WFMW: Shortcut Baking Day

This is the last week in which we're receiving meals from our church, so soon I will be back to cooking for my family on my own!  In preparation for menu planning next week, I attempted a mini baking day this week.  Here's what I accomplished:

- One french bread veggie pizza

- One loaf berry bread

- One small batch chocolate cran-raisin cookies

- One pound cooked red beans

My strategy this time was to make the quickest things I could find.  That meant using any baking mixes or other "shortcut" foods I had around. Thus I baked up a Williams Sonoma berry bread mix that a friend had brought with dinner, plus a jarred cookie mix that I had put together around last Christmas.  Then I took a loaf of Pillsbury refrigerated French bread dough (which had also come with dinner from a friend), unrolled it, and turned it into a quick pizza!  While I assembled everything else, the beans simmered on the stove. 

In total, I probably spent less than two hours on the cooking, while my two year old mercifully slept and the baby snuggled in a front carrier.  I had also been hoping to add the beans to a big pot of chili, but that ended up having to wait for another day.  I was happy to put together just a few dishes to give myself a head start on daily cooking!

These days, using shortcuts and having very modest goals Works for Me!