Again Sorry -- freezer cooking tips

I'm still trying to figure out how to blog now that I'm working full time.  But as promised last week, I wanted to share that breading eggplant, baking and then freezing it works!

Another tip:  I boiled some Farmer's Market potatoes (enough for two meals) on Sunday for about 20 minutes.  Then put them in the refrigerator. Tonight I made my scalloped potatoes and ham and it save me tons of time.  I pre-sliced the ones for the scalloped potatoes and boiled the rest in halves to mash later in the week with meatloaf (which is frozen).

Also, I bought a grocery bag full of corn on the cob for $5 at our local corn fest this weekend.  I had a total of 29 ears.  We ate five ears and I froze more than 18 cups for future use.  To freeze corn on the cob I follow these steps:
1.  Boil corn for 7 minutes in pot of water with 1 Tbsp sugar.
2.  Let corn cool.  Then use a sharp knife and stand corn on end in a bundt pan.
3.  Take corn off cob with sharp knife
4. Freeze in freezer bags in portion sizes that work for you.  I freeze mine with our Foodsaver and in 1-cup and 2-cup portion sizes.   There's nothing like having that corn on the cob flavor in the dead of winter.

Update

So sorry this blog has taken a backseat as of late.  I am now working full time and just slowly getting into the routine.  Our 3-year-old daughter is starting preschool as well and that's been an adjustment for all as well.  My hope is to get back into the blogging swing of things soon.  In the meantime, here's a couple things to share.

• See the adorable doll cake I made for our daughter's birthday -- note it's dairy-free, egg-free and peanut-free.

• In my quest for freezer cooking ahead for easy weeknight meals (it's working, too), I tried something new.  You gotta keep trying new things or you just get bored.  I was at our Farmer's Market last week stocking up on all sorts of goodies.  I saw the going rate for eggplant was 75 cents.  That's about half what it is in the stores around here.  So, I breaded the eggplant per my eggplant parmesan recipe and froze it.  Results of that next week when I unthaw and bake.  I'm hopeful for good results.  Then I can bread a bunch of eggplant and freeze for easy, yummy meals.  

• As far as organizing our life, I'll post a little on that next week.  It's interesting how some things just aren't as important.

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!