Sleep the sleep...

At the risk of doing too much this evening, I just put two bananas in a bowl to thaw for the baked oatmeal.  I still have some time to go on the pulled pork, so I thought I would knock them out.  I have some time to go because I spent three hours this evening zonked out on the sofa and only started cooking at 9:45 PM.  SIGH.

I could have waited on the cooking, but I dislike having a crowded refrigerator and the two meats were thawing on plates in there.  Well, were thawed on plates in there.  Now, I have a bowl of chicken marinading in Thai honey peanut sauce.  Mmmmmm!

Gosh, it's been ages since I made that dish.  Originally, my plan was to make some more lemon chicken for gyros, but I discovered that I still had four jars of lemon chicken in the basement freezer and that Thai honey chicken has been on my mind.  Well, all things peanut butter have been on my mind.

Do you like carrots and peanut butter?
How about bananas and peanut butter?

Someone said to me the other day that I have too much food in my house ... that I didn't need to cook.  I get really, really, really frustrated with comments like that because it tells me that the person does not understand my life ... has not really been listening to me.

I cannot cook on a regular basis.  I can barely heat up food for myself.  I drag my exhausted, wretchedly miserable self through most days, trying to take care of things that a homeowner needs to tend to on a regular basis.  For example, today I pruned the rose bushes for the winter.  And I cut Amos' nails.  Both of those are difficult tasks, especially with a sprained wrist.  Doing one or two tasks, along with the treadmill torture, is a rather arduous day for me.  Plus, there is the need for napping just to get through the waking hours.

I don't want just five or six options in my freezer.  I want 10 or 12 (or more).  Would you want to eat the same five or six meals every week?  I also cannot cook 10 or 12 batches of food all at once, so I keep an eye on what is getting low, and cook up some tastiness once my mason jar drawer begins to fill up.  I have not cooked in so long, the mason jar drawer was overflowing.  After tonight, though, it is practically empty.

Yes, I have essential back-ups in my basement so that I can fetch what I need from there instead of racing out to the store.  Going shopping has to be planned for and worked up to, not popping out at the spur of the moment.  And, frankly, I don't care for any opinions on what I consider essential in my larder verses what you might.

I also have multiples of things that I have purchased in bulk to save money.  For example, on Walmart.com, you can order black beans, kidney beans, and pinto beans in four packs and save money on individual cans.  Pennies matter.  So, if multiples or a good sale comes up on what are staples in my larder, I will buy those.

So, yes, I do have a significant amount of food in my house, between my refrigerators, freezers, cabinets, and basement shelves.  But I do not have too much food.  I have what is right for me to get through life where preparing meals every day is not an option and where money is scarce and insufficient to my needs.

SIGH.

Why did I go ahead and cook, having already done two tasks today?  Both recipes are easy peasy.  The pulled pork takes about 5 minutes to put together in the pot and then 20 minutes to pull apart and divide into mason jars and then wash up the dishes.  Mostly it is a lot of waiting around and practically dying from the fragrant aroma wafting from the kitchen.  The Thai honey chicken means throwing the marinade ingredients into a bowl, cutting up the chicken, marinating it for at least an hour, and cooking it for about 8 minutes.  Neither recipe is time consuming or energy-draining.

Making baked oatmeal does take more labor, but it is not difficult labor.  I get out a jar of blueberries and two bananas from the freezer.  I put the bananas in the bowl and let both thaw.  Then, I mix up the ingredients and let the oats soak whilst the oven is pre-heating and I put the liners in the muffin tins.  They cook for 30 minutes, so I can get the dishes all cleaned up whilst they are cooking.  I then let them cool before putting them in the containers for the freezer.

Since I make the recipe every 18 days, you would think that I have it memorized.  But my cheese-hole brain has not let that happen.  I know all of the ingredients now, and have the dry goods waiting on the counter at the moment.  When the bananas are thawed, I will get out the pure maple syrup, milk, eggs, and Greek yogurt.  Gosh, just typing all that makes me want to go gobble up the baked oatmeal muffin thawing in the refrigerator for tomorrow morning.  I just adore baked oatmeal!!

My plan is to get the oatmeal ready for the oven and then cook the chicken whilst the oatmeal is baking.  I should have just enough time to cook it, put it up in mason jars, and then wash the dishes from the oatmeal and the chicken (the bowl, spatula, and pan).  Then I can rest a while more whilst the pork continues to cook.

Hopefully, tonight, I shall sleep the sleep of peace that comes from productivity, a full larder, and plenty of snuggling with a rather affectionate Fluffernutter.