Kitchen Tip Tuesday: Prep ahead meals & uses for cooked Oatmeal

Sunday we were having company over for dinner after church. Now, I know I could have just put something in the crockpot, or in the oven and set it to turn on at a certain time, but I really, really wanted to make my yummy 4 cheese fettuccine. This is a recipe you have to try.

I had made this about a month ago for company on a Sunday and it just seemed that I was so rushed that I wasn't relaxed. I normally get up about 2-3 hours before I leave for church so I decided to do most of my prep work ahead of time. I made the sauce (since that takes a bit of time) and put it in the fridge. I sliced the bread and buttered it (softened butter mixed with crushed garlic and parsley), placed it on the pans and covered with foil (ready to pop in the oven when I got home). I also cut the broccoli and had it in the pan ready to steam. I pre-cooked the chicken and cut it up. Got the plates and cups out and ready to go. All I had to do when I got home was cook the fettuccine, steam the broccoli and saute some spinach and mushrooms. We ate within 30 minutes of arriving home. Perfect and non-stressful. 

So look for ways to make your Sunday meals or any company meal easier and less stressful, especially when serving those "non" crockpot meals. It helps you to spend more time enjoying your guests than laboring in the kitchen.

Now, my guest just came into the kitchen with me and helped, which is what I usually do when going to someones house. That makes it even more enjoyable.

Oh, one more tip....last week I made oatmeal for my hubby and then he decided he didn't have time to eat it. So I had a pot of leftover oatmeal. I hated to waste it, so I looked online for uses for cooked oatmeal. I found several muffin recipes. The muffins I made were really moist and yummy. They weren't too pretty and I'm not sure why....but they tasted good and made good use of the oatmeal.

Now head on over to Tammy's Recipes for more great tips. I'm going to try to link this, but my linking still isn't working right. If it doesn't work, go to my sidebar to the left under Favorite cooking sites.

With Joy UNquenchable,