Survival of the Busy Mom

Eating out too often is expensive and unhealthy. My kids are less likely to get their vegetables if we eat out. I'm of the opinion that french fries don't count! In an attempt to get our spending and our nutrition under control, my husband and I made a pact to eat at home every night. The problem is soccer twice a week, gymnastics once a week, swimming three times a week. The solutions are varied and a lot of work. The better I get at cooking, the more fun I have doing all that work.

Here are some strategies that people who are too busy to cook do to eat at home more often:

1. Make double batches of a dish. Eat half, freeze half, or eat half in a couple of days.
2. Cook big on a free day. We'll make a couple of dinners on the weekend and keep them in the refrigerator.
3. Do the Robin Miller strategy. Make a "meal kit" - prepare pieces of a dinner so that they are easier and faster to put together on a late night.
4. Cook after dinner on nights that you aren't too tired.
5. Eat big salads. They are filling and store well in the fridge.

When the kids were little, one of our favorite books to read with them was The Piggybook by Anthony Browne. Have you read it? Mrs. Piggot cooked when the family woke up in the morning, then she cleaned the house, then she went to work. When they all came home in the evening, she cooked dinner, then she cleaned again, then she cooked some more! Poor Mrs. Piggot. She was a tough cookie, though. She gets her way and by the end of the book, the boys and dad are cooking and mom is fixing the car. This week, I was Mrs. Piggot!

Monday night I made fast and yummy chicken soft tacos with left over chicken from Robby and Katie's roast chicken. After dinner, I went to choir practice. Upon returning home, I made a big pot of chicken and chorizo stew for tonight. Arnie reached home first, so he heated it up for us. It was really good. Everyone like it - especially Arnie since it had some spice to it. I bought the wrong kind of chorizo - soft and uncooked instead of hard cooked chorizo. It was still good, but wasn't chunky. In online research of chorizo, I discovered that Mexican chorizo is soft and uncooked while Spanish chorizo is cured - hard and in a casing. Oh well. I'll try the recipe again with Spanish chorizo. Robby thought the stew needed more chicken. Katie liked it as is. Arnie especially liked the spicy cheese.

Chicken Chorizo Stew

1 lb chicken tenders diced (Robby would say try 1 1/2 lbs)

3/4 lb chorizo sausage, diced

2 tbs olive oil

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

3 small potatoes, diced

1 15 oz can roasted chopped tomatoes

1 15 oz can dark red kidney beans, drained

2 tsp hot sauce

1 quart chicken stock (mine was from Sunday's chicken!)

2 cups shredded pepper jack or sharp cheddar (Arnie prefers the pepper jack)

tortilla chips

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Cook chicken in hot oil in heavy soup pot for 3 to 4 minutes. Add chorizo and garlic. Cook 3 minutes. Add peppers, onions, and potatoes. Cook 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, kidney beans, and hot sauce. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 12 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Ladle soup into bowls and top with shredded cheese. Melt under broiler and serve with tortilla chips.