Being prepared

 Savoring Simple Daily Pleasures

I love to plan, and prepare list and organize. This is nothing new to me and I find peace and sanctuary in my routines- be that a regular laundry routine, household tasks, my evening cleansing regimen before taking my bath or shower, or meal planning. 

However, the last couple of weeks I have taken advantage of a quiet home at the beginning of the week and my advanced meal planning and grocery shopping , by preparing 3 or 4 meals on a Monday to see me though the busiest part of the week- evenings racing to and from ballet classes, basketball matches or various appointments or parent teacher interviews.

 The feeling of being completely prepared and of gaining the time back has been so very lovely. None of the dishes prepared were complex or particularly sophisticated, just family favorites or crowd pleasers, but the feeling of gaining back the time and  enjoying the simplicity of taking the next whatever out of the fridge ready to pop in the oven, and then getting on with another task or freeing up 20 minutes to write, read, fold laundry, take a longer walk, or even preparing the side dishes but with far fewer dishes at the end or cleaning up to do as the bulk is prepared. 

This week some of the meals I prepared ahead were-

Marry me chicken- a baked version so it could go straight into the oven, then I just popped rice in the rice cooker when it was time to get dinner on the go and steamed some broccoli. 

A Quiche Lorraine-  paired with a simple side salad and re hearted in the oven

A beef and mozzarella pot pie- packed full of vegetables and very hearty so just popped back in the oven to heat through

And all time family fave- Spaghetti Bolognaise, so I just re heated the meatsauce on the stove as the pasta cooked. 

I felt like Martha Stewart, the family were happy and I seemed to reclaim several hours and a good deal of peace! I highly recommend giving a bit of batch cooking a try prior to a busy week and enjoy the rewards!

On a completely different note,  Its feeling very much like the end of Autumn is fast approaching and winter is starting to get her frosty fingers though all the cracks and blowing off the last of the autumn leaves.  

Yesterday was the most spectacular display of mist and early sun, and it was so good to feel the warm sun on my skin and get the laundry dry on the line again. 

We took a drive out to a local beach which was initially completely cut off by the vicious January storms and floods and then only accessible to residents. The land scape is forever scarred and the roads and many many homes still badly damaged or even washed away, but the beach was its usual magnificent, dramatic and majestic self.  It felt good to rug up in jeans, my trusty Hunter wellies, a trench and a woolen scarf- although after a walk though soft sand with a take away coffee it was rather too warm!