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Help Me, Rhonda
Things are going well here. Rainer started back to work on Monday, so I’ve been pretty frazzled trying to get everything done that must get done (my priorities: 1 - care for baby, 2 - sleep, 3 - feed self, 4 - attend to personal hygiene, 5 - everything else). All in all, I’m handling the adjustment better than I expected, although I did have to laugh very loudly when Rainer came home the first two days and told me that he’d watch the baby while I cooked dinner. He learned his lesson and has been cooking dinner this week. Next Saturday, my aunt arrives to help with the baby and things should get easier. I figure we’ll all head over to Nürnberg for sightseeing while she’s here, and maybe we’ll visit Passau too if I feel up to it.
But as to the title of the post, I’m asking for help now. I’m looking for really easy, healthy, hearty recipes that I can make for dinner. I’m thinking casseroles, and stuff like that, so that we will have leftovers and maybe I can get away with only cooking every other day. Stuff like vegetarian lasagna, moussaka, stew, or some other hearty soup, but I want something that requires almost no prep time (cooking time doesn’t matter, it can cook all day, but I don’t want more than 30 minutes or so of actual work). Know of any great healthy recipes?
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About Christina G
Christina Geyer has lived in Germany since May 2002. She also blogs on the site Mamas Worldwide. For more, see About Christina G.
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Well I don’t have any recipes for you per se, but my first piece of advice is get a slow cooker, if they exist in Germany. You just toss a bunch of stuff in turn it on and forget it. Works for me, I hate cooking…ciao
If you can cut things up quickly, then several of my recipes would serve you well. I’m quite poky, so when prep time takes 30 minutes for someone else, it takes me an hour - 90 minutes is garlic-peeling is involved.
Speaking of, did you figure out if Oliver has an issue with you eating garlic?
I would recommend buying a rice cooker. I can’t live without mine. It’s SO easy and steamed rice (white or brown) goes with just about anything. Plus, most rice cookers come with a basket that can be placed on top of the rice, while it’s cooking, to steam other things like fresh vegetables, fish, or even chicken. You can put all of your ingredients in the rice cooker and leave it until you hear the beep! Yup, most rice cookers also have a timer.
I think a new Mom’s best friend is a crock pot or slow cooker. There are great crock pot recipes out there, cookbooks and on the internet. One that I enjoy is “Fix It And Forget It.” You can use your normal soup/stew recipes in your slow cooker as well. It is a life saver for a busy Mom. I hope it helps you as much as it helped me. Also, if you can buy your veggies already chopped (a bit more expensive but so convenient) this will also be a great time saver. Good luck. Each picture that you post of Oliver is cuter than the previous. He is so adorable! What a lucky Mom you are. Pam
Schokolade stole my idea!
I have a few recipes that I used when The Boy was younger that saved my life. I will try to email them to you early next week.
I must say that Oliver is looking rather dashing, and I love the outfit too. LOL!
rositta & pam: Is it necessary to have a slow cooker for the slow cooker recipes or can you just toss the ingredients in a covered soup pot and let it simmer all day?
I’m not sure they sell them in Germany, and I think Rainer would have a fit if I bought yet another piece of kitchen equipment!
@Sarah: I chop at medium speed (I guess - I’m no Martin Yan, anyways). I haven’t figured out yet if it was garlic that bothered him. He’s had gas problems again the last two days and the change I had made was that I cut back on Stilltee from about 8 cups a day to 2-3, and I added milk products back in. The Hebamme told us that the Stilltee has anti-gas properties, so I don’t know which is causing the problem. I’m gonna try increasing tea consumption again and not decreasing milk, to see if that makes a difference. Otherwise life is gonna suck cause I’m a big dairy fan.
@schokolade madchen: We’ve got a rice cooker and have been eating steamed brown rice with various meats and veggies. Just looking for a little more variety. I think I can eat fish again, so I’m excited to try a fish dish soon (Oliver didn’t want me eating fish during my pregnancy!)
@maria: It is a cute outfit, thanks!
And I look forward to the recipes!
Make big batches and fill the freezer? Would that help?
I wonder why they don’t have crock pots in Germany. Well, the beauty of it is that you can prepare your dish, plug it in on low, and literally leave it all day, even if you are out of the house. You can’t really do that with a pot on the stove, as you would have to always check the liquid and stir, and of course you could never leave it cooking while you are away. So, I guess the next best thing would be to prepare your ingredients when you have time and energy and then when you throw it together it will be quicker. Also, to make a flavorful soup in a short amount of time, you can saute the vegetables in olive oil til soft and this enriches the flavor of the soup. Also, use broth instead of water. You can make your soups and stews ahead and then place them in the frig as well. Good luck. I know it’s a challenge but you’ll work it out. It’s important that you eat a healthy diet now for Oliver and for your recovery. Have a great weekend. Pam
Um, they do have crockpots in Germany. Rival.de has them in two different sizes, I think. We bought one from them about a year ago and it’s great.
I’ll bet Rainer would come ‘round on the crockpot. They can be incredibly handy at times like this.
I’m terrible about actually using recipes so don’t have any great ones to share, but you can “casserole” nearly anything… I reckon. If you need some ideas, my fave recipe web site is recipezaar.com (you can look there for simple recipes or crockpot ones or whatever). If you guys like pasta, baked pasta dishes with different meat/veggie/fish on top would be easy. Polenta too, but only if you can find it pre-boiled.
If I think of any great recipes I have, I’ll let you know.
Oliver is beautiful! :)
We all know I’m no help in this department, but surprisingly I actually DO own a crock pot and use it on occasion. I’d highly recommend it…
@bowleserised: That’s what I did today. I made a nice veggie lasagne, although it ended up being much more work than I wanted (I made the bechamel sauce from scratch and all).
@pam: Eating healthy is a problem when you have no time or energy! I’m doing my best to get all my fruit and veggie servings though!
@sarah: Funny, on the German Way list someone is regularly posting that you can’t get them here. I just assumed you couldn’t, I’d never gone and looked for myself. I’ll have to think about whether I want to get one.
@o-tay: Thanks for the link. I’ll start wearing Rainer down, but we just got the car and the hospital bill, so maybe I’ll hold off on buying anything for a little while!
@eurotrippen: Sounds like crock pots are the bomb. I’ll keep it in mind once our bank account recovers.