Update on Cooking Once and for All (Week)

Cooking Once for All (Week) is working very well for us. However, I learned an important lesson this past Monday - I can't expect to do 5-6 loads of laundry, clean the house AND cook for the week all in one day. Turns out there just aren't enough hours. I am so grateful that Kent (after getting up at 1:00 am and working from 3-3) came to my rescue upon his arrival home. He washed his hands, rolled up his sleeves, and helped me finish the last couple dishes. The encouragement alone was a gift and we had a good time in the bargain.

I didn't get the yogurt done until yesterday. There still isn't any homemade sauerkraut yet. And I opted to use the cream for ice cream rather than butter. Otherwise, the day was a success. Turns out my canner holds 10 pints, not 9 as I had previously thought. You have to put them in just so but they will fit. And so I got 10 pints of homemade chicken stock canned up.


And just the perfect amount left to make the gravy for a couple of chicken pot pies filled with carrots, celery, sweet peas and sweet corn.


I decided we didn't need two loaves of bread so I did a loaf and a pizza crust. We ended up having it for dinner sauced with the homemade "ketchup" and topped with extra browned ground beef, cheddar cheese, onions and olives. It was quite tasty. I'm getting inspired to experiment more and more with our pizza toppings. Like the spiced chicken and veggie pizza a few weeks ago.


And I made up a tray of spicy meatballs that I topped with more of the "ketchup". They hit the spot.


Now here it is Saturday night and I'm working on next week's menu. I was talking to my father today and he arrives next Tuesday. I'll be revisiting the chicken pot pie because he thought it sounded particularly good. I'll roast a beautiful organic bird on Monday and hopefully also get a chicken pot pie and some curried chicken out of the deal for later in the week. The rest is still pretty sketchy.