APRON UP

Can I just tell you it is a frozen food kind of week. I say that as if the rest of my weeks aren't like this, but truth be told, we're probably not far off from par. Maybe the difference is by Monday I already had thrown in the towel. Now don't you for one second think frozen dinner sacrifices deliciousness. Huh uh. Not necessary. I take any of these frozen dinners, add a fresh something or the other to it, and you would have thought Applebee's just delivered to your house. 

First up, we got TJ's (Trader Joe's) gnocchi.  They also have a cheese variety that we prefer. These things are SO good. I'm talking so good that one night when we had people over for dinner, I had made these for the kids instead of our "adult" food. Well, before the night was over all the parents were oooohhhing and aaahhhhing about how amazing these gnocchi were. Now I don't know if that has more to say about the quality {or lack of!} of the adult food or the quality of this frozen dinner...but it's a keeper. For sure.

 

Not to be outdone by TJ's gourmet flatbread pizza. Wild mushroom & truffle? No, I am not kidding. Luxury at your table in 6-8 minutes.

Every time alcohol starts calling my name, I reach for Jack Daniel's beef brisket, generously distributed by Costco. Microwave this for 5 minutes, throw it on a fresh hamburger bun or eat it as an open-faced sandwich on a piece of toast....either way you won't be disappointed. 

 Some other must-haves I'm discovering for the house. So I'll have you know that I always thought I wasn't a fan of Ranch dressing. GASP. I finally found the nerve to mention this to my avid Ranch-loving friend a couple years ago and she handled the situation very maturely. Instead of cutting off our friendship right then and there, she breathed deeply and calmly informed me that I wasn't a fan of store-bought Ranch, but that I did like restaurant Ranch. Well by golly, she was right. Don't know how she knew that about me. But in the last couple months I stumbled on a Ranch that has passed the test and become a house staple. The same friend was at my house partaking of my veggie tray and stopped dead in her tracks to get more info on this Ranch. She approved. And yes, it was store bought. And side bonus- super low calories and fat. Yea baby, drench those veggies!

This next item will become a staple....these pistachio nutmeats {really? do we have to call them nutmeats? a little unappetizing...}. Turn a salad from mediocre to out-of-this-world with just a shakey-shake from this bag. Amazing. I kid you not.

 Now you would think with eating out of my freezer all week that my grocery bill was next to nothing. Incorrect. This bag FULL of chocolate did not pay for itself. And you're just looking at the top layer. Take your pick of this goodness....and BAKE. You all, I don't know what has happened to me but I feel like Betty Crocker herself has come back from the dead {is she dead?} and taken residence in MY BODY. I am doing nothing but baking this week. By choice. Which is probably why we need to eat all these frozen dinners. No time to cook, I'm baking like a mad woman.

You need 10 dozen cookies? I'm your girl. A thousand pretzel hugs? Done and done. Brownies? Reeses? More cookies? Move over and let me get my apron on. I got work to do. 

{all my frozen cookie dough balls waiting to get thrown in the oven on Saturday}

Wow, all this talking about food and baking got me a little too excited. I'm going to go on ahead and calm myself down. But if you're looking for more baking and less cooking, take some of these suggestions and you'll be happy as a clam that barely cooked at all.