Preparing to Be a Wife (Part I)

Whether you are a new wife, bride-to-be or a woman who wants to prepare for her Boaz, here are some tips that can help you manage your household in marriage. Having a handle on your responsibilities and priorities in marriage leads to greater peace in your home. And effective household management helps things to flow smoothly so that love can abound. So, while there are so many elements of managing your household – today’s post focuses on cooking. Yes, I said it. Here are a few tips to make it less stressful and easier to handle. Read on!

My #1 Quick Tip: Do a Menu
It seems laborious, but it really only takes a sec. Just grab a piece of paper and if you are new to this, only focus on the weekdays. Think about dinners that you can cook with relative ease and that everyone will appreciatate. Case in point, although sushi may be your favorite meal, if someone detests raw fish, it may not be a good option to add in the dinner rotation. Here’s the general rule: K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Sisters!). My go-to recipes are spaghetti, homemade pizza, tacos and BBQ sandwiches (all of which take 20 minutes or less to prepare).

Why is Cooking So Important?
It’s said that the dinner table is the place where love resides and that there is an unspoken intimacy that comes from breaking bread together. As wives & future wives, we are called to be keepers of the home (from Titus 2), so it’s our responsibility to create the unity that comes from regular meals together. Practically speaking, whether you work in the home or outside of the home, each of us has things to do everyday, so I’m not suggesting that you prepare a thanksgiving feast complete with buttermilk biscuits from scratch. You have to be realistic about your time and responsibilities. But, I am saying that being busy does not remove the responsibility of setting a table. Even if it’s a table for two, where just you and Jesus are the diners, it’s an important habit to implement now. If you don’t have time to cook on a daily basis….make time for this important act of service that will nourish your soul and those around you. And luckily, I’ve made it easy for you. Here are 5 easy (and when I say easy, I mean easy) recipes that you can do in 20 minutes or less. So, no excuses ladies! Consider incorporating these recipes into the dinner rotation to either ease the burden of cooking or get you into the habit of preparing a meal.

Quick tip #2 - If you are short on time, a lifesaver can be a bag of prepared chicken. You could either buy a cooked turkey from the store, slice it yourself and freeze it in small portions to use in meals. Alternatively, you could simply buy a bag of fully cooked chicken breast and portion out as needed. There are several brands to choose from. It makes things very easy.

Quick Tip #3 – When you plan your meal, try to use similar items so that when you purchase ingredients at the store, you are maximizing your money. (i.e. if you make quesadillas with flour tortillas, you can also add wraps to your menu and use the rest of the flour tortillas), like I did below.

1) Chicken Fajita from Glynnis Whitwer’s Blog.
Buy flour tortillas, frozen bag of red/yellow/green peppers, large onion and frozen chicken. In a skillet, add a little olive oil, 1/2 bag of peppers, 1/2 chopped onion and chicken. Season with chili powder, garlic, salt and cumin. Saute for about 10 minutes. Serve on torillas with your choice of cheese, salsa or sour cream. For added protein, serve with refried beans. Boom! Dinner is done!

2) Chicken Salad Wraps
Mix 2 cups of cooked chicken, 1/4 cup mayo; and 2 tbsp honey mustard. Add in 1 cup of red grapes, 1 cup celery and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts. Mix together and serve on flour tortilla lined with baby spinach (recipe taken from Family Circle). Serve with salad or tortilla chips. This is a super easy mid-week dinner.

3) Linguine with Broccoli & Alfredo Sauce
Boil noodles according to package. In meantime, steam broccoli until slightly firm. In a skillet, add olive oil, minced garlic and onion. Saute. (You can also add chicken if you choose). Add can of alfredo sauce to mixture and heat until bubbly. Serve noodles and top with sauce. Serve broccoli on the side (or mix together, according to preference). Bon Apetite!

4) Vegetarian Chili
In a crock pot, add can of rinsed and drained corn, black beans and kidney beans. Add 2-3 cans of zesty tomatoes, one can of tomato paste (diluted with water) and one can of tomato sauce. Add chopped onion, green pepper and red pepper. Add one “chili seasoning” package. Also, add chili powder, garlic, pepper and salt to achieve robust taste. Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Serve with corn bread muffins, cheese and sour cream. Yum!

5) Quesadillas
Put a little olive oil in a skillet. Add flour tortilla and on one half, quickly add thick & chunky salsa, shredded cheese and chicken (optional). Fold in half and brown on one side. Flip and brown on other side. Cut into triangles and serve with lettuce, sour cream and black beans (optional). Dinner is served!

I hope that this helps! Let me know how these quick recipes work for you. And I’d love to hear from you. Do you have go-to recipes that you love? Do you have tips on preparing quick meals? Let me know your thoughts below. If you’ve enjoyed this article, please “like” my page on Facebook by clicking here; follow me on Twitter @thelovejourney7 or sign up below to receive email notifications. Subscribe to The Love Journey by Email

Photos Courtesy of: slashfood.com; simplyrecipes.com