This Week's Freezer Meal Round Up

We just finished up our second week of school and I am soooo pleased with how it's going. A few things are attributing to our (whopping 2 weeks) of success:

 1) Doing dvd school

 2) Scheduling our entire day

It has truly been the biggest unexpected blessing...another blog post on that soon!

 Anyway, I cooked up some freezer meals at the beginning of this week (while the 2 older ones were finishing school and the little ones were taking naps) and I thought I would share them with you! These ones were super easy! I think I shared some of these before, but I'm sharing them again just in case. Trust me--once you start freezer cooking you won't want to stop! It's kind of daunting to actually begin but man. The thought of having all my food pre-done in the freezer is awesome, plus it's way cheaper to feed my family this way!

 I keep lot of frozen veggies on hand--broccoli, green beans and corn are favorites--to add for sides with our meals. And I buy fresh fruits/veggies once every week and a half or so. But I really try to grocery shop just twice a month and cook just twice a month. Nice, huh?

1) Cilantro chicken with lime and black beans  (1)(not sure how I feel about freezing fresh cilantro and cooking it all day in the crock pot, but we'll see how it turns out!) This we will do over rice and top with sour cream and cheese, maybe some tortilla chips if we have enough (they go fast around here ;)

 2) Maple Dijon glazed Chicken  (1) I use honey and forgot the vinegar! But I can add it after it thaws. We love this recipe! Super easy with baked or roasted potatoes and a salad!

 3) Meatballs in BBQ sauce (2) I adapted this recipe. I use turkey/ground beef, an egg and oats. I love the chili powder in these--great flavor! And I use cheap store bought BBQ sauce, ha. These are great over rice or with roasted potatoes and carrots.

4) Shredded pork tacos//pork roast with gravy/bbq pork (3): No recipes for these ones but so easy! I love buying a big pork butt roast (usually around $14-$16) and cutting it into 3.
 One I'll season with taco seasonings or any Mexican spices I have on hand and freeze in one chunk. Thaw overnight, put in the crock pot all day, then shred and put into tortilla shells with whatever taco toppings you like.
 Another I'll did a ranch seasoning packet with and cooked in the crock pot as a roast. After I remove the roast to rest I add a little cornstarch and milk right into the crock pot and whisk it until it makes a gravy. You could also do onion soup packet for seasoning and cream of mushroom soup that makes an amazing gravy with the soup mixes and juice from the meat. We ate over rice but would be awesome with mashed potatoes ;)
 The last one I'll freeze as is (maybe some salt, pepper and a simple rub), cook and add bbq sauce at the end when I shred it. This I'll usually serve over baked potatoes--a favorite for sure!

5) Lastly, I made 2 pans of chicken enchilada casserole. I actually didn't use a recipe for this either. I boiled chicken breast, shredded in the kitchen aide (best thing ever), then made a mixture with the chicken, some sour cream, mayo, cheese and seasonings. Layered that with green chile enchilada sauce and corn tortillas. The kids actually ate this tonight with Grandma and Grandpa while we went on a date ;). This morning I put on a big pot of beans on the stove to simmer and threw them in the blender really quick before dinner for refried beans. This is also great with rice and salad or another veggie.

 So, all in all we have about 9 meals but with leftovers we'll squeeze 2 weeks out of it. Plus on nights we're on the go I might just do some sandwiches quick. I also keep pasta and canned sauce on hand (Italian grandma turning over in her grave as we speak) and that's easy to throw together. I had a bag of shrimp left in my freezer that my brother-in-law left so I made some shrimp scampi the other night. So that's an easy option, too--trust me, it's not as daunting as it sounds!

If you have some freezer meal recipes to share--or just any recipes for that matter--feel free to leave in the comments!
  Have a great weekend! :)

My Tried and True Freezer Meals

When I was about 36 weeks pregnant with Nicolas, I took an afternoon and cooked up a few weeks worth of freezer meals. It was one of the best things I have ever done for my own sanity! We were blessed with meals from friends and family for close to 2 weeks after he was born, but once those were over, I was still trying to recover and get into a new groove with school/homework/4 kids/no sleep/nursing every 8.2 seconds.... you get the point. Pulling out a frozen meal was a total lifesaver. I could add a salad and/or starch and have a complete meal in very little time, plus hardly any clean up from cooking! I was hooked and have been freezer cooking almost ever since! I cook about 2 weeks of meals at one time at it saves me so much time later on, not to mention it's great for our budget!

 I know there are tons of great blog posts out there on freezer cooking, so I'll keep this really simple. I just wanted to compile my favorites that are tried and true in case any of you wanted to try it out or you already do and want to check out some new recipes!

 A few tips:
 1) Make double, triple or quadruple of everything! That way you'll only be making 4-5 meals and have food for a few weeks.
 2) Almost everything listed here besides the casseroles can be frozen in ziplock bags lying flat to save room
 3) Wear comfy shoes when cooking. Especially if you're at the end of pregnancy. I still had swollen ankles at the end of the day, but my feet weren't quite as sore as they could have been. ;)
 4) With every recipe I added salt and pepper to my own taste

 Meatballs in BBQ sauce
 (I used the meatball recipe but just did good ol' Kraft honey BBQ sauce ;). I served with roasted potatoes and carrots.

Slow Cooker Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork
 (I only used the adobo sauce and not the Chipotle Peppers because it would have been a little on the spicy side for my kids) I served in tortillas with taco toppings, but you could also do it over rice.

 Black Bean Taco Soup
 Served with tortilla chips, sour cream and cheese.

Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
 I kind of threw my own recipe together, but this is similar. Mine has bell peppers and zucchini.  Serve over rice or pasta.

Maple Dijon Chicken
 (I used honey instead of syrup. I've made this with chicken breast in the crock pot, or chicken thighs in the oven baked at 400 for about an hour. I preferred the thighs in the oven, but both were great!) Served with roasted veggies or rice.

 Teriyaki Chicken 
 I did frozen carrots, broccoli and cauliflower. I cooked it in the crock pot for a few hours, and then put it on the stovetop to thicken the sauce before serving over rice. The fresh ginger in this was amazing--definitely the best Asian dish I've ever made!

 Chicken and Dressing Casserole
 I made my own stuffing because we have an amazing family recipe and I can't imagine eating anything else!

 White Chicken Enchiladas
 I cannot find the recipe I used! But this one looks yummy and has good ratings. ;) The one I used had cream of chicken soup and sour cream, which I'm sure could be used in place of the cheese sauce.

I've done my own soup recipes-- Tortilla soup and Chicken soup. Potatoes and pasta do not freeze well, (besides in lasagna) so add that in later if that's part of your recipe.

 I've done a chicken alfredo. I did my own alfredo sauce, thin sliced chicken breast and spinach for good measure. I made the alfredo sauce thicker than normal because I knew the chicken juice would thin it out a bit as it cooked. This is great served over pasta or spaghetti squash for a healthier option.

 I've also frozen muffins, pancakes, breakfast sandwiches and bean and cheese tacos for the mornings. These are wonderful for early school mornings when I've gotten no sleep... no effort, and I know she's getting something filling nutritious.

 Hope that helps some of you. I cannot talk enough about cooking freezer meals. I LOVE it!

 If you freezer cook, leave me links to some of your recipes! I'm always looking for new ones. :)

Mom's Homemade Pancakes, Health-i-fied

Years ago, some friends from Arkansas introduced us to this amazing homemade pancake recipe. They quickly became a weekly breakfast favorite with their light texture and buttery flavor. Aunt Jemima would bow her head in shame if she ever tasted these pancakes, because they are leaps and bounds above the box mix. Seriously, they don't even compare.

 Of course, these pancakes are made with while flour, butter and a little bit of sugar, and if you want an extra special treat or are serving company, I suggest you make the original recipe. My Mom won over me and my sister's husbands with these pancakes. Honestly, I think they married us just so they could visit her and she could make them pancakes.

I've tweaked the recipe over the years to make them healthier and something you could eat on a more regular basis. Let me tell you, the healthy version is just as phenomenal. They are light, still buttery and completely guilt free! The healthy version is what is pictured.

  I halved the butter and replaced it with applesauce. You could probably do all applesauce, but I wanted to keep some of the butter because that's what makes these pancakes amazing. I also subbed almond milk, which cuts way down on calories. Lastly, I replaced the white flour with white-wheat and the sugar for honey.

 Here are both versions. Hope you enjoy!

 Mom's Homemade Pancakes (the non-healthy and completely amazing version)

 Makes apx. 15 pancakes

 1 stick butter, melted

2 cups milk

2 eggs

2 cups flour

4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 TB sugar

 Whisk together wet ingredients until blended. In a separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients and whisk into wet ingredients. Pour 1/4 cup full's onto a hot, buttered skillet. Cook on one side until top starts to bubble. Flip and cook other side, about 1-2 minutes until golden brown. Serve with syrup.

Mom's Homemade Pancakes, Health-i-fied 

Makes apx. 15 pancakes

1/2 stick butter, melted

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 cups Almond milk

2 Eggs

1 TB honey

2 cups white-wheat flour (this is still 100% whole wheat, it's just a different wheat berry. I use King Arthur)

4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

Whisk together wet ingredients until well blended. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients. Whisk into wet ingredients.

 Pour 1/4 cups onto a hot buttered skillet. Cook on one side until top starts to bubble. Flip and cook other side until golden brown, about 1-2 minutes. Serve with honey or maple syrup.

Enjoy! These refrigerate and re-heat well! I've never tried freezing them, but I'm sure you could do that and re-heat them in the toaster for busy school mornings.

Nate's 30th Computer Geek Party

Nate turned 30 this year, and I wanted to do something really big and special for his birthday. Months ago, the idea popped into my head to do a nerd/geek theme, because anyone knows him knows that he is the epitome of geek. As in, he takes apart computers and re-builds them for fun, stays up until 3am working on them, creates and builds apps from scratch...yeah, he's that geeky. (A geeky hunk, I might add!) 

 I collected ideas from pinterest and combined with my own ideas to create a really fun party that he absolutely loved!

 (Let me insert here, this took months of planning, weeks of decoration planning and days of food preparation to pull this off by myself. If you at all can, get help to pull off a huge party like this!)

 My husband is the light of my life and I am so glad that I was able to do this for him in honor of the amazing, hardworking man that he is.

I was really lucky to find cheese-it's "scrabble" addition at Wal-Mart, because it was perfect to call "Caps-lock"! I made a huge tub of homemade salsa and re-filled it as the night went on. The pretzel "bytes" recipe is here, but I skipped the ham and just brushed them with baking soda water (no boiling).

A friend from church made this computer cake and exceeded all of my expectations. I couldn't believe the attention to detail and how real it looked! She did an amazing job. Locals, if you ever need a cake, please email me for her information. She is fabulous!

I googled the "geek squad" logo, saved it in a word document, printed, cut them out and glued onto cups. I loved how they turned out! I also served these amazing sausage stuffed jalapenos, brownie batter dip and key lime pie dip with fruit and crackers. I took a big risk trying out all new recipes at a party with 30 guests, but thankfully everything turned out awesome! I also made a big batch of pulled pork with homemade rolls that is not pictured. I strung up the disks with fishing line which added a cool touch!

The kids were really big helpers and kept all of the details a secret. Nate knew about the party, but I didn't tell him the theme. I led him with eyes closed into the house, and look how excited the kids were for him to see everything! He was really excited and surprised and loved it all! We filled our home with his close friends and family who spoiled him with lots of gifts (thanks, guys). It was a really great time!

Hard to believe I met my husband TEN years ago! I cannot imagine my life without him now! I have watched God change him and mold him into his image over the years and it is truly inspiring. He is my hero, my mentor, my best friend. Happy, Happy Birthday to the man of my dreams!

The Days After

I didn't remember how much I loved the days after Christmas until I experienced them again this year with my kids. No school, no busy holiday schedule and lots of new toys and games to play with. The house doesn't get 100% cleaned for a few days at least, because toys are being played with and haven't quite found a home yet. It's vacation, really! This week we had a tea party, played lots of games and laid around a lot--actually, I've been pretty sick this week and couldn't have picked a better time!

On Christmas morning I was too sick to cook our big breakfast, so I decided to do it New Years Eve morning instead. We invited Nate's parents and brothers over (along with his brother's girlfriend, a sweet new addition to our family!) for a big spread. I sense a tradition in the making!

Let me insert here that I've tried different cinnamon roll recipes (made my me or others) through the years and never have I had any like this. I'm not saying that because I made them--just because I followed a cinnabon copycat recipe that is to die for. If you make them, don't skimp on any of the butter or sugar. It seems like too much, but it's perfect. With the calories they have they are probably good about once a year, so make them as is and enjoy every buttery-sugary bite. Try the recipe here.

This week has been good, but I'm refreshed and ready to get back to a normal routine, as well as normal eating. I've been eating "clean" for close to 6 months and getting back to it is going to feel quite good. Tonight we're ringing in the New Year with family and friends, and for once I'm not hosting!The break will be nice!

 Happy New Year to all of you. Hope it's sweet. ;)

A Day in the Life: Week 5

We're finished with week 5--it was very uneventful as you can see. Just the way I like it. :)

Monday, January 30th: Brookie cuddles with daddy while he works on Mommy's Kindle

Tuesday, January 31st: A belly picture with two kiddos playing with the water in the tub behind me. (34 weeks 6 days)

Wednesday, February 1st: Since Mommy and "sissy" were wearing sunglasses on the way to church, he wanted to also. Crazy guy put daddy's on upside down, which was better than being backwards like they were a few minutes before I took this picture (while driving 70MPH down the highway...so forgive the quality!)

Thursday, February 2nd: A friend brought over a bag of heart shaped lollipops--a good middle of the day treat :)

Friday, February 3rd: *Jumping up and down in crib* Excitedly yelling, "Mommy! I took my dress off and I'm naked!!!"

Saturday, February 4th: Uncle Pat moves in with us. :)

Sunday, February 5th: I made no bake chocolate peanut butter oatmeal bars for the first time...they were SO good! Recipe is here. They are so easy and taste amazing!

Happy Monday!

My Birthday Week

I celebrated my 25th birthday this week. 25 is a big deal to me--you know, that whole quarter of a century thing. I feel old, but then in another way, I've been married for 5 1/2 years and we have almost 3 kids. So maybe it's about time I became a little older. :) I got to celebrate for the whole week because one of my best friends, Felicia, was here for a visit!

This is what happens when friends visit for your birthday. They make chocolate butter cookies with peanut butter frosting...they were as good as they sound. No, better, actually.

 My sweetest gifts of all :). 

 My birthday itself was pretty uneventful. We shopped for few hours, had lunch, and had a little party that night. The week itself was the best part--I love having other adults around to talk to all day (which she may not have as appreciated as much;).

Another night, we made these deep dish chocolate chip cookies. Tip: make a few more than the recipe calls for, because they are better just a little thinnner. And chill the dough! It makes a diffference! They are amazing!

 Proof that I'm still trying to eat somewhat healthy, despite the previous pictures. (Hey, it was my birthday!) This "Skinny Cheeseburger soup" was awesome. (Can't find the link right now--I'll insert it later). I used part ground turkey and part 96/4 ground beef, added zuchinni,  topped it off with low fat cheese and tons of cayenne--which, of course, is optional.

 The weather here was unseasonably warm this week. We walked to the park and let the kids play while we talked and solved the worlds problems.

 When we came home for lunch, the kids had a little picnic outside. Seriously, 75 and sunny in January?! How can you beat that?!

 The day before Feli had to leave, we went out for breakfast and then a nice long day of Outlet shopping. Having Nate at breakfast with us was a real treat. :)

It was such a fun week. I have SO much to be grateful for--I'm so blessed! :) Have a great week, everyone!

Christmas Decorating

This year we had to wait a few days longer than we like to decorate because of travelling, but as soon as we got home I pulled out the totes, boxes and bags and started the long process. I forget how much work it is, but it's always so rewarding and enjoyable in the end!

I got so many good ideas off pinterest this year! Mason jar, greenery, cranberries and floating candle. Beautiful.

 I love his little face here, putting the first ornament on the tree and so excited!

Next year there will be another little boy helping us decorate the tree, already 9 months old! :)

The kids had a blast decorating the tree this year--it was so much fun seeing their faces while we were putting everything up!

There is something so much more special about the holidays when you have a mantle to decorate. I love how mine turned out this year! (Once again, thanks to pinterest for the inspiration!)

Putting the star on the top

After our decorating, we made peanut butter pretzel bites. Brooklynne is very meticulous when it comes to just about anything, so when we cook and bake together, she is the perfect little partner!

She rolled perfect little peanut butter balls...

...and flattened them between pretzels perfectly. Nate and I were laughing at how serious and determined she was--it was so cute :)

Well, the picture is a good memory of our night...sadly, I was sporting the "I got 4 hours of sleep last night on a 16 hour road trip" look. :p

These babies are the perfect combination of sweet, salty, crunchy and creamy--and they were super easy to make! A nice addition to my Christmas baking this year!

A few picture of the kiddos before bed...what could be better than kids, jammies and Christmas?

OK, kids, jammies, Christmas...and a cute little doggie :)