Renaissance Trophy Wife

I’ve been cooking at home quite a bit, especially as the nights grow colder.  This weekend was supposed to be the last nice weather before a storm system moves in; the weather station got it half right.  Saturday was beautiful, but Sunday was cold and gray.

What better time to take advantage of a clean kitchen and stocked fridge?

Here’s what I made:

Sat evening:

• Homemade turkey meatballs with freshly chopped herbs – I made meatballs instead of patties so they could be packed easily as part of a bento lunch.  We ate quite a few of them as finger food hot off the stove– oops!
• Teriyaki chicken tenders – These aren’t McNuggets; they’re the small piece of chicken that usually comes attached to the breast.  I like buying packages of the tenders at Trader Joe’s since the greater surface area to volume ratio allows max flavor penetration from the marinade.  Plus, the tenders cook more evenly and are perfectly sized for incorporating into sandwiches or salads.
• Steamed broccoli and cauliflower – 1 head each.  I peeled the broccoli stems and sliced them thinly on the diagonal, and steamed them as well.  They add a great crunch to salads!

Sun evening:

• Homemade pizza – dough from scratch using Mark Bittman’s recipe from How to Cook Everything.  Yum!  Toppings included meatballs (from Sat), mushrooms, veggies, and some light mozzarella.

All ready for the oven!

• Tzatziki – a Greek cucumber and yogurt dip that is fantastic on its own or with pita bread.  Super easy to make: peel and slice cucumber using a mandoline.  Add salt to cucumber, wait an hour, press out excess water.  Add greek yogurt to cucumber mixture.  Eat and enjoy.
• Oh yeah, and I made eggs benedict as breakfast-for-dinner as well, per the bf’s request.

It seems like a lot of food when I list it out like this, but really it was all very simple and took minimal time– maybe an hour total each night?  And now I have a ton of healthy, prepared food in my fridge all ready for work lunches.

Seriously, a few years ago I’d have laughed my ass off at the idea of me cooking for any reason other than a party or special event.  But now I look at prepared items in the grocery store and think, “I could make that at home, for less money and with healthier/organic ingredients.”  So I do– and it’s immensely gratifying, even for simple meals.  Ok, ok, I know I’m kinda behind the curve when it comes to the domestic arts, but we’ve all got to learn sometime.  And the stuff I used to have to plan is now second nature.

What next?  I’ve also been entertaining the idea of making bento boxes for the bf and myself, but I’m not so sure it fits our eating habits well.  (FYI: a bento is basically a boxed lunch that is supposed to be nutritionally balanced, with a diversity of colors, textures, and flavors.)  More on my attempts at this later…

Anyone else end up cooking (and eating) more during the winter?  Guess the hibernation urge is strong even in California.