I never count my chickens before they hatch. But I do line up my eggs beforehand.

As a special needs parent, Sunday meal preps are one of my life hacks.

Life has been incredibly busy the last few months with balancing work, my mom's endless appointments, T's appointments - and creating space to process changes, such as T's FASD diagnosis and his CYW's departure.

This recent week was especially busy. I packed five days of work into four, as we geared up excitedly for our Spring Break.

Over the four days, Ma had three medical appointments and I had to attend a community meeting for work on Tuesday evening.

So on Sunday, I looked at the pack of eight chicken breasts in our freezer and decided we were having a lot chicken the coming week!

But as I learned Monday morning, the best laid plans can go sideways!

Sunday - Gochujang Chicken

Gochujang chicken is a sweet and spicy Korean dish; its name derived from the Korean red chili paste (gochujang) that forms the base of the sauce that coats the meat.

Sunday Prep: I cut the chicken into one-inch cubes and seasoned it with onion and garlic and let it sit for an afternoon in the fridge.

Recipe: I used this recipe from Christie At Home. Key ingredients included red onion, garlic, sesame oil, sugar, soy sauce, sugar, sesame seeds, corn starch and gochujang.

And Voila!

Tuesday - Chicken Adobo Pasta

This was me having fun blending two flavors together: adobo from Filipino cuisine and pasta.

Sunday Prep: I cut the chicken into bite sized strips and marinated them with soy sauce and vinegar - the foundation of adobo flavour. I also seasoned it with coarse black pepper. Then I let it sit in the fridge overnight.

Recipe: For my pasta sauce, I used cherry tomatoes, garlic and Parmesan cheese.

Aren't cherry tomatoes so pretty?

Once the tomatoes softened, I ground them into a paste then threw on the Parmesan cheese to thicken the sauce.

I then mixed in boiled spaghetti with bit of pasta water. Then threw on the chicken, which I stir fried in the pan beforehand.

And voila!

I prepared this on Monday night, so the flavors could blend in overnight. We ate beef stew I had prepped the night before.

This saved me time on my meetings and appointment packed Tuesday!

Wednesday - Club Soda Battered Fried Chicken

I recently learned club soda is a magical ingredient to make amazing light and crunchy fried chicken. It blew my mind.

Sunday prep: I cut two breasts horizontally to make four thin filets and marinated them with oyster sauce, five spice powder and white pepper - to give a Taiwanese fried chicken taste. Then put them away for two nights in the fridge.

Recipe: I coated the chicken with a dry mix of 1/4 cup corn starch and 1/4 cup flour. Then soaked it in a batter made of 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup corn starch, 1 teaspoon baking powder and 2 cups club soda. Then fried it in avocado oil.

And voila!

Thursday: Black Pepper Chicken

I had some leftover celery in the fridge from my beef stew that I didn't want to go to waste, so I made this comforting stir fry.

Sunday Prep: I cut the chicken into bite size cubes. Then marinated then with soy sauce, white pepper, salt, sesame oil and avocado oil.

Recipe: By Thursday, the chicken was well marinated. I followed this Instagram recipe from CJ Eats.

I loved learning how to create restaurant-like sauce to coat the chicken in.

And voila!

Never Count Chickens Until They Hatch

Many special needs parent will tell you they like to line up their eggs in a row and think through every scenario that can go wrong before they hatch.

As much as I had planned ahead, my already-packed week threw me a huge curveball.

Monday morning, after I arrived at the hospital for Ma's first appointment this week, the hubby texted to say I had to pick T up from school.

He was being sent home because he had a runny nose and a cough. Due to pandemic policies, T had to stay home all week.

I now had to add homeschooling to my list of tasks for the week!

T was fine and couldn't have been happier to get an early start to Spring Break - but we made sure he did all the required work plus optional homework. If we had to suffer, he sure as heck was gonna do extra work too!

But you know what, we made it to the end of this hellish week. We always do.

On Thursday evening, as I bit into the last bite of chicken, I felt a huge weight lift off my shoulders.

We made it. Spring Break has arrived at long fucking last!