Sunday Cooking: Making it a Habit

Back at New Year's, I elected not to make any resolutions for 2012. I said things were too chaotic and uncertain, and that all I really wanted to do was this: the Foodstyle continues to go along; I've lost the weight I gained back over Christmas, and I continue to plan my meals and get plenty of cooking in to prepare for the coming week. I'm hoping to add in some minimal exercise soon, just to get myself moving and get my core stronger. I've started making some long overdue appointments, like the dentist and some home improvements. We just ordered new living room furniture and have our paint colors picked out.

On the last weekend in March, I've come to realize that the food prep of Sunday Cooking has become a habit. It's no longer the thing that takes up my whole weekend; by now I know how to browse recipes and shop in such a way that if I don't have a lot of time on the weekend to actually cook, I can still provide for us for the week. Whereas before if I didn't have time, I would throw up my hands and we would eat takeout, now I am able to squeeze in at least an hour and stock us up.

Instead of takeout, we now have:


Strawberries


Red peppers




Spaghetti squash (the last of the sauce is in the freezer)


Roasted Brussels sprouts


Veggie-Chicken meatballs (a recipe from Helen). I went with a spicier seasoning -- Northwoods and Worcestershire -- since that's what we like, and I switched out almond crumbs for real bread crumbs, but otherwise I followed the recipe. I assumed Hubby would not be interested, but he taste-tested one and gave it a big thumbs-up. Who knew?  These will go well with the spaghetti squash and maybe in sandwiches.

I also bought a ton of stuff for salads: spring/spinach mix, seedless cucumbers, radishes, mushrooms. There is also the rest of the chicken thighs marinating in the fridge; tonight they will be broiled or grilled, then we have the protein topper for the salads. Along with the red peppers and strawberries, it should be a tasty spring meal.

All of that took me 90 minutes. Not bad!

++++++

So what else was I doing this weekend? Besides writing reports for work for a couple of hours of Saturday and a pretty full day on Sunday, plus treating myself to a casino trip (and winning a good sum of money to boot)?

Getting our new furniture!! The stuff we ordered way back in January from Laz-y-boy finally arrived. The rug won't be ready until April, and we are scheduling the painter this week, but the furniture was delivered on Saturday and I could not be more pleased.

This is what it looked like before. That recliner was like sinking into a leather swamp; no support whatsoever. Probably the source of most of my chronic back pain.



My house is very colorful! We are painting over the blue now; it's just too dark and sucks up all the light. So we're going with "tiger stripe" orange, and keeping the mustard walls because I love that color. :)



We cleared the recliner out, as well as the cat perch and coffee tables. As I insisted to Hubby it was time for there to be more human chairs than cat chairs. They, of course, disagreed and wandered all over.



The new furniture. LOVE IT.





We got two chairs. This one is the Fletcher model; it swivels and is very soft and comfy. You just want to curl up in it.



This one is the replacement for the recliner, so will be "my" chair. I forget the model name, but it's a great mix of looking very sharp with plenty of back and butt support.



And it's a secret recliner too! So clever.



The salesperson found us a great between table, plus the pretty cushions use all the colors in the room. Another super-colorful patterned rug arrives next month. All that is left is more lamps. I will be on the hunt for those next weekend.



I love my new furniture. Now I have to go to work to pay for it. ;-) Not true; I have a special savings account for home repair and decor that we auto-transfer money into with every paycheck. It had built up a nice nest egg over the last nine years since we moved in. So we've cracked open the piggy bank to pay for all the house repairs and changes this year, including the painter, new water heater, new garbage disposal and possibly new bathroom vanity. Auto-saving accounts are the way to go, my friends. I have another one I call my Christmas club account; we never feel the pinch of the holidays because we've saved up for it all year. Of course, these are in addition to our regular savings account (which also has automated deposits), which I try not to ever touch.

So endeth the unexpected and unsolicited financial advice. :)

++++++

Heh, looking back up at my non-resolution, I can see I also noted that I wanted to start some kind of minimal exercise eventually. The Bottom Line Challenge starts today; looks like "eventually" is here!