Sunday Food Prep – what went down in my kitchen (9)

Hi there!

Is it just me or is anyone else disappointed that Monday actually made an appearance?

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Oh well, I guess it’s a good thing it showed up otherwise we’d never see Friday, right? #brightside

So, I spent a little more time on my feet this weekend than I probably should have.

I really should have put myself in that stupid walking boot but I didn’t. I just kept popping Advil and taking “rest breaks.”

*sigh*

I’ll never learn.

Anyway, I got down to some serious business in the kitchen on Sunday!

I don’t know exactly what hit me but I was a food prepping FOOL yesterday.

And, it wasn’t even that cold out – 40-50s maybe (and yes, that’s cold but it sure beats the 20s!) – but I felt the need to build a fire so I did.

Most awesome fire ever! #madskills

Between the fireplace, my oven, and the kitties who kept occupying my lap every time I sat down, I was as toasty as a marshmallow. 🙂

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So, the first thing I made was a loaf of bread.

I’ve mentioned before about tummy issues so I’ve decided to toss out gluten for a little bit and see what happens.

Don’t get me wrong, I know I’m not allergic and I definitely don’t have celiac but it’s worth a shot to see if maybe I have a gluten sensitivity.

I bought this Bob’s Red Mill gluten free whole grain bread mix and went from there. I made one last week and it made great toast that tasted amazing with smushed avocado on it. Mmmmmm

I actually bought some gluten free flour but, in order to make the bread rise, you have to substitute something “gluten-like.”

Like xantham gum.

Which, for one thing, I can’t even pronounce and, for another thing, is ridiculously expensive.

I’m not committing to it until I know. For now, I’ll spend $8 on a mix that has everything in it that I need, minus the eggs, fat, and cider vinegar. Yeah, I don’t get it either but it’s a small amount and the bread tastes great so….fine. Cider vinegar it is.

I also stocked up on quinoa so I made a nice big batch.

Had some for breakfast this morning – 1 cup quinoa, 1/2 cup milk, heat 60 seconds, add fruit. I also added some raw honey and almond butter because, duh, it’s raw honey and almond butter. 🙂

I snagged an organic chicken at the Harris Teeter and put that in the crockpot for about 5 hours.

I’ve made it before but this time, it literally fell apart when I took it out.

After I shredded it, which we’ll use for salads, sandwiches, quick meals, etc, I put all the bones and skin back into the crockpot, added some onion, carrot, celery, fresh thyme, some dried oregano, a bay leaf, and a bunch of water and I set it to LOW for 12 hours.

When I woke up this morning, I had homemade chicken broth that I portioned out into mason jars.

I had to come in to work early so I left them on the counter to cool and Thing 2 took care of freezing/refrigerating them for me.

I ran out of time to snap a picture but broth is broth and my counter pretty much looked like this, like last time. 🙂

Then, for dinner, I made Roni’s beef and sweet potato chili.

Holy. Yum.

I pretty much followed her recipe exactly except I added a teaspoon of some super-hot fire sauce I picked up a few weeks ago.

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There are only 2 things I would do differently – I would definitely cut the sweet taters into smaller chunks (honestly, I left them pretty big) and I would definitely use a whole lot less spinach. Like half. Or, I might leave it out and substitute something else. Thing 2 wasn’t crazy about it and thing 2’s BF didn’t eat at all because he “doesn’t do sweet potatoes” or pumpkin.

Whatevs. More for me! Cuz, I thought the chili was amazeballs. 🙂

I also roasted some chickpeas but they didn’t turn out very picture worthy. I may or may not have been lulled into a brief nap by the warmth of the fire and a snuggly lap cat. They’re a little on the burnt side. #dontjudgeme

Talk to me: What’s on your menu for Thanksgiving? Are you going to food prep in advance?

– jennifer