Time Saver

From the time that I moved to the DC area back in August until I started my new job a month ago, my schedule has been really flexible. Though I don't think I was conscious of it, this was very liberating in terms of food preparation. With the new job, I work at home. You'd think this would let me run into the kitchen to briefly add something to a pot now and then, but I can't depend on that sort of flexibility. I'm often on the phone, and I don't always finish my workday in time to make the dinner I was planning. My habits are changing.

My family, like many, has a bad habit of Late Turkey Syndrome. Traditionally, we'd plan for Thanksgiving Dinner to be served at, say, six. The turkey wouldn't be done for another hour or two. A few years ago, my brother had our family over for Thanksgiving at his place in California, and he let me cook the turkey. I've been doing it since, and we've been free from Late Turkey Syndrome.

How did I do it? Read on...

I work until 5PM most days. Angela works later, but typically gets a "lunch" break for an hour around dinnertime. This is plenty of time for her to come home and eat (she works minutes away). Unfortunately, sometimes she has to take lunch from 5:30 to 6:30 or so. This doesn't really provide me with enough time to come home, decompress, figure out what to make for dinner, and cook. Unless I have something quick planned, something in the slow cooker, or something pre-prepped, we usually end up going out those nights. Going out is expensive and, frankly, rarely as good as what I cook.

Martin KingsleyBelieve it or not, you don't have to thaw that roast before you put it in the oven. It seems counterintuitive, but you can cook a roast from frozen in only a little more time than it would take to cook a thawed roast.