Monday: A Sprinkle-Topped Smoothie, Freezer Meatloaf & Steak Bowls in Two Shifts

We had a slightly different Monday morning around here because Chris and my teenager were out of town on a college visit.

Which meant it was just me and the four younger kids.

We still had a full day of homeschooling ahead of us, plus I had a few kitchen projects I wanted to tackle. And since we were going to be eating dinner in two shifts tonight, I needed to think ahead a little.

But first, breakfast.

Costco Bagels, Bacon and a Very Fancy Smoothie

A couple of the kids are still working their way through those pretzel bagels we bought at Costco on Friday.

Another wanted an everything bagel.

And I made a fresh batch of bacon.

Pretty standard breakfast around here.

But Daphne decided she wanted to make a smoothie.

Her current favorite combination is:

• Banana
• Drinkable yogurt
• A splash of heavy cream
• Frozen blueberries

We blended everything together, and then she decided it needed one more ingredient.

Sprinkles.

Sometimes the sprinkles really do make all the difference.

Finishing Off the Halloween Weekend Leftovers

Lunch today was another one of those choose-your-own-adventure meals.

I still had some hot dogs from our bonfire cookout the previous weekend, so a couple of the kids wanted those.

We opened another package to use for lunch, and I warmed up the hot dogs.

Another kid wanted one of the leftover burgers from Halloween night.

Remember, I made approximately four pounds of burger patties on Saturday before we went trick-or-treating.

We’ve been eating them ever since.

And now we’re down to about four patties.

So I’d say that batch of burgers has served us very well.

Meanwhile, I made myself a barbecue chicken salad.

I still have a little of that maple balsamic chicken from Friday night, and I wanted to use it up.

I took some of the cooked chicken thighs, added barbecue sauce, and served the chicken over a big salad.

Delicious.

And I think I have just enough chicken left for one more serving tomorrow.

Slicing Yesterday’s Meatloaf for the Freezer

After lunch, I got to work on my first kitchen project.

Meatloaf.

Yesterday, I made a big batch of meatloaf using some of that Costco ground beef and pork sausage.

I cooked the meatloaves, let them cool, and then put the whole pans into my basement refrigerator overnight.

And here’s why.

I think meatloaf slices so much better when it’s cold.

If you’ve ever tried slicing a hot meatloaf, you know what I mean.

It can crumble.

The slices can fall apart.

And sometimes you end up with something that looks more like a pile of ground beef than a nice piece of meatloaf.

But when you refrigerate it overnight?

It firms up beautifully.

And you can get really nice, clean slices.

So today I pulled out the cold meatloaf and sliced it into pieces approximately one inch thick.

That’s my preferred thickness.

Substantial enough to make a good serving, but not so thick that it takes forever to reheat.

You Don’t Need a Vacuum Sealer to Freeze Meatloaf

Normally, I like to vacuum seal my meatloaf portions.

I love vacuum sealing because it keeps food well protected in the freezer.

But I also recognize that not everybody owns a vacuum sealer.

And I don’t want people to think they need special equipment to make Dinner Insurance.

So today, I decided to use regular Ziploc freezer bags.

I portioned the cold meatloaf slices into bags, pressed out as much air as possible, and put them into the freezer.

That’s it.

You can absolutely freeze cooked meatloaf this way.

And if you’re going to eat it within a reasonable amount of time, gallon freezer bags work just fine.

The important things are making sure the meatloaf has cooled properly, packaging it well, and getting it into the freezer.

And now I have several portions of homemade meatloaf ready for future dinners.

Why I’m Freezing Meatloaf I’m Going to Eat Tomorrow

Now here’s the funny part.

I’m actually planning to pull some of this meatloaf back out of the freezer tomorrow.

Which probably sounds a little ridiculous.

Why freeze meatloaf if you’re going to eat it the very next day?

Because I want to show you something.

I want to demonstrate exactly how I reheat cooked meatloaf from frozen.

This is one of the things I talk about all the time with Dinner Insurance.

You don’t necessarily have to remember to thaw everything the night before.

There are plenty of cooked foods that you can reheat directly from frozen.

And I want to show you what that looks like with meatloaf.

So I’m deliberately freezing it today.

Then tomorrow, I’ll pull it out and show the reheating process.

I figured that if I’m going to tell people this is something they can do, I might as well demonstrate it.

And of course, we’ll get to eat the meatloaf afterward.

So everybody wins.

Birthday Cake Prep

Next up?

Cake.

We have a birthday coming up later this week, and I wanted to get a head start.

If you’ve been around here for a while, you know that I do not like baking and decorating a birthday cake on the same day.

I really don’t.

It’s too much.

You have to make the batter.

Bake the cake.

Wait for it to cool.

Make the frosting.

Decorate everything.

And somehow do all of that without making an enormous mess or running out of time.

No, thank you.

I would much rather divide that process over a couple of days.

So today, I had a little pocket of time and decided to bake the cake.

And once it was completely cool, I wrapped it up and put it into the freezer.

Freezing cake layers before decorating is one of my favorite birthday cake tricks.

First, I think it’s easier to decorate a cold, firm cake.

Second, I’m not trying to bake and frost everything on the same day.

And third, I don’t have to deal with both messes at once.

One important thing: make sure the cake is completely cool before wrapping it.

You don’t want to trap steam inside the wrapping.

Once it’s cool, wrap it well and freeze it until you’re ready to decorate.

And now that’s one more birthday task crossed off my list.

Halloween Cookies After Halloween?

I also made cookie dough today.

Yes.

Halloween cookie dough.

On November 2.

And here’s why.

Before my teenager left for the college visit, she said, “Mom, we never made Halloween cookies.”

And she was right.

For the last couple of years, we’ve made Halloween cutout cookies and decorated them together.

But we’ve had a really busy couple of weeks, and we just never got around to it this year.

Now, I am not somebody who believes we have to do every single tradition every single year.

I really don’t.

I think that’s a recipe for making motherhood unnecessarily stressful.

But I do love decorating cookies.

It’s something I genuinely enjoy.

And I think that’s important.

Choosing Traditions I Actually Enjoy

One thing I’ve learned over the years is that I want to lean into the activities I actually enjoy doing with my kids.

Because if I enjoy something, it’s going to be more fun for everybody.

I’m not stressed about it.

I’m not dreading the mess.

I’m not standing there thinking about all the other things I should be doing.

I actually want to be there.

And for me, decorating cutout cookies is one of those things.

I love it.

I enjoy making the dough.

I enjoy cutting out the shapes.

I enjoy making the frosting.

And I love seeing what the kids come up with when they decorate.

So even though Halloween has already passed, I decided we’re going to make the cookies anyway.

Why not?

The kids still want to do it.

I still want to do it.

And there’s no rule that says Halloween cookies have to be finished by October 31.

So today I made the dough.

At some point in the next couple of days, we’ll find a little time to roll it out and cut the cookies.

Then we’ll make frosting and decorate them…on another day.

Breaking the project into smaller steps makes it much easier to fit into our schedule.

Dinner for People Eating at Different Times

Now, let’s talk about dinner.

Because tonight was one of those evenings when everybody wasn’t going to be eating at the same time.

Chris and my teenager were still on their way home from their college visit.

And I needed to feed the younger kids before they got back.

So I decided to make steak bowls.

And here’s the trick.

When I’m cooking dinner in two shifts, I think about which components can be reheated and which ones are better cooked fresh.

Because I don’t want to make an entirely separate dinner when the second group gets home.

But I also don’t want to serve them a disappointing plate of microwaved steak.

So I planned accordingly.

Using My Weekly Free Steak

First, I pulled out some leftover steak from my parents’ house.

I joke that I get free steak every week.

It’s not literally every week, but most Sundays when we go to my parents’ house, my mom sends us home with leftovers.

And often that includes steak.

Which is incredibly generous.

And very much appreciated.

I love having cooked steak in the refrigerator because there are so many things I can do with it.

Steak salads.

Steak bowls.

Steak and potatoes.

Quick stir-fries.

And tonight, I decided to make bowls with rice, corn, peppers, and onions.

Earlier in the afternoon, I sliced up the peppers and onions and put them into a bag.

So that part was already done when it was time to make dinner.

The Components I Cooked Ahead

For dinner, I made:

• Rice
• Boiled corn
• Roasted peppers and onions
• Diced leftover steak
• Avocado, cheese, and sour cream for toppings

The rice was easy.

The corn was easy.

And I roasted the peppers and onions until they were tender and flavorful. I used 425ºF convection setting and added a lime pepper seasoning, some garlic powder, salt, pepper, and olive oil….it probably took about 20 minutes.

All three of those components reheat beautifully in the microwave.

So I didn’t have to worry about making separate batches for the people eating later.

But the steak?

That was different.

Why I Sear the Steak in Two Batches

I diced up the leftover steak, but I only reheated the amount we needed for the first round of dinner.

I got a skillet hot and gave the steak a quick sear.

Just enough to heat it through and get some nice browned edges.

Then I served it with the rice, corn, roasted peppers and onions, and toppings.

The younger kids ate their dinner.

And then I put the remaining components away in the refrigerator.

When Chris and my teenager got home later, I got their plates ready.

I added the rice.

The corn.

The peppers and onions.

Then I reheated those components in the microwave.

Because rice, corn, and roasted vegetables are perfectly good reheated that way.

But instead of microwaving the steak, I got my skillet hot again.

And I seared their portion of steak fresh.

It only took a few minutes.

And I think it makes a big difference.

The steak gets those delicious browned edges.

It tastes freshly prepared.

And they get a really good dinner even though they’re eating hours after the rest of us.

Then they added their avocado, cheese, sour cream, and whatever else they wanted.

And dinner was done.

My Trick for a Now-and-Later Dinner

I think this is a really useful way to approach meals when your family isn’t eating together.

You don’t have to cook two complete dinners.

You just have to think about which parts of the meal are worth preparing at the last minute.

For tonight’s steak bowls, the rice, corn, peppers, and onions could all be made ahead.

No problem.

But the steak benefited from being reheated in a hot skillet right before serving.

So that’s what I saved for later.

And it was so easy.

I wasn’t standing in the kitchen making an entirely new meal when Chris and my teenager got home.

You can prepare almost everything ahead and still have the meal feel freshly made.

You just have to know which components need a little extra attention.