Freezer Cooking

So, this weekend the store had ground chuck on sale for $2.25; however it was packaged in 3-4 lb containers.  Well, I decided to pick a couple up and freeze it in smaller portion size bags.  I froze a couple of pounds to be used with some pork burger we have.  I cooked up 3 lbs to be used in tacos or casseroles.  And the last 2 lbs I made into meatballs.

Well, now I am in the mood to do some more freezer cooking.  I'm thinking finding some good freezer friendly crock pot meals would be beneficial.  So, this post is going to be a place to keep recipes organized until I get another chance to do some freezer cooking!

Here are some recipes & tips I've found from around the web:

TIP from KOJODESIGNS :
I also write the cooking directions on the outside of each freezer bag (including what to add besides the contents of the bag) so that I don’t have to look anything up, just add to the crockpot and press some buttons.

Lime Salsa Chicken (modified from the Cilantro Chicken recipe at Pip & Ebby)
recipe from KOJODESIGNS
IN THE BAG- Juice from one lime, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro (optional), a 1.25-oz. package taco seasoning, 2 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped (optional), 3 lbs. boneless chicken breasts or thighs, 1 chopped red pepper, and 1/2 onion, chopped
TO COOK- In a slow cooker, mix together the contents of the bag and one 24-ounce jar of salsa (I used mango salsa, but use whatever kind of salsa you like). Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours.
TO SERVE- Serve in corn tortillas with rice.

Santa Fe Chicken
recipe from KOJODESIGNS 
IN THE BAG- 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, 1 chopped red pepper, ½  onion, chopped, 1/2 t cumin, 2 T cilantro (optional).
TO COOK- Add the contents of the bag plus 1 can of black beans, 1 can of corn and 1 medium sized jar of salsa to a crockpot. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on high for 6-8 hours.
TO SERVE- Serve over rice.

Crock Pot Chicken Ranch Tacos 
recipe from Saving You Dinero

• 1 -1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 Packet taco seasoning
• 1 Packet Ranch Dressing powder
• 1/4 cup Ranch dressing (do not add to freezer bag)

Write on the bag:

Dump in the slow cooker and cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-7 hours. When the meat is cooked, shred and add back to the crock pot with 1/4 cup ranch dressing until heated.

Instructions:

Dump all the ingredients except for the Ranch dressing into the freezer bag. On the day you serve the meal you will need the additional items:

• taco shells (soft or hard)
• lettuce
• cheese
• tomatoes
• salsa
• sour cream

Meals for Jan. 29-Feb.4, 2012

Well, I had a coupon for free eggs if I spent $10 at the grocery store today, so I made my weekly trip a day early!

I'll start by saying that I made this dessert tonight for dessert for the week. We'll let you know how it is!

Meals for the week:
Spaghetti & Meatballs
Pulled Pork Sandwiches
Chicken Tenders?
Tater Tot Casserole or Hamburger Helper
Homemade Pizza

Meals for the Week of January 23, 2012

Well, I ended up getting sick the week of January 8, so that threw a little kink into our meal plans.  It also caused me not to be in the mood to think about food last weekend to make a meal plan.  We did a pretty good job of only eat out 1 night, I think!

Here is our plan for this next week:
Monday, Jan. 23 - Meatloaf and potatoes?
Tuesday, Jan. 24 - Brinner -- pancakes, bacon, & eggs
Wednesday, Jan. 25 - Enchiladas
Thursday, Jan. 26 - Chinese
Friday, Jan. 27 - Chili

Meals for the Week of January 8, 2012

Thanks to Pinterest I've found some fun, new recipes.  So, I'm trying to incorporate them into our weekly meal plans.  I'm almost thinking I need to plan meals a month at a time (more like make sure that I have the materials for a month's worth of meals around at home).  Here's the plan for the week.  If a recipe is from pinterest, I'll put a link to the website  :)

Sunday, January 8
Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup

Monday, January 9

Pizza Bites & salad

Tuesday, January 10

leftovers

Wednesday, January 11

Chinese Stirfry -- I found something at the store that looked pretty good and easy (I'll see if I can find a link to what it is)

Thursday, January 12

Hobo Dinners

Friday, January 13

pasta & sauce (it was on sale this week at the store!)

Welcome to 2012

So last year I posted this with goals for the year.  Let's revisit my goals and see how I did:


1) Regularly update and post to the blog ~ I like the organization and ease of finding things on the blog due to the labels.  So, my goal is to post to the blog at least once a month.  Maybe the last weekend of the month or the first weekend of the month can be my goal for reaching this goal.


Well, I did a good job for the first 4 months. Then, life got in the way, and I kind of forgot to update.  It seemed easier to update things on facebook.  

My 2012 goals is going to be similar.  Let's see if I can do better about posting on here each month.

2) Scrapbooks/Baby Books ~ I have the boys' baby books, just haven't done a very good job of keeping them updated.  My mom scrapbooked my brother & my childhoods...I want to be able to do the same for my boys.  At this point, I don't think I can do a cut/glue/paper scrapbook -- too time consuming and takes too much space, but I'm looking into doing a digital scrapbook for each boy...or maybe a book for each year.  Any suggestions of what to use for this would be greatly appreciated.




I ended up getting a subscription to Close to My Heart's online scrapbooking program Studio J. I did a pretty good job of using the program to scrapbook.



My 2012 goal is to do an even better job of scrapbooking and to even work on the boys' baby books.

3.) Clean/Organize our House ~ I am an organized person but at the same time I am a packrat....not a good combination.  I want our house to be cleaned and organized, but I can't ever seem to make it happen.  My sister-in-law mentioned to me that once a month she chooses a room in the house to organize and purge stuff.  I may have to try this approach. 





I feel like I failed at this goal.

My 2012 goal is to do a MUCH better job of this.  I've already started by getting a toy organizer for the boys' room.  Hopefully, I can keep up with this.  This is something people will need to keep me accountable for!

4.) Get to a healthy weight/BMI ~ After being pregnant (twice) and nursing for the last four years, my body could use a little attention.  Right now I'm not big on doing any major changes because I'm still nursing.  Once I'm done nursing I'd like to do something to tone up my body, lose some weight, and get to a good BMI.  We got the Wii Fit for Christmas, so I'm hoping this can help with this process.  Maybe once the weather gets nice the boys and I can get outside for some walks, too. 

Nothing major to say here.  I could still use some work with this goal!


2012 goal is to get to a healthy weight/BMI.  I'm NOT pregnant or nursing so this is the perfect time to get my body back into shape! :)

Let's have a GREAT 2012!

New Layouts

Here are some more of my recent layouts for scrapbooking!  The program is Studio J by Close to My Heart.  If you are interested in it, let me know and I can hook you up with my consultant.

Once a Bearcat, Always a Bearcat!

Gramcracker

A.J. and the pumpkins

Sammy and the pumpkins

Digital Scrapbooking

I mentioned in my 2011 goals that I wanted to work on scrapbooking for the boys.  Shortly after that post our babysitter mentioned that she was having a scrapbooking party.  So, Mom & I went.  I was very interested in the digital online scrapbooking program the company had.  I decided to get a 3 month membership to try it out.  So far, I really like it.  I actually have scrapbook pages done for the boys -- first time I've scrapbooked in YEARS.

The program is Studio J by Close to My Heart.  If you are interested in it, let me know and I can hook you up with my consultant.  Here are a few of the pages that I've made so far:

Sammy and his new bicycle helmet

The cousins

New Year's Eve

Christmas

Playing in the snow

February 2011

I was told that I needed to do my blog for February 2011.  Wow, it's almost halfway through March, I'm falling behind.


*The beginning of February began with Snowpocalypse 2011.  It also was called Snowmageddon, SnOMG, etc.  Basically we had a LOT of snow in a short period of time.  The entire state of Missouri was hit by the blizzard.  We missed 3 days of school that week.  So, needless to say, the boys and I spent several days at home playing.

Sammy napping in Daddy's chair

Not the best picture of A.J., but love the fact that you can see Sammy napping in the background.

Much better picture of A.J.

A look at our front steps

Snow on the boys' picnic table

Snow in our driveway before Jeff starts scooping.  Notice the drifts!

This is a look out Mom's front window.  She had so much snow
she couldn't open the door. You also can't see her
fronts steps or the big ditch out at the road!

Another look at the snow and drifts at Mom's house.

Mom's backyard

Love this picture -- A.J. is looking at his reflection in the dishwasher

A.J. playing with the toys

What a cute kid!

 *After several days at home, I took the boys to Pammy's on one of the snow days.  This gave me an opportunity to have a "lunch date" with Jeff, shower, and do some cleaning around the house.


*February 12 - Mom watched the boys and we went out to eat at Hereford House for Jeff's birthday/Valentine's Day.  It was VERY tasty!


*Mom headed to Uncle Bubba's on February 14. The boys and I drove her to the airport, looked for airplanes and then came home.  It made for a different routine around here without her here.  I took one day off work and so did Jeff.

Signing Daddy's birthday card

Goofy kid!

Happy Valentine's Day from Sammy & A.J.!

*The day I had off work, I met up with a friend at McDonald's.  Our boys got to enjoy pancakes.  Apparently, McDonald's serves pancakes all day long -- good to know.

*The day Jeff stayed home with the boys was a BEAUTIFUL day -- they went to the park TWO times!  I was jealous.  Oh well, I'm hoping I'll have lots of nice days this summer so we can play outside! I have to admit that I have a great husband.  The day that he stayed home with the boys, he not only fed them and played with them, but he printed all the invites for A.J.'s birthday party, and did some cleaning too.  Accomplished a lot more than I usually do! :)

*Dad & Carol came down on the 13th and celebrated Jeff's birthday/Valentine's day with us.  We had a carry-out Mexican dinner for supper.  It was yummy!

*At the end of the month, we drove up to Jeff's parents for a day to have Reubens to celebrate his birthday.  Sammy & Lucas had lots of fun playing.

Lucas & Sammy playing with the air pump that they found in Gramma & Grandad's closet

A.J., Sammy, & Lucas enjoying Gradad's train!

I have a couple of cute pictures from our phones that I need to figure out how to upload.  Keep an eye out for them :)

January 2011

One of my goals for 2011 was to be better at blogging and keeping the blog updated.  So, I've decided at the end of each month I'm going to try to do a quick run down of what we've done in the last month and any other important or funny events that happened! 
*We started out the month by doing Christmas with the Duffs. We also celebrated New Year's with them and the Henggelers!


Sammy opening a present



Daddy helping A.J. open his present

Cooper in the middle of all the present opening action

The "little" ball Gramma got for the kids!

Alaina having fun

Cole, Lucas, & Sammy

Lucas playing the flying chicken game

 *I went back to school on January 4.

*Tiny T., my dog of 18 years that lived with my mom passed away on Jan. 6.  She'd had a rough week and Mom was running the Doggy Hospice.

Tiny in her younger days

*The Stomach flu hit us ALL -- It started with Sammy & A.J., then Jeff, then Me, and then Mom got it. :(

*Snow Days -- we had three snow days during the month of January.  Snow days are hard with two little guys under the age of 3.  See this post for some snow day pictures.

Sammy helping Daddy scoop the walk

Helping make snow ice cream

Sammy's first snow man

Shortly after this picture, Sammy beheaded the snowman!

We made our own tent/tunnel one day!

A.J. in the tent/tunnel

Silly A.J.

Reading his truck book in his jammies!  Snow days are perfect days to stay in your jammies!

We set up the tent on one of the snow days!

*After being in the house because of snow we needed to get out for a bit so we took a quick day trip up to Squaw Creek to see if we could see any wildlife.  All we saw were some birds, turkeys, and a raccoon.

Sammy trying to use the binoculars



*RV Show -- we're thinking about driving out to see my brother this summer, so we're looking into getting a new camper.  We went to the RV show and got a lot of ideas about what we want...now if we could get a weekend with no snow, maybe we could actually go look at some?  We also took Grammy to the train restaurant and then to look at dishwashers -- ours wouldn't drain.  We priced them, came home and Jeff unplugged it and replugged it in and it WORKED -- woohoo, save our money a little bit longer!

*Prepared for Snowpocalypse 2011 :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Sammy

Sammy LOVES to help.  He doesn't like to hear A.J. be upset.  He loves to play in the snow when we can get out there.  He loves his cars.  When he asks for a car, he knows which one he wants.  Even if you think you found what he's looking for it might not be the right one.  He likes to use his shubel (shovel) out in the snow.  He really likes Dora and Diego.  He pretty much knows his colors.  He likes to eat fruit -- asks for it often when we're home on snow days! :)  He also really likes Cheese Slices!  When we finish taking a bath he sends his bubbles to Uncle Bubba's house.  We're starting potty training -- pretty inconsistent right now.  Some days he'll tell me when he needs to go.  He LOVES to flush the toilet -- guess what, that water goes to uncle Bubba's, too! :)

A.J.

Wow, A.J. is growing and changing.  He has 2 bottom teeth and is currently working on 4 top teeth.  The top middle teeth are pretty well in, now just keep working on the other 2 :)  He LOVES his brother.  He likes to mimic people.  Daddy taught him to say "Uh-oh"  He says Mama and Dada.  He crawls everywhere, and pulls up and walks along furniture.  If you try to get him to walk and hold your hand he just sits down and crawls instead.  He does have a bit of a temper -- if you don't let him do what he wants, he'll "throw" himself on the floor.  He LOVES bathtime.  Oh, and he loves his food....he could eat and eat and eat and eat.....