Sorry readers. I am feeling very under the weather today and cooking has been the furthest thing from my mind. I'm going to take the night off, but I will make up for the lack of cooking by posting over the weekend.
Please be sure to check back for more of my crazy antics and some great recipes!
Happy Cooking!
Friday, June 28, 2013
Thursday, June 27, 2013
That was almost a hospital trip...
Last night, I decided to try something new. My family has always made a beef stew that is really good. It's plain, but good. My mother and grandmother have always prepared the stew in a pressure cooker. I didn't have one, so I figured out a way to make it in my trusty crock-pot.
Last year, my husband's grandmother "broke-up housekeeping" and we inherited some goodies from her extensive kitchen collection. Somehow, I ended up with two pressure cookers. I decided to try stew in a pressure cooker this time for a little different approach and because I need to learn to use one as I have a few recipes in mind to try in the future. I really should have done my research a little more on the safety concerns of pressure cookers!
My mom laid out step by step instructions of how to use a pressure cooker. I got home and opened it up and there was some funny, holey flat part of the pan that was just lying in the bottom. I had to call and ask her what to do with it. Then, the little "jiggly" thing that goes on top had three different holes. I just stuck it on top. I probably didn't do it right and I'm still curious as to why it has three holes...
Once the "jiggly" thing started making noise and dancing around I turned down the heat and let it cook for an hour. Then, I took the pan off the stove and freaked out because the "jiggly" thing on top went crazy. I ran it to the sink and turned on the cold water (that was the instructions!) and it finally stopped. My mom told me that there should be something on top that would go down and once it did, I could open the top. I discovered we must have very different pressure cookers. My pot had nothing of the sort. I took it to the side and tried opening it. I was pushing the handle as hard as I could and it wouldn't budge. I picked up the oven mitt and threw it on top of the pot lid. I figured my husband could figure it out when he got home. When I did that, I heard the pressure release a little. I pushed the "jiggly" thing to the side and a huge gust of air came out and the top popped off with very little force. I added the potatoes, cooked for 20 minutes or so and repeated the same process (I just didn't waste time trying to force it the second time).
Russ got home and we ate dinner and I was laughing about it and telling him the story of how it wouldn't open. I couldn't figure out why he was looking at me like I was crazy. He said, "Kristy, do you realize that if that lid would have opened, it would have been a hospital trip? You have to release the pressure to open the lid." That's when the light bulb clicked on. I swear my brain is on vacation this week or something. I'm not normally this dense. I'm always horrible at cooking, but I usually know when something is safe or not. So, thank the good Lord above the lid did not open. If you aren't sure how to use a pressure cooker, I can't really help because I still don't know what I did, but I know to release the pressure before you open the lid!!!
I took a picture of the leftover stew. I have been experimenting by adding carrots to it, but I ran out the night before and I haven't been grocery shopping yet. I want to try onion as well, but I didn't think about it last night. I will include my usual crock-pot recipe below as well as the instructions my mom gave me for the pressure cooker. Like I mentioned above, it is a very plain recipe, but it is a good filling dinner that isn't too bad on the wallet!
Last year, my husband's grandmother "broke-up housekeeping" and we inherited some goodies from her extensive kitchen collection. Somehow, I ended up with two pressure cookers. I decided to try stew in a pressure cooker this time for a little different approach and because I need to learn to use one as I have a few recipes in mind to try in the future. I really should have done my research a little more on the safety concerns of pressure cookers!
My mom laid out step by step instructions of how to use a pressure cooker. I got home and opened it up and there was some funny, holey flat part of the pan that was just lying in the bottom. I had to call and ask her what to do with it. Then, the little "jiggly" thing that goes on top had three different holes. I just stuck it on top. I probably didn't do it right and I'm still curious as to why it has three holes...
Once the "jiggly" thing started making noise and dancing around I turned down the heat and let it cook for an hour. Then, I took the pan off the stove and freaked out because the "jiggly" thing on top went crazy. I ran it to the sink and turned on the cold water (that was the instructions!) and it finally stopped. My mom told me that there should be something on top that would go down and once it did, I could open the top. I discovered we must have very different pressure cookers. My pot had nothing of the sort. I took it to the side and tried opening it. I was pushing the handle as hard as I could and it wouldn't budge. I picked up the oven mitt and threw it on top of the pot lid. I figured my husband could figure it out when he got home. When I did that, I heard the pressure release a little. I pushed the "jiggly" thing to the side and a huge gust of air came out and the top popped off with very little force. I added the potatoes, cooked for 20 minutes or so and repeated the same process (I just didn't waste time trying to force it the second time).
Russ got home and we ate dinner and I was laughing about it and telling him the story of how it wouldn't open. I couldn't figure out why he was looking at me like I was crazy. He said, "Kristy, do you realize that if that lid would have opened, it would have been a hospital trip? You have to release the pressure to open the lid." That's when the light bulb clicked on. I swear my brain is on vacation this week or something. I'm not normally this dense. I'm always horrible at cooking, but I usually know when something is safe or not. So, thank the good Lord above the lid did not open. If you aren't sure how to use a pressure cooker, I can't really help because I still don't know what I did, but I know to release the pressure before you open the lid!!!
I took a picture of the leftover stew. I have been experimenting by adding carrots to it, but I ran out the night before and I haven't been grocery shopping yet. I want to try onion as well, but I didn't think about it last night. I will include my usual crock-pot recipe below as well as the instructions my mom gave me for the pressure cooker. Like I mentioned above, it is a very plain recipe, but it is a good filling dinner that isn't too bad on the wallet!
This is the beef and potato stew.
Since you hear about them in pretty much every blog, here is a picture of my three favorite people: my husband Russ, my daughter Andrea, and my son Jake.
Beef Stew
1 lb of stew meat
5-6 medium to large potatoes (cut in cubes)
Crock-Pot: Put stew meat and potatoes into the crock pot with 1 1/2 C water. Cook on low 6 hours. Use a potato masher to mash meat and stew together. Serve. Season with salt and pepper.
Pressure Cooker: Put meat into pot. Fill the pot about halfway with water. (Some crock-pots have a line in them that tells how much water to put in.) Cook on high until the "jiggly" thing starts shaking. Turn down to medium heat. Let cook for 60-90 minutes. Remove from heat and put pot under running cold water. Once pressure is released, open the lid and put in the potatoes. (If the water is really low, add a little more, but there should be enough left.) Secure lid and cook on high again until the thing on top starts shaking. Turn to medium and continue cooking for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and put pot under cold running water again. Release pressure and open lid. Use a potato masher to mash meat and stew together. Serve. Season with salt and pepper.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Who needs cake mix from a box?
My family holds a birthday supper every month of the year. Our birthday dinners could be for one person or five, but nevertheless, we always have one. Every month, we sign a menu list (with 26 people, you have to be organized). I signed up for cake and cornbread this month. Saturday night I went searching in my pantry for boxed cake mix and came up empty handed. Normally, I would just run to the store and grab some, but it was late and I was not leaving. My husband looked at me funny and said, "Hey, what is your blog about this week?" I looked at him like he was stupid and told him it was about cooking as usual. He suggested I make a cake from scratch so all of my readers could laugh at me. So....here you go:
Russ agreed to help me with the cake. He greased and floured the pans while I measured out all of the ingredients. Well, let me backtrack. We started to make the cake and then realized the butter and eggs had to sit out for 30 minutes. I would have just stuck the butter in the microwave for a few seconds, but I was trying to do this the right way, so I followed instructions! Once the butter and eggs quit holding me up, I mixed the dry ingredients like the recipe instructed. I beat the butter and then added the sugar while my husband watched. (By the way, it kinds of look like scrambled eggs when you mix butter and sugar!) I cracked the eggs, added them to the "scrambled egg" batter and then mixed slowly after each one. For some reason, this thoroughly annoyed Russ that I was taking so long so he started putting them in for me as I kept the mixer going. Then he decided to pour in the flour mixture and the milk alternately for me. I'm pretty sure this is where I messed up.
I didn't read the part that said to beat on low speed just until combined. Actually, I probably did read it and just chose to ignore it. About halfway through mixing the milk and flour stuff in, Russ asked why I was beating it on medium instead of low. I turned it down after re-reading the recipe. Then, I realized it said "just until combined". Oopsy. I was really over-mixing it! I was just standing there talking to him and holding the mixer. I wasn't paying attention to how much it was mixed! I'm not sure if this had a standing on the consistency of the finished cake, but I'm just going to assume it did.
We finally got it poured into the pans and then into the oven. When the cake was done, I took the pans out and put them on a cooling rack. I was suppose to remove the cake from the pans after 10 minutes and let the layers finish cooling off. I went back around 30 minutes later to do this. I didn't think it would hurt anything to cool off a little longer! I flipped the first pan over after running a thin scraper around the sides of the cake to loosen it a bit. Nothing happened. I flipped it back over, repeated the scraper routine, and tried again. Nothing. That cake was going to come out! I did the scraper trick one more time, flipped it over and beat the bottom of the pan like a mad woman. The cake came out. Sort of. It lost a little of itself in the pan. I was going to work with what I had though. I started on the second pan. The same exact scenario played out. I now had two layers that were kind of deformed, but promising. I decided to leave them out and let them cool completely and finish the cake in the morning.
The next morning I pulled the covering off and my cake stuck to the covering and the plates I had put it on. The layers were a sticky mess. I had no other choice, but to run with it. I stacked them together like the Leaning Tower of Pisa and stuck in several toothpicks. There was a wide gap in the middle where the icing would go. I was not covering the cake in fondant so there was no remedying the mammoth crack. I had to chant: "Pretty OR edible, not both!" Next, I started mixing up butter cream icing. I have made this so many times, I could probably make it in my sleep. I had a brain fart though and couldn't remember how much vanilla went in. I decided a tablespoon would work and measured it over the bowl. This resulted in accidentally spilling a little extra into the icing. I shrugged it off and told Russ it wouldn't be noticeable. I discovered a tablespoon was too much. Way too much! I managed to ice the cake and make it look somewhat presentable.
My family ate the cake without complaining. I don't know if they were being nice or were just having sugar cravings and I was the only one to supply a dessert. I ended up getting a piece that had something sour tasting in it. I'm sincerely hoping I was the only one. I think I'll stick to the box mix, or sign up to bring ice next time!
Happy Cooking!
Russ agreed to help me with the cake. He greased and floured the pans while I measured out all of the ingredients. Well, let me backtrack. We started to make the cake and then realized the butter and eggs had to sit out for 30 minutes. I would have just stuck the butter in the microwave for a few seconds, but I was trying to do this the right way, so I followed instructions! Once the butter and eggs quit holding me up, I mixed the dry ingredients like the recipe instructed. I beat the butter and then added the sugar while my husband watched. (By the way, it kinds of look like scrambled eggs when you mix butter and sugar!) I cracked the eggs, added them to the "scrambled egg" batter and then mixed slowly after each one. For some reason, this thoroughly annoyed Russ that I was taking so long so he started putting them in for me as I kept the mixer going. Then he decided to pour in the flour mixture and the milk alternately for me. I'm pretty sure this is where I messed up.
I didn't read the part that said to beat on low speed just until combined. Actually, I probably did read it and just chose to ignore it. About halfway through mixing the milk and flour stuff in, Russ asked why I was beating it on medium instead of low. I turned it down after re-reading the recipe. Then, I realized it said "just until combined". Oopsy. I was really over-mixing it! I was just standing there talking to him and holding the mixer. I wasn't paying attention to how much it was mixed! I'm not sure if this had a standing on the consistency of the finished cake, but I'm just going to assume it did.
We finally got it poured into the pans and then into the oven. When the cake was done, I took the pans out and put them on a cooling rack. I was suppose to remove the cake from the pans after 10 minutes and let the layers finish cooling off. I went back around 30 minutes later to do this. I didn't think it would hurt anything to cool off a little longer! I flipped the first pan over after running a thin scraper around the sides of the cake to loosen it a bit. Nothing happened. I flipped it back over, repeated the scraper routine, and tried again. Nothing. That cake was going to come out! I did the scraper trick one more time, flipped it over and beat the bottom of the pan like a mad woman. The cake came out. Sort of. It lost a little of itself in the pan. I was going to work with what I had though. I started on the second pan. The same exact scenario played out. I now had two layers that were kind of deformed, but promising. I decided to leave them out and let them cool completely and finish the cake in the morning.
The next morning I pulled the covering off and my cake stuck to the covering and the plates I had put it on. The layers were a sticky mess. I had no other choice, but to run with it. I stacked them together like the Leaning Tower of Pisa and stuck in several toothpicks. There was a wide gap in the middle where the icing would go. I was not covering the cake in fondant so there was no remedying the mammoth crack. I had to chant: "Pretty OR edible, not both!" Next, I started mixing up butter cream icing. I have made this so many times, I could probably make it in my sleep. I had a brain fart though and couldn't remember how much vanilla went in. I decided a tablespoon would work and measured it over the bowl. This resulted in accidentally spilling a little extra into the icing. I shrugged it off and told Russ it wouldn't be noticeable. I discovered a tablespoon was too much. Way too much! I managed to ice the cake and make it look somewhat presentable.
My family ate the cake without complaining. I don't know if they were being nice or were just having sugar cravings and I was the only one to supply a dessert. I ended up getting a piece that had something sour tasting in it. I'm sincerely hoping I was the only one. I think I'll stick to the box mix, or sign up to bring ice next time!
Happy Cooking!
Yellow Cake
Better Homes & Garden's Cookbook- 14th edition
3/4 C butter
3 eggs
2 1/2 C all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 C sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 C milk
1. Allow butter and eggs to stand at room temp. for 30 mins. Grease and flour two round pans or one 13 X 9 inch pan; set aside. In a bowl, stir together flour, baking pwdr, and salt; set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on mdm to high speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar, beating until well combined. Beat 2 mins. more. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Alternately add flour mixture and milk, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Spread batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake for 20-25 mins for the 9-in pans, 30-35 for 8-in pans, or 25-30 for the 13 X 9 in pan. Cool cake layers in pans on wire racks for 10 mins. Remove layers from pans; cool thoroughly on racks. Frost with desired frosting.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
How do I get this out of the crock-pot?!
Sunday night I made crock-pot ribs for supper. (Saturday night we attended a birthday dinner/party and I got to have a night off from cooking! Yay!) I've made them several times before and my family always raves about it and then forgets about them. I'm actually not sure if this is a good thing or not...
I was running a little behind Sunday morning. I had a family gathering I had to get to, and I had forgotten to get the ribs started in the crock-pot until we were about to walk out the door. Most of the time this takes about 20-30 minutes to prep. I had 10 minutes, tops. I took the ribs from the fridge and grabbed the crock-pot. I had put the ribs in the fridge to thaw either the night before or two nights before. I'm not really sure, actually. Either way, they were still basically frozen solid. I didn't really have time to do anything else and this was what I had planned for dinner. I peeled the foil off of them and threw them into a frying pan with some oil to brown the sides. Like I mentioned, I was short on time so I cranked the burner up to high. This was probably not the best idea, but I didn't care in the least. Once they got going, there was smoke all over my kitchen and they were somewhat "well done" on the sides, but I figured no one would notice after they sat in the crock-pot covered in BBQ sauce all day. I had achieved getting them "browned" and that was all that I needed to do. I ran my finger quickly down the ingredient list and dumped everything into the crock-pot. I didn't measure the barbecue sauce. I just poured until it looked good, tossed on the crock-pot top, and ran out the door. Luckily, I remembered to turn it off of warm setting and onto low so it would actually cook (I've been known to forget the knob a few times, but have always caught it, luckily.)
When we got back home later in the day, I forgot about making anything to go with the ribs. Somewhere around dinnertime, my kids and my stomach started nudging me toward the kitchen. I whipped up some buttered potatoes and brown-sugar glazed carrots as quickly as possible and got the plates ready for the ribs. When I stuck the tongs in the crock-pot to grab the ribs, I grabbed and nothing came out. I tried it again with the same result. I peered into the crock-pot and started wondering if I was crazy or not. I kept thinking, "I did put the ribs in, right??!". I realized the ribs were so tender, I couldn't grab them. I finally scooped them up and got them separated onto plates. When I cut the kids' ribs up, I never needed any pressure. The fork slid right through them. I would love to claim credit for this, but I think the crock-pot probably should get the credit. Even with all the rushing we managed to have a fantastic dinner and my kids decided the food was acceptable for consumption. Since the kids have done so well complaining...um I mean trying new food...over the past week, we are taking a few nights off from the freezer. Last night we had spaghetti and tonight we are having hot dogs. I will still be posting blogs however, so make sure you check back. I have one already lined up for tomorrow (with pictures) and I have one planned for Thursday as well.
Sorry for the lack of pictures. I was too hungry to remember!
As always, Happy Cooking!
Crock-Pot Ribs
Brown Sugar-Glazed Carrots
From: my trusty Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook- 14th Edition.
1 lb peeled baby carrots or medium carrots, halved lengthwise and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 Tbsp butter or margarine
1 Tbsp packed brown sugar (I always add a little more)
dash of salt
black pepper
In a medium saucepan cook carrots, covered, in a small amount of boiling water for 8-10 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain; remove carrots from pan.
In the same saucepan combine butter, brown sugar, and salt. Cook and stir over mdm heat until combined. Add carrots. Cook and stir about 2 minutes or until glazed. Season to taste with pepper.
I was running a little behind Sunday morning. I had a family gathering I had to get to, and I had forgotten to get the ribs started in the crock-pot until we were about to walk out the door. Most of the time this takes about 20-30 minutes to prep. I had 10 minutes, tops. I took the ribs from the fridge and grabbed the crock-pot. I had put the ribs in the fridge to thaw either the night before or two nights before. I'm not really sure, actually. Either way, they were still basically frozen solid. I didn't really have time to do anything else and this was what I had planned for dinner. I peeled the foil off of them and threw them into a frying pan with some oil to brown the sides. Like I mentioned, I was short on time so I cranked the burner up to high. This was probably not the best idea, but I didn't care in the least. Once they got going, there was smoke all over my kitchen and they were somewhat "well done" on the sides, but I figured no one would notice after they sat in the crock-pot covered in BBQ sauce all day. I had achieved getting them "browned" and that was all that I needed to do. I ran my finger quickly down the ingredient list and dumped everything into the crock-pot. I didn't measure the barbecue sauce. I just poured until it looked good, tossed on the crock-pot top, and ran out the door. Luckily, I remembered to turn it off of warm setting and onto low so it would actually cook (I've been known to forget the knob a few times, but have always caught it, luckily.)
When we got back home later in the day, I forgot about making anything to go with the ribs. Somewhere around dinnertime, my kids and my stomach started nudging me toward the kitchen. I whipped up some buttered potatoes and brown-sugar glazed carrots as quickly as possible and got the plates ready for the ribs. When I stuck the tongs in the crock-pot to grab the ribs, I grabbed and nothing came out. I tried it again with the same result. I peered into the crock-pot and started wondering if I was crazy or not. I kept thinking, "I did put the ribs in, right??!". I realized the ribs were so tender, I couldn't grab them. I finally scooped them up and got them separated onto plates. When I cut the kids' ribs up, I never needed any pressure. The fork slid right through them. I would love to claim credit for this, but I think the crock-pot probably should get the credit. Even with all the rushing we managed to have a fantastic dinner and my kids decided the food was acceptable for consumption. Since the kids have done so well complaining...um I mean trying new food...over the past week, we are taking a few nights off from the freezer. Last night we had spaghetti and tonight we are having hot dogs. I will still be posting blogs however, so make sure you check back. I have one already lined up for tomorrow (with pictures) and I have one planned for Thursday as well.
Sorry for the lack of pictures. I was too hungry to remember!
As always, Happy Cooking!
Crock-Pot Ribs
From: ThePeacefulMom.com
Ingredients
- 3-4 lbs. country style ribs
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Lawry's Seasoning Salt to taste
- 1 and 1/2 cups barbecue sauce (Jack Daniels Sauce is delicious!)
- 1 tablespoon Liquid Smoke
Instructions
- Coat crock pot with olive oil. Brown ribs in a heavy skillet in about 1 tablespoon olive oil. Sprinkle ribs with Lawry's Seasoning Salt and place in crock pot. Cover with barbecue sauce (we like Jack Daniels Sauce) and Liquid Smoke. Cook on low 6-8 hours.
Notes
Alternate Directions
Brown ribs in a stainless steel or iron skillet with enough olive oil to coat the pan. Sprinkle ribs with Lawry's Seasoning Salt and place in a 9x11 glass baking dish. Cover ribs with BBQ sauce. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until ribs are cooked in center. Baste with BBQ sauce every 30 minutes if desired.
The crock pot ribs are more tender. The baked ribs are firmer
Brown Sugar-Glazed Carrots
From: my trusty Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook- 14th Edition.
1 lb peeled baby carrots or medium carrots, halved lengthwise and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 Tbsp butter or margarine
1 Tbsp packed brown sugar (I always add a little more)
dash of salt
black pepper
In a medium saucepan cook carrots, covered, in a small amount of boiling water for 8-10 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain; remove carrots from pan.
In the same saucepan combine butter, brown sugar, and salt. Cook and stir over mdm heat until combined. Add carrots. Cook and stir about 2 minutes or until glazed. Season to taste with pepper.
Monday, June 24, 2013
Casserole and Melt-in-Your-Mouth Yeast Rolls
Friday night we tried another one of the freezer dishes. It was a broccoli, cheese, and chicken casserole. I already have one recipe that I make regularly, but this was a vastly different recipe and it seemed like a good dish to try (plus I was positive I could freeze it). Also, I was really wanting to find a good, fast yeast roll recipe. I found one called 30 minute rolls. They were amazing!
The casserole was pretty simple. I cooked the chicken, broccoli, and rice a few weeks ago when I made the casserole, so it didn't have to spend too much time in the oven. I will admit that I overcooked (ahem...burned) the rice to the point that I'm still trying to get the rice off the bottom of my pan. It has been soaking off and on for two weeks now and I've even tried putting Bar Keeper's Friend in the pan. I would call it a lost cause, but I'm not done trying yet. I can be annoyingly persistent. Anyhow, I almost didn't use the rice because the recipe said specifically not to overcook the rice. I was in "waste not" mode so I used it anyway. Thankfully, we didn't even notice it upon re-heating. If you make this recipe, make sure you have a very large bowl. I mean really, really large. I have the general small, medium, and large nesting bowls and my largest bowl has never let me down. Until now... I kept spilling everywhere! I didn't have anything large enough to mix the casserole in so I eventually had to split it into two separate bowls.
I took the casserole out two nights before I intended to use it. Since I had frozen it flat, I wanted to make sure that it would be thawed enough to form to the casserole dish. I will do this again in the future as well. It seemed to help it heat up a little faster also. On a side note, I do not like mushrooms so I was sort of dreading trying this recipe because I was afraid of the cream of mushroom soup. I couldn't taste the mushroom soup at all. I was very aware of it being in the casserole the entire time I was eating it, but it did not stand out among the other flavors.
The yeast roll recipe was a fluke. I found it by typing in something along the lines of "super fast yeast rolls" into the Google search box. My husband got involved in the making of these rolls as he was in and out of the kitchen while the casserole was cooking. I used all-purpose flour and I did not sift it, for those curious. I happened to actually have a hook on my mixer for mixing bread and thank goodness I did! For some reason, and I'm not sure why I thought this is what I was supposed to do, I started trying to mix the dough with the hook in my hand. Such a stupid idea. I couldn't get it mixed at all. My husband suggested using the mixer for it's intended purpose. To be honest, I should tell you I had a mishap with the mixer a few months ago and I wasn't sure if I could use it anymore so that is the reason my brain was thinking of hand mixing. I'm sure I'll elaborate in a future blog. Anyway, he got the hooks put into the mixer and he and I had to hold the mixer while it was kneading the dough. It was trying to jump off the counter! Once it was mixed and had time to rise a little, I made the dough into balls in my other casserole dish. The dough was a little sticky, but not so much that I needed flour on my hands to form the balls. I was pretty happy with how quick the recipe was. It was also easy, which was great since I had no other plans if this recipe fell through! I should also point out that this is not actually a 30 minute recipe. Maybe other people will not have the same issue, but it was more like 47 minute rolls for me. I didn't mind, though. They are worth it!
I actually remembered to take pictures so I have those posted below. I did not post them with the recipes because the recipes do not belong to me and I didn't want the pictures tagged to them. The first is a picture of the casserole. The second is the rolls while they were resting. The third is when I remembered to take a picture and the rolls were under attack. I'm lucky I even got a picture of the finished product!
Happy Cooking!
*If you decide to take a recipe from this site and post it somewhere else, that is great! Please just be sure to link back to this site so that the person seeing the recipe can find their way back to the original owner. Thank you!*
Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
http://moneysavingmom.com/2012/05/4-weeks-to-fill-your-freezer-chicken-broccoli-rice-casserole-day-14.html
10 cups cooked rice (white or brown)-brown is less mushy after frozen
4 cups cooked chicken, chopped (I bake mine in the oven like this.)
4 cups chopped broccoli, lightly steamed (can use frozen or fresh)
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (or 2 batches cream of mushroom soup)
2 cans cream of chicken soup (or 2 batches cream of chicken soup)
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
To serve: Thaw overnight (or for 8 hours) in the refrigerator. Dump into a greased casserole dish (each bag will fill an 8×8-inch pan; two bags will fill a 9×13-inch pan). Sprinkle with additional shredded cheese, if desired.
The casserole was pretty simple. I cooked the chicken, broccoli, and rice a few weeks ago when I made the casserole, so it didn't have to spend too much time in the oven. I will admit that I overcooked (ahem...burned) the rice to the point that I'm still trying to get the rice off the bottom of my pan. It has been soaking off and on for two weeks now and I've even tried putting Bar Keeper's Friend in the pan. I would call it a lost cause, but I'm not done trying yet. I can be annoyingly persistent. Anyhow, I almost didn't use the rice because the recipe said specifically not to overcook the rice. I was in "waste not" mode so I used it anyway. Thankfully, we didn't even notice it upon re-heating. If you make this recipe, make sure you have a very large bowl. I mean really, really large. I have the general small, medium, and large nesting bowls and my largest bowl has never let me down. Until now... I kept spilling everywhere! I didn't have anything large enough to mix the casserole in so I eventually had to split it into two separate bowls.
I took the casserole out two nights before I intended to use it. Since I had frozen it flat, I wanted to make sure that it would be thawed enough to form to the casserole dish. I will do this again in the future as well. It seemed to help it heat up a little faster also. On a side note, I do not like mushrooms so I was sort of dreading trying this recipe because I was afraid of the cream of mushroom soup. I couldn't taste the mushroom soup at all. I was very aware of it being in the casserole the entire time I was eating it, but it did not stand out among the other flavors.
The yeast roll recipe was a fluke. I found it by typing in something along the lines of "super fast yeast rolls" into the Google search box. My husband got involved in the making of these rolls as he was in and out of the kitchen while the casserole was cooking. I used all-purpose flour and I did not sift it, for those curious. I happened to actually have a hook on my mixer for mixing bread and thank goodness I did! For some reason, and I'm not sure why I thought this is what I was supposed to do, I started trying to mix the dough with the hook in my hand. Such a stupid idea. I couldn't get it mixed at all. My husband suggested using the mixer for it's intended purpose. To be honest, I should tell you I had a mishap with the mixer a few months ago and I wasn't sure if I could use it anymore so that is the reason my brain was thinking of hand mixing. I'm sure I'll elaborate in a future blog. Anyway, he got the hooks put into the mixer and he and I had to hold the mixer while it was kneading the dough. It was trying to jump off the counter! Once it was mixed and had time to rise a little, I made the dough into balls in my other casserole dish. The dough was a little sticky, but not so much that I needed flour on my hands to form the balls. I was pretty happy with how quick the recipe was. It was also easy, which was great since I had no other plans if this recipe fell through! I should also point out that this is not actually a 30 minute recipe. Maybe other people will not have the same issue, but it was more like 47 minute rolls for me. I didn't mind, though. They are worth it!
I actually remembered to take pictures so I have those posted below. I did not post them with the recipes because the recipes do not belong to me and I didn't want the pictures tagged to them. The first is a picture of the casserole. The second is the rolls while they were resting. The third is when I remembered to take a picture and the rolls were under attack. I'm lucky I even got a picture of the finished product!
Happy Cooking!
*If you decide to take a recipe from this site and post it somewhere else, that is great! Please just be sure to link back to this site so that the person seeing the recipe can find their way back to the original owner. Thank you!*
Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
10 cups cooked rice (white or brown)-brown is less mushy after frozen
4 cups cooked chicken, chopped (I bake mine in the oven like this.)
4 cups chopped broccoli, lightly steamed (can use frozen or fresh)
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (or 2 batches cream of mushroom soup)
2 cans cream of chicken soup (or 2 batches cream of chicken soup)
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
To freeze: Divide into four ziptop freezer bags and seal
tightly. Freeze flat.To serve: Thaw overnight (or for 8 hours) in the refrigerator. Dump into a greased casserole dish (each bag will fill an 8×8-inch pan; two bags will fill a 9×13-inch pan). Sprinkle with additional shredded cheese, if desired.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until heated through
and bubbly.
This recipe makes around 15-18 servings. Each freezer bag serves
4-5 people.
30- Minute Rolls
1 C plus 2 Tbsp warm water
1/3 C oil
2 Tbsp yeast
1/4 C sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
3 1/2 C bread flour (seems to
work better but all purpose flour will also work)
Heat oven to 400 degrees.
In your mixer bowl combine the
water, oil, yeast and sugar and allow it to rest for 15 minutes. Using your
dough hook, mix in the salt, egg and flour.
Knead with hook until will
incorporated and dough is soft and smooth. (Just a few minutes)
Form dough into 12 balls and
then place in a greased 9 x 13 pan and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Bake for
10 minutes at 400 degrees or until golden brown.
Friday, June 21, 2013
It's not pretty, but it's edible!
Yesterday was just one of those days. I managed to remember to pull out food the night before to thaw for dinner last night and tonight, but that was the extent of what went right. My day started off bad as I woke up late and I ran out of muffins for the kids (hence yesterday's muffin post). Then my daughter started complaining she felt sick and then I fell asleep due to some new medicine I have been taking. This does relate...I promise.
The recipe we used last night was called Sloppy Tamale Pie. I was really excited about this one for some reason so I had plans for a great dinner last night. This recipe said the Tamale Pie had to sit on the stove and simmer for 3-4 hours. When I woke up from my impromptu nap, it was 5:30. Um...crap! So I send the kids outside to play while I figured out how to fix the situation. I figured that I could just dump the sloppy joe style meat into a skillet on med-high and it would warm up faster. Okay, saying medium-high is a little generous, I put it on high for a little while, but it got the job done. Five minutes after I sent my children outside they come in screaming. An overzealous wasp attacked them both and I was tending to a throbbing leg and a puffy eye (yes, the wasp got my son's eyelid). I spent the next 30 minutes wrestling him and holding ice on his eye while my daughter whined that her leg was cold. Needless to say, I forgot all about my skillet and the food. I went back to check and of course the food was boiling like crazy and splattering everywhere. It was also burned to the edges of the skillet. I shrugged and figured it was at least warm enough to eat.
I failed to remember that the Tamale Pie is to be served over cornbread during the wasp drama and didn't realize it until suppertime. At this point, I was as grouchy as my kids were. I put toast in the toaster and made a quick box of mac and cheese. I put the meat creation on the top of the toast and served it. It definitely wasn't pretty to look at. My daughter decided a sandwich was "cooler" and begged for another piece of bread. I complied hoping she would eat her food. She did, thank goodness, but my son scraped all the meat off his toast and ate the toast alone. He did however inform me the toast was good. My husband and I very much enjoyed this meal. It was very tasty! I hope that the next time I can actually make it correctly, but at least nothing went to waste.
I'm including the recipe and website below. I decided to go ahead and include the cornbread recipe I use as well. I haven't yet had complaints on it so I refer to it as my idiot-proof recipe.
Happy Cooking!
Sloppy Tamale Pie
from the website- http://www.allergyfreecooking.net/sloppy-tamale-pie/
1.5 lbs Ground beef
1 carrot, shredded
1 zucchini, shredded or finely diced
1 onion chopped
1 bell pepper finely chopped
2 cups frozen corn
1 can whole olives (sliced – buy them whole then slice them yourself)
1 packet taco seasoning
2- 15 oz cans tomato sauce
Idiot-Proof Cornbread (a.k.a. Southern Cornbread)
from the backside of Martha White Cornmeal bags
Cooking spray
1 1/3 cups milk (or 1 3/4 cups buttermilk)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups self-rising enriched white corn meal mix
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Coat 8 or 9 inch pan skillet or baking pan with no-stick cooking spray. Place skillet or pan in oven 7-8 minutes or until hot. Beat egg in medium bowl. Stir in milk, oil and corn meal mix until smooth. Batter should be creamy and pourable. If too thick, add 1 to 2 tablespoons more milk. Pour into prepared skillet or pan. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 8 servings.
**Note: I use the 9 inch round pan. The 8 X 8- inch pan makes cornbread that's a little thicker than we like. **
The recipe we used last night was called Sloppy Tamale Pie. I was really excited about this one for some reason so I had plans for a great dinner last night. This recipe said the Tamale Pie had to sit on the stove and simmer for 3-4 hours. When I woke up from my impromptu nap, it was 5:30. Um...crap! So I send the kids outside to play while I figured out how to fix the situation. I figured that I could just dump the sloppy joe style meat into a skillet on med-high and it would warm up faster. Okay, saying medium-high is a little generous, I put it on high for a little while, but it got the job done. Five minutes after I sent my children outside they come in screaming. An overzealous wasp attacked them both and I was tending to a throbbing leg and a puffy eye (yes, the wasp got my son's eyelid). I spent the next 30 minutes wrestling him and holding ice on his eye while my daughter whined that her leg was cold. Needless to say, I forgot all about my skillet and the food. I went back to check and of course the food was boiling like crazy and splattering everywhere. It was also burned to the edges of the skillet. I shrugged and figured it was at least warm enough to eat.
I failed to remember that the Tamale Pie is to be served over cornbread during the wasp drama and didn't realize it until suppertime. At this point, I was as grouchy as my kids were. I put toast in the toaster and made a quick box of mac and cheese. I put the meat creation on the top of the toast and served it. It definitely wasn't pretty to look at. My daughter decided a sandwich was "cooler" and begged for another piece of bread. I complied hoping she would eat her food. She did, thank goodness, but my son scraped all the meat off his toast and ate the toast alone. He did however inform me the toast was good. My husband and I very much enjoyed this meal. It was very tasty! I hope that the next time I can actually make it correctly, but at least nothing went to waste.
I'm including the recipe and website below. I decided to go ahead and include the cornbread recipe I use as well. I haven't yet had complaints on it so I refer to it as my idiot-proof recipe.
Happy Cooking!
Sloppy Tamale Pie
from the website- http://www.allergyfreecooking.net/sloppy-tamale-pie/
1.5 lbs Ground beef
1 carrot, shredded
1 zucchini, shredded or finely diced
1 onion chopped
1 bell pepper finely chopped
2 cups frozen corn
1 can whole olives (sliced – buy them whole then slice them yourself)
1 packet taco seasoning
2- 15 oz cans tomato sauce
Brown ground beef, carrot,
zucchini, onion and bell pepper until done. Drain and cool. Add to a gallon zip
lock bag with remaining ingredients. Freeze. Thaw and cook in crock pot on low
for 5-6 hours or high 3-4 hours. Serve “sloppy joe style” over cornbread.
**Note: We did not use olives in ours and we split this into two separate Zip lock bags!**Idiot-Proof Cornbread (a.k.a. Southern Cornbread)
from the backside of Martha White Cornmeal bags
Cooking spray
1 1/3 cups milk (or 1 3/4 cups buttermilk)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups self-rising enriched white corn meal mix
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Coat 8 or 9 inch pan skillet or baking pan with no-stick cooking spray. Place skillet or pan in oven 7-8 minutes or until hot. Beat egg in medium bowl. Stir in milk, oil and corn meal mix until smooth. Batter should be creamy and pourable. If too thick, add 1 to 2 tablespoons more milk. Pour into prepared skillet or pan. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 8 servings.
**Note: I use the 9 inch round pan. The 8 X 8- inch pan makes cornbread that's a little thicker than we like. **
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Muffin Madness!
Once I bought all the supplies for the freezer meal stock-up a few weeks ago, I decided to start the cooking and prepping with breakfast foods first. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned in an earlier blog that I had the intentions of doing breakfast, lunch and dinner meals. I eventually cut out the lunch idea as we pretty much stick to grilled cheese or peanut butter sandwiches around here, but I still had my mind set on breakfast and dinner. Anyway, I was going to start with muffins. I had two separate ways I could prep and freeze them:
A. I could make the batter and then freeze the muffins uncooked in the tin, pop them out, and put them in a Zip lock bag or
B. I could make and bake the muffins and then freeze them once cooled.
I decided I would do both since I have three muffin tins. Chaos ensued...
I decided to try my hand at blueberry muffins first. Mind you, I've never made a muffin that didn't come from a pouch that you add water to. I figured it couldn't be that hard. I imagined it would be similar to a cupcake without icing. My kids say I "rock" at cupcakes so I had this in the bag. I made my first batch EXACTLY as the recipe stated, but I decided not to sift the flour. The recipe didn't call for it to be sifted and I had the pre-sifted kind anyway. I had the muffin pan lined with the little wrappers and ready to go straight into the freezer. I noticed the dough was thick though. Not a little thick, either. I pulled the spoon out and all the dough came with it. I walked into the living room and showed my husband the dough spoon. He shook his head and laughed and I decided that wasn't a good sign. I tried adding in another 1/4 C of milk, and then another, and then another. After I finally got them a decent consistency for pouring, I put them into the freezer. I wasn't very optimistic they would turn out edible, but I froze them anyway.
The second batch was a little different. I decided to sift the flour this time. This caused an argument in my house because my husband thinks he's a chef. He said it didn't need to be sifted, but I figured it couldn't hurt after the disaster with batch one. I made the same recipe again and it was still a little thick (nothing at all like the first time though). I added a 1/4 C of milk and decided to try making these with the slightly thicker dough. I had no extra room in my freezer for another entire pan so I decided to cook these.
The third and final batch of the day was a completely different recipe. I got so frustrated with the first recipe that I pulled out my trusty Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book (seriously...I could be their spokesperson) and tried their muffin recipe. I got done adding and mixing the ingredients and stared at the dough. It was thick. What in the world? Why is muffin dough so blasted thick?! I just decided that would do and slapped it into the waiting muffin tin. I had lost all patience at this point. I threw them in the oven at the same time as batch two and waited. Once batches two and three cooled, they were bagged separately and frozen.
Final outcome? My husband and I decided we like the taste of the fresh baked muffins so we prefer the uncooked frozen ones that go into the oven straight from the freezer. My kids, on the other hand, like the convenience of the pre-cooked muffins as they have the patience of a house fly when it comes to food. Everyone agreed that batch two was the best. Batch one tasted a little funky although they were "freshly cooked" and batch three was very dry. The blueberries I bought were frozen so I couldn't really cut them up. I tried sticking them in my little slap-chop machine, but for some reason they tasted bitter smashed up. We just have giant blueberries in our muffins!
My family has officially demolished the muffins. They flew through three freezer bags of them. I am going to make some batches of blueberry muffins and strawberry muffins tonight. I still have enough fruit and supplies to make another 10-12 batches. I'm hoping to get at least 6 batches into the freezer tonight. Over the upcoming weekend, I plan on making waffles for the freezer and fresh oatmeal for the freezer that is made to be thawed and served with warm milk. I'm not sure how that will go over in my house with picky eaters, but I may as well give it a try.
Feel free to contact us and share your favorite freezer friendly breakfast recipes. :)
Happy cooking!
Muffin Recipe (for batch 2!)
2/3 C granulated sugar
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 C flour (I sift mine)
2 t baking powder
1/3 C vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 C milk ( I add an extra 1/4 C milk)
1 C of blueberries or strawberries (frozen or fresh will do)
muffin pan liners or cooking spray
Mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix the oil, milk and egg together and add them into the dry ingredients. Mix everything just enough to combine ( some lumps are okay). Fold in the fruit of your choice. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full.
At this point you can either freeze the muffins in the pan and then pop them out once frozen and bag them or you can cook them at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes and then cool on a wire rack. Once cool put them in a Zip lock bag and stick them in the freezer. You could also just make them for breakfast and not worry with the freezer! :)
A. I could make the batter and then freeze the muffins uncooked in the tin, pop them out, and put them in a Zip lock bag or
B. I could make and bake the muffins and then freeze them once cooled.
I decided I would do both since I have three muffin tins. Chaos ensued...
I decided to try my hand at blueberry muffins first. Mind you, I've never made a muffin that didn't come from a pouch that you add water to. I figured it couldn't be that hard. I imagined it would be similar to a cupcake without icing. My kids say I "rock" at cupcakes so I had this in the bag. I made my first batch EXACTLY as the recipe stated, but I decided not to sift the flour. The recipe didn't call for it to be sifted and I had the pre-sifted kind anyway. I had the muffin pan lined with the little wrappers and ready to go straight into the freezer. I noticed the dough was thick though. Not a little thick, either. I pulled the spoon out and all the dough came with it. I walked into the living room and showed my husband the dough spoon. He shook his head and laughed and I decided that wasn't a good sign. I tried adding in another 1/4 C of milk, and then another, and then another. After I finally got them a decent consistency for pouring, I put them into the freezer. I wasn't very optimistic they would turn out edible, but I froze them anyway.
The second batch was a little different. I decided to sift the flour this time. This caused an argument in my house because my husband thinks he's a chef. He said it didn't need to be sifted, but I figured it couldn't hurt after the disaster with batch one. I made the same recipe again and it was still a little thick (nothing at all like the first time though). I added a 1/4 C of milk and decided to try making these with the slightly thicker dough. I had no extra room in my freezer for another entire pan so I decided to cook these.
The third and final batch of the day was a completely different recipe. I got so frustrated with the first recipe that I pulled out my trusty Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book (seriously...I could be their spokesperson) and tried their muffin recipe. I got done adding and mixing the ingredients and stared at the dough. It was thick. What in the world? Why is muffin dough so blasted thick?! I just decided that would do and slapped it into the waiting muffin tin. I had lost all patience at this point. I threw them in the oven at the same time as batch two and waited. Once batches two and three cooled, they were bagged separately and frozen.
Final outcome? My husband and I decided we like the taste of the fresh baked muffins so we prefer the uncooked frozen ones that go into the oven straight from the freezer. My kids, on the other hand, like the convenience of the pre-cooked muffins as they have the patience of a house fly when it comes to food. Everyone agreed that batch two was the best. Batch one tasted a little funky although they were "freshly cooked" and batch three was very dry. The blueberries I bought were frozen so I couldn't really cut them up. I tried sticking them in my little slap-chop machine, but for some reason they tasted bitter smashed up. We just have giant blueberries in our muffins!
My family has officially demolished the muffins. They flew through three freezer bags of them. I am going to make some batches of blueberry muffins and strawberry muffins tonight. I still have enough fruit and supplies to make another 10-12 batches. I'm hoping to get at least 6 batches into the freezer tonight. Over the upcoming weekend, I plan on making waffles for the freezer and fresh oatmeal for the freezer that is made to be thawed and served with warm milk. I'm not sure how that will go over in my house with picky eaters, but I may as well give it a try.
Feel free to contact us and share your favorite freezer friendly breakfast recipes. :)
Happy cooking!
Muffin Recipe (for batch 2!)
2/3 C granulated sugar
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 C flour (I sift mine)
2 t baking powder
1/3 C vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 C milk ( I add an extra 1/4 C milk)
1 C of blueberries or strawberries (frozen or fresh will do)
muffin pan liners or cooking spray
Mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix the oil, milk and egg together and add them into the dry ingredients. Mix everything just enough to combine ( some lumps are okay). Fold in the fruit of your choice. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full.
At this point you can either freeze the muffins in the pan and then pop them out once frozen and bag them or you can cook them at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes and then cool on a wire rack. Once cool put them in a Zip lock bag and stick them in the freezer. You could also just make them for breakfast and not worry with the freezer! :)
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Bell Pepper Diaster
Last night we tried stuffed bell peppers for dinner. It was not good. Actually, that is an understatement. It was horrible. I had picked through several recipes on the Internet and never found one that I really liked. The one that I used was a combination of ingredients I pulled from different recipes. As an inexperienced chef, this was probably a huge misstep on my part. I was a little ahead of myself in thinking I could handle making up a recipe on my own. It didn't really seem that complicated, but I guess I should have paid more attention to the ingredients list and I would have seen that the seasoning just wasn't there. Here's a little description of how the night went and I'll post the horrid recipe if anyone wants to eat the most bland food they have ever tasted. We will be trying again in the future because I still have three stuffed peppers in the freezer and I refuse to waste food. Next time, I will be pulling the stuffing out of the peppers and remixing it with a lot of spices before re-stuffing the peppers and cooking them.
It all started yesterday morning when I realized I forgot to pull out a freezer meal to thaw overnight. All of the meals are pretty much hands free, but you have to let them thaw overnight before putting them into the crock-pot or before cooking them in casserole dishes. Because of my forgetfulness, I had to cook whichever one I thought could withstand being thawed out the day of cooking. I knew I could bake the stuffed bell peppers rather than using the crock-pot, so I pulled them out of the freezer and threw them into the fridge before running out the door. I got back home several hours later and at 6PM I decided to put the peppers in the oven. I baked the peppers at 350 degrees and tested them after 30 minutes. They were warm, but I felt they could probably use a little more cook time. I shoved them back in the oven and baked them for another 20 minutes while I made mashed potatoes per the kids' requests.
The second time I checked them, they seemed done. The pepper "shell" seemed soft enough to cut and when I tried to test the stuffing with my finger it was too hot to touch. We cut the peppers up and got started. I ate the potatoes first so the look on my kids' faces was the first clue that something was wrong. They don't like a lot of the things I cook though so I wasn't very concerned with the fact that they both had their tongues stuck out and were whining. My husband, the man that ate those military issued bag meals for 13 months overseas and will eat anything, took a few bites and kind of made a face. He smiled politely and I knew he didn't care much for it either. I was curious now so I took a bite. I think I spit it out. It was AWFUL! There was no taste. It was like eating cardboard. To make it worse, the texture was horrible.
I gave it a few seconds and pushed my plate away. I declared a fast food night and the entire room breathed a very audible sigh of relief. My two year old popped up and said, "That food is nasssssy (nasty) Mommy!" Unfortunately, he spoke the truth! My six year old patted my shoulder and said, "It's okay Mommy, we still think you cook other stuff good." Sheesh...
Tomorrow I will be posting on breakfast food instead of dinner, but I'll be back to freezer dinners by Friday! :)
Stay tuned and Happy Cooking!
With a little work, I'm sure this recipe would be delicious. The following should only be considered a "base" recipe. Fix it as you see fit!
Stuffed Bell Peppers
6 bell peppers (cut off the tops and remove the seeds)
1 lb hamburger meat
2 cups of rice
1 small onion
2 tsp oregano (I used dried)
2 tsp thyme (I used dried)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
small can of tomato paste (8 oz)
Cook the rice and meat. Dice the onion. Dice the tops of the peppers (cut around the stem). Mix all of the ingredients together and stuff the peppers. From here, you can wrap in aluminum foil and freeze in a Ziploc bag or you can cook them. For cooking- Cook the peppers on 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Check to see if they peppers are soft. If so, serve. If not, try cooking a little longer until the peppers are soft. If you freeze them, let them thaw overnight, and cook on low for 6 hours in a crock-pot OR try the oven option above.
It all started yesterday morning when I realized I forgot to pull out a freezer meal to thaw overnight. All of the meals are pretty much hands free, but you have to let them thaw overnight before putting them into the crock-pot or before cooking them in casserole dishes. Because of my forgetfulness, I had to cook whichever one I thought could withstand being thawed out the day of cooking. I knew I could bake the stuffed bell peppers rather than using the crock-pot, so I pulled them out of the freezer and threw them into the fridge before running out the door. I got back home several hours later and at 6PM I decided to put the peppers in the oven. I baked the peppers at 350 degrees and tested them after 30 minutes. They were warm, but I felt they could probably use a little more cook time. I shoved them back in the oven and baked them for another 20 minutes while I made mashed potatoes per the kids' requests.
The second time I checked them, they seemed done. The pepper "shell" seemed soft enough to cut and when I tried to test the stuffing with my finger it was too hot to touch. We cut the peppers up and got started. I ate the potatoes first so the look on my kids' faces was the first clue that something was wrong. They don't like a lot of the things I cook though so I wasn't very concerned with the fact that they both had their tongues stuck out and were whining. My husband, the man that ate those military issued bag meals for 13 months overseas and will eat anything, took a few bites and kind of made a face. He smiled politely and I knew he didn't care much for it either. I was curious now so I took a bite. I think I spit it out. It was AWFUL! There was no taste. It was like eating cardboard. To make it worse, the texture was horrible.
I gave it a few seconds and pushed my plate away. I declared a fast food night and the entire room breathed a very audible sigh of relief. My two year old popped up and said, "That food is nasssssy (nasty) Mommy!" Unfortunately, he spoke the truth! My six year old patted my shoulder and said, "It's okay Mommy, we still think you cook other stuff good." Sheesh...
Tomorrow I will be posting on breakfast food instead of dinner, but I'll be back to freezer dinners by Friday! :)
Stay tuned and Happy Cooking!
With a little work, I'm sure this recipe would be delicious. The following should only be considered a "base" recipe. Fix it as you see fit!
Stuffed Bell Peppers
6 bell peppers (cut off the tops and remove the seeds)
1 lb hamburger meat
2 cups of rice
1 small onion
2 tsp oregano (I used dried)
2 tsp thyme (I used dried)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
small can of tomato paste (8 oz)
Cook the rice and meat. Dice the onion. Dice the tops of the peppers (cut around the stem). Mix all of the ingredients together and stuff the peppers. From here, you can wrap in aluminum foil and freeze in a Ziploc bag or you can cook them. For cooking- Cook the peppers on 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Check to see if they peppers are soft. If so, serve. If not, try cooking a little longer until the peppers are soft. If you freeze them, let them thaw overnight, and cook on low for 6 hours in a crock-pot OR try the oven option above.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
It's beef...I promise!
Last night we had our first freezer meal from the shopping trip and the weekend from Hades that it took to prepare it all. It was so nice to let something thaw overnight and the next morning just throw it into the crock-pot and let it cook all day. The hardest thing I did was prepare rice and steam a few cups of sweet green peas for a side. I also made drop biscuits on the side. Actually, I just measured the ingredients and my six year old made drop biscuits. Not surprisingly, her biscuits were much prettier than mine and she managed to make 12 large biscuits from a recipe that claimed to only make nine. My child obviously has cooking skills! (She DID NOT get that from me!)
This recipe was called Pork & Veggies and I got it from a website for freezer cooking. I included the link with the recipe below. This is one of the several websites I used and I LOVE some of the website owner's recipes. I altered this one a bit to match our tastes, but I can't go without giving credit where it is due!
I honestly was expecting this one to turn out with a soup type consistency. I'm not sure why I assumed this as there is not much liquid in it to begin with. The consistency reminded me of a stir-fry once it was finished. When paired with the rice, it pretty much resembles a stir-fry in consistency. The taste is not like a stir-fry, but it is very good.
I thought this was going to be an absolute "Family Favorite", but my kids proved me wrong. Here is a sample of last night's dinner conversation:
Andrea: Mommy, was is this?
Me: It's beef.
Andrea: It doesn't look like beef! (frowns disapprovingly and pokes her food with a fork)
Jake: It's CHICKEN! (He's two so everything is chicken for him!)
Andrea: It's not good. I'm not hungry. It's something nasty.
Me: It's beef! I promise!
Andrea finally tried her food about thirty minutes later and said it was okay. The kids did, however, eat their rice. I guess starch rules supreme in our house! Even though the kids disapproved, Russ and I really enjoyed the meal and he took leftovers today for work. I even split this recipe into two separate freezer bags and had leftovers from just one bag so I was pleasantly surprised. I'm very happy we get to try this recipe again over the next month. I'm sure my kids will be thrilled as well!
In the recipe below, I will write the original recipe ingredients I left out in parentheses. That way, if you want the stuff we took out included, you will have the instructions for it! Also, I'm fully aware the recipe says pork roast below. I accidently grabbed a rump roast at the store so that's the reason for the mix-up!
Happy cooking!
Pork & Veggies
(from http://www.lovingmynest.com/learning-activities/cooking/freezer-crock-pot-recipes/)
1 lb Pork Roast, cut into 1/2 inch strips
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, slicked
4 carrots, sliced
(1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced)
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1.5 T apple cider vinegar
1 t salt
2 t Worcestershire Sauce
Combine ingredients in a large zip top bag, freeze. Thaw contents of bag and place in a slow cooker. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Serve over hot rice. Serves approximately 5-6 people.
This recipe was called Pork & Veggies and I got it from a website for freezer cooking. I included the link with the recipe below. This is one of the several websites I used and I LOVE some of the website owner's recipes. I altered this one a bit to match our tastes, but I can't go without giving credit where it is due!
I honestly was expecting this one to turn out with a soup type consistency. I'm not sure why I assumed this as there is not much liquid in it to begin with. The consistency reminded me of a stir-fry once it was finished. When paired with the rice, it pretty much resembles a stir-fry in consistency. The taste is not like a stir-fry, but it is very good.
I thought this was going to be an absolute "Family Favorite", but my kids proved me wrong. Here is a sample of last night's dinner conversation:
Andrea: Mommy, was is this?
Me: It's beef.
Andrea: It doesn't look like beef! (frowns disapprovingly and pokes her food with a fork)
Jake: It's CHICKEN! (He's two so everything is chicken for him!)
Andrea: It's not good. I'm not hungry. It's something nasty.
Me: It's beef! I promise!
Andrea finally tried her food about thirty minutes later and said it was okay. The kids did, however, eat their rice. I guess starch rules supreme in our house! Even though the kids disapproved, Russ and I really enjoyed the meal and he took leftovers today for work. I even split this recipe into two separate freezer bags and had leftovers from just one bag so I was pleasantly surprised. I'm very happy we get to try this recipe again over the next month. I'm sure my kids will be thrilled as well!
In the recipe below, I will write the original recipe ingredients I left out in parentheses. That way, if you want the stuff we took out included, you will have the instructions for it! Also, I'm fully aware the recipe says pork roast below. I accidently grabbed a rump roast at the store so that's the reason for the mix-up!
Happy cooking!
Pork & Veggies
(from http://www.lovingmynest.com/learning-activities/cooking/freezer-crock-pot-recipes/)
1 lb Pork Roast, cut into 1/2 inch strips
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, slicked
4 carrots, sliced
(1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced)
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1.5 T apple cider vinegar
1 t salt
2 t Worcestershire Sauce
Combine ingredients in a large zip top bag, freeze. Thaw contents of bag and place in a slow cooker. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Serve over hot rice. Serves approximately 5-6 people.
Grated fingernail, anyone?
If you read the title then you can probably guess I am back to my old ways of putting myself in danger in the kitchen. I finally got around to making the homemade pizza this weekend. My husband had the kids occupied so I grabbed the premade store dough, the pizza sauce and the pepperoni out of the pantry. It was all premade so the most "homemade" thing about it was that I slapped it all together and stuck it in the oven. I know we can all agree that sometimes even something that simple can be a challenge for me! I spread the sauce on and reached for the cheese. It was then that I realized I forgot to get it out and went searching in the fridge. I found it in block form. One part of me is thinking," Yes! I get to use my cheese grater and sound awesome on my blog!" The other part is thinking, "You idiot. You should have gotten the bag when you were at Publix and Russ kept telling you that you would regret it when you realized you bought a block." I really dislike when he is right.
I grabbed my poor, neglected grater and got to work. It took about 30 seconds before I realized I could grate my fingernail. *Note: Before you start gagging, none of the fingernail grating intermixed with the cheese. I'm positive! I would never feed that to my family or myself if I thought it had!* I am keenly aware that I have grated about a quarter of this block and I've already messed up one of my nails. For some reason this thoroughly aggravates me and I immediately progress to grating faster. What in the world was I thinking? I guess by grating faster I figured I could get done faster. Nope, not even close. I had to stop every few seconds to make sure I still had a nail. I did however manage to destroy two other nails. I finally finished the pizza and threw it into the oven. I wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but I still had to deal with chopping and dicing vegetables.
I started rummaging in the fridge for a salad to go with this medium sized pizza. I found lettuce, onion, tomato, bell pepper tops (freezer cooking scraps), half of a yellow bell pepper, broccoli, carrots and cheese. I opted out of the cheese and onion and started washing everything else. Russ waltzes into the kitchen and asks if I need help. I am wielding a very sharp knife at this point and wrestling a carrot. I start cutting it and the knife slips. He gasps really loudly. I stopped and looked at him and he says, "Um, I'm not in the mood to go to the E.R. so could you be a little more careful?" He ended up gasping two or three more times before he was shooed from the kitchen. Yes, I tend to be close to cutting off a finger, but I don't need an audience for it. I managed to finally get the salad and pizza ready and everyone settled down for supper. Five minutes into a nice dinner someone asks for ranch dressing and the room fell apart. Evidently we are out of that type of dressing. My kids protested and acted like salad was something I pulled from the garbage can. I guess I should have put ketchup on top of it. Anything covered in ketchup or ranch gets eaten!
Sunday was Father's Day and we celebrated by grilling out. My husband loves to grill sirloin so I splurged and bought some on freezer shopping day. I made a potato and onion bake and some BBQ toast to go along with our sirloins. It was a pleasant dinner (mostly because Russ handled all the grilling- if you want more on this story, go to the post Day 6- Queen of the Grill in 2011).
I will include the recipe for potato and onion bake below. We had our first freezer meal tonight and I'll update more about it tomorrow!
Happy Belated Father's Day and Happy Cooking!
Potato and Onion Bake
(There is an oven OR grill option)
1 bag of red potatoes (you will not use the entire bag)- I've used regular potatoes also. Very good either way.
2-3 onions
olive oil
Lawry's seasoning salt
pepper
shredded Parmesan cheese
Cut the potatoes in quarters. Cut the onions into small strips. Toss the potatoes and onions in oil, seasoning, and pepper. Proceed to oven or grill instructions.
Oven- Preheat to 350-375 degrees. Pour potatoes and onions into small casserole dish. Cover with foil. Cook until the potato and onions are tender (about 20 minutes). Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top when done. Let cheese melt and serve.
Grill- Wrap potatoes and onions in foil pouches (Tip-divide the potatoes and onions up into serving sizes and make one foil pouch per guest.) Cook on the grill until the potatoes and onions are tender. (15-20 minutes) Sprinkle cheese on top and allow to melt before serving.
**The cook time depends on the size of the potato slices!
I grabbed my poor, neglected grater and got to work. It took about 30 seconds before I realized I could grate my fingernail. *Note: Before you start gagging, none of the fingernail grating intermixed with the cheese. I'm positive! I would never feed that to my family or myself if I thought it had!* I am keenly aware that I have grated about a quarter of this block and I've already messed up one of my nails. For some reason this thoroughly aggravates me and I immediately progress to grating faster. What in the world was I thinking? I guess by grating faster I figured I could get done faster. Nope, not even close. I had to stop every few seconds to make sure I still had a nail. I did however manage to destroy two other nails. I finally finished the pizza and threw it into the oven. I wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but I still had to deal with chopping and dicing vegetables.
I started rummaging in the fridge for a salad to go with this medium sized pizza. I found lettuce, onion, tomato, bell pepper tops (freezer cooking scraps), half of a yellow bell pepper, broccoli, carrots and cheese. I opted out of the cheese and onion and started washing everything else. Russ waltzes into the kitchen and asks if I need help. I am wielding a very sharp knife at this point and wrestling a carrot. I start cutting it and the knife slips. He gasps really loudly. I stopped and looked at him and he says, "Um, I'm not in the mood to go to the E.R. so could you be a little more careful?" He ended up gasping two or three more times before he was shooed from the kitchen. Yes, I tend to be close to cutting off a finger, but I don't need an audience for it. I managed to finally get the salad and pizza ready and everyone settled down for supper. Five minutes into a nice dinner someone asks for ranch dressing and the room fell apart. Evidently we are out of that type of dressing. My kids protested and acted like salad was something I pulled from the garbage can. I guess I should have put ketchup on top of it. Anything covered in ketchup or ranch gets eaten!
Sunday was Father's Day and we celebrated by grilling out. My husband loves to grill sirloin so I splurged and bought some on freezer shopping day. I made a potato and onion bake and some BBQ toast to go along with our sirloins. It was a pleasant dinner (mostly because Russ handled all the grilling- if you want more on this story, go to the post Day 6- Queen of the Grill in 2011).
I will include the recipe for potato and onion bake below. We had our first freezer meal tonight and I'll update more about it tomorrow!
Happy Belated Father's Day and Happy Cooking!
Potato and Onion Bake
(There is an oven OR grill option)
1 bag of red potatoes (you will not use the entire bag)- I've used regular potatoes also. Very good either way.
2-3 onions
olive oil
Lawry's seasoning salt
pepper
shredded Parmesan cheese
Cut the potatoes in quarters. Cut the onions into small strips. Toss the potatoes and onions in oil, seasoning, and pepper. Proceed to oven or grill instructions.
Oven- Preheat to 350-375 degrees. Pour potatoes and onions into small casserole dish. Cover with foil. Cook until the potato and onions are tender (about 20 minutes). Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top when done. Let cheese melt and serve.
Grill- Wrap potatoes and onions in foil pouches (Tip-divide the potatoes and onions up into serving sizes and make one foil pouch per guest.) Cook on the grill until the potatoes and onions are tender. (15-20 minutes) Sprinkle cheese on top and allow to melt before serving.
**The cook time depends on the size of the potato slices!
Friday, June 14, 2013
Frozen Cookies....Not so much
Last night my husband pulled a fast one and wanted fast food. I argued about it for a few minutes until he finally admitted he just wanted something unhealthy and didn't want me to spend time in the kitchen. I would have fought it, but I was half asleep yesterday from lack of sleep the night before so I complied. So, tonight we will be having salad and a homemade pizza. I don't make my own dough yet, but that is a task I plan on trying in the near future. I'm mainly looking forward to my children taking on the task of spreading the sauce, cheese and pepperoni. It should be interesting considering they cannot sit at the kitchen table without whining about how the other is staring, how the other is being annoying, etc., etc.
I figured I would let y'all in on the fact that I had a major chocolate craving two days ago and decided it was imperative that I make chocolate chip cookies. After I picked up the chocolate chips at Walmart, I got home and put the kids to bed since it was bedtime. I still had several things to do around the house and I finally got around to making the cookies around midnight. (I am a hopeless insomniac.) Russ, my husband (for all my new readers), was somehow still awake and wandered into the kitchen as I was finishing the cookie dough. After having to promise the bowl, the spatula, and the beaters as soon as I was done with them, I finally started to put the cookies on the cookie sheet. It was at that point that I got the fantastic idea to make frozen cookie dough. I put about ten cookies in the oven to bake (I still had a craving to take care of) and I grabbed another cookie sheet and started putting little dough balls in lines. I put them very close together since I was just going to freeze them and then pull them off of the sheet and put them into a bag or a Tupperware container. I ran out of room on the cookie sheet before I ran out of dough so I stuck the cookie sheet in our deep freezer. I realized I didn't have room to put anything else inside the freezer without it being on top of the dough covered cookie sheet. I grabbed a plate from my cabinet and made the last 10 or so dough balls and put them in the freezer connected to my fridge. I finished up the cookies in the oven, had one to fix my craving, and cleaned a little and headed for bed.
When I got up yesterday morning I immediately remembered I had stuck the dough in the freezer. I had intentions to take the dough off of the cookie sheet and plate before I left the house for the day. Well, the cookies had other plans. This was supposed to be an easy task. Most things I try in the kitchen are supposed to be easy and rarely are so I shouldn't be surprised, but alas, I always am. I tried the dough on the sheet first. I grabbed a ball and pulled up and the cookie sheet came with the dough ball. I wiggled the dough ball a little and it came off as the cookie sheet fell on the table. Not only that, but I lost some of the cookie to the pan. Hmm. My thought was, "That one was stubborn. I'm sure it's just a fluke." Then it happened again, and again. I was getting a little frustrated at this point and decided to try the dough balls on the plate. Once again, I had the same stickiness problem! The dough was so sticky (and pretty much not completely frozen) that I just tossed them into a container and separated each row of cookie dough balls with a piece of wax paper. I had no idea what else to do so this would have to work. I wonder if it was the type of cookies I made or if it had something to do with me not spraying the pan prior to freezing. Either way, if you have a tip, please feel free to share in the comments below.
By the way, I always love seeing new subscribers so please subscribe and you will be notified whenever I post. There should be a button on the right side of your screen. :)
Chocolate Chip Cookies:
The recipe I used was on the back of the Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chips bag. Although it doesn't freeze very well, the cookies I baked were fantastic!
Happy Cooking!
*I haven't decided whether or not to write on the weekend. I will either update tomorrow or wait until Monday.*
I figured I would let y'all in on the fact that I had a major chocolate craving two days ago and decided it was imperative that I make chocolate chip cookies. After I picked up the chocolate chips at Walmart, I got home and put the kids to bed since it was bedtime. I still had several things to do around the house and I finally got around to making the cookies around midnight. (I am a hopeless insomniac.) Russ, my husband (for all my new readers), was somehow still awake and wandered into the kitchen as I was finishing the cookie dough. After having to promise the bowl, the spatula, and the beaters as soon as I was done with them, I finally started to put the cookies on the cookie sheet. It was at that point that I got the fantastic idea to make frozen cookie dough. I put about ten cookies in the oven to bake (I still had a craving to take care of) and I grabbed another cookie sheet and started putting little dough balls in lines. I put them very close together since I was just going to freeze them and then pull them off of the sheet and put them into a bag or a Tupperware container. I ran out of room on the cookie sheet before I ran out of dough so I stuck the cookie sheet in our deep freezer. I realized I didn't have room to put anything else inside the freezer without it being on top of the dough covered cookie sheet. I grabbed a plate from my cabinet and made the last 10 or so dough balls and put them in the freezer connected to my fridge. I finished up the cookies in the oven, had one to fix my craving, and cleaned a little and headed for bed.
When I got up yesterday morning I immediately remembered I had stuck the dough in the freezer. I had intentions to take the dough off of the cookie sheet and plate before I left the house for the day. Well, the cookies had other plans. This was supposed to be an easy task. Most things I try in the kitchen are supposed to be easy and rarely are so I shouldn't be surprised, but alas, I always am. I tried the dough on the sheet first. I grabbed a ball and pulled up and the cookie sheet came with the dough ball. I wiggled the dough ball a little and it came off as the cookie sheet fell on the table. Not only that, but I lost some of the cookie to the pan. Hmm. My thought was, "That one was stubborn. I'm sure it's just a fluke." Then it happened again, and again. I was getting a little frustrated at this point and decided to try the dough balls on the plate. Once again, I had the same stickiness problem! The dough was so sticky (and pretty much not completely frozen) that I just tossed them into a container and separated each row of cookie dough balls with a piece of wax paper. I had no idea what else to do so this would have to work. I wonder if it was the type of cookies I made or if it had something to do with me not spraying the pan prior to freezing. Either way, if you have a tip, please feel free to share in the comments below.
By the way, I always love seeing new subscribers so please subscribe and you will be notified whenever I post. There should be a button on the right side of your screen. :)
Chocolate Chip Cookies:
The recipe I used was on the back of the Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chips bag. Although it doesn't freeze very well, the cookies I baked were fantastic!
Happy Cooking!
*I haven't decided whether or not to write on the weekend. I will either update tomorrow or wait until Monday.*
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Waste not...
One of the biggest factors I had for doing this freezer meal project was that I did not want anything to go to waste. I used the tops I cut-off of the stuffed bell peppers for other recipes and other little things such as that. I split meals that should have made one bag into two just to assure that we didn't have any leftovers in the future that may go to waste. Last night, I used some of the roast from Tuesday night to make stuffed baked potatoes.
When I've made crock-pot roast in the past, I noticed that we always had a lot of veggies and roast left over. I started cutting off about a quarter of the roast before anyone served their plate, putting it into a Tupperware container, and sticking it into the fridge. After everyone eats, I store the extra vegetables in a Tupperware container in the fridge as well (these are added to another meal as a side or eaten as a lunch).
I noticed on a visit to Publix that they have some massive potatoes sold by the pound in the produce section. I buy three (I split one of the potatoes between my six year old and my two year old). I have found that these cook pretty well on 425 degrees for two hours. As the potatoes are cooking, I take the refrigerated roast and tear it into strips and heat barbecue sauce on the stove. I put all the roast strips into the pot with the sauce and adjust the barbecue sauce to our liking (you can start with a small amount and then increase if you like more). Be careful not to burn the barbecue sauce. Once it gets warm enough, turn it to simmer!
Once the potatoes are done, I slice them open and use a spoon to kind of "gut" the insides. I don't take out any of the potato, I just move the "inside" around a bit so the butter and other toppings spread better. We like simple potatoes so I just put on a little salt & pepper, butter and then a big spoonful of BBQ roast. Occasionally someone will add cheddar cheese to their potato as well so I leave it on the table as an option. One large potato with a piece of bread will feed my husband, whom has a large-appetite, no problem. Last night I made macaroni-and-cheese as a side to make sure my kids got enough food and I also made cornbread so we could have bread. I guess I could have made the meal a little less starchy. Oh well...
Sorry there wasn't much funny stuff tonight. Last night was kind of slow. I spent more time watching and listening to my kids play than cooking.
As for tonight, I know we are having a salad and that's as far as I've gotten. It's currently 6:22 PM so I guess I need to start raiding my kitchen since dinner should be ready in about 8 minutes. I have a feeling tomorrow's post will be an interesting one!
Happy cooking!
Oh yeah. I forgot to update everyone on how many freezer meals I made! I made 29! I also used the groceries purchased for an extra 4 meals that didn't make it to the freezer so I had a total of 33 meals. I somehow lost my Sam's Club receipt and will update this if I ever find it, but I spent roughly $320 on dinner items between Sam's Club and Publix. We were out of everything except spices and a huge bag of Vidalia onions so this is the total of pretty much everything I needed! So, $320/33= $9.69 per meal. That equals about $2.42 a person. I am pretty happy with that figure. Our food bill was around $450 a month so I'm slowing bringing it down! As an added bonus, I found 9 bags of meat that were frozen and forgotten so I am all set for the next 38 days! Woo hoo!
*I'm pretty sure the cost at Sam's was lower, but I can't remember all the side things I bought. I hope to find the receipt soon!
When I've made crock-pot roast in the past, I noticed that we always had a lot of veggies and roast left over. I started cutting off about a quarter of the roast before anyone served their plate, putting it into a Tupperware container, and sticking it into the fridge. After everyone eats, I store the extra vegetables in a Tupperware container in the fridge as well (these are added to another meal as a side or eaten as a lunch).
I noticed on a visit to Publix that they have some massive potatoes sold by the pound in the produce section. I buy three (I split one of the potatoes between my six year old and my two year old). I have found that these cook pretty well on 425 degrees for two hours. As the potatoes are cooking, I take the refrigerated roast and tear it into strips and heat barbecue sauce on the stove. I put all the roast strips into the pot with the sauce and adjust the barbecue sauce to our liking (you can start with a small amount and then increase if you like more). Be careful not to burn the barbecue sauce. Once it gets warm enough, turn it to simmer!
Once the potatoes are done, I slice them open and use a spoon to kind of "gut" the insides. I don't take out any of the potato, I just move the "inside" around a bit so the butter and other toppings spread better. We like simple potatoes so I just put on a little salt & pepper, butter and then a big spoonful of BBQ roast. Occasionally someone will add cheddar cheese to their potato as well so I leave it on the table as an option. One large potato with a piece of bread will feed my husband, whom has a large-appetite, no problem. Last night I made macaroni-and-cheese as a side to make sure my kids got enough food and I also made cornbread so we could have bread. I guess I could have made the meal a little less starchy. Oh well...
Sorry there wasn't much funny stuff tonight. Last night was kind of slow. I spent more time watching and listening to my kids play than cooking.
As for tonight, I know we are having a salad and that's as far as I've gotten. It's currently 6:22 PM so I guess I need to start raiding my kitchen since dinner should be ready in about 8 minutes. I have a feeling tomorrow's post will be an interesting one!
Happy cooking!
Oh yeah. I forgot to update everyone on how many freezer meals I made! I made 29! I also used the groceries purchased for an extra 4 meals that didn't make it to the freezer so I had a total of 33 meals. I somehow lost my Sam's Club receipt and will update this if I ever find it, but I spent roughly $320 on dinner items between Sam's Club and Publix. We were out of everything except spices and a huge bag of Vidalia onions so this is the total of pretty much everything I needed! So, $320/33= $9.69 per meal. That equals about $2.42 a person. I am pretty happy with that figure. Our food bill was around $450 a month so I'm slowing bringing it down! As an added bonus, I found 9 bags of meat that were frozen and forgotten so I am all set for the next 38 days! Woo hoo!
*I'm pretty sure the cost at Sam's was lower, but I can't remember all the side things I bought. I hope to find the receipt soon!
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Spaghetti & Roast
Don't be scared of the title. I didn't have Spaghetti and Roast together. I just couldn't think of a catchy title so I was straightforward! I'm going to start up on recipes again and a review of all of the freezer meals. We have yet to begin the freezer meals so I'm just going to talk about my nightly cooking right now.
Sunday night I was busy with the freezer meals. I was on day two and a prisoner in my own kitchen. I felt like I was trying to claw my way out of a hole. I severely underestimated how disorganized I was with the freezer meals. I'm usually a stickler for being organized! Either way, I had to try and get all of the meat into the freezer, but I just couldn't seem to be gaining any ground. Around 6 PM or so I got frustrated and needed a break from cooking and freezing. I decided cooking and eating would be a good idea. My family thought so too since they had been smelling random food I was cooking all day and then getting their hands slapped when they tried to eat any of it. I grabbed a little of the raw ground beef from my "going to the freezer" stash and boiled some noodles. I had grabbed two baguettes at Sam's Club because they were pretty cheap and bread is a staple in this house. (Also, I use it as bribery for my kids. If they eat their food, they get bread. I'm not afraid to admit that one bit!) I took one of the baguettes out of the bag, sliced it vertically and then again horizontally so that I had four (very large) pieces of bread. I lightly buttered them and threw them in the oven. I was too exhausted to bother with making a salad. I used the Baine sauce (I posted the recipe in a "spaghetti" blog earlier this year) and it was a hit. I'm not really surprised that the spaghetti nights go over so well. They usually do anyway. Normally I make a ton of food and we have leftovers, but I realized the leftovers were regularly going to waste so I have drastically cut down on how much I cook each night.
Yesterday around noon I remembered I had a roast in the fridge to cook. I was in a much better mood because I didn't have any freezer cooking left. I still need to do all the baking, but I figure that will be my goal for this weekend. I wouldn't mind having my husband here to keep the kids occupied while I'm trying to measure, sift, bake, etc. Anyhow, I got the crock-pot prepped and pulled out my trusty Better Homes & Gardens cookbook and got started. I decided while shopping Sunday evening that I was not going to purchase any pre-cut vegetables because I was trying to cut cost as much as possible. This was going to severely alter my prep time, but I wasn't too worried as I had plenty of time before the roast absolutely had to be started. If you've read this blog in the past, you realize that I have a hatred for prep times. They're completely unreasonable! Anyway, I got to work washing the potatoes, celery, and carrots and peeling the top few layers off the onion. I went to dry off my celery because chopping a wet vegetable with a very sharp object with wet hands is just asking for trouble. Problem number 1: I have no paper towels left after my freezer frenzy on Sunday. Crap! Then I remember I just restocked the drawer in the kitchen with hand towels. Crisis diverted! I dried everything off and reached for the cutting board, my knife and my peeler. Problems number 2, 3, and 4: They were all in the sink or dishwasher and were also victims to my freezer frenzy. Oh and who forgot to start the dishwasher the day before? This girl... Figures. I decide to search for my paring knife that disappeared over a year ago. I've looked for this thing countless times and blamed my husband every time for losing it. By the grace of God, that sucker popped up in the same place I always look. I grabbed it and started peeling. (Which by the way, the only thing I could think the whole time was how I was going to explain to Russ how I found the knife and tell him he was right...) It took forever to peel and chop all the veggies, but I eventually got all of them and the roast and the "sauce" recipe started. For some reason I decided to put an extra 1/4 cup of water into the crock pot. I have never done this before, but I've thought about it many times in the past. After last night, I will forever use that extra water. The roast was the most tender it has ever been. Russ and the kids raved about it and gobbled it up. I also made enough vegetables that I didn't need a side dish. Russ baked the second baguette the same way as I did Sunday night and we all had plenty to eat.
Tonight we are having BBQ stuffed baked potatoes. I will post more about it tomorrow.
Happy Cooking!
I want to stress that the following recipe came from the 14th Edition of the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. I don't know how all the copyright type stuff works with recipes, but I'm going to be careful about it either way.
Beef Pot Roast
1-2 1/2 to 3 lb boneless beef chuck pot roast
4 medium baking potatoes (or sweet potatoes) OR 1 lb tiny new potatoes
1 lb carrots or 6 mdm parsnips, peeled and cut into 2 in pieces
2 small onions, cut into wedges (I just always use one medium to large sized one)
2 stalks celery, bias-sliced into 1 inch pieces
3/4 cup of water (I personally used 1 Cup and noticed a big difference in the tenderness of the roast)
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 t instant beef bouillon granules
1 t dried, crushed basil
1/2 t salt
Trim fat from meat. Place vegetables in a 4 1/2 or 5-quart slow cooker. Cut meat to fit, if necessary; place on top of vegetables. Combine the water, Worcestershire sauce, bouillon granules, basil and salt. Add to cooker. Cover and cook on low-heat setting 9-11 hours or on high-heat setting for 4.5-5.5 hours. Serve. (There are also oven directions and a gravy, but the recipe above is the way my family likes it.)
Sunday night I was busy with the freezer meals. I was on day two and a prisoner in my own kitchen. I felt like I was trying to claw my way out of a hole. I severely underestimated how disorganized I was with the freezer meals. I'm usually a stickler for being organized! Either way, I had to try and get all of the meat into the freezer, but I just couldn't seem to be gaining any ground. Around 6 PM or so I got frustrated and needed a break from cooking and freezing. I decided cooking and eating would be a good idea. My family thought so too since they had been smelling random food I was cooking all day and then getting their hands slapped when they tried to eat any of it. I grabbed a little of the raw ground beef from my "going to the freezer" stash and boiled some noodles. I had grabbed two baguettes at Sam's Club because they were pretty cheap and bread is a staple in this house. (Also, I use it as bribery for my kids. If they eat their food, they get bread. I'm not afraid to admit that one bit!) I took one of the baguettes out of the bag, sliced it vertically and then again horizontally so that I had four (very large) pieces of bread. I lightly buttered them and threw them in the oven. I was too exhausted to bother with making a salad. I used the Baine sauce (I posted the recipe in a "spaghetti" blog earlier this year) and it was a hit. I'm not really surprised that the spaghetti nights go over so well. They usually do anyway. Normally I make a ton of food and we have leftovers, but I realized the leftovers were regularly going to waste so I have drastically cut down on how much I cook each night.
Yesterday around noon I remembered I had a roast in the fridge to cook. I was in a much better mood because I didn't have any freezer cooking left. I still need to do all the baking, but I figure that will be my goal for this weekend. I wouldn't mind having my husband here to keep the kids occupied while I'm trying to measure, sift, bake, etc. Anyhow, I got the crock-pot prepped and pulled out my trusty Better Homes & Gardens cookbook and got started. I decided while shopping Sunday evening that I was not going to purchase any pre-cut vegetables because I was trying to cut cost as much as possible. This was going to severely alter my prep time, but I wasn't too worried as I had plenty of time before the roast absolutely had to be started. If you've read this blog in the past, you realize that I have a hatred for prep times. They're completely unreasonable! Anyway, I got to work washing the potatoes, celery, and carrots and peeling the top few layers off the onion. I went to dry off my celery because chopping a wet vegetable with a very sharp object with wet hands is just asking for trouble. Problem number 1: I have no paper towels left after my freezer frenzy on Sunday. Crap! Then I remember I just restocked the drawer in the kitchen with hand towels. Crisis diverted! I dried everything off and reached for the cutting board, my knife and my peeler. Problems number 2, 3, and 4: They were all in the sink or dishwasher and were also victims to my freezer frenzy. Oh and who forgot to start the dishwasher the day before? This girl... Figures. I decide to search for my paring knife that disappeared over a year ago. I've looked for this thing countless times and blamed my husband every time for losing it. By the grace of God, that sucker popped up in the same place I always look. I grabbed it and started peeling. (Which by the way, the only thing I could think the whole time was how I was going to explain to Russ how I found the knife and tell him he was right...) It took forever to peel and chop all the veggies, but I eventually got all of them and the roast and the "sauce" recipe started. For some reason I decided to put an extra 1/4 cup of water into the crock pot. I have never done this before, but I've thought about it many times in the past. After last night, I will forever use that extra water. The roast was the most tender it has ever been. Russ and the kids raved about it and gobbled it up. I also made enough vegetables that I didn't need a side dish. Russ baked the second baguette the same way as I did Sunday night and we all had plenty to eat.
Tonight we are having BBQ stuffed baked potatoes. I will post more about it tomorrow.
Happy Cooking!
I want to stress that the following recipe came from the 14th Edition of the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. I don't know how all the copyright type stuff works with recipes, but I'm going to be careful about it either way.
Beef Pot Roast
1-2 1/2 to 3 lb boneless beef chuck pot roast
4 medium baking potatoes (or sweet potatoes) OR 1 lb tiny new potatoes
1 lb carrots or 6 mdm parsnips, peeled and cut into 2 in pieces
2 small onions, cut into wedges (I just always use one medium to large sized one)
2 stalks celery, bias-sliced into 1 inch pieces
3/4 cup of water (I personally used 1 Cup and noticed a big difference in the tenderness of the roast)
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 t instant beef bouillon granules
1 t dried, crushed basil
1/2 t salt
Trim fat from meat. Place vegetables in a 4 1/2 or 5-quart slow cooker. Cut meat to fit, if necessary; place on top of vegetables. Combine the water, Worcestershire sauce, bouillon granules, basil and salt. Add to cooker. Cover and cook on low-heat setting 9-11 hours or on high-heat setting for 4.5-5.5 hours. Serve. (There are also oven directions and a gravy, but the recipe above is the way my family likes it.)
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Freezer Frenzy
I did it. I hopped on the freezer bandwagon. This isn't my first attempt at buying meat in bulk and using my freezer. This is, however, my first time buying in bulk, turning the meat into something else, and then freezing it.
My first attempt was in March 2011. I thought I was a genius. I bought about $200 worth of meat from Sam's Club. I don't recall getting a very good deal on the meat, but I did get a lot so I was really excited. I went home and spent a good 3 or 4 hours labeling, sorting, etc. It was going pretty well until April 27, 2011. I live in North Alabama and my little town got hit hard by the tornado outbreak. I lost power to my house for five days. Luckily, I live close to my parents so we had a place to stay so the kids would be comfortable, but my meat did not survive. I probably lost $100+ worth of meat. We got reimbursed a little with FEMA, but it felt wrong to take money when so many lost their homes. We decided not to restock the freezer immediately.
I tried again in March 2013. (What is it with the March attempts?!) I didn't do so great this time. I spent a lot AGAIN, and then froze the meat divided up into bags of two or three pieces. I lost so many bags in the bottom of the freezer! When I began my new freezer attempt Sunday, I noticed there were about six bags in the base of the freezer ranging from stew meat to three lbs of bone-in porkchops! I will be using the bags I found first since they have been there three months. I was just shocked that I had let that many slip away!
Sunday I went shopping at Sam's again. I was ready this time. I researched recipes for weeks leading up to the shopping day. I went into Excel and made a preliminary list. I then went over the recipes and grouped items and figured out what I had and what I needed to purchase. I made a master list on Excel and called my sister-in-law to go shopping with me. (I may have a mission, but it's always fun to have someone come along.)
When I got to Sam's I started grabbing things not on the list first...BAD! I hate that store. Okay, not really, but it always gets me into trouble with the hubby. Chelsey (my SIL) and I headed to the produce and meat section. My cart filled up really fast and I found some great deals. Most notably, they had boneless, skinless chicken breasts for $1.88 a lb! Yay! I felt like I had won the lottery...or at least got a good deal! I headed home optimistic that I may actually be able to pull this off. (I will be posting the receipt, shopping list, and the amount of meals I was able to make in the next few days.)
I realized I did not have everything I needed and I had not even began purchasing the things I needed for the baking portion. I guess I should mention I had intentions of making dinner AND breakfast for the freezer. I'm still not positive this was a great idea. That is DEFINITELY a future blog topic though. Anyhow, I somehow convinced my husband to let me spend more money at Publix to finish up buying the products that I did not need in bulk and a few other odds and ends. I spent almost $200 more. EEK! I did get extremely lucky that I went so close to closing time. The butcher was pulling meat and putting sale stickers on the things expiring the next day. I didn't need anything except ground beef (Sam's was out!), but he asked me if I would like a few whole chickens. The chickens were about 3 lbs. a piece and I was about to decline until he told me that he would be marking them down to .34 cents a lb. I think I actually physically held my mouth open. I took home two of the chickens and stuck them in my fridge. I will just have to add roasted chicken to my menu this month!
It took me two days, but I finally finished all the dinners. I made casseroles, crock-pot meals, and things that were ready to be thrown into the oven straight from the freezer. I'm pretty excited about the prospects. I believe I have somewhere between 30-40 meals prepped. I plan on sitting down tonight or tomorrow and figuring up the cost per meal. I should have a definite number very soon. I will also share the website I got tips from and the recipes I used. Of course, there will be some humor along the way as I still have no idea what I'm doing.
Now, who wants to help me tackle baking breakfast meals?!
My first attempt was in March 2011. I thought I was a genius. I bought about $200 worth of meat from Sam's Club. I don't recall getting a very good deal on the meat, but I did get a lot so I was really excited. I went home and spent a good 3 or 4 hours labeling, sorting, etc. It was going pretty well until April 27, 2011. I live in North Alabama and my little town got hit hard by the tornado outbreak. I lost power to my house for five days. Luckily, I live close to my parents so we had a place to stay so the kids would be comfortable, but my meat did not survive. I probably lost $100+ worth of meat. We got reimbursed a little with FEMA, but it felt wrong to take money when so many lost their homes. We decided not to restock the freezer immediately.
I tried again in March 2013. (What is it with the March attempts?!) I didn't do so great this time. I spent a lot AGAIN, and then froze the meat divided up into bags of two or three pieces. I lost so many bags in the bottom of the freezer! When I began my new freezer attempt Sunday, I noticed there were about six bags in the base of the freezer ranging from stew meat to three lbs of bone-in porkchops! I will be using the bags I found first since they have been there three months. I was just shocked that I had let that many slip away!
Sunday I went shopping at Sam's again. I was ready this time. I researched recipes for weeks leading up to the shopping day. I went into Excel and made a preliminary list. I then went over the recipes and grouped items and figured out what I had and what I needed to purchase. I made a master list on Excel and called my sister-in-law to go shopping with me. (I may have a mission, but it's always fun to have someone come along.)
When I got to Sam's I started grabbing things not on the list first...BAD! I hate that store. Okay, not really, but it always gets me into trouble with the hubby. Chelsey (my SIL) and I headed to the produce and meat section. My cart filled up really fast and I found some great deals. Most notably, they had boneless, skinless chicken breasts for $1.88 a lb! Yay! I felt like I had won the lottery...or at least got a good deal! I headed home optimistic that I may actually be able to pull this off. (I will be posting the receipt, shopping list, and the amount of meals I was able to make in the next few days.)
I realized I did not have everything I needed and I had not even began purchasing the things I needed for the baking portion. I guess I should mention I had intentions of making dinner AND breakfast for the freezer. I'm still not positive this was a great idea. That is DEFINITELY a future blog topic though. Anyhow, I somehow convinced my husband to let me spend more money at Publix to finish up buying the products that I did not need in bulk and a few other odds and ends. I spent almost $200 more. EEK! I did get extremely lucky that I went so close to closing time. The butcher was pulling meat and putting sale stickers on the things expiring the next day. I didn't need anything except ground beef (Sam's was out!), but he asked me if I would like a few whole chickens. The chickens were about 3 lbs. a piece and I was about to decline until he told me that he would be marking them down to .34 cents a lb. I think I actually physically held my mouth open. I took home two of the chickens and stuck them in my fridge. I will just have to add roasted chicken to my menu this month!
It took me two days, but I finally finished all the dinners. I made casseroles, crock-pot meals, and things that were ready to be thrown into the oven straight from the freezer. I'm pretty excited about the prospects. I believe I have somewhere between 30-40 meals prepped. I plan on sitting down tonight or tomorrow and figuring up the cost per meal. I should have a definite number very soon. I will also share the website I got tips from and the recipes I used. Of course, there will be some humor along the way as I still have no idea what I'm doing.
Now, who wants to help me tackle baking breakfast meals?!
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