The Excellent Adventures of Kim and Kev: Kev Cooks

This week kicked off all the new releases at the gym. Meaning that we got all new music and routines.

However, someone forgot to mention that they were going to be extra hard. I don't know who that "someone" would have been. But it would have been a nice heads up.

It is amazing that I am even able to type this post. Due to sore muscles and all.

But before I got the sore muscles, I cooked.

I cooked a lot.

You see, I've got a monthly meal plan. And I base our menu on my shifts at work and my classes at the gym.

A full day of work PLUS two classes will usually get me home around 8:30pm. The last thing that I want to do is spend time preparing a meal. Especially when I am in FULL ON "food better get in my belly" mode.

You can ask Kev... being in that mode is NOT pretty.

So, knowing that Monday and Tuesday are going to be late nights, I have started cooking two meals on Sunday night. That way we have a meal Sunday night and then use it as lunches for the next two days. And when I get home on Monday, I have another meal ready to go that will serve as dinner for the next two days.

This is such fascinating stuff. I don't know how you are containing your excitement to keep reading.

But in case you are... I've got some recipes....

Sunday night started with roasted broccoli. It is my new go-to vegetable recipe. So easy, and crunchy and yummy.

Two heads of broccoli - chopped.
Tossed in olive oil and kosher salt.
400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

But I didn't just use the florets. I cut up the stalks. Because healthy people told me to. I don't think you realize what you have been missing.

I know that I hate the fact that I have been throwing the stalks away for years. That is... the years that I have been eating healthy. ( which is not many)

Anyway, I used a vegetable peeler on the stalks to get the hard "skin" off. And then they were good to go...

Next up: The star of the show!

We LOVE this stuff!! Just as much as "real" mac n cheese. It is also a little hard to find so I always make sure I stock up when I see it.

And it is just as easy and fun to make as the orangy Kraft classic.

I made TWO boxes thinking it was going to last for at least three meals.

( Little did I know)

And then I baked some pork chops with a little salt and pepper and cut them up in to little bites.

I mixed the pork in to the mac and added some broccoli on the side...

And VOILA!! ( Thanks H and Mom for teaching me the real spelling-haha) We had dinner.

Meanwhile, I was baking a Mexican inspired chicken and rice bake from Jessica at How Sweet It is.

She is my new found hero. I cannot stop making her recipes. Or dreaming about them.

The ONLY thing that I did differently was to use these:

Because in my plans to "eat clean"... I stopped buying salsa with the intention of making it myself. And then I forgot to make it because I was too busy enjoying the weather. Chipotle peppers were the closest thing I found in my pantry to salsa.

Except for that they are HOT AS THE DEVIL'S TIME OUT ROOM.

And for the life of me, I can't seem to remember that. Which is why I put WAY too many in whatever it is I am making. And then I have to watch Kev's poor little head sweat.

And I have to gasp for air.

But other than that, I love this casserole. SO MUCH. It was the PERFECT bowl of filling nutrients after taking two intense classes at the gym.

( And after removing MOST of the peppers)

I love coming home to an already prepared meal.

Oh. And I didn't take pics because they don't do this dish justice - it is better for your life if you look at Jessica's.

Trust me.

But unfortunately, as I mentioned before, my plans weren't the best. Or maybe we just eat way more than I expect us to. The "pork chop delight" was gone by Monday's lunch. Which basically in the scheme of things meant that there was nothing to eat for dinner on Tuesday night.

And this is where the story gets good.

There is nothing I love more than to meal plan/cook/prepare Kev's meals. NOTHING!

(Except for maybe sea salt/caramel/chocolate)

And really cooking is pretty much all I do around the house. Unless you can count leaving big piles of laundry in the laundry room. Or making messes every where I go - (my house is literally covered in cookbooks right now - It is ridiculous!) Or sitting on the back porch snapping my fingers every time I need a drink refill.

So, It is important that I cook. I need to earn my keep.

But I didn't have a back up plan. I was at the gym all morning. And then headed to work. All I could come up with was to bake a frozen quiche that had been in my freezer for a couple of months.

And let me make it very clear that Kev CAN and WOULD totally take care of his own food sitch - it is just I'm a little OCD about it all and it is better to let me handle it.

So, I called him. Told him about the quiche. Suggested he make a nice salad. And wished him well on his evening.

But to my DELIGHT and UTTER SURPRISE, this is what he came up with....

A turkey bacon, spinach, cheese, tomato, and Ranch dressing TOASTED sandwich. With a side of sliced tomato and spinach quiche.