How it All Began

about a month ago, I was tuned into Food Network while I nursed Mister Man and saw a commercial advertising a new show with Rachel Ray called "Week In A Day." Her strategy is to cook five meals in one weekend day so that when you come home after a long day at work, you don't have to really even think about dinner - just pull something out of the fridge and heat it up!

no thank you.

This concept is not new - TV dinners have been around since the '50s and many dieters turn to prepackaged frozen meals to help with portion control.

While I wouldn't consider myself a foodie (I'm not fancy enough), I do love to cook and eating food that tastes good is a luxury I will not go without, even when the budget is tight. Prepackaged frozen dinners just can't deliver the same goodness as a made-from-scratch meal.  

So, back to Rachel Ray ... as soon as the commercial was over, I set my TiVo to record her show and later did a little research on the show's website. The episode "It's A Breeze" featured five recipes that all sounded delicious to me, so I decided to try cooking for a full week in just one day. And as it turned out, I needed to do it all in just one morning as the day I picked to cook was already full in the afternoon and evening, but I was able to complete four out of the five meals (all except the Grilled Chicken Caesar Mac, so I froze the chicken and saved it for the next week), take a shower, nurse Mister Man a couple of times, cut up fruit for a salad and make it to lunch on time, bearing that fruit salad! Of course, had I tried to do this on a day that Deputy Handsome was at work, it would not have been possible but between Mister Man's frequent naps and the love that Little Miss has for her daddy's undivided attention, I was able to cook, in just one day, good-tasting, make-ahead meals for an entire week. 

TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL COOKING DAY:

• do some organizing on paper first - I make a list of each of the meals to be cooked and the dishes needed to prep, cook and store each meal. This is so I can plan for dish-washing time and also to make sure I have enough of each needed dish or container to go around
• the night before, make sure the kitchen is spotless so you can jump right into cooking and don't have to wade through last night's dishes
• the day you pick as your cook day is as important as what you plan to cook. if you have kids, make sure there is someone else besides you who is responsible for them and for keeping them out of your way for a few hours