This post is for Lisa. And will be LONG. But if anyone else is interested, feel free to use. And if you have any questions, feel free to ask away!!
What will follow is a timeframe for a weekend of freezer meal cooking my Mom and I did last winter. What worked for us, may need to be adjusted for you but it's a great starting point I think! I didn't include a shopping list because some people may have some stuff on hand. But, you can run down the recipes and quick do your own. It's not hard.
A couple of notes:
When you grocery shop, if you do all the same recipes, check the crazy giant bulk canisters of stuff. You know at the end of the aisle you never look at?? The industrial sized stuff? Yeah, that. You use a LOT of tomato juice and stuff, so just add it all up and see if that makes $$ sense.
We portion and freeze everything flat in Ziploc freezer bags. They take up less space and because they're flat, thaw out super quick. You can do what you'd like, but this way is great. Just write on it what it is, how much and quick cooking instructions and you're set!
I left our timeline on there to give you an idea of how long it all took. Yours may vary.
The recipes listed are SINGLE BATCH (thank you for asking that Lisa!!). If you'd like to double, triple, etc - you need to make that adjustment on your own.
Freezer Meals
Day 1 Menu: Stew x 2, potatoes x 2, pepper steak x 2, roasts x 4, beef gravy, sloppy joes x 2
(Start 8:45am) Roasts in to cook
Potatoes peeled and put on to boil (do this during the browning of meats)
Brown Stew Meat
Brown Pepper Steak Meat
Onions and Peppers chopped
Start Stew Veggies/Pepper Steak onto Simmer
Simmer Stew/Mash & Finish Potatoes
(11:45) Lunch break
Package Pepper Steak
Start Sloppy Joes/ Sloppy Joes start to simmer
Sloppy Joes Finish/roasts out/gravy start
(2:45) Package Sloppy Joes
Package Roasts
Package Gravy
(5:30) Package Stew
**~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*
Finished Portions:
Potatoes – 1 serving = 3/4c.
6 – 3 serv. bags; 6 – 6 serv. bags
Pepper Steak – 1 serving = 1c.
4 – 2 serv. bags; 4 – 1.5 serv. bags
Sloppy Joes - 1 serving = 1c.
2 – 1 serv. bags; 4 – 3 serv. bags
Roasts –
6 – 1.5 pound bags
Gravy –
4 – 3c. bags; 2 – 2c. bags
Stew –
8 – 4c. bags; 15 – 3c. bags
Day 2 Menu: Spaghetti Sauce x 4, pasties x 3, chili x 4, turkey breasts x 4, turkey gravy
(8:45 Start) Put turkey breasts in oven
Brown Spaghetti Meat/Start prepping pasty veggies
Brown Chili Meat
Brown Pasty meat/mix spaghetti sauce
(10:45) Put together chili and start in crockpot
Package pasties (done around Noon)
Turkey out/Gravy start
Package Turkey/Gravy/Spag Sauce/Chili as it finishes
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~
Finished Portions:
Pasties – 1 serving = 1/2 c.
8 – 1c. bags; 13 – 2c. bags
Chili - 1 serving = 1/2c.
4 – 4.5c. bags; 2 – 3c. bags
Spaghetti Sauce -
10 – 2.5c. bags; 12 – 4c. bags
Turkey
(New this next time so no stats!)
Gravy
(New this year so no stats!)
THE RECIPES:
Oven Roast
Place roasts in oven (frozen or fresh), uncovered at 375 degrees for approx an hour or until the outside of the roast is browned.
Reduce heat to 325 degrees, add water to ½ way up the side of the roast (add carrots and peeled potatoes if desired as well). Cover. Cook all day/6 hours until done.
Roast Gravy
Strain remaining cooking liquid and put in large stockpot. Mix 1/2c. flour and 1c. water and add slowly to cooking liquid until desired thickness is achieved. You can also add jars of Heinz Homestyle gravy to stretch the quantity.
Fancy Mashed Potatoes
5 lb. white potatoes
2 – 3oz. packages of cream cheese, softened
1 c. sour cream
1 tsp onion salt
1 tsp salt
1 stick margarine
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp garlic powder
Boil and mash potatoes. Mix with remaining ingredients and beat with mixer until smooth.
To prepare: Put in baking dish and dot with butter. Cook at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.
Beef Stew
1 lb stew meat
Brown gravy mix
Frozen peas
Onions
Potatoes
Cabbage, sliced thin
Carrots
Rutabaga
1 can tomato soup
Chop veggies to bite size and place in large stock pot. Add water to cover vegetables. Bring to a boil and simmer all day.
Chinese Pepper Steak
1 lb. round steak
2 large green peppers, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 can beef consumme
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp corn starch
2 TBSP water
Cut steak into bite sized pieces. Brown in a deep electric skillet. Season to taste and add onion and green peppers. Add consumme and simmer for 1 hour. Combine corn starch, soy sauce and water to make a paste. Add to meat mixture and stir until thickened. Serve over rice or chow mein noodles.
Sloppy Joes
2 lb. ground beef
1 c. ketchup
1 Tbsp yellow mustard
1 big onion, chopped fine
4 stalks of celery, chopped fine
1 can tomato soup
1 scant can water
1 Tbsp Worchestershire Sauce
Cook ground beef in deep electric skillet or stock pot. Add all remaining ingredients and simmer for 1 hour.
Oven Turkey Breasts
Place turkey breasts in oven (frozen or fresh), uncovered at 375 degrees for approx an hour or until the skin is browned.
Reduce heat to 325 degrees, add water to ½ way up the side of the breasts. Cover. Cook all day/6 hours until done.
Roast Turkey Gravy
Strain remaining cooking liquid and put in large stockpot. Mix 1/2c. flour and 1c. water and add slowly to cooking liquid until desired thickness is achieved. You can also add jars of Heinz Homestyle gravy to stretch the quantity.
Ginette’s Spaghetti Sauce
2 lb. ground beef
5 cloves garlic
1 small onion
Cut garlic and onion fine and brown slowly with ground beef, salt and pepper in a large stockpot until beef is cooked.
Add:
1 quart tomato juice
4 – 15oz cans of tomato sauce
3 large cans tomato paste
1 scant can of water
Salt and pepper to taste
3 bay leaves
Simmer all day stirring frequently.
Crockpot Chili
1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 quart tomato juice
¼ tsp chili powder
1 can kidney beans
1 can Hormel chili
1 can cream of celery soup
Brown ground beef and onion. Combine all ingredients to crockpot and cook on low 8-10 hours.
Pasty Filling
1 pound ground beef, cooked and drained
4 carrots
4 potatoes
4 stalks of celery
1 rutabaga
1 medium onion
Salt and pepper
Chop all veggies into evenly sized, small diced pieces. Mix with cooked ground beef.
To Prepare: Put desired amount of mix in pie crust. Cover with 2nd crust (slit the top in a few places). Cook 45 minutes at 350 degrees or until crust is brown. You can also make individual pasties by folding over one crust for individual pasty. (think calzone) We just freeze up the mix to do meal by meal, but you could prebake individual pasties to freeze as well.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Finding my groove...
School's been back in session for a week.
Cue the angelic chorus, "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLELUIA!!"
This week has been me attempting to get back in a groove of some sort. The more organized I am, the better this house runs. Both Mark and I have a natural tendancy towards sloth and anything I can do to ward that off is a GOOD THING.
The biggest attempt at organizing? I made my meal plan out for the entire month of September. Yes, yes I did. All the suppers, all of Holland's breakfasts (same thing for one week at a time), and all of Holland's school lunches/snacks (again, same thing for one week at a time). So far, it's working beautifully!!
I tried to get a good mix of main ingredient (so we don't have chicken four nights in a row) as well as recipes that can be pushed off if things come up. A perfect example of this is today's Mexican Polenta Bake. Nothing in it is perishable so it can wait until tomorrow - or even next week - if it needed to. As it is, it's just waiting until lunch tomorrow, but still. It also takes into consideration things already on the radar like early soccer games or Girl Scouts after school. Those days get crock pot or soup meals. Fast and easy.
Thursday after work, I look at my calendar and start the grocery list for the meals/snacks/lunches. Then, I add to that the other random things we might need like milk or lunch staples for Mark and me. The only thing missing is a catagorized shopping list - broken down row by row according to the store I always shop it - and the whole thing would be perfect. Friday morning is errand morning so the groceries get purchased then and we're all set for the next week.
An extra benefit is that it gives me the weekend to do any cooking needed for the week. Last week it was three batches of muffin, a whole army of mini cupcakes and homemade ranch dressing. This week will be mini quiches and bagels.
I haven't had time to put up recipes from the past two weeks, but here are some things I've learned:
Cue the angelic chorus, "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLELUIA!!"
This week has been me attempting to get back in a groove of some sort. The more organized I am, the better this house runs. Both Mark and I have a natural tendancy towards sloth and anything I can do to ward that off is a GOOD THING.
The biggest attempt at organizing? I made my meal plan out for the entire month of September. Yes, yes I did. All the suppers, all of Holland's breakfasts (same thing for one week at a time), and all of Holland's school lunches/snacks (again, same thing for one week at a time). So far, it's working beautifully!!
I tried to get a good mix of main ingredient (so we don't have chicken four nights in a row) as well as recipes that can be pushed off if things come up. A perfect example of this is today's Mexican Polenta Bake. Nothing in it is perishable so it can wait until tomorrow - or even next week - if it needed to. As it is, it's just waiting until lunch tomorrow, but still. It also takes into consideration things already on the radar like early soccer games or Girl Scouts after school. Those days get crock pot or soup meals. Fast and easy.
Thursday after work, I look at my calendar and start the grocery list for the meals/snacks/lunches. Then, I add to that the other random things we might need like milk or lunch staples for Mark and me. The only thing missing is a catagorized shopping list - broken down row by row according to the store I always shop it - and the whole thing would be perfect. Friday morning is errand morning so the groceries get purchased then and we're all set for the next week.
An extra benefit is that it gives me the weekend to do any cooking needed for the week. Last week it was three batches of muffin, a whole army of mini cupcakes and homemade ranch dressing. This week will be mini quiches and bagels.
I haven't had time to put up recipes from the past two weeks, but here are some things I've learned:
- Turns out, Phyllo Dough and Puff Pastry aren't the same thing. Whoops! Now we all know.
- Sometimes recipes look not so awesome but end up being amazing. Look for me to post the Corn, Bacon and Potato Chowder recipe soon to prove that.
- I don't like scrambled eggs, but love fritattas. Apparently what I do like is super overcooked eggs.
- What started as a winning recipe can sometimes turn into something that no one likes. Interesting.
- Taking a cold lunch has made all the difference to the little kid. She gets that extra 10 minutes she used to spend in the lunch line to settle down and eat. And has come home with a completely empty lunchbox every day for the past week. Maybe cutting her sandwich into a butterfly shape helps. :)
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Grilled Salad
I know. Crazy. But ohhhhhhhhhhh so good!!
Let me link you to the original recipe so you can first peruse and I can give credit where it's due:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/salads/grilled-salad/
We love the Pioneer Woman and her recipes. And I read this and thought someone had lost their minds. Had a friend not specifically tried it and gave it a rave review, there's no way I'd have tried it.
Why?
Well, for one, I've never tried Feta cheese. I know. But good news, I can cross that off the ol' bucket list now. I've tried it and *drum roll* I liked it. The reason I've never tried it is that I always thought it was like blue cheese. Which is not in my eating inventory at this point due to its stinkiness. It looks too much like the stink cheese, so I've largely ignored it. But it's not stinky at all. It's sort of tart? sour? hmm...I don't know the best word. But very very mild and worth trying. The texture was sort of like fresh mozarella but not as wet. Blah. I know. This description isn't going well. In a nutshell, you should try it. As well as be prepared for more recipes on here featuring feta now that it doesn't scare me.
Why else? Well, have you ever even contemplated GRILLING LETTUCE?? It just doesn't make any sense, right? But it works!
Here's the recipe:
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Grilled Salad
Ingredients
2 heads Romaine Lettuce, Washed And Dried
½ cups Feta Cheese, Crumbled
½ cups Balsamic Vinaigrette
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Preparation Instructions
Split each head of lettuce lengthwise.
Drizzle the cut side of each half evenly with a tablespoon or two of oil.
Season the cut side of each half with salt and pepper.
Grill each half, cut-side-down, over a hot direct fire for about 90 seconds.
Remove to a sheet pan, sprinkle evenly with the cheese and let cool.
Drizzle each half with an equal amount of dressing.
Cut each half in half width-wise, serve and enjoy!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Julie's notes:
Let me link you to the original recipe so you can first peruse and I can give credit where it's due:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/salads/grilled-salad/
We love the Pioneer Woman and her recipes. And I read this and thought someone had lost their minds. Had a friend not specifically tried it and gave it a rave review, there's no way I'd have tried it.
Why?
Well, for one, I've never tried Feta cheese. I know. But good news, I can cross that off the ol' bucket list now. I've tried it and *drum roll* I liked it. The reason I've never tried it is that I always thought it was like blue cheese. Which is not in my eating inventory at this point due to its stinkiness. It looks too much like the stink cheese, so I've largely ignored it. But it's not stinky at all. It's sort of tart? sour? hmm...I don't know the best word. But very very mild and worth trying. The texture was sort of like fresh mozarella but not as wet. Blah. I know. This description isn't going well. In a nutshell, you should try it. As well as be prepared for more recipes on here featuring feta now that it doesn't scare me.
Why else? Well, have you ever even contemplated GRILLING LETTUCE?? It just doesn't make any sense, right? But it works!
Here's the recipe:
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Grilled Salad
Ingredients
2 heads Romaine Lettuce, Washed And Dried
½ cups Feta Cheese, Crumbled
½ cups Balsamic Vinaigrette
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Preparation Instructions
Split each head of lettuce lengthwise.
Drizzle the cut side of each half evenly with a tablespoon or two of oil.
Season the cut side of each half with salt and pepper.
Grill each half, cut-side-down, over a hot direct fire for about 90 seconds.
Remove to a sheet pan, sprinkle evenly with the cheese and let cool.
Drizzle each half with an equal amount of dressing.
Cut each half in half width-wise, serve and enjoy!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Julie's notes:
- When prepping the Romaine, I trimmed the tops off with a knife and left the root/base part intact. I think you need to to keep the leaves from flying all over the place. The when I served it, I trimmed the bottom off and cut it all up.
- We did this on our outdoor charcoal grill. So it was delightfully smoky and charcoaly tasting. Mark is in LOVE with this recipe, so we will be trying it again on our indoor grill pan. Not sure if it will be the same but yum on the charcoal!
- The oil will drip off onto the grill and if you're like me, you're going to be waiting for those bundles of Romaine to just go up in flames. But they don't. Maybe because of the water content? Not sure. But if you leave it the 90 seconds, you'll be fine. Just look for the grill marks and you'll know you're done.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Interesting "problem" to have I suppose!
I have 18 points to eat yet today. And it's 4:39pm.
Yikes.
In my defense, I really assumed that my lunch was waaay more points that it turned out to be when I actually inputted it on the WW website. And that does include activity points which I try to eat the day I use them. Just works better for me.
Hmm. I mean, that's good because now I'm fairly unlimited for supper. BUT. I have no PLAN for supper. And dont' grocery shop until tomorrow. So I don't know how to use these bad boys up!
Pretty standard for me though on the first day getting back on track. Tomorrow I'll be RAVENOUS. Just wait. LOL!
Yikes.
In my defense, I really assumed that my lunch was waaay more points that it turned out to be when I actually inputted it on the WW website. And that does include activity points which I try to eat the day I use them. Just works better for me.
Hmm. I mean, that's good because now I'm fairly unlimited for supper. BUT. I have no PLAN for supper. And dont' grocery shop until tomorrow. So I don't know how to use these bad boys up!
Pretty standard for me though on the first day getting back on track. Tomorrow I'll be RAVENOUS. Just wait. LOL!
Monday, August 9, 2010
Return of the Grapefruit Spoon!
Some of you may remember this moment:
http://juliesjourneytoawesomeness.blogspot.com/2010/05/crab-stuffed-tomatoes.html
The moment I realized my pure geniousness in using the lowly grapefruit spoon as a multi-tasker.
OK. Hold onto your horses. I've got another one for you.
Cucumber de-seeder.
Yup. You read that right. Today, as I was forcing my choice of veggie on my kiddo she said, "But I don't like the seeds in cucumbers Mommy!" Which made me stop and think, "Huh. Neither do I. But being the mean Mommy I am, I always leave the seeds in her despite taking them off of mine." What you should know is that I'm also a cheap Mommy and refuse to buy those delightfully individually wrapped English cucumbers for twice as much money.
I had already cut her chunk off and had halved it. And the the epiphany struck.
GRAPEFRUIT SPOON!!!
Out it came from the depths of the silverware drawer and quick as a flash, seedless cucumber boat.
Awesomeness.
http://juliesjourneytoawesomeness.blogspot.com/2010/05/crab-stuffed-tomatoes.html
The moment I realized my pure geniousness in using the lowly grapefruit spoon as a multi-tasker.
OK. Hold onto your horses. I've got another one for you.
Cucumber de-seeder.
Yup. You read that right. Today, as I was forcing my choice of veggie on my kiddo she said, "But I don't like the seeds in cucumbers Mommy!" Which made me stop and think, "Huh. Neither do I. But being the mean Mommy I am, I always leave the seeds in her despite taking them off of mine." What you should know is that I'm also a cheap Mommy and refuse to buy those delightfully individually wrapped English cucumbers for twice as much money.
I had already cut her chunk off and had halved it. And the the epiphany struck.
GRAPEFRUIT SPOON!!!
Out it came from the depths of the silverware drawer and quick as a flash, seedless cucumber boat.
Awesomeness.
Carrot sticks and chicken broth
Isn't that what you used to be required to eat on a "diet" back in ye olde days? Eat as little as possible and you'll lose weight?
AGAIN, my body has proven to me that in order for it to lose weight, I just need to listen to it. This week, I made great choices about 80% of the time, sort of questionable choices 15% of the time and totally splurged 5% of the time. But really, who DOESN'T go for ice cream with their kid after their first soccer game??! And what sort of a lame-o wilting flower would I be if I was all, "Oh no, none for me. I couldn't POSSIBLY eat a scoop of ICE CREAM." It's one scoop of ice cream. And as long as I can make sure that doesn't parlay into 50 scoops, I'm good.
Yesterday though was a PERFECT example of having to listen to my body. Trying to conserve points at the end of a mediocre week in which my cheat weighs had shown I was losing nothing, I ate a little "lighter" than usual. Salad for lunch being the main culprit. And that would have been fine had I been home at 3pm when the hungries hit. But instead, I was at a finishing soccer practice and then on my way for a few errands. One of which was the grocery.
YIKES. ALERT ALERT!! Do NOT go to the grocery hungry!!
Well, I had to. So, off I go and at this point am RAVENOUS. But I'm also technically out of points (I'd preset my supper points earlier in the day and knew I'd be using them all). So I have a choice. I either get hungrier and hungrier until after supper is made in three hours OR I just eat something. I grabbed a Luna bar and ate it on the way home.
Now yes, back in "the day" BOY would that have been a no-no. Strict was the way to go. You don't allow yourself those indulgences as they make you week. You remain loyal to your will power of steel and, by God, you will be thin.
Well, I not only ate that Luna bar but also shared a ball of fresh mozz cheese and sliced tomatoes with Mark and the kiddo BEFORE even starting supper.
And lost a pound and a half "overnight".
So there carrot sticks. While I do enjoy you as a side dish to my lunch, you no longer control what else I can eat on this journey.
AGAIN, my body has proven to me that in order for it to lose weight, I just need to listen to it. This week, I made great choices about 80% of the time, sort of questionable choices 15% of the time and totally splurged 5% of the time. But really, who DOESN'T go for ice cream with their kid after their first soccer game??! And what sort of a lame-o wilting flower would I be if I was all, "Oh no, none for me. I couldn't POSSIBLY eat a scoop of ICE CREAM." It's one scoop of ice cream. And as long as I can make sure that doesn't parlay into 50 scoops, I'm good.
Yesterday though was a PERFECT example of having to listen to my body. Trying to conserve points at the end of a mediocre week in which my cheat weighs had shown I was losing nothing, I ate a little "lighter" than usual. Salad for lunch being the main culprit. And that would have been fine had I been home at 3pm when the hungries hit. But instead, I was at a finishing soccer practice and then on my way for a few errands. One of which was the grocery.
YIKES. ALERT ALERT!! Do NOT go to the grocery hungry!!
Well, I had to. So, off I go and at this point am RAVENOUS. But I'm also technically out of points (I'd preset my supper points earlier in the day and knew I'd be using them all). So I have a choice. I either get hungrier and hungrier until after supper is made in three hours OR I just eat something. I grabbed a Luna bar and ate it on the way home.
Now yes, back in "the day" BOY would that have been a no-no. Strict was the way to go. You don't allow yourself those indulgences as they make you week. You remain loyal to your will power of steel and, by God, you will be thin.
Well, I not only ate that Luna bar but also shared a ball of fresh mozz cheese and sliced tomatoes with Mark and the kiddo BEFORE even starting supper.
And lost a pound and a half "overnight".
So there carrot sticks. While I do enjoy you as a side dish to my lunch, you no longer control what else I can eat on this journey.
Friday, August 6, 2010
And this is why we only weigh once a week...
I will totally admit to being a cheat weigher. Not cheating in the NUMBER way. But cheating in the "don't weigh more than once a week" way. I *know* weights can fluctuate wildly even over the course of a day. In know this.
BUT....
I can't help myself when I'm doing Weight Watchers. I feel like I'm working soooo hard controlling my food intake that I should be losing like a pound a day. If not more. Like 10 pounds a day.
OK. Not really THAT much, but still. It's Friday morning. I want to look at the scale just over halfway for the week and see that my previous days of hard work have started budging the scale. And that hasn't happened this week. In fact, I weighed in on Monday morning and promptly GAINED two pounds by Tuesday.
HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN??!!
Blah. I know how it happens. It's just aggravating. So now I'm barely back to that Monday number, feel like I lost two pounds and they won't even count because I'm busting my butt just to break even again. I still weigh a LOT. It isn't totally unrealistic for me to expect to lose at least 1.5-2 pounds a week at this weight.
Maybe it's all going to just shoot right off magically on Sunday while I sleep. If that's going to be the case, it would be great if it would just take ALL the extra weight with it and we can just be done!
BUT....
I can't help myself when I'm doing Weight Watchers. I feel like I'm working soooo hard controlling my food intake that I should be losing like a pound a day. If not more. Like 10 pounds a day.
OK. Not really THAT much, but still. It's Friday morning. I want to look at the scale just over halfway for the week and see that my previous days of hard work have started budging the scale. And that hasn't happened this week. In fact, I weighed in on Monday morning and promptly GAINED two pounds by Tuesday.
HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN??!!
Blah. I know how it happens. It's just aggravating. So now I'm barely back to that Monday number, feel like I lost two pounds and they won't even count because I'm busting my butt just to break even again. I still weigh a LOT. It isn't totally unrealistic for me to expect to lose at least 1.5-2 pounds a week at this weight.
Maybe it's all going to just shoot right off magically on Sunday while I sleep. If that's going to be the case, it would be great if it would just take ALL the extra weight with it and we can just be done!
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