Hello, hello!
Happy Monday!
Do you have the day off today? Do you have any fun plans?
We might go see a movie.
2 movies in 2 weeks! Watch out! 🙂
So, let’s talk food prep.
I approached the food prep a little differently this week.
You see, tomorrow, Thing 2 gets her wisdom teeth extracted.
So, she’s not going to be eating too much food that requires chewing for a few days.
My sailor and I are going to tag-team the “staying home with her” responsibilities to make sure she’s okay – she’s never been on pain medication before so we don’t know how she’s going to do with it – and that she gets some fluids/nutrition in her.
Plus, we’ll need easy things to eat while we’re home. 🙂
My sailor is more of a “grab and go” kind of person while I don’t mind a little more assembly time with my meals. Plus, he can be a little more snack-y than me.
So, I made some homemade granola bars!
I found the recipe over at Amanda’s blog, Running with Spoons, and went with it because of the addition of protein powder.
My sailor and Thing 2 are funny about their granola bars – not me, I’ll eat a raw bar any day of the week! – and this seemed the closest to a Quaker chewy bar without all the extra added crap. Seriously, have you ever read the ingredients list?! It’s a mile long!!
I have organic whey protein powder that’s pretty delicious so I have no problems tossing it into a recipe.
I usually get this at Harris Teeter but I have found it at TJ Maxx before.
And guess what? The granola bars are almost the exact as a Quaker chewy. Only better.
So. Much. Better.
Then, per my norm, I roasted a chicken in the crockpot.
Thing 2 really, really wants Chicken Curry as her “last meal” so I needed some chicken for that.
*side note – there were 2 recipes my mom made when I was growing up that have become staples in my own house. One was chicken adobo and the other was chicken curry. And I just realized I’ve never shared that recipe with you!
The rest of the chicken will be perfect for lunches throughout the week – for those of us who will be able to chew. 😉
I had something else in mind when I roasted that chicken.
Homemade chicken broth.
I’ve never made it before and 1. it was high time I did! and 2. Thing 2 likes chicken broth and it doesn’t require chewing! This way, she’ll be able to get some protein and great nutrients into her while she’s limited with what she can eat.
So, after the chicken finished roasting and I got it all shredded, I threw the carcass and skin back into the crockpot, tossed in a coarsely chopped onion, roughly chopped celery stalk, some chunked up baby carrots, some garlic cloves, a couple of bay leaves, some dried (because I didn’t have fresh) rosemary, basil, and thyme, salt, and filled the crockpot almost to the brim with water.
Cooked it overnight on low – about 10 hours – and when I woke up, I had lovely, and DELICIOUS (what? you know I had to taste it.) chicken broth!
I loosely followed this recipe as a guide because I needed an idea of how to cook it in the crockpot. All my cookbook recipes were in pots on the stove and I didn’t feel like babysitting stock all night long.
This made 8 cups which I separated into 1 cup portions in mason jars. Â 4 are in the fridge and 4 are in the freezer for later. #winning
For dinner (and leftovers!) I made a big ole pot of Boston Baked Beans
and some cornbread.
Now, let’s talk about those beans.
Holy. Yum.
I’ve made baked beans before and these have got to be, hands down, the very best I have ever made.
The beans were perfectly cooked and the flavor was amazing.
Even Thing 2’s bf, who “doesn’t like baked beans,” liked them.
Of course, he’s only ever eaten them out of a can. There’s a big difference between homemade and from a can!
He’s eaten, and liked!, a lot of things I’ve made that he “doesn’t like” or “doesn’t eat.”
I think that’s probably the biggest compliment I could ever receive. 🙂
Talk to me: Did you food prep yesterday? Have you ever made homemade chicken broth/stock? Do you think food prep means I’m on my feet in the kitchen all day? 😉
– jennifer
A Hungry Runner 