Monday, August 22, 2011

Freezer Cooking

We just finished up a huge freezer cooking session. It is quite an undertaking, but SO worth it in the end. We have been doing this on and off for probably 10 years. At first, I bought a book that planned it out. I found that many of the meals on that meal plan were things that my kids wouldn't eat. (there are still things my kids won't eat on my menus, but when there are 7 kids with 7 different opinions NO ONE is ever totally happy). I digress... The main reason we do this is to keep us out of the fast food world. We can't afford to eat out all the time, but it's so easy to swing through the drive thru, or pick up a few $5 pizzas. That's not being financially responsible though. At least not for us. So, by a little planning, and a BIG trip to the grocery store you can actually save money!

The easiest way to stock your freezer, and if you don't have much freezer space this is the way to go. Just duplicate the meals you do cook and freeze. If you are making Lasagna for dinner, make two and freeze the other. Then you have one for a busy evening.

If you have the freezer space - then you are set. This is how I do it.
  1. Search the Internet for "freezer meal recipes". You can find them on blogs, recipe sites, or other places. If this is your first time, start with maybe 10 recipes. You don't want to tackle a month at at time unless you are super organized. Once you do it once, you will get the hang of it and can handle a larger session.
  2. Once you have your recipes - you want to make a master shopping list. I do this by going through each recipe and writing down all the ingredients. I even write down simple things like flour and milk - I want to make sure I have everything on hand. I will then make hash marks, or tally the amount of an item that is repeated in another recipe. That way I will know how much TOTAL I will need of every item. (I may need 24 pork chops total, for 3 different recipes, for example).
  3. When this "tally" page is done, I will then organize the list according to the store. I'll put all the Meat together, all the veggies together, canned goods, dairy, etc. This is also a good time to count up all the different containers you will need. As I am going through the recipes - I read them and get a handle on how many servings it will make, and what container would be ideal for that. Some things are best in a gallon freezer bag, some in a foil 9X13 pan.
  4. Once this is done, I'll make a "prep" sheet for cooking day. This is usually a rough idea of how things will flow. I try to group together "like" items. If I have a lot of recipes that are really just chicken marinades. Those I do all together, as they are quick assembly and don't require much chopping or other preparation. Then I move on to the more complicated dishes - Chicken pot pie, or things that require cooking meat prior to freezing.
  5. Now it's time to go to the store. This can be a price shocker - especially if you are doing it for a month's worth of meals. Save it for payday, or do it in smaller chucks. This past weekend, I spent $350 at HEB and another $50 at Walmart. Still not too bad, considering our usual grocery budget for a family of 9 is around $200 a week, PLUS the between shopping day trips for milk and "forgotten" things. You want to shop the morning of, or the day before because you probably won't have anywhere to STORE all the groceries you will be picking up - and to put them away and then just pull them out the next day is a whipping!
  6. I organize my ingredients from the store, and from the pantry for frequently used items. Then I just leave them out for the cooking session so I don't have to keep going to the pantry.
  7. The BEST advice I can offer is to clean as you go! If you will rinse and wash things by hand as you go, you will be grateful when you are done! Nothing is worse than being on your feet for 8 hours straight cooking to turn around to the sink and see it overflowing! I enlist my very eager husband. He does most of my chopping and prep work, helps assemble meals and helps with the dishes. It makes things go so much faster with a helper!
  8. Then you cook! I would allow 8 hours for 30 meals, especially if you have things that are more "complicated".
Almost anything you make at home can be made to freeze. Pasta items, like lasagna should be made either without cooking the noodles first, or cooking them to al dente. You don't want mushy pasta when it thaws and cooks. Easy things to start with are simple marinades with chicken. It can be as simple as putting some chicken breast in a bag and pouring a bottle of Italian dressing over the top and freezing it. Make sure to label your bag BEFORE you put your food in it. You also want to make sure to get all the air out and then freeze it flat. If you freeze your bagged items flat, then when they are frozen they can be stacked to take up less room.

I would love to help anyone do this, just email me if you have any questions. I can also send you my most recent documents from this last cooking session. I certainly don't verify the accuracy - and all recipes should be followed for common sense. (like I leave out all bell peppers, and much of the onions so the kids won't whine). Hopefully I didn't leave anything off the shopping list - good luck there. Just don't shoot me if something goes wrong! :) Also sometimes I decrease the amount of the recipe if it looks like it will be too much or increase it if it is something that the kids really love - like tater tot casserole.

When all is said and done, I make a master list of what I have frozen so I don't have to dig through the freezer to see what is for dinner.

Let me know if you try it, and how it works out!

Sunday, August 1, 2010

What's For Dinner?

Well, actually lunch...
Roasted Sticky Chicken
1 large chicken
1 cup onion - chopped
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon white pepper (I don't like, so I don't use)
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons paprika
4 teaspoons salt

In a small bowl, thoroughly combine all the spices. Remove giblets from chicken, clean the cavity well and pat dry with paper towels. Rub the spice mixture into the chicken, both inside and out, making sure it is evenly distributed and down deep into the skin. Stuff cavity with onions. Place in a re-sealable plastic bag and refrigerate overnight.

This is where I froze it...

I placed it in the crockpot and cooked on high for 4 hours. You can also roast uncovered at 250 degrees for 5 hours, basting every 1/2 hour - too much for me! I have also left it in the crockpot all day on low for 8 hours. It was perfect.

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Back to the basics...

Everyone in the free world should know by now that my dryer is broken. Although a major inconvenience, it has not really been that bad. Now, when the washer broke - THAT was the end of the world! There is no way (in this day and time) that a family of 10 (at the time) could live without a washer. Well, thank goodness for my Dialysis Nursing background - because I was able to fix the washer. I can do plumbing. It's not that hard, really. The dryer on the other hand does not have any plumbing. It has electricity. Electricity scares me. I am in awe of it, but I have a very healthy fear of it. It can hurt you! I did try to change out the ballast on my laundry room light, but ended up having to call a dear friend, electrician, to fix it. Come to find out it was not an easy job for him, either. Something was wrong with the way it was wired. Thank goodness - I was afraid I was crazy!

Back to the dryer - My father in law and Rocky have been looking at it for 2 days now. After some much needed sleep, John came back over today and said it all made more sense to him (than at midnight the night before). It is a simple $14 part. Hopefully by tomorrow evening I will have a working dryer again. Then I have to go about loading up the top of the dryer with all that crap that gets stacked up on it, that is now all over my dining room table.

I have somewhat enjoyed hanging up my clothes on the line. I don't especially LOVE the smell of clothes dried outside - like so many other people, and I REALLY don't like crunchy towels. I guess there is something to the fact I am saving energy - and more important to me - saving $$$ by drying the clothes outside. I may continue to do so for a bit - except for the towels. Especially after I get the water bill - I discovered the hose on at full blast, towards the back fence, watering Summercrest Blvd., ALL DAY from the best we can discern. I may need to be saving a little extra on the Electric to pay for the water. Unless the City of Burleson will let me call and say "my kids did it" and take the usage off my bill - I don't think so...


Sunday, July 25, 2010

What's for Dinner?

Rocky and I have spent the last two days cooking to save up for probably the next two months. I have been asked to share. Here is a list of what we made. I will probably post recipes a few as a time. I need to type them all up and put them in a word document so I can reproduce them more easily, and then remove the ones that we didn't like.

Here is what we did:
7 Can Soup
Honey Baked Pork Chops
Teriyaki Chicken
Wine and Herb Chicken
Lemon Parsley Chicken
Grilled Marinated Steak
Too-Good Baked Pork Chops
Lemon Chicken
Sticky Chicken
Citrus Pork Chops
Chicken Spaghetti
Candy's Chicken
Chicken Packets
Chicken Enchiladas
Chicken Paprakash
Chicken Pie
King Ranch Chicken
Chicken Quesadillas
Magnificent Casserole
Tater Tot Casserole (x2)
Sloppy Joes
BBQ Pork
Quiche (x2)
Pork Enchiladas (x2)
Chicken Pot Pie
Rigatoni Bake (x2)
Colorful Chicken Casserole (x2)
Fajitas
Poulet De France
Baked Mac and Cheese with Ham
Crescent Chicken
Meatballs
Chicken Manicotti
Taco Pie
Meatloaf (x2) - had this for dinner tonight!

Here is the Meatloaf recipe. I did some changes - used bread crumbs instead of bread - soggy bread and me don't always get along... I made this knowing two of my eaters are on mission trip, so I left all the green things in it. I also usually don't put anything red in my meatloaf. Typically I'm a ground beef and lipton onion soup meatloaf girl, but this one was really good!

1/2 cup milk
4 slices white sandwich bread, torn into pieces
1 1/2 lbs ground sirloin
1 1/2 lbsw ground pork
2 small onions, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chili sauce, plus 1/4 cup for glaze
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Coarse salt and ground pepper

In a large bowl, pour milk over bread; let soak for about 30 seconds. Add sirloin, pork, onion , garlic 1/2 cup chili sauce, parsley, parmesan, eggs, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Using your hands, mix well until combined; do not over mix or meatloaf will be dense.

Divide mixture in half. Gently pat each half into a log and place each log into an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch loaf pan. Do not press down or into corners. I use disposable foil ones. Cover with two layers of foil and label. Freeze.

On serving day, thaw in fridge and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Brush tops of loaves with remaining 1/4 cup chili sauce and continue cooking until juices run clear (160 degrees internally if you want to check).

Now - to finish cleaning up and go to bed! I'm whipped!

Monday, March 8, 2010

Consequences

We are trying the "Love and Logic" thing around the house again. I really like the concept, but in practical application, when someone has just pushed the last button left, I wish Charles and Jim Fay were in my living room to tell me what to say exactly! Well - experiment #1 this morning. Joshua had found some balloons in some old craft things upstairs. He had blown some up for his siblings. As always, things started out nice, and then turned to chaos...

Well, this morning, he put the bag in his pocket. I told him not to take the balloons to school. He said "I'll keep them in my locker all day". OK - well, just so you know there will be consequences if you make a bad decision.

Guess what - as we are sitting at the hospital, Rocky gets the call...Josh has after school detention for taking balloons to lunch, and then arguing with the teacher about where he was sitting.

After school - I asked him what my last words were to him before we left the house. He said - I love you and have a good day - I said nope - that was in the car.

Again - what were the last words I said to you at home - he repeated MOST of the conversation - got the part right about consequences. So he then proceeded to tell me that all teachers are the devil, their heads spin around all day and spit green pea soup. (well, that's not entirely all, but close). Everyone hates him, they run school like a prison, etc.

I asked him why when he said he would keep them in his locker all day, did he not do that - and he said he did. And clarified that to mean that lunch didn't count. He didn't KNOW he would get in trouble for taking balloons to lunch, but he knew he would in class. We didn't even go into the fact that he argued with the teacher about it instead of just taking his punishment. He always HAS to be right.

After dinner, we went upstairs to talk about consequences...the natural ones, such as he has detention, and the imposed ones - he will write an apology and apologize in person to the teacher he argued with. He said that was redundant - we explained that sometimes redundancy is a good thing.

The next thing to tackle is his relationships with his siblings. I might need a nap!

Sunday, March 7, 2010

How long has it been?

Well, it would seem that it has been some time since I updated this blog. Things have been rather busy here in the land of chaos. I'll start by giving you a brief synopsis of the happenings for the last few months:

September: My office mate, coworker and friend's husband was diagnosed with Colon cancer. He had surgery, and nearly died SEVERAL times. School started. I went to weekend camp at John Marc with the teenagers from work.
October: I had another Birthday, enough said!
November: Thanksgiving, 4 birthdays in 3 days, trying to get some Christmas shopping done.
December: Christmas. Attended a New Years Eve wedding that my husband performed. It was so nice!
January: My office mate, coworker and friend's husband passed away. They were fortunate to have one more Christmas with their Husband, Father, Grandfather, and friend.
February: One of the physicians I work with gave his wife a kidney. Kidney is working wonderfully. Had the start of some family drama.
March: Emily turned 12. The wife who received a kidney died unexpectedly. Mema was hospitalized, diagnosed with pneumonia and has been asking to die for 4 days now. She has uncontrollable pain. We don't think it is pneumonia. My father in law is having quadruple bypass monday. My uncle is coming in town from Hawaii to help my dad care for my grandmother. I have spent all weekend at the hospital to give my dad a break.

I'm really tired! It has been a busy year already. I promise I will get some pictures up soon!

Monday, October 5, 2009

Reunion

This weekend we drove to Houston with all the kids to attend a "Family" Reunion at Texas Children's with the fetal specialists that cared for the girls while I was pregnant. It was good to see all the walking miracles! We also got to spend some fun time with Melissa and her family. We hadn't seen everyone together for a few years! We also made a quick pit-stop to visit The "other" Rudds. A good time was had by all - and a special thank you to our host family for the weekend for allowing us to invade their space!