Yesterday was one of those crazy days where the time just got away from me. You know how it goes. You are working on this project and that chore and managing the kids and before you know it, your husband is asking "what's for dinner" because it's six o'clock. In all honesty, I had nothing planned, but I just smiled and said give me just a minute and I'll get dinner started.
Oops! We usually eat at six so I was already a little bit behind. What's a wife and mother to do when this happens?
I think that we usually have three options: (1) order out/in; (2) make our standard "back up" meal; or (3) leverage our home canned goods.
The first option of ordering something from a restaurant was not a feasible option for us. It was the end of the week and we had some extra expenditures during the month. Sure, we had the money available, but we just didn't want to let our balance slide below a certain threshold. So that meant time to consider option two.
There are a lot of times that I get busy and lose track of time. Or I plan something for dinner and it just doesn't defrost fast enough (because I took it out that morning instead of the night before). In fact, this happened so often early in my homemaking endeavors that I actually began to plan for it. It just so happens that my husband loves tuna fish casserole with egg noodles, peas, and a creamy cheese sauce, topped with french fried onions. Now, this is my "back up" dinner whenever I find myself in a jam. Except, it was already dinner time and I did not have the hour I needed to make my good old standby. This meant, it was time for option three.
Earlier in the year, I had bought a bunch of boneless, skinless chicken breasts on sale, in four and six pound bags. These were quickly cooked and then packed and canned into one and one-half pint jars. I also have a supply of instant potatoes in the pantry (it makes a great thickener for soups). A package of chicken gravy mix and a bag of frozen broccoli and we were set for dinner - in about 20 minutes! In fact, we had to wait for the frozen broccoli to finish cooking before we could eat - everything else was already done!
Okay, so dinner wasn't anything fancy - just chicken in gravy, poured over hot, mashed potatoes with a side of broccoli. But it only took me 20 minutes!
This was only possible because I was willing to spend the 90 minutes required to pressure can some chicken meat. Sometimes, we need to make the investment in time at the beginning so that we achieve the savings in time down the road. And from my perspective, this was awesome! We ate dinner at a reasonable hour. It was hot, filling and very satisfying. My husband was happy. I was relieved. I was also thankful for my pantry stocked with food that I preserved.
So what investments can you make now to help your family tomorrow?
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