big cook 1

last weekend my sister in law was kind enough to fly across the country to meet my newborn baby (number 2) who we affectionately call chickpea. while here she took very good care of us despite her lack of sleep and jet lag. she rocked the baby, entertained the two year old bean, and even folded diaper laundry. but the most important thing she did was big cook. and offer to train me to big cook. so in her honor i got started on my first weekend of big cook all alone. the above pics show you how i big cook (newborn on back toddler a big helper) and what i achieved by 11am on saturday morning - two meals!

why the big cook?

busy mama's don't have time to cook during the week.

budget conscious mama's don't want to be so dependent on take out.

everyone likes a home cooked meal even if they eat the same one twice a week.

the basics of the big cook:

pick your menu - four to five meals for the week (you can eat one twice).

make your big shop list and try to get shopping done by friday.

big cook over the weekend.

prep whenever you can!

the single most important big cook tip that i learned from the master big cooker while she was with me is about prep. fit prep in anywhere you can. this is the key to success. did you get that? fit prep in anywhere you can. baggies and little bowls or tupperware are handy for this part. got ten minutes while your little ones are finishing up their morning snack? chop the garlic. throw it in a baggie. put it in the fridge. oh, your older kiddo is napping and the newborn is sleeping in the moses basket (never mind her diaper is about four hours old) chop up your onions and your ginger, bag 'em, fridge 'em (change the diaper) get the snack made for number 1 and give yourself a big pat on the back. you are big cooking.

truly, looking at the prep and the cooking as separate phases has been a break through for me. maybe this is something all the other mama's learned in grade school but i was out sick that day? it is genius. you will see how helpful it is as we get into the cooking but think of it this way. you are making pasta sauce and taco filling on big cook day. both need chopped garlic. ok, that could mean you spend a few minutes chopping garlic as you saute onions for the sauce, clean that up, and do the whole thing again as you brown the taco meat. or, you can grab the garlic from the fridge that you chopped friday morning and throw it in both pans at once! genius right?

big cook menu's and shopping lists are all comin' your way. you can chose the west coast week or the east coast. sometimes meals are the same because i am still copying the master. we love your feedback or just a shout out to let us know you stopped by.

that's all for now.

woo woo mama (east coast)