This is so true....

Mother Theresa really knew what she was talking about.   :) 

Source: dopefreshlife.com via Melissa on Pinterest

4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. I Corinthians 13:4-7

Meatball Calzone & Pizza dough recipe

If you have been following my blog recently I have begun cooking ahead and freezing meals in order to not only save time but to save money and feed my family more healthy, home cooked meals.   I am excited to keep doing this and this doesn't mean I am just reheating meals.  I find more time to figure out other meals that can be frozen and to prepare other things like Cinnamon rolls, cookie balls that can be frozen and also time to perfect a bread recipe to make at home that freezes well.  I am also trying to get all these recipes entered here so my friends can access them easily and I can use them for reference each month when menu planning.   
So here goes another recipe using things I froze a couple of weeks ago.

MEATBALL CALZONES
Here is just another use for the meatballs and pasta sauce that was premade, they don't have to be used strictly for spaghetti and meatballs anymore.  :) 


**you can also just make meatball hoagies if you don't have time to make the dough**


1 baggie of frozen meatballs  (from freeze ahead meals recipe)
1 baggie of sauce       (from freeze ahead meals recipe) 
Homemade pizza dough
Provolone cheese slices
Shredded mozzarella cheese 






Place meatballs and sauce into crockpot and cook on hi for 4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.  


make pizza dough from recipe below.


PIZZA DOUGH
1 tbsp yeast  (I use quick rise yeast)
1 c warm water
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter, softened
2 3/4 cup flour


 add sugar to water, soften yeast in sugar/water mixture (about 5-10 mins.)
Add remaining ingredients and mix well.  Knead dough for several minutes.  Let rise for 1 hour.   Cut dough in half, roll each out to be rectangles.  Place on greased cookie sheet before filling w/ meatballs!!!   
Place cheese slices on dough down the middle, (leave about 1 1/2 inches at top and bottom and on the sides leave enough room to fold over meatballs and cheese to seal closed.) add sauce and meatballs, sprinkle with mozzarella.  Fold bottom and top of dough then sides and seal well.  You can brush with egg wash or just place it in the oven.  Make two small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.   Bake at 400 degrees until dough is fully cooked and golden brown.   Let it rest about 10 -15 mins before cutting so cheese can set up a bit and doesn't run out all over.   


Easy, delicious and fun for the kids to help make also.   
ENJOY!!





4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. I Corinthians 13:4-7

More yummy freezer recipes

Who doesn't like a warm cinnamon roll fresh out of the oven?   Sure we go out and buy them at the store, warm em up in the microwave, all the while hoping they will taste like the "from scratch" ones we had that one time.   
For a long time I didn't like to try such things.  Afraid that they wouldn't come out tasting light and fluffy with just enough cinnamon sugar and yummy glaze over the top.  
Well I have the answer to all those who think they can't make a good cinnamon roll.  Before I give you the recipe I am going to say I have to give credit where credit is due.   I got this recipe from a friend in a MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) group I once belonged to when my kids were little.   Evelyn H. I owe these all to you lady!!   Your recipe has earned me praises from my family and for that I Thank You!!  :)


Cinnamon Rolls
3/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter  (1 1/2 sticks)
2 eggs beaten
6 cups flour
1 tbsp dry yeast (I buy the quick rise in the jar)
1 cup warm water
1 cup boiling water 


*Filling*  
brown sugar and cinnamon (I don't measure this but approximately 1/3 cup sugar)  Cinnamon as much as you like about 2 tbsp or so I would guess. 


*frosting* 
powdered sugar (about 2 cups)
Unsweetened vanilla almond milk  (start out with just a couple of tablespoons and work it in till smooth and consistency you like)
vanilla extract  1-2 tsps depending on taste you like.


Place white sugar, salt and butter into mixing bowl.  
Pour boiling water over top of butter, sugar salt mixture
place yeast into 1 cup of warm water and let rise (I sometimes add a pinch of sugar to this)  
Add 2 cups flour and the beaten eggs to first mixture, then add yeast, then add the rest of the flour.
mix thoroughly.  Do not remove the dough from the mixing bowl.  Place in a draft free place to rise.
When dough is double in size, punch it down and let rise again till double.
You can stop now or you can let it rise another time.  I often let it rise 3 times before rolling it out.   
Dough will still be a little sticky so I place a piece of parchment on my counter and flour it lightly before laying out the dough. 
Roll out the dough into a rectangle about 1/8 in thick.   
Sprinkle with some milk or cream.  (* I use vanilla almond milk*)
sprinkle sugar/cinnamon mixture on top of milk.
roll using the parchment to help roll more evenly.  
cut into 1 - 1 1/2 in slices and place in greased pans.  Let rise again till doubled and bake at 350 degrees about 20 minutes. 


Drizzle glaze on while still warm.  ENJOY!! 


**if you want to freeze these, slice them and lay them in a ziploc baggie flat and lay flat in freezer till firm.**  to bake place frozen rolls in greased pan and let rise till double, bake at 350 for 20 minutes.**  



4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. I Corinthians 13:4-7

Parenting

Being a parent is not always a fun job.  Being the "bad guy" and having to be the "enforcer of rules and consequences" is not my favorite part of being a parent.  But it is very neccessary especially in this day and age of limited face to face social contact.   Kids don't talk face to face much anymore.  I have noticed this with my own children.  Mostly my oldest as she has access to Facebook, cell phone & internet.  They don't even use their cell phones to actually make a phone call much anymore.  Texting is the way they communicate.  I really believe that when you only text, or Facebook chat a lot of the meaning, feeling and emotion is taken out of the conversation.  Things can be taken the wrong way.  Thoughts and feelings are all over the place and assumptions are made solely on the words flashing on the screen.   It can make for some even rougher patches between parent and child as well.   


Parents are human....parents are not perfect.   We do the best we can with the tools and information we have for each individual situation.   


I often ask myself, "where did I go wrong?"   You see, my oldest daughter really has been pushing the boundaries more and more each day.   It's as if she wants to push as hard as she can to see what we will do.   What do we do?   As parents we have seen her struggle and although we still want to help her figure things out.  So that when she does go out on her own she is prepared for the world and all the not so fun stuff that comes along with being a grown up on their own.  
I go over and over in my head and I know I definitely did my best and tried to teach her how to be responsible, how to treat others and how to be respectful and work hard.  
Where do I draw the line?  How much do I take before I finally say, "You haven't shown us that you can respect our rules, or us for that matter, it's time for you to go".   


I am terrified for her.  


I worry constantly about how she will make it on her own with nothing.  As my grandmother used to say, "without a pot to piss in".    This is the truth, not a penny to her name, no vehicle, she has just a few short months to go till she graduates high school, and her job isn't scheduling her much.   She is applying for other jobs.  
I wish I saw much more motivation, more drive to become independent and rely on her own resources to survive out there in the cold cruel world.  
Do all parents go through this??  How do they handle it??  So many questions with so little time.


Kids grow up way too fast, I wish I  knew the answers and how to let go of my baby bird and pray that she can fly.  
There is a saying I have always loved and have been driven to emulate, 
"Together, let us give our children roots to grow and wings to fly".   


I hope I have planted her roots deep enough for her to survive the hardships, and wings big enough to take her where she wants to go.  Still I am worried!! 



4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. I Corinthians 13:4-7

This morning we re-heated the first of our "Breakfast burritos" that we made and froze on Saturday.   WOW!!  Was the word of the morning.  2 minutes in the microwave was perfect.  Everything was still moist and very tasty.  
 J.R. did mention two things that should be done when reheating. 
1. after about 1 minute flip them over (one side got a little crunchy but it wasn't bad)
2. remove the paper towel right away after heating....it sticks to the burrito if you don't.


Nothing major, but thought I would let everyone know.  I am going to amend the recipe to reflect that.   


4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. I Corinthians 13:4-7

The morning after cooking day...

I went to bed sore and achey, but awoke to a freezer full of meals!!   Even though our house still smells of  MEAT, I am pleased with our effort and our accomplishment.  

I think I have caught the "cook ahead" bug.  LOL    I plan to research some bread recipes we can freeze and perhaps come up with a plan to make ahead things like low cal/ low fat muffins, cookie dough, and even some regular bread dough recipes and we could bake a small loaf each day according to our needs.  It has to be cheaper than buying bread!!   Besides who doesn't like fresh baked bread??  ;-)

Today we are going to make a big batch of waffles and a big batch of pancakes to freeze.  The kids like to have pancakes and waffles sometimes for breakfast.  

I still have to make a slow cooker full of yogurt as well.   Hopefully Monday or Tuesday I will get that done.

Thanks for all those who have been reading the blog and I hope you come back and visit often to see what new stuff I am cooking up in our kitchen and in our lives.  :)  

4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. I Corinthians 13:4-7

Red & Black bean Vegetarian Chili

Vegetarian Chili 

2 big cans crushed tomatoes

1 can rotel tomatoes

½ bag of frozen white corn

2 -3 cups beans (black and red kidney)

1 cup chopped red onion

½ cup chopped green pepper

1/3 cup chopped yellow pepper

1/3 cup chopped red pepper

1/3 cup chopped orange pepper

1/8 cup red pepper flakes

¼ cup chili powder

Mark a 1 gallon ziploc freezer bag w/ what it inside…date…and how to reheat.

Open up the bag and place inside a sturdy bowl.

Pour ingredients into the bag and stir gently with a spoon.  Zip closed removing air and lay flat in a pan with sides to form and place in freezer.   

To re-heat thaw in refrigerator then place in slow cooker on low for 4 hours.   

You can add some meat (ground beef, turkey, pork) or you can keep it vegetarian and just add some soy Crumbles to before reheating.  

4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. I Corinthians 13:4-7

Basic Tomato, garlic, onion, Basil sauce

Pasta sauce       

8 cans crushed tomatoes

1 big bunch of fresh basil  (chopped)

3 medium yellow onions chopped

10 good sized garlic cloves (grated )

Olive Oil  about 1/3 cup

Heat olive oil in big sauce pot.  Saute onions till slightly soft, grate garlic into the onions and sauté a few more minutes.  Add tomatoes and stir in basil.    Put in baggies and freeze. 

To reheat put contents of baggie into a slow cooker and heat on low for a few hours. 

***If you add the frozen meatballs you made or any other meats cook until meat is completely cooked.

***You can also use this sauce for pizza sauce as well....add a bit of oregano before reheating and use on a yummy homemade whole wheat pizza crust.  

4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. I Corinthians 13:4-7

MEATBALLS!!!

Meatballs to freeze….

5 lbs hamburger

1 container of plain bread crumbs

3 tbsp italian seasoning

10 eggs

Mix together completely and form into meatballs.

To freeze in a baggie, place them on a plate or pan that fits in the freezer, in one layer and chill until firm.  Add to baggies and freeze.

To cook.....Thaw meatballs in fridge, and either cook in skillet or oven till done.  Or the other option is to place in a slow cooker w/ 1 baggie of sauce and cook on low for about 6 hours till meat is cooked through.

Alternate cooking ideas...

Sweet & Sour Meatballs

Use meatballs from freezer that have been thawed, place in slow cooker w/ 1 jar of chili sauce and 1 small jar of grape jelly.  (or 1 can cranberry sauce).   Cook on low for about 6 hours stirring a couple of times.  Serve over rice or with noodles and butter as a side dish.  :) 

4Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. I Corinthians 13:4-7

Chicken and Stuffing Casserole

Chicken and stuffing casserole (this makes 2 casseroles)  *serves 6 each*

3-4 chicken breasts  *cut up into small pieces*

1 bag frozen peas

2 cans cream of chicken soup

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1 can French fried onions

2 pkgs stove top stuffing mix (I use chicken flavor)

Mix together soups w/ 2 cans water.  Add the French fried onions, frozen peas, and chicken and mix thoroughly.  Spray casserole dish with veg spray and pour mixture in dish.  Top with stuffing mix and press into the  stuffing into the liquid, cover and freeze.

To reheat.....Thaw in refrigerator then bake covered w/ Foil  at 350 degrees for about 45 mins-1 hour.   Till everything is all bubbly and chicken is cooked through. 

Serve w/ cranberry sauce and crusty dinner rolls.    :)

4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. I Corinthians 13:4-7

Chicken, Broccoli, Alfredo

Chicken broccoli alfredo (this makes two baggies/meals)

2 jars alfredo sauce

Frozen broccoli florets  (about 4 handfuls)

3 chicken breasts poached in the oven (reserve the poaching liquid)

Poach the chicken breasts in a shallow pan w/ 1 ½ cups water and cover with foil.  Let rest about 20 minutes before shredding.

Prepare the baggie and add 2 handfuls of broccoli, ½ of the shredded chicken, 1 jar of alfredo sauce and ½ of the poaching liquid.   Mix and seal up to freeze. 

To reheat, just thaw in the fridge.  Reheat slowly in a saucepan till warm and serve over hot pasta ( I usually do Bowtie pasta)  

4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. I Corinthians 13:4-7

Marinades I made today...

Marinades for Chicken or Pork!!!

  mix these together in the baggies and add the raw meat...let them sit in the fridge for a couple of hours and then freeze flat and store.  Be sure to mark your baggies as to what is inside  :) !

Orange/ginger marinade

2 cups orange juice

2 tbsp grated fresh ginger

1 tbsp grated fresh garlic

1 tbsp soy sauce

Teriyaki pineapple  marinade

1 cup of pineapple juice   (I drained 1 big can of pineapple chunks in 100% juice)

1 bottle teriyaki sauce

1 tbsp grated fresh ginger

1 tbsp grated fresh garlic

Honey Mustard Marinade

½ cup Dijon mustard

½ cup white wine vinegar

½ cup honey

4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. I Corinthians 13:4-7

Breakfast Burrito Recipe (make and Freeze)

We are done cooking and prepping for today!!  :)   We now have an "inventory" sheet on the front of our freezer so we know what is in there.  We can now cross off each meal we eat.   To be honest I really thought this was going to be much more stressful.  I was very nervous going into this, but I really believe I CAN do this EVERY MONTH!!   With a shopping list that is the same each time, and recipes that are not too difficult to assemble but freeze well and reheat well.  

Tips I really suggest.....

PLAN meals ahead.

Clean out Refrigerator/ Freezer and cupboards so you know what supplies you have already and what you need. 

SHOP one day and COOK the next.  

Shop with a list and stick to it.  

CHOP all veggies at one time, put them in bowls and it goes so much faster.

Things that don't need to be cooked can be just assembled and put in the freezer right away. 

Last but not least...KEEP IT SIMPLE.   I had to remind myself of this one a million times over the past couple of weeks while doing the research, planning and cleaning stages.   (I tend to over complicate things at times).

So here goes....Recipes for the meals I made today.   

Breakfast Burritos –  This made about 24 burritos

15 eggs  beaten and cooked

2 lbs bulk breakfast sausage

Chopped green, red, yellow and orange peppers (1 of each)

Chopped red onion (about 1 large)

1 pkg sliced fresh mushrooms

1 bag hashbrown shredded potatoes (thawed)

Shredded cheddar cheese

Flour tortillas  (Burrito sized)

Cook sausage, drain and cool

Saute mushrooms, peppers, onions in a skillet w/ salt and pepper till onions start to become translucent.  Peppers should still be firm.   Once cooked set in a bowl and cool.

Once everything is cooled, mix together sausage, veggies and potatoes.   

Scramble eggs and cook them, let cool.

Microwave flour tortillas for about 1 minute to make more pliable.

Ratios of ingredients for each burrito is…….1/4 cup scrambled egg mixture, a good pinch of finely shredded cheddar, 1/3 cup veggie, sausage, potato mixture.

Roll up burritos and wrap in foil individually and place in freezer bag.

 To re-heat….unwrap frozen burrito, wrap in paper towel and microwave for 2 minutes, flip it over after 1 minute and continue to heat for the other minute.   Remove the paper towel right away or it could stick to the tortilla.   :)   ENJOY!!!

4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. I Corinthians 13:4-7

5 hours and 18 meals completed!!

Here is our freezer just a few hours in to cooking ahead.  I can't believe how smoothly this has gone so far.   So far the list is as follows


5 lbs of meatballs  (85 total) = 3 meals with 10 left to mix w/ sausages for hoagies.
2 gallon size bags of Vegetarian chili w/ red and black beans
2 chicken w/ stuffing casseroles
2 meals of Teriyaki pineapple chicken (made the marinade myself)
1 meal of Honey Dijon mustard white wine chicken breasts  (I made this marinade myself)
1 meal of Orange/Ginger/Garlic chicken breasts  (made this one up too)
2 meals of Chicken Broccoli Alfredo  
3 meals of pulled pork
Bean & Rotel mixture that I will mix with rice and have a Vegetarian meal or side dish. 
Basic spaghetti sauce made w/ tomatoes, onions, olive oil, garlic & basil. 




The last few things we are going to prepare is some ground beef that can be added to sauce, or used as taco meat for taco salads.  Also, breakfast burritos made w/ egg, mushroom, sausage, peppers, onions, hashbrowns & cheese.  They will be quick and easy breakfasts for the whole family as with any other family, we don't have a lot of time in the morning for much more than a bagel or cereal on the run.  


The thing I think I love the most about this whole process is....it has been fun.   Don't get me wrong it is quite an undertaking but, I am so fortunate to have my wonderful husband helping me by doing anything that needs to be done from shredding pork to washing up dishes.    

Chicken & Stuffing Casseroles 

Chop once and use for several dishes!!!

Making your own marinades!!!  

After making meatballs freeze a bit 

to firm them up before putting in baggies

to help them keep their shape!!

I will get the recipes up as soon as I can.  Now back to cooking.....break time is over.  

4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. I Corinthians 13:4-7

Let the cooking begin!!!

Today begins the marathon cooking day for my "month of meals" plan I spoke about a few posts ago.   


Let me start by saying, the most important step you must take is PLANNING!!   I brainstormed  and recalled meals that my family really likes, I wrote down several meals on a sheet of paper.  It all looked so overwhelming at first, but then I figured that I don't have to make a different meal each night.   My family enjoys eating things more frequently so why not make those dishes 2 or 3 times.   I know it's all common sense but really, when you undertake a mission like this common sense seems to hide in a corner for a minute.  (at least mine did anyway because I felt overwhelmed).   I whittled my list down and realized not all the meals need to be completely done and frozen.  In the time it would take to boil some pasta or make some rice...a meal can be complete if the meat is marinated, cooked already etc....So the also helped to ease the pressure. 


Next thing I did was to clean out the refrigerator, freezer and cupboards.  Taking inventory of what we have and what we need to make certain recipes.  As I thought about the things I would be making I tried to keep a running list of items we would need more of.  
Next up...grocery shopping.  I stuck to a list.  I did have help with the shopping as my husband loves to shop.   :)   It took us almost 2 hours from start to finish, methodically going through the store and getting only the items in the quantities I had listed.  (I figured quantities by how I made single meals and either doubled or tripled them).


We made sure to buy lots of freezer bags, quart and gallon sizes.  We also bought a couple of great covered Pyrex casserole dishes that can go right into the freezer.   On many of the sites I researched I found they used either aluminum pans or containers.  I think the Pyrex dishes will pay for themselves in no time, and they are versatile enough for what we need.  (and we found a size that will fit nicely into our freezer.)  :)


When we got home from shopping I put a big pork butt roast into our biggest slow cooker with just some liquid smoke on it and put it on low and let it cook while we slept.  That will be the base of quite a few meals....How easy was that???  :)   


We awoke this morning to the smell of pork roast all yummy and cooked in the slow cooker.  We will let that cool and shred it up for meals....bag it and tag it is going to be the saying of the day!!  LOL


I took a break to blog about the progress so far.  I have chopped all the peppers and onion we will need for all the dishes, and have even thrown together two huge bags of Vegetarian chili w/ kidney beans & black beans.  They are already in the freezer!!  :)


I will be putting up the recipes later on with quantities and also some pictures of things as I progress through the day.   On that note....back to work.   Break time is over.  


If you are going to do this...My advice is put on some music that motivates you, have fun with it...and think of all the wonderful, homemade, healthy meals you will have completed for yourself and your family.  


4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. I Corinthians 13:4-7

Winter break is over!!

Back to school after a holiday break is usually quite stressful.  But, I think we pulled it off this morning.   I didn't want to get up either but I did and the kids got up without argument and did what they had to do.  I was amazed!!   There was no fighting, whining or yelling.   Wish it could be like that every day!!   Perhaps the kids have made some resolutions for themselves this year that I don't know about.  
Nah...probably not.  LOL
One can dare to dream right???  

I always look at Winter break as the school year is about half over now.   In the past this is usually the time of year when the kids really grow emotionally and they tend to mature a little bit.   I think due to the fact that generally the first part of the school year is review and then the rest is more new learning.   I don't know really, I am just speculating at best.   I have noticed that since we got the Wii, there has been more teamwork between Ryan and Elizabeth.   I love that.   They are working hard at it, and I am glad that we stipulated that as one of the "rules and conditions" of being able to use the Wii.    The way I see it, if they can practice it at home and learn to do it here.  They can take those skills out into the world and really do wonderful things.  

Shelby is 18 now.......I know I shouldn't feel old as I normally don't, but alas I do.   I worry even more now than I did before.   Seems the worries grew the minute she turned 18.   I guess I should have expected that right?  


4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. I Corinthians 13:4-7

33 MEALS (The Plan) :)

As the title implies I  have planned 33 meals to make in hopefully one weekend and get in the freezer so I won't have to think about meals every day and hopefully get our grocery bill lowered as well as our waistlines.   :)   As I make things I can post the recipes for them too but for right now...here is my basic outline and plan.


My goal is to get all the shopping done at one time.  Before that I will clear out the refrigerator of everything that is old and really no used often.  I want to just come home from shopping and get everything out of the car and into the fridge right off the bat.
That evening I plan to put 2 whole chickens in a big stock pot w/ some celery, onion and carrots and cook the chickens.   (the meat will be shredded or cut up and measured out into freezer baggies for meals and the stock will be placed into a few containers to be frozen for a quick throw together chicken noodle soup.  :)  I also plan to put a pork roast into each of our 2 crockpots and season one with liquid smoke and garlic and the other will just have some salt and pepper on it.   (one will be shredded and used for pulled pork sandwiches and the other will be used to add to other dishes)


Day 2 will be cooking day!!   Chopping veggies will take up some time but I will chop it all at once and then line things up in bowls to just add the right amount to each dish.  I want to do this as quickly and as efficiently as possible so I will open up all the cans at once as well and line those up too.   


Here are the recipes I plan to put together that day...(some are just the meat component and will just need to be thrown in the oven or into a sauce to cook but the hardest part will be done).


I plan to make.....
Meatballs  *pasta & meatballs or meatball hoagies*
Chili w/ just beans (we can use some of the pork or even shredded chicken in this to bulk it up) * we will have the chili w/ cornbread a couple of times, and use it for Chili topped baked potatoes too.*
Taco Meat  ( just cook up hamburger w/ taco seasoning and then put in baggies, this will be for taco salad & Burritos)
Marinated chicken breasts (make a few simple marinades and let sit in fridge a few hours then freeze, no cooking involved until you want to eat them...thaw and cook)
Marinated Pork Loin Chops  (I found a few marinade recipes that look good..do the same as chicken)
Enchilada casserole  *using either chicken or pork that has been shredded* 
Chicken, green bean & stuffing casserole *my family loves this and it is real easy to make*
Beef & Bean burritos  (taco meat and refried beans w/ some cheese in a tortilla and freeze, it's just that easy)
Spinach lasagna w/ meat sauce   *Easy and yummy*  
Chicken broccoli Alfredo over angel hair pasta  (Uses pre-cooked chicken, frozen broccoli & jar alfredo sauce over pasta)
Breakfast for dinner....either pancakes or waffles (which I will premake and freeze)
A huge pot of spaghetti sauce (tomato & Basil) This can be used for many meals!!
Homemade pizza dough  *no more ordering out for pizza, we can make what we like at home* 




I also plan on premaking Breakfast burritos that can just be made and frozen and reheated in the microwave for a healthy, filling, and nutritious breakfast on the go.  These will have peppers, onions, mushrooms, sausage & cheese wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla.  


I have other things I already do to  make Breakfast easier like making Crockpot Yogurt and homemade granola and also crockpot steel cut oats.  Which can be made once a week and then easily reheated.  


So far that is the plan.....Once I go shopping, and make the meals I will be able to post an actual shopping list of ingredients as I tweak it and refine recipes etc.   


Most of these recipes I will double or triple and we will eat them twice or three times in that month.   Some things I will only make one of and try out to see how they work w/ freezing so I don't waste money on making something I am not familiar with.   


Here's to a Happy New Year!!   :) 





4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. I Corinthians 13:4-7

2012 is here!!!

It's a new year....time for resolutions....or NOT!!


I don't want to make resolutions this year, I just want to do things better than I have in the past.   I have run the list of past resolutions and where has it gotten me??   Well I am still overweight, and still in pain.   (guess what my resolution has been all these years?  LOL ) 


This year...my goal is Organization!!  Everything from optimizing the space in our house as our kids get bigger and the house seems smaller to planning and cooking ahead meals 1 month at a time.   
It sounded overwhelming to me at first until I started doing some research.  I have found sites that helped me to make a list of favorite meals my family enjoys, what kinds of meats we like and how complicated we want a meal to be.   I think once I get past the first shopping excursion and the first month of meals cooked and frozen it should hopefully get easier from there.   I like variety.   I get bored with the same old things week after week.  I was always envious of those people who ate the same things week after week...after all it was easy to stick to the same shopping list week after week.  Well that isn't me so I will obviously have more work to do, but I believe once I get in the hang of it...1 day a month will be spent shopping and 1 day cooking and then I don't have to think about it for 30 days!!   :)  *I love the thought of that*


Besides it will free up more time for me to spend with J.R. and the kids.  I will even have time to do the dreaded "E"!!   (Exercise)  I hate it but I know it is the only way I am going to be able to actually diminish pain in my back and to lose weight and get strong.  


I guess that is about it, I just wanted to say Happy New Year and I will be blogging about the Month of Meals shopping and prep when I start doing it.  
As of now I have lists on paper, ready to go.   It might be a week or two before I can actually get to the shopping and cooking.   After that watch out!!  LOL 



4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. I Corinthians 13:4-7