When You're Too Busy

We all have those moments when you're just too busy to get everything done. This past weekend, I had a rehearsal dinner, training run, wedding (that my husband was speaking in), alumni event, graduation ceremony, and celebratory dinner. The laundry got washed but not folded, I didn't cook a single meal, nor did I have the time or energy to go grocery shopping. And that happens sometimes. How did I deal?

We ate out. More than a few times were for events, but some were because we didn't have the time or opportunity to cook for ourselves. Would I rather eat a home cooked, healthy meal? Absolutely. But a sub sandwich, or piece of chocolate is not the end of the world when it gives us 10-15 minutes to actually breathe so that we can enjoy the events of the weekend.

We also depended rather heavily on freezer meals. I'm not talking about TV dinners, although those certainly have their place. I'm talking about the meals that we put away every time we make a batch of green curry, or spaghetti sauce. Any time we make a big pot of something that freezes well I try to throw a few servings into a container and put it in the freezer. It really takes the stress off when we don't have time or energy, but don't feel like spending the cash or calories on a meal out.

What makes a good freezer meal?
     * Soups and stews (but not ones with dairy or potato bases)
     * Almost anything tomato based
     * Meat sauces
I always add any necessary potatoes, dairy, or fish when I reheat. I'm just not confident that they'll retain their deliciousness during the freezing process.

One of my absolute favorite freezer meals is adapted from this Cooking Light recipe:

Eggs in Curried Tomato Sauce

oil
2 onions, chopped
3 Tbsp minced garlic
3 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
2 jalapenos, diced
curry powder
salt
2 large cans diced tomatoes
1 16 oz. can coconut cream, shaken
1/2 bunch fresh cilatro, chopped

Heat the oil in a large dutch oven over medium. Add onion, garlic, ginger and jalapeno. Saute until the onion is transluscent.

Sprinkle curry powder liberally over the entire pan. Cook 2 minutes, stirring regularly.

Add tomatoes to the pan, bring to a boil. Add coconut cream, return to a boil, cover and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in chopped cilantro.

If freezing the whole batch, let cool and spoon into freezer containers.

If eating some that day, set aside about half to cool and put in freezer containers. Make 4-6 divots in the remaining tomato mixture. Break that same number of eggs into the divots, cover and cook 10-15 minutes (until the whites are set but the yokes are still gooey).

Serve with an english muffin or naan.