Field Meals + Blog Updates

Wheat harvest is in full swing! I don't know about you, but I'm kinda in denial that summer is officially here already, and that the longest day of the year is past. I mean, seriously, didn't we just have Easter? And Mother's Day? Like, yesterday?

Okay, I'll stop talking about how time has flown. One of these days, I'll cut it out of my posts completely.

Eventually.

ANYWAY. If your family is like mine, meals eaten in the house occur less and less frequently. With the guys constantly outside, more and more of the meals we make need to be taken outside. If the guys were to come in for every meal, it would cut quite a bit of time out of their work schedule. So pretty much every day during the summer, we pack their suppers, and during harvest, we pack lunches as well.

It can be super hard to take meals to the field; the guys eat on the go, so we can't exactly throw some spaghetti into a container, hand them a fork, and send them on their way, can we?

So if you're ever in this predicament, never fear! Here's some short tips that can go a long way when it comes to packing meals to eat on the go.

Pockets. Probably nearly half of the meals we take to the field are pockets. Cross Schwan's hot pockets with bierocks, and you've got pockets! Make bread dough, roll it out on your countertop (or cutting mat, in my case . . . ), cut it into squares, add the stuffing you like, fold the corners together, and bake! These are perfect because not only are they one-handed and practically mess-free, but you can add so many combinations of stuffings! BBQ, pizza, Alfredo, etc., with any kind of meat you like—just don't forget the cheese. Cheese really makes these babies amazing.

Pizza. Now, this isn't ideal. But if you're desperate for something different, take two pieces of pizza and put them together in a baggie, topsides together. This tends to be a bit messier, but making a sandwich out of it helps.

Wraps. No, don't just slap some cheese & ham on a slab of bread. I mean, you could. We've done it ourselves. But you want some really good wraps? Cheese, cream cheese, ham, lettuce, onion (bleck—I'm the only one in our family that doesn't like onions), and tomato. Can't forget the tomato—just ask my brothers. But you don't only have to use ham! Turkey, chicken and roast beef work great too. Or, if you wanted a variation of wraps (because, c'mon, wraps can get really old really fast), make quesadillas! If you make them with two whole tortillas and cut them into quarters, they fit into sandwich baggies really well.

Burgers. There's . . . nothing special that you can really do with these, I guess . . . but I thought they were worth mentioning. Because, I mean, burgerssssss. What's not to like?? (One thing that we tried though that was a smashing success with the guys was to caramelize the onions with barbecue sauce before putting them on the burgers. They loved it.) I will say, though, that wrapping them in paper towels makes them taste better. I'm not kidding. It's weird, but true! Maybe just the way it keeps the moisture inside.

Leftovers. If we have enough meat, we like to make extras of ^^aforementioned stuff. Pockets, especially. They freeze epically and are so easy to take out of the freezer and pop in the oven if you're ever short on time.

If you've got hungry guys in the field, or your summer is just super busy and you have to eat on the run, I hope this is a help to you!

Now, for the blog updates.

I've created an author blog! You can find it here. If you're following me because of all my bookish posts and writing updates, you'll want to follow me there. Why? Well, after much thought, I've decided to make my new blog my book blog, and Twin Thoughts will remain solely a lifestyle blog. (But, I mean, books are a huge part of my life, so that might bleed into these posts a liiiiiitle bit . . . ) So if you're following me for the posts other than the bookish stuff, then you'll want to stay here. ;) So, yeah, no more updates here for Beloved. If you want to continue following my publishing journey, follow my author blog.

I'm excited to see where this leads! Thank you, my loyal followers, for all your support!