I love anything pumpkin! For my freezer cooking class tonight, I made my very yummy pumpkin chocolate chip bars! YUM!! And to make them even better, there is cream cheese frosting to go on top!
Maybe you are wondering why I made these for the freezer cooking class. Well, there are so many different ways to freezer cook and one of them is making your own ingredients to replace the more expensive ingredients that are in the recipe and freezing them to use anytime you want!
Pumpkin is one of my favorite things to cook with and one of the more expensive things to buy for pies, cookies, bars, etc. So I like to make my own!
Where we live now, we live right on the famous fruit belt of Utah. This is one of my favorite things about living here! In the fall during harvest time, we can get so many different fruits and veggies that are fresh from the field. Corn and peaches are two of the top things that Brigham City is known for. This is, in the past, where I have gotten most of my peaches. You can get a half bushel of peaches for $10 on up, it is great! Then I can all the peaches and have my years supply. I do also freeze some to use in smoothies.
Sweet corn is one of my most favorite veggies! Yes, in my book, it is a veggie! Utah has some of the best and sweetest sweet corn, you don't even have to put butter on it, I like to eat it steamed and warm, fresh on the cob! I'm getting hungry already! This also makes for some awesome freezer corn that tastes so good even out of the freezer!
Anyway, we are talking pumpkin today. Around the end of September through October, our fruit stands will start to sell pumpkins. Pumpkins of all sizes and shapes! Perfect for decorating, carving and eating! Not to mention, the one stand I go to, has killer prices on pumpkins and ones that cost about $5 in the store than are a good size pumpkin are about $2-3! And sometimes they have them buy 2 get 1 free! Even better deal!!
So I like to decorate with them for a couple weeks and then I start cutting and cooking! I know they have pie pumpkins that are supposed to be sweeter than a normal pumpkin, and I bought a couple to see, and I didn't notice a difference, so I just use normal pumpkins, yes they are edible!
First I wash the outsides really good, then cut them in half and scoop out all the seeds and membranes (which you can dry and cook the seeds if you like pumpkin seeds), then I cut each half into quarters and fit into a 9 X 13 baking dish. Put some water in the bottom and cover tightly with foil. Bake for 45 minutes or more at 375*. Check after 45 minutes and then check every 15 minutes after that until they are soft and puncture easily with a fork all the way through.
Take out of oven and left cook until you can easily handle them. Scoop all the fruit away from the skin, if it is cooked long enough it should come away from the skin really easily. Then I put the pumpkin into the food processor or a blender and puree until it's smooth.
Scoop out two cups into each freezer container or quart size freezer bag. Label pumpkin 2 cups on the outside and put into freezer.
I do 2 cups each because most recipes call for 16 oz, which is approximately 2 cups. Sometimes I have smaller containers and will do 1 cup in each as well, but mostly I do 2 cups in each.
Voila! You now have lots of pumpkin puree to use in your most favorite recipes! Just thaw in the fridge or in the microwave and add! One thing with homemade puree though, it does have more liquid than store bought canned stuff. It still turns out great, but if it is a problem for you, just drain in in some cheesecloth and that will thicken it.
So that's the scoop on my yummy pumpkin puree. Question? Leave them in the comments and I will answer you back! Thanks for stopping by!
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Cooking Stock
As I am typing this, I have chicken cooking in the pot! Not for stock, but for chicken burritos. I am teaching a freezer cooking class tomorrow night and am going to demo how I do chicken burritos. This is seriously my all time favorite and go to recipe for freezer cooking! You can do so many things with them, make them so many different ways, and they are super yummy!
Anyway, I'm not talking burritos today, I want to talk cooking homemade stock. There's nothing like a pot of homemade chicken noodle soup! And if you have the homemade noodles to put in it, it is even better, but even with just store bought noodles, there is nothing like a pot of chicken noodle soup! What's even better is when it is made with homemade chicken stock!
Stock is actually really easy to make! A couple Sundays ago, I cooked a turkey. Just a normal old turkey cooked in the roasting pan. It was super yummy and made for awesome sandwiches and turkey noodle soup!
Anyway, after that dinner, I cleaned all the meat off the bones, as best I could, then put the rest of the bones into my crockpot dish with all the drippings and put it in the fridge until I could cook it down.
The following Friday, I decided I needed to cook down that turkey. I pulled it out and put the dish into the crockpot, added enough water to cover all the bones, which was almost to the top of the crockpot dish, and turned it on. It probably cooked for about 6 hours or so on low.
I decided to use the rest of the turkey and made a yummy creamy turkey and rice soup. It was especially nice that I could just use the turkey stock that I just cooked! I ladled out 4 cups of stock and then added 6 more cups (I have a large family that loves soup), added my veggies and about 1 TBS chicken bouillon for a little more flavor and cooked!
When the veggies were tender, I added the creamy roué I had made with butter, flour and 4 cups of milk, added the chopped turkey and about 2 cups of precooked rice (left over from a previous meal). My kids loved it and my hubby raved about it all night! That's when I know I've made something really good!
Well, back to our turkey...When it has cooled enough to handle the turkey, you can finish cleaning the bones, there is usually more meat still on the bones. I just put this meat back into the turkey stock, poured it all in a bowl and let it sit in the fridge overnight.
The next day, you will notice it has kind solidified. This makes it much easier to handle! Skim the layer of fat off the top, mine didn't have much, since there wasn't any skin on the bones when I cooked it down. Then I ladled 3-4 cups of stock into 1 quart freezer bags. Labeled and froze! When I want to make soup next, I will just pull one out and add about 8 cups of water and have my broth for soup!
There are many different ways to make stock and with many different items! Make stock from any kind of animal bones: chicken, turkey, beef, pork. Or make some veggie stock with water and a variety of veggies. You can also add veggies to you turkey or chicken and it will add more flavor to your stock. It's not too hard, and with the crockpot, it's super easy!
Please share how you make your stock and how you use it in recipes! I would love to hear from you!
Anyway, I'm not talking burritos today, I want to talk cooking homemade stock. There's nothing like a pot of homemade chicken noodle soup! And if you have the homemade noodles to put in it, it is even better, but even with just store bought noodles, there is nothing like a pot of chicken noodle soup! What's even better is when it is made with homemade chicken stock!
Stock is actually really easy to make! A couple Sundays ago, I cooked a turkey. Just a normal old turkey cooked in the roasting pan. It was super yummy and made for awesome sandwiches and turkey noodle soup!
Anyway, after that dinner, I cleaned all the meat off the bones, as best I could, then put the rest of the bones into my crockpot dish with all the drippings and put it in the fridge until I could cook it down.
The following Friday, I decided I needed to cook down that turkey. I pulled it out and put the dish into the crockpot, added enough water to cover all the bones, which was almost to the top of the crockpot dish, and turned it on. It probably cooked for about 6 hours or so on low.
I decided to use the rest of the turkey and made a yummy creamy turkey and rice soup. It was especially nice that I could just use the turkey stock that I just cooked! I ladled out 4 cups of stock and then added 6 more cups (I have a large family that loves soup), added my veggies and about 1 TBS chicken bouillon for a little more flavor and cooked!
When the veggies were tender, I added the creamy roué I had made with butter, flour and 4 cups of milk, added the chopped turkey and about 2 cups of precooked rice (left over from a previous meal). My kids loved it and my hubby raved about it all night! That's when I know I've made something really good!
Well, back to our turkey...When it has cooled enough to handle the turkey, you can finish cleaning the bones, there is usually more meat still on the bones. I just put this meat back into the turkey stock, poured it all in a bowl and let it sit in the fridge overnight.
The next day, you will notice it has kind solidified. This makes it much easier to handle! Skim the layer of fat off the top, mine didn't have much, since there wasn't any skin on the bones when I cooked it down. Then I ladled 3-4 cups of stock into 1 quart freezer bags. Labeled and froze! When I want to make soup next, I will just pull one out and add about 8 cups of water and have my broth for soup!
There are many different ways to make stock and with many different items! Make stock from any kind of animal bones: chicken, turkey, beef, pork. Or make some veggie stock with water and a variety of veggies. You can also add veggies to you turkey or chicken and it will add more flavor to your stock. It's not too hard, and with the crockpot, it's super easy!
Please share how you make your stock and how you use it in recipes! I would love to hear from you!
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Freezer Meal Shopping
I love shopping! Really any kind of shopping is fun for me! I just don't like to try on clothes, so tend to go back to the store more often than I need to.
When I'm at the store, the first thing I hit is the clearance or discount racks. Know where your discount sections in your stores are, this will save you money!
I have scored on yogurt many times! Check the expiration, but most dairy products will be fine up to a week past the sell by date. Sometimes stores discount things just because they have too much and they can have sell by dates up to a month out, those are my favorite!
Be choosy with your meat. I like to shop the discount meat because it less expensive, but some are already turning funky colors and that is not when you want to buy them. Find meat that looks good and smells good. Even if the sell by date is that day, you can either take it home and cook it right away, or you can put it right in the freezer and save for another recipe you have in mind.
Just the other day, I happened to be at the store and looked on the discounts for bread. I was able to find two packages of whole grain hoagie rolls from the bakery on discount and I knew I needed them for the French dip we will do this week. I bought them both and brought them home, double bagged and put in the freezer and will pull them out the morning we do French dip.
I love when I can find what I need on discount!
Some people say that you should get your meat and frozen foods last. It is entirely up to you how you want to shop. I will usually get my fresh stuff first because it is right in the front of the store, and then hit the aisles for the canned and dried things and try to do dairy and meat and frozen last, but that's mostly how my stores are set up, so I just go with the flow.
If you have a budget you need to keep with, don't be afraid to put things back and tweak your meal plan for the week. Sometimes you don't know exactly what things cost until you get into the store. If you can plan your meals with a grocery ad, this will also save you money!
Most people don't like to shop multiple stores. I do, but I am also looking for the best price! I know that we have an Associated Foods store here that usually has their pork roasts on sale for .99-$1.25/lb, and chicken legs and thighs around .79/lb, so I will go there for my meat, but I also know that Smith's usually has meat and dairy and bread and other things on close out that I can get fairly cheap, so I will also go there if there is something on their sale I need, or if I want to check out their close out.
When you are done shopping, you are now ready to prep and cook the meals you have planned! Yay! The fun now begins!
When I'm at the store, the first thing I hit is the clearance or discount racks. Know where your discount sections in your stores are, this will save you money!
I have scored on yogurt many times! Check the expiration, but most dairy products will be fine up to a week past the sell by date. Sometimes stores discount things just because they have too much and they can have sell by dates up to a month out, those are my favorite!
Be choosy with your meat. I like to shop the discount meat because it less expensive, but some are already turning funky colors and that is not when you want to buy them. Find meat that looks good and smells good. Even if the sell by date is that day, you can either take it home and cook it right away, or you can put it right in the freezer and save for another recipe you have in mind.
Just the other day, I happened to be at the store and looked on the discounts for bread. I was able to find two packages of whole grain hoagie rolls from the bakery on discount and I knew I needed them for the French dip we will do this week. I bought them both and brought them home, double bagged and put in the freezer and will pull them out the morning we do French dip.
I love when I can find what I need on discount!
Some people say that you should get your meat and frozen foods last. It is entirely up to you how you want to shop. I will usually get my fresh stuff first because it is right in the front of the store, and then hit the aisles for the canned and dried things and try to do dairy and meat and frozen last, but that's mostly how my stores are set up, so I just go with the flow.
If you have a budget you need to keep with, don't be afraid to put things back and tweak your meal plan for the week. Sometimes you don't know exactly what things cost until you get into the store. If you can plan your meals with a grocery ad, this will also save you money!
Most people don't like to shop multiple stores. I do, but I am also looking for the best price! I know that we have an Associated Foods store here that usually has their pork roasts on sale for .99-$1.25/lb, and chicken legs and thighs around .79/lb, so I will go there for my meat, but I also know that Smith's usually has meat and dairy and bread and other things on close out that I can get fairly cheap, so I will also go there if there is something on their sale I need, or if I want to check out their close out.
When you are done shopping, you are now ready to prep and cook the meals you have planned! Yay! The fun now begins!
Freezer Cooking Continued...
As a continuation of yesterdays freezer cooking post, I have come up with an example menu for a week. For some of us, this may be a little expensive, but still doable. I hope to begin making videos about some of the freezer cooking I plan to do soon, so you can all see exactly how I do my freezer cooking, but for now, just use your imagination and please ask any questions you need to if you don't understand something!
This is just one weeks worth of a menu. I usually plan menus for one month at a time so I know what the month is going to be like. For this week, you could do all your purchasing and prep work the Friday or Saturday before, and then you have the week to just sit back!
If you go to right of the screen and find my freezer meals tab, you can find some recipes. Some of those recipes are for the meals below. Namely Rubber Chicken. Doesn't sound like a very appealing name, I know, I didn't name it, I just got it from someone years ago. Rubber chicken makes three meals: Roasted chicken, hearty chicken noodle soup and chicken enchiladas.
Since you are doing all the prep before hand, and the roasted chicken is the first meal, you have some options here: 1-keep the whole chicken in the fridge until Monday and cook it fresh, or 2-cook it on Saturday with everything else and pull it off the bones and keep meat in fridge to reheat on Monday, whichever is easier or more appealing to you. DON'T FORGET to save those bones and the chicken drippings to make chicken stock for later! This would work great with your chicken noodle soup!
Garlic - 16 cloves
Thyme - 4 tsp.
Rosemary - 8 TBS
Salt - 8 tsp.
Black pepper - 4 tsp.
Olive oil 10 TBS (1/2 cup + 2 TBS)
Chicken bouillon
Butter – 1 cup + 2 TBS
Garlic salt
Flour – ¼ cup
Mild green chilies – 2 cans
Refried beans – 1 can
Flour tortillas – 2 bags (10-12 count)
Cheese
Oil
Ground beef – 3 lbs
Onions – 4
Mushrooms – 6 canned or 1 lb fresh
Cream of mushroom soup - 6
Milk – 3 1/2 cups
Sour cream – 16+ oz
Carrots – 2 cups
Celery – 2 cups
Green onion - 1
Cream of chicken soup – 4 cans
Fettuccine noodles
BBQ sauce – 2 bottles
Cheddar/jack cheese
Lasagna noodles
Spaghetti sauce
Cottage cheese – 2 cups
Eggs
Mozzarella cheese – 16 oz
Freezer bags
Foil lasagna pans
Olives
Sour cream
Tortillas
Rice side dishes
Mexican rice
Carrots
Celery
Green beans
Hamburger buns
Green salad
Dressing
Garlic bread
Grated cheese
Potatoes
Broccoli – fresh or frozen
As you can see, there is a lot of ingredients! That's ok! If you happen to have food storage, you probably have most of this on hand already or can substitute some of the ingredients, like onions for dried onions, etc.
Now go through the list of ingredients and take off all the ones that you already have. This should look like a much more manageable list. The list of things to have on hand are the items that will be sides and toppings.
I would make an easier list to read to take to the store, one that is broken down by type of item, like meats, dairy, fresh and frozen. Then you aren't wandering back and forth in the store, you can get all fresh items at one time, all dairy at one time, etc.
Add any other items you might need, like milk, eggs, laundry soap, etc, to minimize trips to the store. Get any coupons that might help you at the store and then go do your shopping!
This is just one weeks worth of a menu. I usually plan menus for one month at a time so I know what the month is going to be like. For this week, you could do all your purchasing and prep work the Friday or Saturday before, and then you have the week to just sit back!
If you go to right of the screen and find my freezer meals tab, you can find some recipes. Some of those recipes are for the meals below. Namely Rubber Chicken. Doesn't sound like a very appealing name, I know, I didn't name it, I just got it from someone years ago. Rubber chicken makes three meals: Roasted chicken, hearty chicken noodle soup and chicken enchiladas.
Since you are doing all the prep before hand, and the roasted chicken is the first meal, you have some options here: 1-keep the whole chicken in the fridge until Monday and cook it fresh, or 2-cook it on Saturday with everything else and pull it off the bones and keep meat in fridge to reheat on Monday, whichever is easier or more appealing to you. DON'T FORGET to save those bones and the chicken drippings to make chicken stock for later! This would work great with your chicken noodle soup!
Example menus
Monday roasted
chicken, garlic potatoes, broccoli
Tuesday chili
verde tostadas, Mexican rice
Wednesday hamburger
stroganoff, green beans
Thursday hearty
chicken noodle soup, rolls
Friday BBQ
pork sandwiches, homemade fries, carrot and celery sticks
Saturday chicken
enchilada, Mexican rice, green salad
Sunday lasagna,
garlic bread, green salad
Imagine with me that you decided to make these meals for the week. You pull out your cookbook and find the recipes. The next step is to make a list of all the ingredients for each recipe:!
Ingredients for rubber chicken:
4 fryer chickensGarlic - 16 cloves
Thyme - 4 tsp.
Rosemary - 8 TBS
Salt - 8 tsp.
Black pepper - 4 tsp.
Olive oil 10 TBS (1/2 cup + 2 TBS)
Ingredients for rest of meals:
Boneless pork roast – 2 to 3Chicken bouillon
Butter – 1 cup + 2 TBS
Garlic salt
Flour – ¼ cup
Mild green chilies – 2 cans
Refried beans – 1 can
Flour tortillas – 2 bags (10-12 count)
Cheese
Oil
Ground beef – 3 lbs
Onions – 4
Mushrooms – 6 canned or 1 lb fresh
Cream of mushroom soup - 6
Milk – 3 1/2 cups
Sour cream – 16+ oz
Carrots – 2 cups
Celery – 2 cups
Green onion - 1
Cream of chicken soup – 4 cans
Fettuccine noodles
BBQ sauce – 2 bottles
Cheddar/jack cheese
Lasagna noodles
Spaghetti sauce
Cottage cheese – 2 cups
Eggs
Mozzarella cheese – 16 oz
Freezer bags
Foil lasagna pans
To have on hand to serve with:
TomatoesOlives
Sour cream
Tortillas
Rice side dishes
Mexican rice
Carrots
Celery
Green beans
Hamburger buns
Green salad
Dressing
Garlic bread
Grated cheese
Potatoes
Broccoli – fresh or frozen
As you can see, there is a lot of ingredients! That's ok! If you happen to have food storage, you probably have most of this on hand already or can substitute some of the ingredients, like onions for dried onions, etc.
Now go through the list of ingredients and take off all the ones that you already have. This should look like a much more manageable list. The list of things to have on hand are the items that will be sides and toppings.
I would make an easier list to read to take to the store, one that is broken down by type of item, like meats, dairy, fresh and frozen. Then you aren't wandering back and forth in the store, you can get all fresh items at one time, all dairy at one time, etc.
Add any other items you might need, like milk, eggs, laundry soap, etc, to minimize trips to the store. Get any coupons that might help you at the store and then go do your shopping!
Update to yesterday's post:
I'm sorry, I failed to mention yesterday in my post about our house, that it is not easy to sell a house! We have one of the best realtors and it was still a big challenge for us. We went through a few offers before we finally found the one that stuck. And even then, we had to have an extension on the new loan we were getting for the house we were buying because of how far into the 7 week contract we were. Then we had to file for another extension towards the end, because we were number 4 in the line up of people trying to sell houses and buy another.
Technically we didn't even own our house until almost after we had moved in, because all of the things that needed to happen took longer than expected. Thankfully we were working with some amazing finance people and a great realtor and also the people we buying from and the people purchasing our house!
Along with all the financial difficulties we had getting to our new home, we also had to replace the roof on the barn that is on the property. That was FHA mandatory before we could even move in, which we all thought ridiculous, since it is an out building and not even near the house, so shouldn't make much of a difference, but to them it does because of the size of the building. It really is the size of a small house!
Looking back, everything worked out the way it was supposed to, but if it were my choice, I would definitely do things different, like sell our house first, with all papers signed, and either move somewhere to rent for a while, or wait a week to sign papers on the new place and find somewhere to stay for a week. Trying to sign papers and move and make sure your house really is sold and that new one really is going to work, is just a huge pain!
As it is though, we did it all, we are here, and we are happy!
I'm sorry, I failed to mention yesterday in my post about our house, that it is not easy to sell a house! We have one of the best realtors and it was still a big challenge for us. We went through a few offers before we finally found the one that stuck. And even then, we had to have an extension on the new loan we were getting for the house we were buying because of how far into the 7 week contract we were. Then we had to file for another extension towards the end, because we were number 4 in the line up of people trying to sell houses and buy another.
Technically we didn't even own our house until almost after we had moved in, because all of the things that needed to happen took longer than expected. Thankfully we were working with some amazing finance people and a great realtor and also the people we buying from and the people purchasing our house!
Along with all the financial difficulties we had getting to our new home, we also had to replace the roof on the barn that is on the property. That was FHA mandatory before we could even move in, which we all thought ridiculous, since it is an out building and not even near the house, so shouldn't make much of a difference, but to them it does because of the size of the building. It really is the size of a small house!
Looking back, everything worked out the way it was supposed to, but if it were my choice, I would definitely do things different, like sell our house first, with all papers signed, and either move somewhere to rent for a while, or wait a week to sign papers on the new place and find somewhere to stay for a week. Trying to sign papers and move and make sure your house really is sold and that new one really is going to work, is just a huge pain!
As it is though, we did it all, we are here, and we are happy!
Monday, February 1, 2016
Freezer cooking
I had a friend contact me the other day asking if would come teach freezer cooking in her mother in laws ward. I haven't taught freezer cooking in years, so I was so excited! I love freezer cooking and need get back into it!
Thinking of what I would teach and how, made me look back and think of what I know. I went to previous posts and to all my many books and papers. I compiled some lists and instructions and thought that I would share them here for everyone!
Decide HOW you want to Freezer Meal cook.
With a friend or family?
Little by little?
One day a month for the whole month?
One day every two weeks for the upcoming two weeks?
Two weeks worth of meals?
One week worth of meals?
Also do you want precooked meat in meals or meals to go straight in the crockpot? “Dump Meals”
Are freezer Ziploc bags a better option?
Schedule out the amount of time needed.
(If doing two weeks worth of meals in one day, plan your prep time to be at least 4 hours. If you are doing little by little, you just add some extra time each meal to prep more than one.)
Turkey Turkey
Thinking of what I would teach and how, made me look back and think of what I know. I went to previous posts and to all my many books and papers. I compiled some lists and instructions and thought that I would share them here for everyone!
Ready, Set, Go!!!
Decide HOW you want to Freezer Meal cook.
With a friend or family?
Little by little?
One day a month for the whole month?
One day every two weeks for the upcoming two weeks?
Decide how much food you have
room for in your freezer.
Do you have enough room for a months worth of meals?Two weeks worth of meals?
One week worth of meals?
Also do you want precooked meat in meals or meals to go straight in the crockpot? “Dump Meals”
Decide how you want to
package meals, according to how much room you have for meals.
Can you use foil pans? What size?Are freezer Ziploc bags a better option?
Choose a day and time that is
good to prep.
Schedule out the amount of time needed.
(If doing two weeks worth of meals in one day, plan your prep time to be at least 4 hours. If you are doing little by little, you just add some extra time each meal to prep more than one.)
If
working with others, choose a day that is good for everyone, or have each
person prep meals ahead of time and have a swap session instead.
TIP: Sometimes it is good to
break up your cooking sessions into the types of meals you will be prepping.
For example: all chicken recipes one day, all beef recipes another day, all
rice or potato recipes another day. Makes clean up, cooking and possible
contamination much easier to deal with!
Now that you know HOW you are
going to do your freezer meals and WHEN you are going to do them; sit down with
your menu. Plan out however many meals you need. Also decide if you are going
to make more than one of the same recipe.
Make a list of ALL
ingredients needed for the recipes. Go “shopping” in your pantry and take off
all ingredients on the list that you already have on hand. Here is your
shopping list to buy from the store.
Plan a day to go to the store
and shop. A day or two before your prep day is preferred. Plan to take some
time at the store, you are buying a lot of ingredients. Plan to spend some
money, but keep in mind, this is however many meals you won’t need to plan on
in the future!
Now you are ready to prep! On
prep day, get out all the ingredients and pans you need to prepare your meals.
Cut and cook meat first, cleaning your work area well! While meat is cooking,
chop veggies and mix anything together you need to.
Once all your meals are
prepared and in the proper freezer container, be sure to label clearly what it
is and instructions for baking (what temperature and how long).
Then FREEZE!
Yay! You have completed your
freezer meal session and now have meals to throw in the crock pot at the
beginning of the day or things to pull out and heat at the end of the day, when
you don’t have much time to cook! Pair your meals with side dishes or fruits,
veggies, etc to make a more balanced meal.
Things to Freeze
Anything that you can
find in the freezer section at the store you can remake a much healthier option
at home and freeze, plus MUCH MORE!!
Breakfast:
Egg and sausage biscuit
sandwiches
Breakfast burritos
Muffins
Pancakes
Waffles
French toast
Omelet packets – freeze in
snack size baggies: mushrooms, ham, onions, peppers, etc. put all snack size
baggies into a 1 gallon size freezer bag. Pull out and sautee to heat before
putting on omelet.
Meat dishes:
Chicken uncooked - seasoned
and unseasoned
Chicken cooked and cubed -
seasoned and unseasoned
Chicken enchiladas – in a pan
or just the filling
Chicken burritos
Chicken fajita mix
Chicken nuggets
Chicken curry
Chicken pot pie
Chicken stock
Beef uncooked – seasoned and
unseasoned
Beef cooked – seasoned or
unseasoned
Beef enchiladas
Beef burritos
Sloppy joe filling
Taco filling
Meatloaf – cooked or uncooked
Lasagna
Hamburgers
Meatballs
Spaghetti sauce
Stroganoff sauce
French dip beef mix
Pork uncooked – seasoned or
unseasoned
Pork cooked – seasoned or
unseasoned
Café Rio pork burrito mix
BBQ pulled pork sandwich mix
Ham stock
Soups
Sauces: any kind of sauce or gravy
Pasta, cooked half the time
Cooked rice
Cooked potatoes
Tortillas
Breads, any kinds – double bag if freezing longer than a
month
Veggies:
Corn
Peas
Beans
Squash
Pumpkin
Salsa
Carrots
Onions
Peppers
(most veggies need to be
blanched or cooked before freezing)
Fruits:
Any peeled fruits
Avacados, mashed with some
lime or lemon juice and stored in a container
Tomatoes, peeled
Lentils, cooked
Dried beans, cooked
Snacks and desserts:
Granola bars
Cookies
Banana bars
Pumpkin bars
Chocolate
Cakes
Pies
Cheeses, grated
Milk, cottage cheese, sour cream, cream cheese
Fruit juices
Fruit and veggie purees
“Dump Meals” are crockpot
meals that you put all ingredients into a 1 gallon bag, including raw meat,
label and freeze. When ready to use, just dump in the crockpot and cook!
Any canned item that has been
opened can be put into another container or freezer bag and frozen to use
another time.
So this is what I have put together so far. Once I get some menus figured out, I will post those for everyone to see what I do next. Freezer cooking saves you time in the kitchen and in the long run, will save you money! I hope I can help you do just that!
Please share my blog with all your friends and family! And please leave any comments or questions that I can answer for you! I love to hear from all my readers!
So April was literally 10 months ago and that is exactly how long it's been since my last post. You can obviously tell I am not doing this for the money or anything!
Looking back though, the last 10 months have gone by way too fast! Between birthdays, holidays and the evident sale of our old house and purchase our new house, we have been super busy!
We finished up all the necessary tweakings on our house and got it ready to sell! We were quite nervous with all that we had put into it, and all that had happened to it over the last 10 years. We went through a lot in that house!
We got it up on the market with a great realtor, that helped us out so much! Within the first few days, we had 8 showings! ALL in the same day! Our realtor said she had never had that many showings in one day, other than an open house.
We were so excited and had an offer in hand by the following day. A couple days into the contract she had to back out for financial reasons, but we were still on the market and still going strong! We had more showings and had other offers. We got were under contract with a cute couple with two boys that were really excited to have the house and the yard and everything. It was a 7 week contract and 4 weeks in, they had to back out too. Kind of frustrating, but kind of a blessing.
During that time, we had looked at many houses, ranging from really nice to ones that needed lots of love. I really didn't want to get back into a house that needed too much work done, we had already done so much, I was over fixing up houses!
We looked and looked and just weren't finding anything in our area that was big enough or worth the money. We decided we needed to look outside of our area and venture north to some of the smaller towns in the next county over.
We found a few that were nice, some that needed to be finished and some that were just awful. I had found a home I really wanted, it had everything: 6 bedrooms, two family rooms, and office, a sewing room, a huge storage room and cold storage, a large kitchen...I was ready to put an offer on it! We decided we would look at one more round of homes and if we didn't find anything, we would put an offer on that home.
We scheduled a day with our realtor and looked at a few more homes. There was one house that she just threw into the mix, thinking we should at least look at it, since it had a salon in the basement. I had seen it many times on line, but kept passing it by because it was built in the last '70s. It was the last one we looked at that day.
It had an open floor plan with a large kitchen (huge must for me), two family rooms, with wood burning stoves, the salon, larger bedrooms for the kids, and cold storage, and a huge barn out back with .7 acres of open land that is great for the kids to run and play!
I didn't like that is was so old, but it had been updated with tile throughout the house, except on stairs and in bedrooms, new kitchen cupboards and counter tops, etc. But as we left this house, it was as if every other house we had looked at hadn't even existed! We knew we were supposed to be there, but we didn't know why. The home was definitely not what we ever would have picked for ourselves, but the Lord needed us here for some reason!
Now we have been here for 6 months, and we love it! The town is so awesome! We have never felt more welcome in a ward or a neighborhood! We kept having people tell us they had been waiting for us to come. Now that we have been here a while, I have people telling me it feels like we have been here forever.
I feel the same! At times I forget we lived for 10 years in our last house and ward. We loved it there so much and miss all the people we know there, but the Lords plan is what is in place now and this is how and where we are supposed at this time!
We love the Lord for all the blessings He has given us!
Now with the larger home and me being able to work from home, we are starting a new adventure of foster care! We know there are kids out there that need us and that are supposed to be with our family, we now on that path to find them and complete one more of the Lords assignments for us!
I know it will be a hard road, but one that is filled with many treasures and blessings!
Looking back though, the last 10 months have gone by way too fast! Between birthdays, holidays and the evident sale of our old house and purchase our new house, we have been super busy!
We finished up all the necessary tweakings on our house and got it ready to sell! We were quite nervous with all that we had put into it, and all that had happened to it over the last 10 years. We went through a lot in that house!
We got it up on the market with a great realtor, that helped us out so much! Within the first few days, we had 8 showings! ALL in the same day! Our realtor said she had never had that many showings in one day, other than an open house.
We were so excited and had an offer in hand by the following day. A couple days into the contract she had to back out for financial reasons, but we were still on the market and still going strong! We had more showings and had other offers. We got were under contract with a cute couple with two boys that were really excited to have the house and the yard and everything. It was a 7 week contract and 4 weeks in, they had to back out too. Kind of frustrating, but kind of a blessing.
During that time, we had looked at many houses, ranging from really nice to ones that needed lots of love. I really didn't want to get back into a house that needed too much work done, we had already done so much, I was over fixing up houses!
We looked and looked and just weren't finding anything in our area that was big enough or worth the money. We decided we needed to look outside of our area and venture north to some of the smaller towns in the next county over.
We found a few that were nice, some that needed to be finished and some that were just awful. I had found a home I really wanted, it had everything: 6 bedrooms, two family rooms, and office, a sewing room, a huge storage room and cold storage, a large kitchen...I was ready to put an offer on it! We decided we would look at one more round of homes and if we didn't find anything, we would put an offer on that home.
We scheduled a day with our realtor and looked at a few more homes. There was one house that she just threw into the mix, thinking we should at least look at it, since it had a salon in the basement. I had seen it many times on line, but kept passing it by because it was built in the last '70s. It was the last one we looked at that day.
It had an open floor plan with a large kitchen (huge must for me), two family rooms, with wood burning stoves, the salon, larger bedrooms for the kids, and cold storage, and a huge barn out back with .7 acres of open land that is great for the kids to run and play!
I didn't like that is was so old, but it had been updated with tile throughout the house, except on stairs and in bedrooms, new kitchen cupboards and counter tops, etc. But as we left this house, it was as if every other house we had looked at hadn't even existed! We knew we were supposed to be there, but we didn't know why. The home was definitely not what we ever would have picked for ourselves, but the Lord needed us here for some reason!
Now we have been here for 6 months, and we love it! The town is so awesome! We have never felt more welcome in a ward or a neighborhood! We kept having people tell us they had been waiting for us to come. Now that we have been here a while, I have people telling me it feels like we have been here forever.
I feel the same! At times I forget we lived for 10 years in our last house and ward. We loved it there so much and miss all the people we know there, but the Lords plan is what is in place now and this is how and where we are supposed at this time!
We love the Lord for all the blessings He has given us!
Now with the larger home and me being able to work from home, we are starting a new adventure of foster care! We know there are kids out there that need us and that are supposed to be with our family, we now on that path to find them and complete one more of the Lords assignments for us!
I know it will be a hard road, but one that is filled with many treasures and blessings!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)