Cooking Update

So that freezer session sure was a huge ordeal.  Took me three days to cook it all, and about 200 loads of dishes.  I was a grumpy, stained wreck of a mom by the end of it.  However, dinner time has been unbelievably easy ever since.  I spend maybe 20 minutes total now with just adding a veggie, rice, or salad.    I don't know.  I'll admit to being a slow cook so when the book brags of making all your meals in a manner of only 8 hours, it's going to be a lot more than that for me.  Plus distractions.  Meh.  I might rework this whole thing a bit, streamline it, get better at it, throw in some of my own favorite recipes (most come from reading this blog for the last 10 years).  I think the process can be made much easier.  I'll definitely need to buy meat on sale next time.  The grocery bill for all that food was embarrassing.  I understand that it's for the better part of a month but still.  I felt so much like a, I don't know, spendy gluttonous American.  I know.  Shame on me.  I might be more inclined to spread the mass cooking out over the month just to avoid feeling like that or requiring two carts for the groceries.

Anyway, the point of posting today was to pass along a very useful, boring tip about peanut butter.  Are you on the edge of your seat?!!  I only buy natural peanut butter because I like the flavor and the kids don't need the extra sugar.  I HATE how it's separated when you first buy it and you have to spend a lovely afternoon stirring peanut butter.  The oil sloshes onto your fingers and the counter and you curse, teeth clenched together, butter knife in hand.  You stir and stir and cuss and scream and keep stirring to get all the lumps smoothed out. The children run crying to their rooms and your husband prepares divorce documents, and your day is blown all to hell because of stupid, separated peanut butter.  But behold!  There is another way!  Just empty the entire greasy contents into the food processor, leave it on for a while, and then put it back in the jar.  Done.  Easy.  Why didn't I think of that years ago?