Chop Shop

Despite the name, this post has nothing to do with an underground gang of thugs who steal cars and strip them for parts.

Although...(pondering)...nope, I can't come up with anything witty...that's outside my scope of reality.

Back to my world, where it's just me, my board, and my knife!  Look out vegetables, here I come!
When planning for the week, I usually take a little time to prepare my ingredients. If you're like me, sometimes the day gets away from you.  You look up and it's dinner time. With nothing prepared, you resign to pouring cereal in a bowl (with love, of course) and ringing the dinner bell.

Here's where planning helps!

A person once told me, if you weren't organized before you became a Mom, you will be after.  I'm convinced, it's because you have no choice. Have you ever experienced a taxi ride in Mexico? That's motherhood with no planning...fast moving chaos!

All ingredients that can be minced, grated, and chopped, throw in the towel...wave the white flag...give up the ghost! They know their time has come.

For this week's recipes, I need an assortment of chopped olives, mushrooms, jalapenos, tomatoes, and bell peppers (I even slice a few bell peppers to snack on while I chop).

 

I also need grated mozzarella and cheddar cheese. I have an aversion to store bought grated cheese.  It is packed full of preservatives and is void of anything that remotely tastes like cheese (in my opinion). It is also more cost effective to buy the block and grate it yourself, you are paying a little extra for convenience when buying grated cheese.

When everything is chopped and grated, it all goes in handy Ziploc bags...ready to take the stage as the star ingredient in any recipe!

(I combined most of the vegetables in one bag because they are being used in day #2 of the trilogy, Meatball Trifecta. Here's the link, in case you missed it.)

Here's to stress free meals!

Happy chopping...grating...mincing...sweeping (most of mine ends up on the floor)!