I tried to be organized and plan for this remodel. After all it has been 13 years in the making. But sadly things didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped. I ran out of space, patience, and time before demolition day. Procrastination should be my middle name. I came across some good articles on how to prepare and survive a kitchen remodel. (Here and Here) I only wish I had found them sooner. Or had the ambition to to be that organized.
I think by far the funniest moment about the kitchen remodel (so far) is when the hubbs said, "With no kitchen I guess we are going eat out every day for a few weeks." Once I stopped laughing, I told him, "Nice try slick". The stove is going to the garage temporarily. We have 220 in the garage, so if the hubbs gets desperate enough he can cook a frozen pizza while he is out in his man cave. So between the microwave, crock pot, sandwiches and grill (which also has a side burner) the eating out will be kept to a minimum-or so I hope. Which is good not only for our health but our bank account as well.
I think by far the funniest moment about the kitchen remodel (so far) is when the hubbs said, "With no kitchen I guess we are going eat out every day for a few weeks." Once I stopped laughing, I told him, "Nice try slick". The stove is going to the garage temporarily. We have 220 in the garage, so if the hubbs gets desperate enough he can cook a frozen pizza while he is out in his man cave. So between the microwave, crock pot, sandwiches and grill (which also has a side burner) the eating out will be kept to a minimum-or so I hope. Which is good not only for our health but our bank account as well.
I did a lot of bulk cooking ahead of time to alleviate the burden of meal preparation. I cooked and portioned 6 lbs of ground beef, that can defrosted for spaghetti, chili, tacos, sloppy joes or whatever other recipe in which it can be used.
I prepped, precooked and have frozen meatloaves. I will either use the grill or we can plug the stove in the garage to heat them to temperature.
And I also made a ginourmous pan of banana bread-there were 2 but my dog decided to help himself to a half pan- sliced and froze for an easy grab-n-go breakfast.
We have 7 grocery tote bags of canned goods (soups, raviolis, fruits and veggies). I bought individually wrapped chicken breasts for easy preparation and also less contamination since I don't have a kitchen sink. I have a couple of tubs of frozen pulled pork which can be microwaved and I have lots of veggies pre-chopped and frozen for the crockpot or foil packets on the grill. I cam across a few good pages for crock pot freezer meals and slow cooker recipes (HERE and HERE). Another web search to find recipes and tips on how to cook almost everything on a grill (HERE )
While I am not a huge fan of prepacked foods (artificial colors, flavors and high sodium content). I have stocked the freezer with a variety of frozen meals. It won't kill us to use these products over the next few months. After what we encountered this is no longer an easy remodel--but more on that later!
I'm pretty sure I have the meal thing under control but I guess that is due my naivete and optimism of a young renovation. Let's see where I am in 6 weeks from now, haha
Anyone have any other tips for surviving the remodel with no kitchen?
I prepped, precooked and have frozen meatloaves. I will either use the grill or we can plug the stove in the garage to heat them to temperature.
And I also made a ginourmous pan of banana bread-there were 2 but my dog decided to help himself to a half pan- sliced and froze for an easy grab-n-go breakfast.
We have 7 grocery tote bags of canned goods (soups, raviolis, fruits and veggies). I bought individually wrapped chicken breasts for easy preparation and also less contamination since I don't have a kitchen sink. I have a couple of tubs of frozen pulled pork which can be microwaved and I have lots of veggies pre-chopped and frozen for the crockpot or foil packets on the grill. I cam across a few good pages for crock pot freezer meals and slow cooker recipes (HERE and HERE). Another web search to find recipes and tips on how to cook almost everything on a grill (HERE )
While I am not a huge fan of prepacked foods (artificial colors, flavors and high sodium content). I have stocked the freezer with a variety of frozen meals. It won't kill us to use these products over the next few months. After what we encountered this is no longer an easy remodel--but more on that later!
I'm pretty sure I have the meal thing under control but I guess that is due my naivete and optimism of a young renovation. Let's see where I am in 6 weeks from now, haha
Anyone have any other tips for surviving the remodel with no kitchen?
The hardest part of our past remodels was always --DISHES. Hard to do them with no sink.
ReplyDeleteAt this house, I'm lucky to have a utility sink in the laundry room. The first place I remodeled didn't--and I did the dishes in the tub. What a pain in the ........er, neck!
I stocked up on paper plates, cups, bowls and plasticware, I hate to put this in the waste stream even though I AM recycling. I am trying to keep the actual number of dishes I have to wash at a minimum.
DeleteI wish we had remodelled the bathroom/ laundry room first because I would have installed a utility sink. My bad....