Simplify…Sunday Dinner

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of learning at work, and of adjustments and re-organization at home.  Having two of us working full-time has changed a lot, however we have risen to the occasion and are coping admirably!  We work together well; housework and meals have organically worked themselves out, the pets are doing fine, and although we do miss spending so much time together, we are really enjoying making the most of time we do have off together.

Oh and my job?  LOVE it!!!  Life feels good!

This weekend we actually had Friday night, Saturday AND Sunday off together. We achieved a good mix of checking items off our “to-do” list and having fun.  However, Sunday afternoon we peeked into the refrigerator and realized that one item was still un-checked – groceries.  We’d held off thinking that we might go to the nearby town of Terrace but realized that we just couldn’t face a work week without an order.  Off to the local grocery store we went!

We decided to just get lunch and breakfast basics (I haven’t menu planned for the week yet).  Once we had our cart filled with these items, we turned our thoughts to the evening ahead.  What did we want to eat tonight?  We turned our noses up at frozen pizza (too much of that lately) and fresh pasta (not in the mood) before I suggested a walk up the meat aisle.  That’s when it stuck us. 

Turkey dinner.

Nothing says “Sunday” like  roasted meat.  We’ve done beef roasts a lot lately, and they were great, but this week we had a hankering for turkey.  However,  a full on turkey dinner with all the trimmings takes planning and several hours of time and I really didn’t relish the thought of labouring over the stove for the next 6 hours.  So we decided to cheat.  Because to us, Sunday should be covered in gravy.

Enter “The Practically Instant Turkey Dinner.”

I’m not usually a big fan of “instant” type foods; they tend to be too processed and salty for my liking.  But every so often I relax a bit and take advantage of their truly remarkable ability to put a tasty meal on the table within an hour.  I feel that if you eat well most of the time, then it is OK on occasion to indulge in these items.  And let’s face it; they’re a working couple’s friends.

Here’s what we got:

• Western Family Turkey Breast with Herb Gravy
• Idahoan Instant Scalloped Potatoes
• Stovetop Cornbread Stuffing
• Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce
• Dr. Oetker Sauce & Cake
• Green Giant Simply Steam Veggies

The whole dinner took less than an hour to cook, excluding dessert, which we ended up skipping because we were too full.  That’s the beauty of instant Sauce & Cake; it will still be good another day! Our meal cost about the same as ordering take out, and we felt  happy having had an untraditional traditional Sunday supper!

 

“Simplify…” is a new post topic I’ll be visiting from time to time. I’m looking forward to sharing the ways I’m discovering to simplify and streamline my housekeeping, meal prep, and work week planning, all while keeping the Nesty spirit alive!