Does anyone love pay day as much as I do? Probably so, but I think I get the most excited! Most people get a pay check every other week, or twice a month, or some even get paid weekly or daily. In our home, we get a pay check once a month, in the middle of the month.
It has been a hard adjustment for us, but for 11 years now, we have lived this way. I get all my grocery money and spending money in one lump sum instead of breaking it up over a couple times. I have really learned to have to plan what that money goes to.
Our grocery budget right now is $450. That has to buy all food and non food necessities like toilet paper, paper towels, shampoo and soap, etc. At times I don't feel like this money stretches as far as I would like it to, but I also have a great supply of food storage and toothpaste that I won't run out anytime soon.
I shop with coupons a lot as well and that helps me to stretch my money farther. So today, I will sit down with my calendar for the month, put in my menu plan for the month, my grocery list for each week, and then decide what other things I need, like fruits, veggies, shampoo and deodorant and see what things I can get on sale.
I also want to do some freezer meals and items this month, so I need to decide what things I need to buy for that and put them into my menu as well. Freezer burritos on the top of the list this month, as well as things for Saturday and Sunday lunches that sometimes we can't seem to figure out, as well as things for snacks for my kids.
Have you ever made something that you eat one and just can't get enough of it so you have to have just one more and one more? Brownies are my biggest downfall in this area, but I also love a good muffin! And not just for breakfast! And more than that, I love homemade muffins! I will also take one from Maverik but I hate to spend the money sometimes.
Today I'm going to share a couple of muffin recipes that are my favorites, I have so many, but a couple are always my go to and these also freeze great! I will usually double my recipe and then put the leftovers in the freezer where my kids can have one another day and my hubby will also grab a couple and take to work to have as a snack.
My all time go to muffin recipe, because it is super easy and I usually have everything on hand, is Poppy seed mini muffins. I love these because I can make them lemon or almond flavored and they are so moist and yummy!
My other favorite, that I haven't made in a long time, takes a few more ingredients, but it is a great bran muffin that is light and super yummy is the Mormon Muffin. If you are ever in Ogden Utah and need a yummy place for lunch, go to the Greenery Restraunt. It is at the mouth of Ogden canyon and has very yummy food and is well known for their Mormon Muffin with honey butter. I got this recipe years ago from a friend and have made it a few times. I do not know for sure if this is the actual recipe or just one that someone made up themselves. In any case, it makes a huge batch and they are so good!
What kind of muffins do you like? I'm just sharing these two today, but have others like banana muffins and pumpkin muffins that I will share at a later time.
Poppy Seed Mini Muffins
2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
2 TBS poppy seeds
2 TBS milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. lemon or almond extract
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, soda and salt; set aside. Combine remaining ingredients, mix well. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fill greased mini muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 400* for 12-15 minutes. Makes 3 1/2 doz.
I usually make these normal size and double recipe and bake about 15 minutes. Minis I usually cook about 10 minutes.
Mormon Muffins
Muffin mix must sit in fridge overnight before baking. Muffin mix will last one week, covered and refrigerated. Makes 6 dozen regular size tin cups or 3 dozen large tin cups.
2 cups boiling water
5 tsp. baking soda
1 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 quart buttermilk
5 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
4 cups All bran cereal
2 cups 40% bran flakes
1 cup chopped walnuts
Add soda to boiling water and set aside. Whip shortening and sugar until light and fluffy, add eggs slowly. Mix well. Add buttermilk, flour, salt and mix again. Add soda water very slowly. Gently fold in cereals and walnuts. Let sit in fridge over night. Spoon 1/8 cup into greased muffin tins. Bake at 350* for 20 minutes. You can freeze baked muffins.
I hope you enjoy these as much as we do. Now I am off to get my menu ready for the month and get my shopping list done for the week. Have a great day!
Showing posts with label Freezer Meals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Freezer Meals. Show all posts
Friday, February 12, 2016
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Beans, beans, the magical fruit!
Yep they sure are, in more ways than one! I have cooked with beans for a long time and love beans! I'm talking those dried beans that you can buy in the Hispanic food isle. Or the ones in cans are fine too. Pinto, black, red, pink, white, cannellini, garbanzo, kidney, etc.
Beans are so healthy for you! Not only are they a great source of protein, but they have half the fiber that you need for one day! They also have antioxidants, are low in sugar and are great for weight loss and insulin!! Does sound like a magical fruit, doesn't it?!
I realize for some people it's hard to cook your own beans, that's why they have canned beans that are already cooked for you, just open the can and rinse and put in whatever you want. Just be careful when choosing your canned beans. Some companies will add sugar or excess amounts of salt to make them taste better.
Sometimes I will just grab a can of beans for a meal when I don't have time to cook my own. Especially refried beans for burritos or 7 layer dip. I did notice yesterday when I opened a can of refried black beans that I didn't look at the label for, that it had more than just beans and salt, it had lard and partially hydrogenated lard! The latter ingredient is so not good for you! I was just a little upset! Why did my super healthy beans need to have such awful ingredients in it? Sometimes I don't understand why they have to do that!
Years ago when we were very poor, we couldn't afford meat very often. I didn't know how to stretch food very well as our family grew. My husband, on the other hand, was awesome! He would just say, throw a can of beans in it. I thought that was kind of weird, but the more I did it, the more we grew to love beans. We would have stroganoff with kidney beans, which sounds weird but is actually really pretty good!
Now I don't use beans quite as much, but I do still use only one pound of ground hamburger or turkey, or in our case now, ground elk, and add things to it to stretch it. I can feed all 7 of us on one pound of ground meat, mixed with rehydrated refried beans and some taco seasoning. This is how I make tacos. I always stretch it with beans of some kind.
Fresh refried beans are some of my favorite! We got an easy recipe from a friend years ago that I use often still. I usually double this recipe and freeze whatever I don't use for another meal. Here is the recipe I usually use:
Refried beans
1 cup pinto beans
1/4 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
3 TBS oil
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Wash beans thoroughly, remove any rocks or twigs. place in deep pot with 3 cups water. bring to a boil and slowly add baking soda to "de-gas" beans. Remove from heat, skim off foam, cover and let stand in liquid 1 hour.
Add 2 more cups water to beans. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring once, until beans are tender. Save 1 1/2 cups bean liquid for use during mashing. Heat 3 TBS oil in skillet over medium heat. Add cooked beans and 1 1/2 cups retained bean liquid. Add 1 tsp. salt and 3/4 cup cheese. Mash until smooth and cook until liquid is mostly absorbed. Serve warm topped with 1/4 cup cheese.
Really easy recipe, but plan about 3 hours start to finish. I don't usually mash these beans, I have, but don't usually. I will just cook them and then scoop them out into quart size freezer bags and freeze for when I need them later. Or we will use them right away for chicken burritos. I will either leave them whole or mash them right on the tortilla if I don't want them whole. They work out great!
I also use this recipe for other types of beans as well. I have done black, kidney and pink beans as well and they all turned out great!
I also love soups and chili with beans! There are so many ways to use beans! Do you have any favorite bean recipes? Share yours with us!
Beans are so healthy for you! Not only are they a great source of protein, but they have half the fiber that you need for one day! They also have antioxidants, are low in sugar and are great for weight loss and insulin!! Does sound like a magical fruit, doesn't it?!
I realize for some people it's hard to cook your own beans, that's why they have canned beans that are already cooked for you, just open the can and rinse and put in whatever you want. Just be careful when choosing your canned beans. Some companies will add sugar or excess amounts of salt to make them taste better.
Sometimes I will just grab a can of beans for a meal when I don't have time to cook my own. Especially refried beans for burritos or 7 layer dip. I did notice yesterday when I opened a can of refried black beans that I didn't look at the label for, that it had more than just beans and salt, it had lard and partially hydrogenated lard! The latter ingredient is so not good for you! I was just a little upset! Why did my super healthy beans need to have such awful ingredients in it? Sometimes I don't understand why they have to do that!
Years ago when we were very poor, we couldn't afford meat very often. I didn't know how to stretch food very well as our family grew. My husband, on the other hand, was awesome! He would just say, throw a can of beans in it. I thought that was kind of weird, but the more I did it, the more we grew to love beans. We would have stroganoff with kidney beans, which sounds weird but is actually really pretty good!
Now I don't use beans quite as much, but I do still use only one pound of ground hamburger or turkey, or in our case now, ground elk, and add things to it to stretch it. I can feed all 7 of us on one pound of ground meat, mixed with rehydrated refried beans and some taco seasoning. This is how I make tacos. I always stretch it with beans of some kind.
Fresh refried beans are some of my favorite! We got an easy recipe from a friend years ago that I use often still. I usually double this recipe and freeze whatever I don't use for another meal. Here is the recipe I usually use:
Refried beans
1 cup pinto beans
1/4 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
3 TBS oil
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Wash beans thoroughly, remove any rocks or twigs. place in deep pot with 3 cups water. bring to a boil and slowly add baking soda to "de-gas" beans. Remove from heat, skim off foam, cover and let stand in liquid 1 hour.
Add 2 more cups water to beans. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring once, until beans are tender. Save 1 1/2 cups bean liquid for use during mashing. Heat 3 TBS oil in skillet over medium heat. Add cooked beans and 1 1/2 cups retained bean liquid. Add 1 tsp. salt and 3/4 cup cheese. Mash until smooth and cook until liquid is mostly absorbed. Serve warm topped with 1/4 cup cheese.
Really easy recipe, but plan about 3 hours start to finish. I don't usually mash these beans, I have, but don't usually. I will just cook them and then scoop them out into quart size freezer bags and freeze for when I need them later. Or we will use them right away for chicken burritos. I will either leave them whole or mash them right on the tortilla if I don't want them whole. They work out great!
I also use this recipe for other types of beans as well. I have done black, kidney and pink beans as well and they all turned out great!
I also love soups and chili with beans! There are so many ways to use beans! Do you have any favorite bean recipes? Share yours with us!
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Who needs pumpkin?!
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!
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!
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!
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!
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Oatmeal muffins
As I have said many times, I love baking, but more than baking, I love eating and especially muffins! So here are a couple recipes that I got from my All Recipes app, but I have tweaked them to accommodate my family and to be a little mor healthy with less sugar. So here are a couple:
Oatmeal muffins
4 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup applesauce
1 cup milk
2 cups oat flour
1 1/2 cup quick oats
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 400. Whisk together eggs, brown sugar, applesauce and milk in a bowl until smooth. Stir flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt into wet ingredients to make batter. Fill muffin cups.bake until cooked through, about 15-20 minutes.
To make oat flour: put quick oats in food processor or in mill grinder to make flour.
These muffins are kind of heavy being all oats, but are yummy and filling. They also make at least 2 dozen regular size muffins.
Banana muffins
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 applesauce
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups mashed bananas (or about 4 bananas)
Chocolate chips or chopped walnuts
In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine egg, honey, oil, yogurt, vanilla and bananas. Stir into dry ingredients until just moistened. Fold in chocolate chips or walnuts. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Until done through.
This recipe makes at least 2 dozen regular size muffins. I make huge batches, then put then in freezer bags and put in freezer so my hubby and kids can pull them out and eat whenever they want. I will usually split this recipe and put chocolate chips in half and walnuts in the other half (kids like chocolate chip, hubby likes walnuts). These are a little different with the honey in them, but still really yummy. Enjoy!
Oatmeal muffins
4 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup applesauce
1 cup milk
2 cups oat flour
1 1/2 cup quick oats
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 400. Whisk together eggs, brown sugar, applesauce and milk in a bowl until smooth. Stir flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt into wet ingredients to make batter. Fill muffin cups.bake until cooked through, about 15-20 minutes.
To make oat flour: put quick oats in food processor or in mill grinder to make flour.
These muffins are kind of heavy being all oats, but are yummy and filling. They also make at least 2 dozen regular size muffins.
Banana muffins
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 applesauce
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups mashed bananas (or about 4 bananas)
Chocolate chips or chopped walnuts
In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine egg, honey, oil, yogurt, vanilla and bananas. Stir into dry ingredients until just moistened. Fold in chocolate chips or walnuts. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Until done through.
This recipe makes at least 2 dozen regular size muffins. I make huge batches, then put then in freezer bags and put in freezer so my hubby and kids can pull them out and eat whenever they want. I will usually split this recipe and put chocolate chips in half and walnuts in the other half (kids like chocolate chip, hubby likes walnuts). These are a little different with the honey in them, but still really yummy. Enjoy!
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Freezer Meals
I need to start doing more freezer things. One that we like to do fairly often and that is really easy is burritos. Here is an idea for some burritos:
Chicken
Place 3-4 boneless chicken breasts in med. saucepan. Add 1/2 jar salsa and enough water to cover chicken. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until chicken is white all the way through (about 20 mins.). Remove chicken from pot and let cool until easy to handle. Shred the chicken and return to the pot. If chicken mix looks too thing, bring to a boil to reduce liquid.
Spread about 2 TBS. refried beans on a flour tortilla. Add 3-4 TBS. chicken mix down the center, sprinkle on a TBS or so of shredded cheese. Fold the sides of tortilla in a bit, then roll from the bottom. Repeat. Wrap each burrito in plasti wrap, then place all burritos in a large freezer zip-loc bag and freeze. To reheat, remove the plastic wrap and microwave on high until hot all the way through (time will vary).
Ground beef/turkey
Cook beef thoroughly and add taco seasoning (make as pakage directs). Assemble same as chicken burritos.
Burritos are very easy to make and are just like the frozen ones you buy at the store, but are much more healthy for you. And don't cost too much to make. Watch for tortillas to be $1/package or less, that is a good time to make lots of burritos! Have fun with these and get creative.
Here's another idea to make multiple meals at one time:
Purchse 4 fryer chickens or one 3 lb. bag chicken breasts. starting in the early afternoon, remove giblets from whole chickens, bake two chickens in a roasting pan at 325*, uncovered for 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Or bake one thawed 3 lb. bag chicken breasts for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, covered. When they are done, de-bone and bake remaining fryer chickens. After the first two chickens have cooled, chop up about 4 cups meat for a different freezer bag and freeze for future chicken noodle soup (dinner #2) and 6 cups for future enchiladas (dinner #3).
Chicken seasoning for each chicken:
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp. thyme
2 TBS. rosemary
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
2 1/2 TBS. olive oil
Mix and rub all over chickens.
Chicken will be done when no longer pink inside and juices run clear.
Dinner #1: Baked Chicken
Chicken
Rica-a-roni
Veggies
Dinner #2: Hearty Chicken noodle soup
3 cans chicken broth
2 cups chopped carrots
2 cups chopped celery
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 chopped green onion
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
4 cups water
3 cups cooked diced chicken
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 - 1/2 stick of butter
2 - 2 1/2 oz of futtuccine noodles (broken in half and cooked until tender)
Hear broth; add carrots, celery, onions and simmer until veggies are teder. Add cream chicken soup and milk. Add chicken and nooles. Add salt, pepper and butter.
This soup takes about 3 hours to simmer and thicken.
Dinner #3: Chicken Enchiladas
6 cups diced cooked chicken
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 (16 oz) sour cream
1 small can diced green chili's
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cups shredded cheddar/jack cheese
flour tortillas or corn tortillas
Mix soup, chicken, 1 1/2 cups cheese, and rest of ingredients together to make filling. Stuff into soft tortillas shells. Pour left over sauce over rolled up enchiladas. Add rest of cheese ove top. Bake at 350* for 40 minutes.
Do you have any freezer meals that you like to make? Care to share them?
Chicken
Place 3-4 boneless chicken breasts in med. saucepan. Add 1/2 jar salsa and enough water to cover chicken. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until chicken is white all the way through (about 20 mins.). Remove chicken from pot and let cool until easy to handle. Shred the chicken and return to the pot. If chicken mix looks too thing, bring to a boil to reduce liquid.
Spread about 2 TBS. refried beans on a flour tortilla. Add 3-4 TBS. chicken mix down the center, sprinkle on a TBS or so of shredded cheese. Fold the sides of tortilla in a bit, then roll from the bottom. Repeat. Wrap each burrito in plasti wrap, then place all burritos in a large freezer zip-loc bag and freeze. To reheat, remove the plastic wrap and microwave on high until hot all the way through (time will vary).
Ground beef/turkey
Cook beef thoroughly and add taco seasoning (make as pakage directs). Assemble same as chicken burritos.
Burritos are very easy to make and are just like the frozen ones you buy at the store, but are much more healthy for you. And don't cost too much to make. Watch for tortillas to be $1/package or less, that is a good time to make lots of burritos! Have fun with these and get creative.
Here's another idea to make multiple meals at one time:
Purchse 4 fryer chickens or one 3 lb. bag chicken breasts. starting in the early afternoon, remove giblets from whole chickens, bake two chickens in a roasting pan at 325*, uncovered for 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Or bake one thawed 3 lb. bag chicken breasts for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, covered. When they are done, de-bone and bake remaining fryer chickens. After the first two chickens have cooled, chop up about 4 cups meat for a different freezer bag and freeze for future chicken noodle soup (dinner #2) and 6 cups for future enchiladas (dinner #3).
Chicken seasoning for each chicken:
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp. thyme
2 TBS. rosemary
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
2 1/2 TBS. olive oil
Mix and rub all over chickens.
Chicken will be done when no longer pink inside and juices run clear.
Dinner #1: Baked Chicken
Chicken
Rica-a-roni
Veggies
Dinner #2: Hearty Chicken noodle soup
3 cans chicken broth
2 cups chopped carrots
2 cups chopped celery
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 chopped green onion
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
4 cups water
3 cups cooked diced chicken
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 - 1/2 stick of butter
2 - 2 1/2 oz of futtuccine noodles (broken in half and cooked until tender)
Hear broth; add carrots, celery, onions and simmer until veggies are teder. Add cream chicken soup and milk. Add chicken and nooles. Add salt, pepper and butter.
This soup takes about 3 hours to simmer and thicken.
Dinner #3: Chicken Enchiladas
6 cups diced cooked chicken
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 (16 oz) sour cream
1 small can diced green chili's
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cups shredded cheddar/jack cheese
flour tortillas or corn tortillas
Mix soup, chicken, 1 1/2 cups cheese, and rest of ingredients together to make filling. Stuff into soft tortillas shells. Pour left over sauce over rolled up enchiladas. Add rest of cheese ove top. Bake at 350* for 40 minutes.
Do you have any freezer meals that you like to make? Care to share them?
Friday, January 21, 2011
Recipes: pancakes & waffles
Something we really like to make and keep on hand is breakfast for our kids. It makes morning a lot easier and kids love pancakes and waffles. Following is the recipes that we use for pancakes and waffles that I got from Mike's mom (hope she doesn't mind). We make these in mass quantities. Make as much as you want. We usually do at least 4 recipes at a time, then we have enough for a few weeks (when they don't eat them everyday).
Pancakes
1 1/4 cups flour
1 TBS. sugar
1 TBS. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
2 TBS. oil
1 egg
Mix all but milk and flour. Add milk and flour alternating until smooth. Cook on griddle.
Waffles
1 1/3 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1 TBS. sugar
2 eggs, separated
1/3 cup oil
1 cup milk
Separate egg whites. Beat whites until stiff. In separate bowl, mix sugar, oil and egg yolks. Add flour and milk alternating. Mix. Add egg whites last and fold in. Cook until done in waffle iron.
Hope your family enjoys these as much as ours does. We shake up our recipes to and we have added banana, peanut butter, and chocolate chips to the batter. We also have tried them with wheat flour, very yummy. And fruit with whipped cream is yummy for a topping.
Pancakes
1 1/4 cups flour
1 TBS. sugar
1 TBS. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
2 TBS. oil
1 egg
Mix all but milk and flour. Add milk and flour alternating until smooth. Cook on griddle.
Waffles
1 1/3 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1 TBS. sugar
2 eggs, separated
1/3 cup oil
1 cup milk
Separate egg whites. Beat whites until stiff. In separate bowl, mix sugar, oil and egg yolks. Add flour and milk alternating. Mix. Add egg whites last and fold in. Cook until done in waffle iron.
Hope your family enjoys these as much as ours does. We shake up our recipes to and we have added banana, peanut butter, and chocolate chips to the batter. We also have tried them with wheat flour, very yummy. And fruit with whipped cream is yummy for a topping.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
I have started the freezer meals, but I am taking a different approach than making full meals, which would be nice, but time and money do not allow that right now. So right now I am focusing on getting meat frozen and stored for future use. I was able to get 4 pork roasts for $.99/lb. on Saturday, so I have been cooking those for the last couple days. Tonight we will have pork burritos and then I will freeze the rest to use later on bbq pulled pork and more burritos. Thanks to a good friend, I also scored a killer deal at local grocer on chicken breasts. I bought them for $1.29/lb! You don't see prices like that very often. I bought about 74 lbs. worth but half will go to my mom. But I am going to freeze my portion. I want to cube and cook some to use in quick casseroles and salads. I want to also marinade and grill a bunch, we like that more on salad. Otherwise I just clean the excess fat off, and then I filet them and cut in half, to make 4 small pieces of chicken. The chicken breasts I have been buying are huge so to keep us from eating too much and being able to stretch our meat, I cut into quarters.
I hope you are doing well with starting your freezer meals. Let me know how it's going and if you have any questions.
I hope you are doing well with starting your freezer meals. Let me know how it's going and if you have any questions.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Sorry it has been a few days, I thought I would let you think for a little while of how you would like to begin. Now to give you some ideas of what we do for freezer meals.
lasagna
enchiladas
burritos
any type of casseroles
soups
egg rolls
sauces
bbq pulled pork
sloppy joe mix
taco mix
pizza
mashed potatoes
baby food
cheese - must grate first
breakfast sandwiches
breakfast burritos
meatloaf
meatballs
hamburgers
stroganoff
This is just a few ideas of what you can do. To help you save time and money, buy meat in bulk. Cook up hamburger a couple lbs at a time with onion, then divide it out to make a couple meals of sloppy joes, a couple meals of tacos, use some to make a casserole. Get creative with your meals. Get some chicken pieces to cook and shred, then make chicken enchiladas (you can make completely to pull out and just cook or just freezer the filling and thaw to make fresh enchiladas), chicken burritos with beans and cheese, or any type of chicken casserole. One of our favorite meals is sweet pork burritos from Cafe Rio. We were able to get a knockoff recipe from a friend, so I will get a couple of pork roasts when they are on sale, put them in my crockpot with all ingredients and cook. There is always a lot left over so I will divide it out between a few 1 qt. freezer bags and freeze to use another time. Don't forget to label all of your freezer bags, otherwise you will forget what you have in the freezer and it will go bad before you use it.
If your family, like mine, goes through a lot of cheese, you know how pricey that can get. Buy cheese when it is on sale only! Cheese freezes very nicely but only when it is grated. If you can buy it for good prices already grated, that is great, just through it in your freezer. If you buy block cheese, just grate it first and put in 1 qt freezer bags to freeze.
If you made something for dinner and there is too much but not enough for another meal and you don't think you will use it with in a week, put it in your freezer to add to it later or make a new meal. For example, I made biscuits and gravy one night (we love breakfast for dinner) and I had some gravy left over. It wasn't enough to use for another meal for my family, but it was enough to make a breakfast pizza. I put it in a container and stuck it in the freezer and a couple weeks later we made breakfast pizzas.
I also will freeze sauces. We will make up a huge pot of spaghetti sauce and then divide it out and freeze in quart containers. We also have a knockoff Olive Garden alfredo that is very yummy that we make in bulk and then freeze. Another thing that is really good is to mix the two sauces together and make pink sauce, oh so good.
I hope I have given you some ideas of what to freeze. I will continue to post freezer meal recipes. So stay tuned for more.
lasagna
enchiladas
burritos
any type of casseroles
soups
egg rolls
sauces
bbq pulled pork
sloppy joe mix
taco mix
pizza
mashed potatoes
baby food
cheese - must grate first
breakfast sandwiches
breakfast burritos
meatloaf
meatballs
hamburgers
stroganoff
This is just a few ideas of what you can do. To help you save time and money, buy meat in bulk. Cook up hamburger a couple lbs at a time with onion, then divide it out to make a couple meals of sloppy joes, a couple meals of tacos, use some to make a casserole. Get creative with your meals. Get some chicken pieces to cook and shred, then make chicken enchiladas (you can make completely to pull out and just cook or just freezer the filling and thaw to make fresh enchiladas), chicken burritos with beans and cheese, or any type of chicken casserole. One of our favorite meals is sweet pork burritos from Cafe Rio. We were able to get a knockoff recipe from a friend, so I will get a couple of pork roasts when they are on sale, put them in my crockpot with all ingredients and cook. There is always a lot left over so I will divide it out between a few 1 qt. freezer bags and freeze to use another time. Don't forget to label all of your freezer bags, otherwise you will forget what you have in the freezer and it will go bad before you use it.
If your family, like mine, goes through a lot of cheese, you know how pricey that can get. Buy cheese when it is on sale only! Cheese freezes very nicely but only when it is grated. If you can buy it for good prices already grated, that is great, just through it in your freezer. If you buy block cheese, just grate it first and put in 1 qt freezer bags to freeze.
If you made something for dinner and there is too much but not enough for another meal and you don't think you will use it with in a week, put it in your freezer to add to it later or make a new meal. For example, I made biscuits and gravy one night (we love breakfast for dinner) and I had some gravy left over. It wasn't enough to use for another meal for my family, but it was enough to make a breakfast pizza. I put it in a container and stuck it in the freezer and a couple weeks later we made breakfast pizzas.
I also will freeze sauces. We will make up a huge pot of spaghetti sauce and then divide it out and freeze in quart containers. We also have a knockoff Olive Garden alfredo that is very yummy that we make in bulk and then freeze. Another thing that is really good is to mix the two sauces together and make pink sauce, oh so good.
I hope I have given you some ideas of what to freeze. I will continue to post freezer meal recipes. So stay tuned for more.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Freezer Meals
I am going to talk about freezer meals. It is kind of intense, so just take it one thing at a time. First off, you need to decide how much you want to cook.
Do you want to make enough meals for one week, two weeks, a whole month?
Do you want to cook all in one day or split it up over a few cooking sessions?
Do you want to cook alone, with your spouse, or with friends/family and split the cost?
Think of how you want to do it, then decide what your family will eat. Gather any recipes that you love and you know your family will eat. You can freeze pretty much any meal there are just a few rules for some things:
Meat: freeze raw to use later. We have a grocery store up the street from us that I love to buy ground beef from. They usually have the cheapest prices and they come precut in about 1 lb. squares, so I just bring them home, put them in a sandwhich bag and then I can fit four squares in a one gallon freezer bag. When buying ground beef, I never buy less than 85/15 (fat content). This is usually the one that is on sale the most often. I will just cook it and drain it and then run water over it to get out as much of the fat as possible.
Chicken I won't buy unless it is less than $1.79/lb. Lately chicken breasts have been huge so I will cut them into quarters to make it easier to bag and use later, then I put them into 1 qt. freezer bags. I will also buy legs, thighs and quarters when they are on sale and put them in my crockpot to cook, then the meat comes off so easy and you can shred and freezer that for burritos or chicken soup. You can do the same with turkey, ham or roasts. And don't forget to save the stock to use in cooking or as a base for soups.
Meat you can also cook and freeze. Or if you have meat that is raw that has been frozen that you need to use, you can cook it and refreeze, but don't refreeze raw meat, it will not be good later.
Pastas: Do not cook pasta thoroughly when freezing it. You only have to cook it half the time because once it is in a dish and freezing and thawed, it will absorb more moisture as if it has been cooked the full time. If you thoroughly cook pasta before freezing it turns into mush when you thaw and cook it.
Veggies: Save money and freeze your own fresh veggies (especially ones out of your own garden). Just know how to blanch them so they freeze well. There are some veggies that don't need to be blanched, they can just be frozen: mushrooms, onions, peppers are a few. I always save some pumpkins at halloween (that we haven't carved) and cut them up, cook, puree and freeze then I always have pumpkin for cookies, cakes or bread that I didn't have pay much for.
Fruits: Most fruits you can just peel and throw in the freezer, in a freezer bag, of course. Use these in fruit cocktail, jello, smoothies or just to thaw and eat.
If you have food in your fridge getting old or bad, use the proper method and freeze it to use later, then you won't waste a lot of food.
Also, anything you see frozen in the store you can do yourself.
Try to plan your freezer meals around sales, you won't spend as much. I also love shopping at Smith's because they always mark down meat when it is a couple days from the sell by date. I am very choosy when I do this and only buy meat that looks good that I myself would eat. Then I will just bring them home and put in the freezer or cook immediately and then freeze. Also buy totillas and bread when on sale or clearance and freeze. We have a Sara Lee outlet here where I buy bread for 60 cents to a $1 so I will buy about 10 at a time and double bag and freeze them, then I always have bread on hand and don't have to pay over $2 a loaf and run to the store for just that, and end up buying more.
I know this is a little overwhelming, it is to me to sometimes. So maybe start out by just making a few meals at a time or if you make dinner every night just double it or triple it and put one or two meals away for another day. I do this a lot and mainly with lasagna. It's just as easy to make two or three at the same time as you are making one.
Do you want to make enough meals for one week, two weeks, a whole month?
Do you want to cook all in one day or split it up over a few cooking sessions?
Do you want to cook alone, with your spouse, or with friends/family and split the cost?
Think of how you want to do it, then decide what your family will eat. Gather any recipes that you love and you know your family will eat. You can freeze pretty much any meal there are just a few rules for some things:
Meat: freeze raw to use later. We have a grocery store up the street from us that I love to buy ground beef from. They usually have the cheapest prices and they come precut in about 1 lb. squares, so I just bring them home, put them in a sandwhich bag and then I can fit four squares in a one gallon freezer bag. When buying ground beef, I never buy less than 85/15 (fat content). This is usually the one that is on sale the most often. I will just cook it and drain it and then run water over it to get out as much of the fat as possible.
Chicken I won't buy unless it is less than $1.79/lb. Lately chicken breasts have been huge so I will cut them into quarters to make it easier to bag and use later, then I put them into 1 qt. freezer bags. I will also buy legs, thighs and quarters when they are on sale and put them in my crockpot to cook, then the meat comes off so easy and you can shred and freezer that for burritos or chicken soup. You can do the same with turkey, ham or roasts. And don't forget to save the stock to use in cooking or as a base for soups.
Meat you can also cook and freeze. Or if you have meat that is raw that has been frozen that you need to use, you can cook it and refreeze, but don't refreeze raw meat, it will not be good later.
Pastas: Do not cook pasta thoroughly when freezing it. You only have to cook it half the time because once it is in a dish and freezing and thawed, it will absorb more moisture as if it has been cooked the full time. If you thoroughly cook pasta before freezing it turns into mush when you thaw and cook it.
Veggies: Save money and freeze your own fresh veggies (especially ones out of your own garden). Just know how to blanch them so they freeze well. There are some veggies that don't need to be blanched, they can just be frozen: mushrooms, onions, peppers are a few. I always save some pumpkins at halloween (that we haven't carved) and cut them up, cook, puree and freeze then I always have pumpkin for cookies, cakes or bread that I didn't have pay much for.
Fruits: Most fruits you can just peel and throw in the freezer, in a freezer bag, of course. Use these in fruit cocktail, jello, smoothies or just to thaw and eat.
If you have food in your fridge getting old or bad, use the proper method and freeze it to use later, then you won't waste a lot of food.
Also, anything you see frozen in the store you can do yourself.
Try to plan your freezer meals around sales, you won't spend as much. I also love shopping at Smith's because they always mark down meat when it is a couple days from the sell by date. I am very choosy when I do this and only buy meat that looks good that I myself would eat. Then I will just bring them home and put in the freezer or cook immediately and then freeze. Also buy totillas and bread when on sale or clearance and freeze. We have a Sara Lee outlet here where I buy bread for 60 cents to a $1 so I will buy about 10 at a time and double bag and freeze them, then I always have bread on hand and don't have to pay over $2 a loaf and run to the store for just that, and end up buying more.
I know this is a little overwhelming, it is to me to sometimes. So maybe start out by just making a few meals at a time or if you make dinner every night just double it or triple it and put one or two meals away for another day. I do this a lot and mainly with lasagna. It's just as easy to make two or three at the same time as you are making one.
Monday, January 10, 2011
So a very dear friend of mine is interested in freezer meals, so I am going to focus on that this week. To start I received a sack of carrots at Christmas from my parents that 
came from their garden. yum. Their outside fridge freezes everything so they had partially frozen, which is fine, I just steam and puree them and freeze to use in future meals. I was only able to use about half of what they gave me, the other half was mushy. I cleaned, peeled, and steamed. Then I stuck them in my food processor to puree. I got about 2 cups of puree that I will use in spaghetti sauce or something and also give to my little 8 month old which she loves, plus it saves me money. I love to cook with purees, it gives my kids extra veggies. Look for Jessica Seinfeld's cookbooks to learn more about cooking with purees.
came from their garden. yum. Their outside fridge freezes everything so they had partially frozen, which is fine, I just steam and puree them and freeze to use in future meals. I was only able to use about half of what they gave me, the other half was mushy. I cleaned, peeled, and steamed. Then I stuck them in my food processor to puree. I got about 2 cups of puree that I will use in spaghetti sauce or something and also give to my little 8 month old which she loves, plus it saves me money. I love to cook with purees, it gives my kids extra veggies. Look for Jessica Seinfeld's cookbooks to learn more about cooking with purees.
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