Freezer Meal Ordeal - Summer

It was another round of freezer cooking with my girlfriends from our small group last weekend. It was a lot of fun and laughs (as usual), but a great time to really talk in depth about life and our experiences.

I love that cooking together allows us that uninterrupted time (thanks guys for handling the kids) to share life and our hearts. Working side-by-side with other generates a great environment for deepening relationships. Not only do we come out with lots of great food to save us cooking later, but a bit refreshed personally as well.

What was the menu?
Mini Ice Cream Pies (we did vanilla this time)
Belgian Waffles
Oatmeal pancakes
Sesame Garlic Chicken
Turkey Taco Meat (with pureed peppers) - recipe coming
Marinaded Meat - raw with marinade ready to grill
    - Carne Asada
    - Garlic Herb Chicken - recipe coming

I admit, we've already eaten several of the items. Need to pace myself to make these last.

Weekend Batch Cooking

My new role as full-time working mom has really gone very well so far. I have an amazing husband, adaptable kids, and a great babysitter that are really all making this adventure work. The main kink in our life has been eating. I've been working on planning and utilizing the crock pot, but there is only so far that will take you. Allergen-free cooking and crockpots are a bit of a tough match (on a budget). I need to do some more experimenting in that area.

Until I get some experiments going, I'm relying on weekend batch cooking. I've been devoting part of each weekend to cook a whole bunch of a couple of things to freeze for the weeks to come. Hopefully the results of that in a few weeks will be a better stocked freezer.

Last weekend I made a couple of soups. This weekend waffles, chicken stock, and spaghetti sauce were on the to do list. The best part of the last two items is once you get them going you can forget about them for an couple of hours.

Next weekend I think I'll get some meat pre-cooked/shredded/browned, freeze pancakes, and try freezing pre-cooked rice.

Relaxation

I've had a wonderful weekend so far. I spent last night and most of today with a friend, scrapbooking! I haven't been able to devote any time to that in almost a year. I forgot how much I enjoyed it and how frustrating it can be. Last night I was in my zone and knocking out pages (unfortunately I'm still working on 2006). Today, not so much. Oh well. It was fun, regardless of what I accomplished.

So here's the new menu for the week.

SuperBowl Sunday:
B - Gluten Free Pumpkin Pancakes
L - Sandwiches, hot dogs
D (Party) - Meat Balls, Salsa, Bacon & Tomato Cups

Monday:
B - Pancakes & Sausage
L - Leftovers
D - BBQ Pork Roast, Rice, Green Beans

Tuesday:
B - Cereal & Cereal Bars
L - Turkey Sandwiches, fruit
D - Potato Starch Chicken Strips, Pasta, Loaded Spaghetti Sauce


Wednesday:
B - Waffles & Sausage
L - Quesadillas
D - Out

Thursday:
B - Waffles
L - Grilled Cheese & Soup, fruit
D - Ham Bits, Rice, Corn, Carrots, Peaches

Friday:
B - Smoothies & Sausage
L - Fried CousCous, Hot dogs, fruit
D - Pizza, Carrot Sticks, Peaches

Saturday:
B - Apple Juice Oatmeal, Sausage, Eggs
L - Grilled Cheese, Soup, fruit
D - Fried Rice, Applesauce

Meal Plans

Happy February. Here's what we've got planned for the week around these parts. The end of the week is going to be pretty simple since I'm going to be enjoying some girl time with a friend scrapbooking. It's gonna be a good week.

SUNDAY
B - Cereal bars, Cereal
L - Sesame Chicken, Rice, Carrot sticks
D - Leftover Quinoa Spaghetti w/loaded spaghetti sauce

MONDAY
B - Ninja attacked waffles (what I called them because they fell apart)
L - Sandwiches, apples
D - Venison Stew 

TUESDAY
B - Ninja attacked waffles
L - Quesadillas, salsa
D - Basil Cream Chicken (marinara for R), Quinoa Pasta, Brocolli

WEDNESDAY
B - Pumpkin pancakes (from the freezer)
L - Grilled Cheese, Applesauce
D - Packed lunch for on the road

THURSDAY
B - Pumpkin pancakes (from the freezer)
L - Leftovers
D - Chicken Fiesta Enchiladas (from the freezer) & Leftovers

FRIDAY - My scrapbook weekend
B - Apple Juice Oatmeal, Cereal Bars
L - Hot dogs, Organic french fries, apples
D - Pizza, apple slices

SATURDAY - My scrapbook weekend
B - Sausage, eggs, toast
L - Hot dogs, Chips
D - Hamburgers, Applesauce, Carrot sticks

New Week, New Attitude, New Menu

I don't know how full-time working moms manage to fit everything in. After one full week, I am a full week behind on everything else. It doesn't help that I had a bad cold too. So this week I am headed into work and life with a different attitude. Life is much more planned for the week so that more gets accomplished. I hope that makes like a bit easier for all of us and help us get into a new routine. I know once we get into a rhythm it will feel much like second nature - but until then, I am on list overload starting with our menu:

MONDAY
B - Impossible Pie or Buckwheat Waffles
L - Sandwiches, fruit
D - Stir Fry, Rice, Peaches

TUESDAY
B - Pancakes or Impossible Pie
L - Grilled Cheese, Applesauce
D - Ham, Baked Potato, Green Beans

WEDNESDAY
B - Pancakes
L - Quesadillas, Salsa
D - Packed lunches for dinner on the run

THURSDAY
B - Ham bits, eggs, toast
L - Hot dogs, Carrots, Applesauce
D - Chicken Noodle Soup, Grilled Cheese

FRIDAY
B - Breakfast cookies, Bananas
L - Leftovers
D - Pizza, Carrot Sticks, Applesauce


SATURDAY

B - Donut Muffins, Smoothies
L - Muffin tin lunch
D - Spaghetti with Loaded Tomato Sauce, Garlic Toast Sticks

SUNDAY
B -  Cereal bars or Breakfast cookies
L - Sesame Garlic Chicken, Rice, Carrots
D - Beef Stroganoff, Rice, Salad

I'm going to try a bit of experimenting this week and next with a few allergen-free versions of some of our favorite foods. Wish me luck.

Menu - A Little Late

Better late than never right?

I started the new job, got a cold, and got really behind on everything. So as I sit amid tons of baskets of laundry waiting to be put away (only because my husband folded them) I offer you our menu for the week as we work on eating through our pantry/freezer.

My husband has helped take on some of the cooking, so you'll note an increase in wild game in the menu. Feel free to substitute a meat of your choice if you don't have any on hand...

Sunday
B = Cereal Bars, Yogurt, Juice
L = Leftovers
D = Spaghetti with Loaded Tomato Sauce, Garlic Bread (recipe coming soon)

Monday
B =  Pumpkin Pancakes
L = Sandwiches
D = Venison Fajitas (recipe coming soon), corn, applesauce

Tuesday
B = Apple Juice Oatmeal, Toast
L = Quesadillas, Salsa
D =Bacon Roasted Pheasant, Mashed Potatoes, Carrots

Wednesday
B = Leftover Pancakes
L = Leftovers
D = Sauteed Spaghetti

Thursday
B = Buckwheat Waffles, Bananas
L = Hot dogs, apple slices
D = Ham, Baked Potato, Corn, Broccoli

Friday
B = Ham bits, Eggs
L = Loaded Baked Potato, Oranges
D =  Pheasant Enchiladas(variation of the Fiesta Chicken), Rice, Corn

Saturday
B = Sausage & Toast
L = Leftovers
D = Turkey Brats, Salad, Peaches

New Challenges and New Menu

I start my new joy this week so I'm going to be taking it easy on the menu side while we transition into life as we are about to know it.


Breakfasts - Pancakes, Waffles, Sausage & Fruit, Cereal Bar & Fruit, Bagels & Bacon

Lunches - Leftovers, Sandwiches, Hotdogs, Quesadillas

Dinner:
Monday - Ham, Eggs, Toast, Fruit
Tuesday - Golden Chicken & Autumn Veggies (take 2 from last week)
Wednesday - Out
Thursday - Spaghetti with Loaded Tomato Sauce & Ground Turkey
Friday - Pizza, Carrot Sticks
Saturday - Sesame Garlic Chicken, Rice, Carrots

January's Pantry Challenge

I'm starting the process of eating through what we have in our freezer/pantry. My intent is to try to eat through our stockpile for the month January. Think of it as a challenge in menu creativity.

What this does NOT mean is that I won't be grocery shopping, just shopping less. I'll be buying produce, allergen-free food for my son, and a few great deals when I find them. I intend to use the money I'm saving from our grocery budget to put toward some bulk food purchases - which should over time reduce our grocery budget all together.

That being said, here is week #1 of our stockpile menu

Monday

B - Buckwheat Waffles, Banana
L - Leftovers
D - Pork Roast, Salad, Roasted Potatoes, Carrots

Tuesday

B - Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pancakes, Clementines
L - Grilled Cheese, Applesauce
D - BBQ Ribs, Mashed Potato, Frozen Corn

Wednesday

B - Sausage, Apple Slices
L - Leftovers & Hot Dogs
D - Pasta & Loaded Spaghetti Sauce, Garlic toast, Green Beans

Thursday
B - Fried Ham Bits, Grapes
L - Biscuit Ham & Cheese, Pirate's Booty
D - Mexican Pork Salad

Friday 

B - Bagels, Bacon
L - Quesadillas, Salsa
D - Homemade Pizza, Carrot Sticks

Saturday 

B - Donut Muffins, Sausage
L - Sunbutter Sandwiches, Pretzels, Apple Slices
D - Golden Chicken & Veggies replaced with Grilled Sausage &Skillet Potatoes

Sunday

B - Impossible Pie, Smoothies
L - Hamburgers, Frozen Corn, Chips, Applesauce
D - Leftovers