A Case of the Mondays

I have a confession: I don't enjoy cooking supper during the week. As much as I love food, and making food, and eating the food I just made, I hate it Monday-Friday 4:30-5:30 pm. I feel immense pressure to hurry, because everyone is hungry and cranky. I walk in the door, put down my purse, and immediately start manning the stove. I'm tired. I want to sit down. I want to take a bath. Here. Here is your lean protein with a side of vegetables and a sensible starch. I rushed as fast as I could, but it still took me an hour to make it. My feet hurt. What do you mean you don't like it? You just want to eat applesauce? ONLY applesauce?

So during the week, in service to my sanity, I try to come up with at least two major meal ideas. I decide on what we'll be eating, and prep as much as I can beforehand. That way, when I come home after a long day, I don't waste valuable time wondering what's for supper, or chopping vegetables when I could already be cooking them.

Last night, I threw some Omaha frozen foods in the oven - we had the pre-made beef tips in mushroom gravy, with stuffed potatoes. Not bad! While that was baking (40 minutes for the whole meal, from frozen), I chopped up an onion, rinsed some black beans, and drained some corn. I made black bean soup:

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Black Bean Soup

2 16oz. cans black beans
10oz. corn
1 onion
1 tbs. oil
2 cloves garlic
2 ¾ cups chicken broth
1 tbs. chili powder
1 ½ tsp. oregano
Pinch of cayenne
1 bay leaf
¼ cup chopped cilantro (optional)
½ cup sour cream (optional)

Rinse and drain beans well. Drain corn. Coarsely chop onion. In large saucepan, warm oil and add onion, garlic. Cook 5 min. til onion just browns. Add beans and corn, broth, chili powder, oregano, cayenne and bay leaf. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Remove bay leaf. Take out 1 ½ cups of solids with slotted spoon. Puree in blender and return to mix.

Serve with cilantro and sour cream on top.

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I halved that recipe, because I only wanted a small pot. I let it simmer while we ate our frozen dinner, and then I cooled it down and put it in the fridge. Like many soups, I think it's just as good or better the next day! Oh, and I had some leftover corn from the can I opened (no sodium can!)...I served that with the beef tips. Curt ate almost all of the bowl by himself.

This morning, I took about five chicken breasts and threw them in the Crock Pot with 1/2 cup water. I'm going to slow cook them all day, so when I get home, they will be hot and juicy and shred like a dream. The plan for tonight is to shred some of the chicken, season it with taco seasoning and make quesadillas, served with black bean soup. The rest of the chicken, I'll cool down, separate into servings, and freeze for later. Shredded chicken is useful!

I also went ahead this morning and took out some beef tips to thaw. Yes, more beef tips, but these are the raw kind I can season myself, and we LOVE BEEF TIPS at my house. I'll slow-cook them probably Wednesday or Thursday. It's a Crock Pot kind of week.