Thursday: Co-op Lunches, the 30-Minute Reset & Burgers to the Rescue

Got up this morning and yes, I did make the bacon.

I knew I’d regret it if we tried to start a co-op Thursday without it.

So we had fresh bacon, bagels and cereal, grabbed all the PlanetBoxes I’d packed yesterday and got out the door for our homeschool co-op.

And that’s about the extent of today’s morning kitchen content because Thursdays are not cooking days around here.

The PlanetBoxes Did Their Job

We were at co-op all day, and traffic was heavier on the way home, so we didn’t walk through the door until around 3:30.

At that point, we do the same thing we usually do after co-op.

Everybody pulls the PlanetBox out of their backpack and stacks it on the kitchen counter.

Then I set a timer for 30 minutes.

Go somewhere.

Sit down.

Watch something.

Play something.

Just decompress.

We’ve all been together all day. We’ve been around people all day. We’ve had a long drive home.

Nobody needs me to immediately launch into the next activity.

Including me.

My 30-Minute Snack Was Tuesday’s Soup

While everybody scattered, I ate the last of the soup I made Tuesday night.

Then I tackled the pile on the counter.

PlanetBoxes washed.

Breakfast dishes washed.

Kitchen reset.

And by then, everyone was starting to get hungry again.

Thankfully, Monday Me had already handled dinner.

Monday’s Burgers: Your Time Has Come

Remember the 24 burgers I grilled Monday night?

Tonight was exactly why I made 24.

I pulled out the remaining burgers and reheated them, then added chips, fruit and vegetables and made some steamed broccoli.

Done.

No new protein.

No elaborate dinner.

No standing in the kitchen at 4 p.m. after being gone all day trying to figure out what seven people are going to eat.

Just burgers that were already cooked and sides that required almost no thought.

That’s a co-op-night dinner.

Dinner, Round Two

Chris was working late tonight, so the kids and I ate first.

Then when he was finally finished, I made dinner for the two of us.

And I still wasn’t actually cooking anything new.

I had some of last night’s grilled Dijon chicken in the refrigerator, so I diced it into small pieces and warmed it gently in a sauté pan with barbecue sauce.

Then I used that chicken to make salads for the two of us.

Little date dinner after the kids had already eaten.

The Trick to Reheating Chicken Breast

This is one of those tiny things that makes a big difference.

If you’re reheating cooked chicken breast, cut it small first.

I don’t like putting a big piece of cold chicken breast into a pan and trying to get the center hot. By the time you’ve warmed it all the way through, the outside can get tough and chewy.

Instead, I cut the chicken into small chunks.

Then I put a sauté pan over medium-low heat and add a little moisture. If I saved any juices or drippings from cooking the chicken, I’ll use those. Tonight I also added barbecue sauce.

Then add the diced chicken and gently warm it through.

Because the pieces are small, they heat quickly and evenly without needing to sit in that pan forever.

It’s such a better way to give leftover chicken a second life.

And We Still Have Options

So today wasn’t much of a cooking day.

And now we’ve made it through Thursday without cooking another big batch of anything.

Going into tomorrow, there’s still a little grilled chicken left. I could pull ground beef from the freezer. And I have meatloaf in the freezer too.

Plenty of options.

We’ll see what Friday feels like. I also made an acorn squash at dinner because I just like them…a little tip, microwave the raw squash for like 120 seconds, and THEN cut it open…so much easier than hacking at it and cutting off a finger!