Freezer cooking this week

This week was extra busy.  We had a couple doctor's appointments and are planning a birthday party for the weekend.  But I was still able to sneak these items into the freezer.

Vegetable Stock -- I've been saving all the little bits from my Farmer Market vegetables that are so flavorful.  I had three large bags in the freezer that are now turned into veggie stock and chicken stock (see below).  I froze in three 14 oz jars and used the rest later in the week as you will read.
Beef Vegetable soup -- I used a good portion of the vegetable stock to make this recipe. I used some leftover roast (sometimes I use steak) to make this recipe with meat. I saved this in two 32 oz containers and three 6 oz baby food jars for a quick dinner or lunch.  I normally serve soup with grilled cheese or other sandwiches.
Crockpot Chicken-- I seasoned with salt and pepper.  I added 3 cloves of fresh-from-the-Farmer's Market garlic and about 1 cup of vegetable stock.  I cooked in the crockpot for 6 to 8 hours on low.  Once cooled, I pulled the chicken off and froze in 2 cup portions for casseroles or salads.
Chicken Stock -- after cooking chicken in crockpot, I took the meat off the bones.  I put the bones and juice from the crockpot into a large pot added 14 cups of water and vegetables pieces I've been freezing. I cooked it for a couple hours.  Then put in 1 cup containers and froze.  Once froze I put in ziplock bag.  I will use these in many recipes, including boiling vegetables, potatoes, and rice.
Chicken puffs -- froze once rolled up.  Still need to bake.
Ham - I pour a can of pineapple over top and cook in over for an hour.  We ate some that night and I saved two freezer bags of extra meat.  One for scalloped potatoes and ham, the other for a black bean soup.  I also saved the ham bone for the soup.
Pancakes -- I made apple cinnamon and blueberry pancakes and cooled completely.  I stored in two freezer bags.  To reheat, just pop in toaster.  Extra easy breakfast.

Overall, I feel good about what I've accomplished the last few weeks.  It will definitely make dinner time a little easier now that I'll be working during the day.

To see my other freezer cooking weeks go here and here.

Amazon Filler

I recently earned $30 in survey money for Amazon gift cards.  I picked out two items I wanted, but still had $2.40 on the gift card.  I really wanted to stretch my buck and use all the money up.  I found Amazon Filler as a great resource.  You simply type in the amount you want to spend a long list of items comes up.  This works well if you are trying to obtain a order of $25 for free shipping or if you're like me trying to use up the last penny on a gift card.  I bought some Sesame Street glitter stickers (for a stocking stuffer) as my filler. There was so much to choose from.  Highly recommend if you a an Amazon shopper (pre-Internet that last sentence would have sounded very odd...)

$50 Gift Card Giveaway to CSN Stores-- Winner e-mailed! Closed

Does your home need a little redecorating.  You may want to check out the dining room sets at CSN Stores?  Maybe you feel the need to treat yourself to some new kitchen tools.  Or you are looking for that unique gift for the someone who has everything.   You won't be disappointed when you shop at CSN stores with more than 200 online stores to meet all your home and lifestyle needs.  You will find something for everybody from contemporary furniture, kitchen appliances, cookware, shoes, bags, toys, and even pet accessories.  Be sure to explore the Ultimate Gift Finder to find that perfect gift.

I'm happy to announce that I am sponsoring a $50 gift card giveaway to one of the CSN stores.

To enter:

• Go to CSN Stores and tell me what you would buy with $50.  Leave a comment with e-mail.
• Subscribe to my blog for bonus entry -- leave a second comment.

Winner will be selected by random.org and emailed on Thursday, June 29.

Good Luck!

This week's freezer cooking

I've been busy trying to spend quality time with our little girl before we start preschool.  And organizing the house has been consuming my time.  Here's an update on my freezer cooking for the week.  Doesn't look like much and it really wasn't much time, but I've had to fit it in between everything else creating a little bit of a challenge.

• Browned 3 pounds of ground beef -- stored in 1/2 pounds and 1 pound freezer bags.  I'll use these for soups and casseroles.  It saves a lot of time.  Often the meal prep turns into a dump together and heat up instead of a slow wait and messy clean up.
• Froze lemon juice from two lemons -- stored in freezer bag for future use
• Banana Oatmeal Cookies -- for quick allergy-free snack for preschool and home. 
• Tomato paste -- froze in ice cube tray and then put in freezer bag.  I often use just 1 Tbsp of tomato paste as a thickener but hate opening a 6 oz can for just a little bit.
• Pot Stickers -- just found this recipe and it's so good.
• Homemade Tomato Sauce -- froze in old jar.

Curious what I did last week, go here!

This week's freezer cooking

I've been busy trying to spend quality time with our little girl before we start preschool.  And organizing the house has been consuming my time.  Here's an update on my freezer cooking for the week.  Doesn't look like much and it really wasn't much time, but I've had to fit it in between everything else creating a little bit of a challenge.

• Browned 3 pounds of ground beef -- stored in 1/2 pounds and 1 pound freezer bags.  I'll use these for soups and casseroles.  It saves a lot of time.  Often the meal prep turns into a dump together and heat up instead of a slow wait and messy clean up.
• Froze lemon juice from two lemons -- stored in freezer bag for future use
• Banana Oatmeal Cookies -- for quick allergy-free snack for preschool and home. 
• Tomato paste -- froze in ice cube tray and then put in freezer bag.  I often use just 1 Tbsp of tomato paste as a thickener but hate opening a 6 oz can for just a little bit.
• Pot Stickers -- just found this recipe and it's so good.
• Homemade Tomato Sauce -- froze in old jar.

Curious what I did last week, go here!

Freezer Cooking -- going back to work!

Earlier this week I posted my beginning phases of getting organized before I go back to work.  I decided during the course of the next couple weeks I'm going to do something extra a day.  By extra I mean, extra organizing of a room or cooking a freezer meal.  I also have a birthday party to plan for our little girl with food allergies and I'm working hard to find a tasty cake and frosting (I've found the frosting!).

As far as my freezer cooking goes, I've taken giant steps this week.  I have cleaned out our big freezer.  I took inventory of what we had for meat leftover from our bulk buying we do each year.  I also stock up on chicken when I see it on sale -- around here that's usually 89 cents per pound or less.  My goal for the next few months is to eat up what we have and slow way down on stocking up.  One thing I've learned since being a stay-at-home mom is that the sales are cyclical and will come around again and again.  I now which stores offer what and often I can guess when.

After taking my inventory I realize I am getting low on ground beef, we have a ton of bacon and 14 roasts.  Plus a few surprises.  My menu planning will take all this into consideration.  I usually will cut up my roasts into to 1 inch cubes and use in several stews or other crockpot meals.

I've read many blog posts about how different people attack freezer cooking.  What I've learned is that you have to do what works for your family.  There is no cookie cutter recipe or plan for freezer cooking.  For freezer cooking I try to make food we really like.  I use a Foodsaver to preseve the food.  I recently got some bags from some windfall money.


What I found in the freezer already

2 packages of Salisbury Steak (sorry no recipe yet)
1 package of Pizza Burgers
Several soups for our daughter
Lots of chicken stock
2 packages of white beans
1 jar homemade spaghetti sauce
Half a package of Ravioli
several leftover meat (small portions for soups or fried rice)

Here is what I've done for freezer cooking this week

• Many cups of black beans -- I cooked up two packages of black beans in a ham bone (I freeze these for future meals or for cooking black beans).  I store these is 1 cup or 2 cup bags.  I will use these in many recipes and work great as a filler with ground beef.  This is cheaper and tastier than canned beans.
• 5 lbs of meatloaf -- stored in 1 lb freezer bags
• Porcupine Meatballs -- I made this the day I made the meatloaf, so I only had to get my Kitchenaid mixer dirty once.  I froze in 1 pound bag.  I didn't form the meatballs, but I think you could make the meatballs, put them in the freezer for a couple hours on a cookie sheet and them freeze as meatballs in freezer bag.  I just didn't have the patience for that.  I figure it takes just a couple minutes to form meatballs, but mixing the meat and cleaning the bowl it's mixed in is the time consuming part.
• Chicken Pot Pie -- I baked the crust for 8 minutes then added the warm filling.  I let it cool completely before freezing.
• Chicken gravy for Chicken and Biscuits -- this is the same recipe I use for pot pie, so I just doubled it as  I made the pot pie and froze half separately.  And there you have two similar meals, but still different.

So as of today, I have 11 full meals made.  Beans and chicken stock for recipes.  It's a good start.  I'll keep updating as I go.  Since our daughter will be taking a lunch to school, I have a plan to freeze two soups a month.  This way she will have a variety of soup for lunches.

Going back to work -- Organization...

Let the orderly organization begin!  I feel like Max from Where the Wild Things are, except I want order not chaos.  I will be returning to work in just a couple weeks and there are moments I feel so overwhelmed. Will our daughter transition well?  How will everything get done?  I can't get it all done now and I'm home all day (well not really, our daughter and I are out and about most days). Then there are moments I feel, hey we won't be here all day and there won't be as much "to do."  And I find a sense of peace and calm in that.  But I do think that having a little plan to transition the family to "Mommy working and little one at school" will do us a lot of good.  With support from my husband, I know organizing what will be necessary to be most efficient.

Here's a list of some planning strategies I will be doing over the course of the next couple weeks (along with going to the fair, observing butterflies at the botanical gardens and sneaking in some other fun things).

• Inventory Freezer and Pantry (it's mighty stocked already)
• Menu Plan
• Freezer cook meals for August (I'll try to blog about this)
• Stock-up grocery trip
• Checklist of morning routine
• Schedule for getting laundry, vacuuming, shopping, etc done.
• List of bills and when due 
• Plan lunch and snack menu for our daughter's preschool (with food allergies we are opting to bring her food)
• Re-organize coupons
• Whatever else can come up

Giveaway -- Pampers Coupons -- Closed winner e-mailed!

Our little girl is just about completely potty trained.  We are stocked and stocked with Pull-ups (out of habit) and she uses only one or two a day.  I just gave away more than $20 in coupons for diapers and wipes to family who needs them.  Then of course I got three more coupons yesterday.  They expire pretty quick, so I want to make sure they get into the hands of someone who can and will use them.  Sometimes I leave them at the store, but these are pretty high value and I would worry the store workers might take them before a consumer.

With all that said I am giving away three (3) Pampers coupons to one winner (1).

• $3/1 Pampers Cruisers Diapers and 1 Pamper Wipes (exp. 9/30/10)
• $3/1 Pampers Cruisers, Swaddlers, Sensitive or Extra Protection (exp. 8/31/10)
• $2/1 Target Coupon for Pampers Cruiser Diapers Big or Value Pack (exp. 9/01/10)

**Note you can stack the Target coupon with one of the other coupons for a $5 savings**

To enter:  Please leave a comment stating why you want to win.  Please leave link to blog or e-mail so I can contact you.

Bonus entries: Subscribe (leave separate comment)

Winner will be drawn through random.org and e-mailed on July 15.  Good luck!

Note to Self

Note to self:  Don't wear sandals to story time at the library!

Fourth of July Marshmallows

Go over to my other blog and see this tasty treat!!

Exciting news

A while back a mentioned that we were going to make a transition in our family.  I have been applying like crazy to every teaching position in the area, hoping to at least get an interview or two.  Well, a week ago I interviewed with Head Start, a child care center for low-income families.  My interview went great.  I was so concerned that after three years out of the workforce that I would just be jumbled up with "uhs" and "ums."  But something about talking about education and children put me at ease, and I was able to show my honesty and compassion for children.  It was really nice to just be myself in the interview, and I think it translated to the people interviewing me.  It must have.  They offered me a job this week, and I accepted it yesterday!

The position is with Early Head Start and I will be teaching infants.  A received one naive comment that you can't teach infants.  As an educator I was hurt by that comment.  It's that kind of attitude that limits children instead of enriching their growth.  Child development and brain development begin the minute a child is born.  Everything that is learned is a basis for what will be learned in the future.  Many of these children will have a disadvantage based on their home environment so offering a safe and nurturing place to learn is extremely important.  I am excited to share my creativity and have so many great ideas for teaching.  What's really nice is that I have saved all our daughter's infant toys (for just in case I needed them) and I can use those for creating some fun lessons.

As for the adjustment our family will go through, I think it strangely will keep me more focused.  Being a stay-at-home mom has had some challenges.  I miss the social interactions.  I miss having a greater "purpose" in this world.  I miss helping parents and children.  I sometimes feel I spend my day waiting to be interrupted.

I asked our daughter if she thinks Mom can teach babies.  Wide-eyed she nodded her head and said yes.  She is excited for preschool, and I believe our daughter is more than ready for preschool.  She's a little bored right now.  I've slowed down in "teaching" her because she's already so far ahead.  Might have been something to do with all the work I put in while she was an infant.  We think the structure will be good for her.  The preschool is set up so that the children rotate rooms throughout the day and aren't in just one room all day.  That will be great for our active little girl who is constantly needing something new to stimulate her little brain.  She very outgoing, but at times slow-to-warm to new activities.  This will help her practice trying new things all the time.

As far as getting the housework done, we figure we'll just put a schedule together and shoot for getting things done as we can.  Fortunately I've taught myself a lot of cooking techniques during the last three years that will help us with dinners.  Mostly I plan to continue to meal plan a month out and freeze extras of meals as we go.  We'll probably prep most of the week's meals on Sunday, so it will be minimal work after school.  Luckily, the hours are only until late afternoon with no real commute.

With all that said I'm excited to be getting back to work and look forward to a positive change in our lives.

What's cookin' - Potato Salad

Our family has gone through a couple phases where we don't have cable.  Right now is one of them.  We put the money we would have used on cable toward our gym membership.  I find we PBS for not only the children's educational TV but for the cooking shows as well.  When my husband I first were married I started watching America's Test Kitchen.  I've been catching it lately on the weekends (finally found what time it was on).  Last week they made a potato salad with some intersting techniques.  I made it today and all I can say is "wow."


I found the recipe here and tweaked it a little based on our tastes.


All American Potato Salad
2 lbs yukon gold potatoes
1 Tbsp yellow mustard (used French's)
3 Tbsp pickle juice -divided (used Gedney Kosher Baby Dill)
1/4 cup dill pickles (used Gedney Kosher Baby Dill)
1 small celery stalk, finely diced
1/2 red onion, finely diced (substituted yellow onion)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp celery seed
1/2 cup mayonnaise (used Miracle Whip)
1/4 cup sour cream
2 hard boiled eggs, cut 1/4 inch (optional)

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Directions

1. Peel and cut potatoes in 1" cubes. Place in saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring up to a gentle simmer and cook until tender, when a knife slides in and out of cubes without resistance, about 10-15 minutes. Drain potatoes and turn out onto a baking sheet.

2. Whisk mustard with 2 tbsp of juice from a jar of pickles. Pour over hot potatoes and toss with fingers to coat. Spread out potatoes and refrigerate for 30 minutes until cool.

3. Combine pickle, celery, red onion and remaining 1 tbsp pickle juice with salt and celery seed. Add mayonnaise and sour cream and whisk together.

4. Add potatoes and toss. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes longer. Add diced egg and fold to combine.