Laminating is Fun

Office supply nerds unite!

Some people get excited about things like comb binders, laminators, three-ring binders, and page protectors.

I'll admit it, I'm one of those people.

So, when my freezer cooking gals and I decided to compile some of our favorite recipes we've tried and make a series of menu plans complete with shopping lists, I got excited when Jenna brought the first installment in a three-ring binder.  Then we had the bright idea to LAMINATE them so they wouldn't get food on them and we could use them again!

We acted silly and laughed and laminated all the pages before we could even think about starting cooking.

Because we're just cool like that.

A Little Freezer Cooking

Summer has been so busy that we have had a difficult time coordinating our schedules to get together and cook meals for our freezers, but we're still trying when we can and I want to keep the recipes and ratings updated on my blog.  I have gone through all the past posts and updated ratings, so they should be complete up to this point.

In June, I was in charge of choosing the meals.  I used six of these Seven Kid-Friendly Freezer Meals.  The other two meals were repeats that we had loved.

Mozzarella-Stuffed Pesto Meatballs--4.5
Chicken Tacos
Chicken Noodle Soup
Cheesy Chicken Tater Tot Casserole 3.5
Easy Chicken Pot Pie--4
Cheesy Tortellini with Ground Beef
Breakfast Burritos--5
Ree's Sloppy Joes--5

Today we made the following meals (for only $57 per family, woot, woot!):

--Mozzarella-Stuffed Pesto Meatballs
--Easy Chicken Pot Pie
--(Modified) Cheesy Chicken Tator Tot Casserole
(Added 1/2 c. ranch dressing, 1 c. sour cream, and 1 can chicken with rice soup))
--Honey Dijon Pork Steak
--Baked Ravioli
--Breakfast Burritos
--Maple Dijon Glazed Chicken
--Pizza Pizzazz (makes nine servings)

Cook 8 oz. penne pasta
Combine 2 1/3 cups spaghetti sauce, one pound cooked sausage, 1 pkg. chopped canadian bacon, 1 jar mushrooms, chopped green pepper, chopped onion, 1/2 c. parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt, pepper, 1/8 t. crushed red pepper flakes. 
Mix with pasta, pour into pan, top with one more cup of spaghetti sauce.  Cover and bake 45 minutes at 350. Sprinkle with more mozz cheese, bake uncovered 10 min longer.

We've been doing this long enough that we are now working on compiling 4-5 master meal plans complete with eight recipes with 4 and 5 ratings and the shopping list for those eight meals in order to make planning easier.  I am excited for this project to be completed as it will save us all a lot of time and we'll know it's something we are going to like.

Two For One Freezer Cooking

I'm behind (again!  It's this season of life!) in posting our freezer cooking days, so now I'm going to post both March and April of 2015 together.  We didn't get together for freezer cooking in May (thankfully we are ALL busy, so we all understood), but hope to resume in June.

We've been playing around with a couple new practices.  For one thing, groceries seem so high, and meat is especially higher than it used to be, so we have been planning meals around meat sales.  Hamburger used to be a pretty inexpensive meat, but we're using more and more pork (when we catch a good sale) and chicken.  It's been a fun challenge to look at grocery ads, see what's on sale, and then find recipes that use those foods.  This has helped us keep our prices in that $60-70 range for eight meals.

We've also had some fun making a couple extra meals to give to friends who are expecting babies or would be blessed by an easy meal to have on hand.  It doesn't cost us a lot of extra money or work, but it's fun to be able to minister to others in this simple way.

Jamie's meal planning for March included:
Chicken Italiano--4
Cinnamon Apple Pork Chops. 2 (we won't be making these again--very weird texture)
Glazed Pork Chops--2
Alfredo Chicken--3
Taco Chicken--3.25
Cranberry Apple Pork Roast--3
Cafe Rio Chicken--4
Sausage and Egg Breakfast Burritos 4 (good, but we prefer a different recipe with pepper jack cheese instead of salsa)

Jenna did the meal planning in April.
Cheesy Chicken and Rice--3
Cheeseburger Soup for the Crockpot--3
Chicken and Dumplings--4
Homemade Lasagna--4
French Toast Casserole 4 (kids had this and gave it a 4)
Sloppy Joes 4.5 (so yummy!  If it wasn't such a pain to make, it would replace my go-to sloppy joe recipe, but mine is easier!)
Baked Ziti 4 (very good, better the first time than when we warmed up leftovers)
Ranch Chicken--3.75

I'm next on the list for the month of June.  We're planning to go camping for a week with church friends, so I'm trying to think of things that would make my week easier in a camper.  If anyone has any good ideas, feel free to share!

February Freezer Cooking

We have lots of women joining us for freezer cooking these days, and I'm loving it!  We have been consistently having six different families joining in, and we work together smoothly and always enjoy some talks and giggles after the work is finished.

I chose the recipes for February, but the only one we have eaten yet is the Philly Cheesesteaks (which we gave a 4 rating--yummy!).  I'll try to remember to come back and fill in the ratings later.

Crockpot Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches--4

Slow Cooker Shredded Pork Soft Tacos--3.3 (some gave as high as 5, others 3, depends on taste apparently)

Simple Cranberry Chicken--3.5

Chicken Tacos--4

Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken--4

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole--4

Chili--3

Slow Cooked Cheeseburger Casserole--3

I'm excited because I have 11 meals in my freezer and we will be getting together again this coming Saturday.  I may not cook at all this week!

January Cooking for Six Families

Jenna chose our meals for our January cooking experience.  We made up a LOT of food!  Not all of us have submitted our ratings yet, but at least one family has eaten each food, so I'll include the ratings thus far.

• Sunday Stew 4.5
• Manicotti 4.5
• Zesty Chicken 4
• Chicken Parmesan 4

Ingredients
chicken breasts (however many you want/need) olive oil (just one dollop) minced garlic (a smattering…a little more than a smattering if you really like garlic) red pepper flakes (leave these out if you don’t like any heat) marinara sauce (probably won’t need more than one jar unless you are a marinara fiend) Parmesan cheese mozzarella cheese (you will need twice as much mozzarella as Parmesan) croutons (we used Italian-seasoned) Bake 40 min at 350 add croutons and cook for 10 more minutes

• Chicken Tortilla Soup 3 (spicy)

Chicken Tortilla Soup
1 lb shredded chicken (I use a rotisserie chicken from the store and de-bone it into the bag.) 1 15 oz. can fire-roasted tomatoes 1 10 oz. can enchilada sauce 1 medium onion, chopped 1 4 oz can chopped green chile peppers (I used half a can because 5-year-old lips would be eating it.) 2 Tbs. minced garlic 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp chili powder 1 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper 1 bay leaf 10 oz corn (frozen or canned) Put it all in the bag. Freeze it. Cook in the crockpot on low for 6-8 hours. Serve with cilantro & tortilla chips.

• Crockpot Pizza Soup 3
• Chicken Enchiladas--(substituted chicken for the beef) 4
• Mexican Delight 4

Brown 1 lb. hamburger with 1 onion.  Add 1 can tomato paste, 1 large can tomato sauce, 3 paste cans of water, 2T. sugar, 2 cloves of minced garlic, 1 t. accent, 1 t. salt, 1 t. chili powder, 1 t. cumin seed and simmer for 40 minutes.  Add 1/2 c regular rice and 1 1/2 c. water.  Bring to boil and simmer until rice is cooked.
Thaw, heat, and serve over Fritos and add toppings for taco salad.

December Freezer Cooking

Jamie planned the meals and took care of our shopping for our monthly cooking day this time.  Here are the recipes she chose:

Slow Cookers Chili-3

Million Dollar Casserole-3

Taco Soup--3.75

Potato Soup 3.5

Parmesan Garlic Pizza Pasta-3

Crockpot Applesauce BBQ Chicken-4

Crock-pot Honey Garlic Chicken-3

French Chicken-4

Isn't that pile of food rewarding?!  I love these ladies, and love this time we have together!

November Freezer Cooking

While people rarely comment on my freezer cooking posts, they tend to have the highest views, so I'm assuming they're blessing someone out there. :)  Additionally, I like the record of what we made with the recipes, so I'm hoping to keep posting them.  We haven't eaten all of them yet, but I'm rating the ones we have eaten.  So far, so good!

Here is what we made in November:

• Freezer Meatloaf  4
• Easy Crockpot Chili 4
• Hearty Western Casserole 3.5
• Cheeseburger Soup 5 

• Texas Style Lasagna  4

Cook 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef.  Add 1 t. seasoning salt, taco seasoning, 1 can undrained diced tomatoes, 1 can tomato sauce, 1 can chopped green chilies.  Simmer 15-20 min.
In separate bowl, combine 2 c. cottage cheese and 2 eggs.
In 9X13, layer half the meat sauce, 6 torn tortillas, half the cottage cheese, and 2 cups Monteray Jack cheese.  Repeat layers.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

• Potato-Topped Chicken (makes two casseroles serving 6 each)--1.5

Cook 4 pounds red potatoes and make mashed potatoes with milk, butter, and cheddar cheese.  Set aside.
Cook 3 pounds of chicken with 4 chopped carrots and 2 chopped onions.  Shred chicken and drain.  Stir in 1/4 c. flour, 2 T. tomato paste, salt, pepper, 1/4 t. thyme and 1 1/4 c. chicken broth.  Bring to a boil, simmer for 6-8 min or until thickened.
Place half chicken mixture in each pan and top with half the mashed potatoes.
Bake 400 degrees for 15-20 min or until bubbly.

• Sausage Fettuccine Bake (makes two casseroles, serving 6 each) --3.5

Cook 1 1/2 pounds fettuccine.
Cook 2 lbs sausage with 2 chopped onions and 1 chopped green pepper.  Add 2 28-oz cans diced tomatoes, undrained, 2 cans mushrooms, and 4 t. Italian seasoning.  Simmer five minutes.  Add fettuccine.
Divide mixture between two pans.  Sprinkle each with 2 c. mozzarella cheese.  Mix 2 cans cream of mushroom soup with 1/2 c. beef broth and divide over the pans, then sprinkle with parmesan and more mozzarella if you want.  Bake 20 min at 350 covered, then uncover and bake 10 minutes longer.

• Pizza Pizzazz (makes nine servings) --4

Cook 8 oz. penne pasta
Combine 2 1/3 cups spaghetti sauce, one pound cooked sausage, 1 pkg. chopped canadian bacon, 1 jar mushrooms, chopped green pepper, chopped onion, 1/2 c. parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt, pepper, 1/8 t. crushed red pepper flakes.
Mix with pasta, pour into pan, top with one more cup of spaghetti sauce.  Cover and bake 45 minutes at 350.  Sprinkle with more mozz cheese, bake uncovered 10 min longer.

September Freezer Cooking

It was my turn to choose the meals in September.  My dear friend Jamie showed up with three huge glasses of caffeine.  Now that's a friend, folks!

I chose the following:

• Taco Lasagna rated 3

• Slow Cooker Chicken Cordon Bleu rated 5

• Chicken Enchiladas  (serves 12)  rated 5

Cook 4 large chicken breasts and cut into 24 strips.  Melt 1/4 c. butter in Dutch oven.  Add 2 c. chopped onion and 4 minced garlic cloves.  Saute until tender.  Add 2 16-oz cans diced tomatoes, 2 8-oz cans tomato sauce, 2 4-oz cans chopped green chiles, 2 t. sugar, 2 t. cumin, 1 t. salt, 1 t. oregano, 1 t. basil; mix well.  Bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer covered for 20 min.  Remove sauce from heat, dip each tortilla into the sauce, place 1 chicken strip and 2 T. Monterey Jack cheese in tortilla and roll.  Blend 1 1/2 c. sour cream into remaining sauce, pour over tortillas.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Bake, covered, at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until heated through.

• Minestrone rated 4

1 lb ground beef
1 lg onion, chopped
1 lg. potato, diced
1 c. carrot, sliced
1 c. celery, sliced
1 c. cabbage, shredded
3 1/2 c.canned tomatoes, undrained
1 crushed bay leaf
1/2 t. thyme
1/2 t. basil
2 1/2 t. salt
pepper to taste
1/4 c. regular rice
3 c. water
Brown meat and onion. Add other ingredients. Put in plastic bag and freeze if making freezer meal.Cover and simmer several hours or put in crock pot.

• Pizza Pasta Casserole--4

• Chicken Pot Pie (this one was a repeat and had a rating of 4.8)

Start with 4 c. of cubed, cooked chicken.  Combine with 4 c. frozen hashbrown potatoes, thawed, 1 pkg frozen mixed vegetables, 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup, 1 can condensed cream of onion soup, 1 c. milk, 1 c. sour cream, 2 T. flour, 1/2 t. salt, 1/2 t pepper, 1/4 t. garlic powder, 1-2 c. shredded cheddar cheese.  Divide between two 9-inch deep pie plates.  Roll out pastry (you can make it or buy refrigerated) and cover.  Cut slits in pastry, trim, seal and flute edges.  Thaw, bake at 425 for 30 min, reduce heat to 350, remove foil over edges, and bake 50-55 min or until golden brown.

• Hawaiian Chicken--2

• Crockpot Chicken Taco Soup--4

We always have a great time.

Freezer Cooking from March

I'm not going to be able to put all the recipes on my blog that we have tried, but since I chose these recipes, I can at least preserve them.  The bonus to my procrastination is that we have ratings for all of these!

• Baked Spaghetti--3

I was surprised at the low rating of this one as it usually gets rave reviews.  I got this recipe from my sister years ago, and I usually make it in two pans, eating one and freezing the other.
Saute 1 c. chopped onion and 1 c. green pepper in 1 T. margarine, add 1 can chopped tomatoes with liquid, 1 can mushrooms (drained), 2 t. oregano, and 1 lb. browned hamburger, simmer 10 minutes.  Place 4 oz. cooked spaghetti in 9X13 pan, top with half the mixture, 1 c. shredded Cheddar cheese, and repeat layers.  Mix 1 can cream of mushroom soup with 1/4 c. water and pour over casserole.  Sprinkle top with parmesan cheese.  Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees.

• Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza Casserole--4

In my opinion, this was delicious.  But I was a little embarrassed at how expensive it was!  I forget how much our family saves by raising our own chicken and bacon and making alfredo sauce from the cream and cheese made from fresh cow's milk, etc.

• Farmer's Breakfast Casserole--4

Layer in 9X13 pan 4 slices of bread cubed, 1 c. frozen hashbrowns, 3/4 c. diced ham, 1/3 c. green peppers, 1/3 c. chopped onion, 1/3 c. chopped tomatoes, 1/2 c. shredded Swiss cheese, 1/2 c. cheddar cheese.  Repeat these layers.  Then beat 6 eggs, 2 c. evaporated milk, 1/2 t. onion powder, 1 t. dry mustard, salt and pepper and pour over the pan.  Thaw and bake 35-40 minutes at 375 degrees.

• Meatballs--4

This was just my basic meatball recipe, nothing special.  I included a sheet of variations in ways to serve them.  We ate our with barbecue sauce on hoagie buns.
1 lb. hamburger, 1 egg, 1/4 c. chopped onin, 1 t. salt, 1/2-1 t. Worcestershire, pepper.  Mix and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

• Family Burrito Bake--4
• Wild Rice Chicken Dinner--3.5
• Honey Dijon Chicken--3
• Beef and Barley Soup--3.5

We really liked this one, but the other girls' ratings brought it down from our rating

Freezer Cooking Revisited

I am so far behind in every area of life, but my friends Jamie and Jenna have held me accountable (they come to my house! ha!) so our freezer cooking has continued.  My family likely would have starved these last few months had we not been doing this! :)

I had intended to post our recipes and ratings (scale is 1, never want again to 5, I could eat it again tomorrow) each month, but it looks like I haven't posted about freezer cooking since February!  Wow!  Instead of overwhelming myself with trying to catch up, today I'm just going to post the recipes Jamie chose in June.  Believe it or not, I still have a few of these hoarded away in my freezer, so I don't have ratings for all of them yet.  I'll try to remember to come back and update.

Creamy Ranch Pork Chops--3.5
Mix 1 can cream of chicken soup with 1 pkg. dry Ranch seasoning and 6 pork chops in a freezer bag.  Thaw and cook in crockpot 6 hrs on low or 4 hrs on high.  Serve over rice.

Garlic Honey Chicken  3.5
Mix 3 minced garlic cloves, 1/3 c. soy sauce, 2/3 c. ketchup, 1/4 c. honey with boneless skinless chicken breasts.  Slowcooker 3-4 hours on high or 5-6 hours on low.  Serve over mashed potatoes.  (Can double sauce if desired)

Slow Cooker Sticky Chicken 3.5
Put 4-5 chicken breasts in freezer bag.  Pour 1 c. bbq sauce, 1 c. apricot jam, 1 packet dry onion soup mix, and 2 T. water over chicken.  Mix together in bag and freeze.  To serve thaw and cook on low 6-8 hours.  Can serve over rice.

Creamy Ranch Chicken--4
Mix 1 can cream of chicken soup, 1 pkg. softened cream cheese, 1 pkg. dry ranch dressing mix, 1/4 c. water and 4 T. butter.  Pour over 4 chicken breasts in freezer bag.  To serve, thaw and slowcooker high 4 hours or low 6-8 hours.  Serve on angel hair pasta or rice.

Salsa Chicken--3.5
(makes two bags--divide evenly)
6-8 chicken breasts
2 15-oz cans of black beans
1 family size frozen bag corn
2 cans of diced tomatoes and green chiles
1 jar of salsa
1 packet of taco seasoning
Slowcooker on low for 8 hours.  Top with cheddar cheese after cooking.  Serve over rice or in tortillas.

Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole--3
Cook 1 (6.9 oz.) pkg. chicken flavored rice and vermicelli mix with chicken broth and herbs with 1 T. margarine and 2 1/4 c. hot water.  Meanwhile, saute 1 1/2 pounds of cubed chicken breasts, 1 c. sliced fresh mushrooms, 1/2 t. garlic powder.  Stir this into the rice and add 3/4 c. sour cream, 1/4 t. pepper, and 1 can cream of mushroom soup.  Pour into 9X13 pan and top with mixture of 1/4 c. crushed crackers, 1T. melted margarine, and 1/2 t. poppy seeds.  Thaw for 30 minutes then bake at 350 for 35 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Mexican Delight--4
Brown 1 lb. hamburger with 1 onion.  Add 1 can tomato paste, 1 large can tomato sauce, 3 paste cans of water, 2T. sugar, 2 cloves of minced garlic, 1 t. accent, 1 t. salt, 1 t. chili powder, 1 t. cumin seed and simmer for 40 minutes.  Add 1/2 c regular rice and 1 1/2 c. water.  Bring to boil and simmer until rice is cooked.
Thaw, heat, and serve over Fritos and add toppings for taco salad.

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham--3
Mix large bag of frozen potatoes, 2 cans of cream of potato soup, 2 cans of water, 2 ham steaks cubed, 8 oz. cheddar cheese, 4 c. broccoli, salt and pepper.  Slowcooker low for 8 hours.

If I get a few more minutes, I'll try to post more recipes we've tried (but I'm not making any promises!).  It would be nice to have them all recorded in one place.  Doing this has been a huge blessing.  Grab a couple friends and try it!

February Freezer Cooking

I got behind in posting about our freezer cooking experiences (funny how a baby coming sort of takes over a person's life, isn't it?), but I'm even more thankful to have these meals in my freezer as I think about Baby coming.

Jenna was in charge of choosing recipes and doing the shopping this last month.  I have to admit I have been hoarding these meals for closer to Baby-time, so I don't have many ratings yet.  She chose:

--Tex Mex Chicken Casserole--This one was a 3.  I think it would have been better with more spices and then tucked into a tortilla (remembering for next time)
--Pizza Casserole--3
--Chunky Beef Stew--3
--Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken--3.5
--Pepperoni Stromboli  Everyone gave this a 5.  We'll definitely have to make these again.
--Crockpot Shredded Chicken --3.3
--Chicken Enchiladas--The recipe called for beef, but we used chicken and these were very good!  We rated them 4.5 (on a 1-5 scale)
--Taco Soup--4
1 lb hamburger 
4 cans diced tomatoes 
 1 can of corn 
1 can of pinto beans 
1 package of ranch seasoning 
1 package of taco seasoning 
Mix it all together and cook until warm.


We'll be cooking up some more meals this weekend and I'm the one doing the planning and shopping.  Guess I'd better get busy! :)

Freezer Cooking for January

It was my turn to plan the meals for our day of cooking and to purchase all the ingredients.  Phew.  I must say, however, that food expenses have increased dramatically since I last did something like this.  That's a big job, but kinda fun, too.  Briana and I even took the opportunity to go grocery shopping together and then out for a supper splurge at The Latin King (yum!)

Because I chose several "tried and true" freezer meals from the past and some recipes from my new freezer cooking book, I will type out recipes and instructions here since I only chose two recipes that I found on the internet.  I can't wait to see how the other girls rate them on our 1 (didn't like at all) to 5 (so good I would eat it again tomorrow) scale.

Pizza Burgers  overall rating 3.83

Brown two pounds of hamburger and one pound of sausage.  Add one jar of Ragu spaghetti sauce, one can of pizza sauce, 2 oz can of mushroom pieces, 1/2 can of black olives and heat.  Stir in one pound of cubed Velveeta until melted.  Fill top with parmesan cheese.

Freeze the meat mixture.  When ready to use, thaw and spoon onto open-face buns and top with cheddar or mozzarella cheese.  Bake 15-20 minutes.

Taco Pasta Shells  4

Brown one pound of hamburger.  Add chopped green onions and about 4 oz. of cream cheese.  Spoon this mixture into cooked large pasta shells.  Place shells in freezer pan and pour a jar of salsa over the top.  Top with cheese (cheddar, colby jack, Mexian mix, whatever you like).  Bake 15 minutes at 350, then add crushed tortilla chips and green onions.  Serve with sour cream.

BBQ Chicken  3.67

Cook a whole chicken in a roaster while basting with a glaze of salt, pepper, 1/2 c. honey and 3 T. dijon mustard.  Mix 1 bottle honey bbq sauce, 1/2 c. Italian dressing, 1/4 c. brown sugar and 2T. Worcestershire sauce and pour this over the deboned chicken and freeze.  To serve, heat in crockpot or pan on stove and serve on buns.  (This is from my sister-in-law and is very yummy)

Brunswick Stew  2.75

Cheesy Ham and Potatoes  3.5

Mix 32-oz frozen hashbrown potatoes, 8 oz cooked, diced ham, 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1 can cream of chicken soup, 8 oz. sour cream, 8 oz. cream cheese,  and 1/8 t. pepper.  Put in 9X13 pan and top with 2 c. Colby Jack cheese.  Bake at 375 for 1 hour.

Chicken Pot Pie  4.83

Start with 4 c. of cubed, cooked chicken.  Combine with 4 c. frozen hashbrown potatoes, thawed, 1 pkg frozen mixed vegetables, 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup, 1 can condensed cream of onion soup, 1 c. milk, 1 c. sour cream, 2 T. flour, 1/2 t. salt, 1/2 t pepper, 1/4 t. garlic powder, 1-2 c. shredded cheddar cheese.  Divide between two 9-inch deep pie plates.  Roll out pastry (you can make it or buy refrigerated) and cover.  Cut slits in pastry, trim, seal and flute edges.  Thaw, bake at 425 for 30 min, reduce heat to 350, remove foil over edges, and bake 50-55 min or until golden brown.

Sunday Night Stew  (this is super yummy, from the Pioneer Woman!)  Overall rating 4.3

Chicken Cordon Bleu  4.25

Pound four chicken breasts to about 1/4 inch thickness.  Spread with butter, sprinkle with Italian seasoning, and top with one slice of ham and one slice of Swiss cheese each.  Roll up chicken, secure with toothpick.  Bread in a mixture of flour, garlic powder, onion powder and salt, then dip into egg and water mixture, then dip into dry bread crumbs.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes

Freezer Cooking--December

The girls and I had so much fun spending  a day cooking together last month, and we were so blessed by the ready-made meals in our freezer, that we decided to make this a monthly event.  I know others may not care about me monthly posting our freezer cooking adventures, but it's a handy way for me to keep it all in one place under the "freezer cooking" label so here it is.

Jenna, Jamie, Alena, me and Briana

In addition to the excuse to spend several hours with these fun ladies (which I have to admit is a major factor in my participation), another reason I like freezer cooking is because it makes some days/evenings soooo easy.  When we use a freezer meal, all I have to do is set it out ahead of time (although I recently read that they could be cooked frozen just bake them for time and a half).  Not only do I not have to cook that night, but cleanup is also super easy!  No piles of pots and pans and measuring spoons and mixing bowls to wash.  It really frees my time up for other things.

We've only tried one so far, which was the Breakfast Burrito. YUM!  It was so delicious.  We had friends here for the last couple days and I served these Friday morning.  They were so easy and yummy that I'm hoping to make up another batch to freeze and take with us when we go visit some friends next weekend.  That pepper jack cheese is just such a treat.

Next month it will be my turn to choose the eight meals and do the shopping for all of us.  In preparation, I treated myself to a book that has been in my Amazon wishlist for the last 2-3 years.  :)

 It seemed like a good excuse, don't you think?  I've only read to page 25 (for yes, this is more than a cookbook--it's more like a textbook!) but I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

I'm listing the entrees Jamie chose for December with links to the recipes and I'll try to come back and rate them like I did last month.

Breakfast Burritos--5
Taco Braid--4
Orange Chicken--3
Black Bean Chicken--3
Chicken Parmesan--3.5
Lasagna--4
BBQ Beef--3.2
Smothered Pork Chops--4

Freezer Cooking 101

One of my friends recently asked me why our husbands and kids think they need to eat every single day.  I had to chuckle at the question, as it truly does seem like half my life is spent planning meals, finding new recipes,making grocery lists, shopping, cooking, cleaning up. . .

It makes my life considerably easier when I have meals prepared ahead in the freezer.  They are nice to heat up on a busy day, or to use when I missed a trip to the grocery store and the pantry is looking a little bare, or to share with someone who has suffered illness or had a baby.  I usually try to have at least two meals frozen for unexpected events, but it's even better when I've purposefully filled the freezer with several meals.  Recently some younger friends were asking me for tips about how to get together once a month and spend a day cooking.  I was pretty happy when they invited me to spend the day cooking with them--it was just the motivation I needed.

We decided to use the method in which we each take a turn choosing the meals and doing all the grocery shopping for one month.  Jenna got this job for the first month which means for the next three months, all she has to do is show up to mix together two of the recipes.

We chose to make eight different meals (which allows us to eat two freezer meals per week) and multiply that times the four families so we made 32 meals in about 3-4 hours.  Here are the eight meals Jenna chose for this month.  She also suggested we rate them as we eat them so we can decide if we want to make them again in the future.  Her scale is 1 (never want this again) through 5 (I would eat it again tomorrow).  We haven't tried all of them yet, but I'll try to update this post with the ratings over the next couple of weeks.

• Lasagna in a pot  My family wanted to give this a 6, but we'll settle for a 5.  Jenna didn't like the texture, so rated it a 3.  The others haven't tried it yet.
• Ravioli 4
• Teriyaki Chicken  3.5 (My family rated it a 3, but we also just aren't fans of teriyaki in general)
• Crock Pot Fajitas3 (we prefer them fried, lol)
• Million Dollar Casserole  5
• Easy Cheeseburger Casserole 3.5 
• Sloppy Joes   3 (a little sweet for us)
• Chicken Tacos 4.5 

We had fun chatting and chopping and I'm looking forward to another day spent cooking with them.  It's Jamie's turn to choose the menu and do the shopping next month!