbsp each of cumin, basil, chili pepper, and oregano. I added about 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper. It simmered on the stove while Steve, the girls, and I cleaned up the dinner dishes.
By 8:45pm, I had prepared dinner AND fed the family. By 9:30, I had cooked two additional pounds of protein and assembled one of those into the beginning of a great lunch or dinner. The dishes were done and the kitchen was clean. Now that's what I call being efficient in the kitchen!
If I can do it, you can too.
