Trying to get back into this...

[drenilop]

1. I had a really nice lunch with a mentor from my undergrad days. I'm thinking about leaving academia (or at least leaving the classroom) [and no, I don't want to discuss it], and he had some very good suggestions for options and strategies. And besides, he's just a lot of fun to talk to

Comments

[ex_redrain]

Good good good.

And I took your idea of getting convenient foods for when things start to get loopy. Wise idea.

[drenilop]

Better than convenient, cook when you can and freeze things. Lots of stuff freezes well. I have tons of freezes-well recipes that I can give you if you need more, all on the inexpensive end of the price range. Do you own a crock pot?

[ex_redrain]

Yeah, though that requires cooking, which I royally suck at. I do have a Crock-Pot; haven't used it since I moved here, though.

[drenilop]

Change that! Get a whole chicken the next time they're on sale; 3-4 lbs will feed you for 5+ meals. To cook it, literally open the plastic wrapper, rinse it off and take out the giblets bag from the cavity, and plunk it in the crock pot. 8 hrs on low and you're eating wonderfully for days. Then when you get sick of plain unadorned rotisserie-ish chicken, you take the leftovers and make soup with it, in the crock pot again.

[ex_redrain]

I've been meaning to try some from-scratch soups or even broth, but meaning usually gets buried under homework, grading, writing, class prep....

[drenilop]

You don't need to go from scratch. That can take too long. This (creamy) chicken soup recipe that I use takes leftover chicken, two cans of broth, a can of cream of chicken soup, carrots & celery, and a tsp of herbs. My sister leaves out the herbs. I use whole baby carrots instead of fussing with cutting (if I want to fuss I cut them in half). Again, leave it to simmer on low all day while you're at work, boil up some noodles when you get home, and you'll be blissfully happy. These are minimal prep meals. I have the same kind of schedule you do, remember? :-)

For when you DO want to make some from-scratch stuff, I've got some good recipes there too - a potato chowder that is a good way to sneak veggies into your diet, beef vegetable, standard old-fashioned chicken noodle, broccoli cheddar...

[drenilop]

Oh, and I have black bean soup (vegetarian!), and an Indian-style tomato soup...

[ex_redrain]

You got me at vegetarian!

[drenilop]

http://www.recipezaar.com/Panera-Bread-Black-Bean-Soup-49737

YUM.... The base recipe will make about 4 moderate-sized bowls, though one of them is usually not quite enough to be a meal by itself. Pair with a bit of salad or some type of bread/rolls/biscuits to finish it off and make a meal of it.

Also see http://bean-dame.livejournal.com/113245.html?thread=327261#t327261 -- the potato chowder recipe is below the photos, and it's totally vegetarian and absolutely PHENOMENAL. THAT is a filling meal with just a moderate-sized bowl, no extra side needed! I omit the mushrooms and overdose on carrot/celery.