Chop Chop!

I had a fit of kitchen productivity today thanks to Graham's two-hour nap this morning.  Not only did I get in a work out (30 minutes of an interval training DVD that involved a LOT of squats) and a shower, I also then managed to chop all of my veggies for my week of meals, prepare split peas for Graham, and turn the rest of the split peas into soup (which I then froze).  Go me!  I started doing this a few weeks ago and it really is the way to go.  Even if you don't meal plan for the week, having go-to items like onions pre-chopped really saves some time during the week.

I'm going to try to get back to blogging about my weekly meals, hoping that I can help inspire others and maybe remember what I've made that we enjoyed.  This week we're having:

• Steak Fajitas
• Cuban Black Bean Soup
• A freezer meal (perhaps the Turkey Noodle Soup from Thanksgiving)
• Herb-crusted Salmon with Caramelized Brussels Sprouts
• Frittata and salad

I sliced the yellow peppers and onions for the fajitas and put those in one tupperware.  The diced onions, garlic and red peppers for the soup in another.  The brussel sprouts cleaned and chopped in another.  And then a random container of diced onions in another.

As for the split peas, I boiled those until soft then took some out for Graham.  In another pan, I sauteed onions and carrots with some leftover ham lunch meat, then added those with salt and pepper into the remaining split peas and voila!  Soup!

I read somewhere online a list of tips for staying organized and buying time, and one of the things was pre-chopping veggies; this was shortly after I started doing this of my own accord, so I had to give myself a pat on the back for being ahead of the curve.  I'll find this website again and post it because there were some other great tips.