Freezer Cooking

Do you freezer cook? There are loads of resources online on once a month cooking (OAMC). Cooking just once a month would be great if I could only be that organized (and have the freezer space)! I haven't attempted any OAMC, but I do, occasionally, do what I call "freezer cooking". For example, if I'm making chicken casserole, I'll go ahead and double the recipe and freeze one for later. Lately, I've been inspired by Crystal, the author of the blog "Mom of Littles", to do some major freezer cooking before the baby gets here (She's also the inspiration behind the checklist) to make life a little simpler after sister's arrival.

I was off on Monday for the Easter holiday, and AP was with my husband's parents for a few days, so I seized the opportunity to spend some time in the kitchen. I decided I'd cook and freeze three chicken recipes that had similar ingredients but very different flavors. Then, I hit the grocery store. In addition to buying all the ingredients for my freezer cooking, I did my weekly shopping as well. My bill was higher than usual, but only by about a quarter. I can see how cooking once a month could really save on your grocery bill. Because I was cooking recipes with similar ingredients, I was able to buy things (like sour cream that usually go bad in my fridge before I use them) in bulk.

These are the ingredients that went into my three dishes...
plus a large bag of frozen chicken breasts, cooked and chopped. Boy, was I tired!
I doubled the recipes for chicken casserole, chicken tetrazini, and chicken enchiladas (recipes below). Since one of those recipes is too big for my family of three, I split most of them into 9 in square pans. Here are the fruits of my labor: 8 nights worths of freedom from the kitchen (not counting the inevitable left-overs)!
The whole ordeal took me about 3 hours. The hardest part was the Tetris game I had to play to get them all to fit in the freezer! I was totally worn out, but it was well worth it. I'll probably do one more round with a few beef dishes and maybe some muffins.

The Recipes
Warning: These are in no way diet dishes. They all include at least one or all of the ingredients essential to Southern cuisine: cream of mushroom soup, cream or chicken soup, sour cream, and butter.

*When I heat these from frozen, I double the baking time and bake covered with foil for 1/2 the time.

Mama's Chicken Casserole
When we were young, this is the dish my sister and I would always request on special occasions, like our birthdays. It's probably my number 1 comfort food still today.
You'll need:
- chicken (about 2 cups, , cooked and chopped)
- can of cream of mushroom soup
- can of cream of chicken soup
- sour cream (8 oz.)
- butter (1/2 stick, melted)
- two sleeves (at least) of crackers (My mom's always used Townhouse, but when I started making this mysef, I thought it was Ritz, so I ended up altering the recipe. I still use Ritz, but either will do.)

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Smash up crackers (I just squeeze them in the sleeve.) and pour them into a bowl.
3. Pour butter over crackers and stir until coated.
4. Put 1/2 of the crackers in the bottom of a casserole dish.
5. Mix the first 4 ingredients together and pour them in the casserole dish.
6. Top with the remaining crackers.
7. Bake for 30 minutes.

Chicken Enchiladas
At our house, we call them "fajita things". I think a more accuate term is "enchiladas". They're great the next day as left-overs - maybe even better than the first time around.
You'll need:
- chicken (about 2 cups, , cooked and chopped)
- sour cream (8 oz.)
- shredded cheese (I like sharp cheddar, but you can use whatever you want).
- butter (1/2 stick, melted, or spray butter)
- flour tortillas (burrito or fajita size will do)
- jar of salsa

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Lightly butter the tortillas, wrap in foil, and warm in the oven for about 5 mins.
3. Mix chicken, sour cream, and a handful of cheese. (At this stage you could also add in diced onion or any other veggie you'd like. My family likes 'em plain.)
4. Spoon some of the chicken mixture into the centers of the tortillas, roll them up, then place them width-wise in a casserole dish.
5. Spoon salsa over the top.
6. Bake for about 30 mins, or until the edges of the tortillas start to brown.
7. Top with cheese and bake a few more minutes until melted. (If you're freezing this one, don't add the cheese until you're ready to eat it.)

Chicken Tetrazini
I found this recipe in Bully's Best Bites. I believe it came from Beverly Hooks. I think I've added a few ingredients along the way. It super-easy and oh, so good!
You'll need:
- chicken (about 2 cups, cooked and chopped)
- thin spaghetti (12 oz., cooked and drained)
- small can of chopped mushrooms
- small can of peas
- butter (1 stick, cut into pieces)
- cream of chicken soup
- sour cream (8 oz.)
- cheddar cheese (1 cup)
- chicken broth (1 cup)

1. Mix all ingredients (leaving out 1/2 cup cheese) in a microwave-safe bowl.
2. Microwave for 12 mins., stirring occasionally.
3. Add the rest of the cheese.
4. If eating right away, mircrowave for two more minutes, then serve.
If freezing, spoon into freezer pans. When ready to eat, bake at 350 for about an hour.

Garage Sale Junkie

I think I'm addicted.
Sister and I spent Saturday garage and estate sale hopping. We found some great deals and had so much fun. We arrived at the first sale at 5:00 am and hit about 5 garage sales; then, after stopping at home to unload our treasures, we went to at an estate auction where we spent the rest of the day.

Emily and her garage sale "finds": three pairs of shoes, blue sandals for Smith, Banana Republic jeans, a blue cardigan, two blue trays, a Radio Flyer push wagon, a green vineyard ladder, three frames, a mirror, a small planter, two topiaries, a shelf, and a mirrored tray.




This lemonade stand at one sale was just precious.


I spent a total of $130, and these are my all of my "treasures":

four of these antique dining chairs

2 full-sized bedspreads

a pink pillow for AP's new "big sister" room


a camera for my favorite photographer


a Melissa & Doug clock puzzle
an apron and oven mitts for AP

one of my very favorite Disney movies

a small painting

a framed print

CD's to put me in a good mood on the way to work

a box full of craft, art, and sewing books and magazines

a cookbook

a Shel Silverstein book

a birthday cake book

three books: Wild at Heart, The Millionaire Mind, and You: The Owner's Manual

We got all of this before 7:00 am! There's so much more to tell about our experience at the estate sale, but I'll save that for another post.
Right now, we're planning our next garage sale shopping spree!

A Budding Photographer?

AP has developed an interest in photography. She loves to take pictures with my digital camera. I think these are some pretty interesting compositions. Don't you?








When taking my picture, she tells me where to put my hands and how to turn my head. It's hilarious. We had our family portrait made a couple of months ago for our church directory. I guess it made an impression!

Great Depression Cooking with Clara

Have you heard about Clara?
She's a 93 year-old great-grandmother with a cooking show on You Tube. I just came across her show today on The Simple Dollar (one of the blogs I frequent). She is just precious! She cooks a simple, affordable meal while telling stories of her childhood during the depression.
Her videos make me wish that I'd filmed my Grandma in the kitchen. I can't tell you how many times I've tried (and failed) to make her honeydew candy, and I'm still trying to get her buttermilk biscuits just right!
These two episodes show Clara cooking peppers and eggs, and they look yummy. If you enjoy these, check out her channel here.

30

I'm 30. I have been since last weekend. I don't feel any different, but it does give me pause. I remember when "30" sounded old! Being 30 doesn't change much. I've pretty much looked the same since 9th grade, and I'm still the same granny that I've always been, (sewing, doing crossword puzzles, and watching Murder, She Wrote in my spare time), but there's just something about that number!

I had a friend mention (according to a magazine article she'd read) that they say that we, being 30, should refrain from wearing mini-skirts. Let me make it clear that I cannot recall the last time I even tried on a mini-skirt, let alone left the house in one, but the idea that, because of one more birthday, my wardrobe is somehow limited flew all over me! It made me want run home and put on a mini-skirt, just to spite whoever they are.

I had a delightful birthday celebration that lasted the whole week, thanks to my wonderful friends and family: My sister and I had a relaxing spa weekend, friends took me to dinner, my parents surprised my at school with Chik-Fil-A biscuits and brownies* for my teacher friends, and my husband's family took me to dinner then to Mardi Gras! I was definitely spoiled! (Not to mention all the gifts, cards, and phone calls, and the sweet blog post I received.)

So, turning 30's not that bad. I just can't wait for Jason to join me at the end of this month. Just don't be surprised the next time you see me if I'm sporting a mini-skirt. (Only kidding. Don't forget I'm 6 months pregnant- could you imagine? Wait, you probably shouldn't!)


*The brownies (more like blondies/chess squares) my mom made and brought to school were probably the best I've ever eaten. I'm usually not big on sweets, but I couldn't stop eating these!

Here's the recipe:

Neiman Marcus Brownies

First Layer:

1 box of butter pecan cake mix

1 stick of melted butter

1 egg

1 cup chopped pecans

Mix butter and egg, stir into cake mix , add pecans and press into sprayed 9x13 pan.

Second Layer:

1 stick of butter

1 cream cheese ( 8 oz)

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 box powder sugar

1 cup chopped pecans

2 eggs

Beat butter, cream cheese, eggs and vanilla with a mixer, add powder sugar,add pecans and spread on top of fir

Publish Post

st layer.

Bake at 300 for 1 hour. If second layer still too gooey. Cook extra 5-10 min.

Let me know what you think!

Don't Eat Pete!

When Cousins Maggie was visiting a few weekends ago, we played our new favorite game, Don't Eat Pete! It's so much fun for toddlers and a great way to get them to eat, too! I found the game and a download for the board on a cute blog called Sparkle Power I printed it out and laminated it, and we were ready to go!

The game board has 12 squares with a picture in each one. You put a small treat (We used Cheerios.) in each square. One player leaves the room or covers his or her eyes and the others decide which fellow on the board is "Pete." When the person returns, they start eating the Cheerios from the game board. As soon as the player tries to pick "Pete," everyone yells "Don't eat Pete!" That players turn is over. Refill the game board and play again with the next player.
You can keep score by counting how many Cheerios are left, but don't worry with that yet.

The game board:
Mags (who rarely eats anything) got into the game!
AP - trying not to "Eat Pete"

Do You Clip Coupons?

I do. Well, I do now. I always thought that clipping coupons was too much trouble. Why take the time when you're only going to save a few cents? Now, I know it's totally worth it. Thanks to the following sites, I've saved over $25 each of my last three visits to the grocery store:

Money Saving Mom
Money Saving Methods
The Simple Dollar
Thrifty Jinxy
The Grocery Game

Here are the steps I've learned to take that have drastically reduced my grocery bill:
1. Clip coupons. I do this in 3 ways.
1.) The old fashion way - Clip them from the Sunday paper, magazines, or "junk
mail."
2.)Print them - There are tons of sites out there where you can print your own
coupons; just google "coupons," and you'll see.
3.)Electronically - this way has to be my favorite! On ShortCuts.com, you can click
on the coupons you want, they'll be loaded onto your Kroger card (or
whatever store you use), and then you can print out a list of the coupons and their
expiration dates. You can also do this through Kroger.com.

2. Make a plan. Using the sales flyer (found at the store or on your store's website) to see what's currently on sale and my coupons as a guide, I plan a week of meals. Then, I write out my shopping list.

3. Stick to the list. This is a biggie for me. It's hard not to drop extras into my cart, especially when I see something that I think Anne Parks would love or when I'm hungry (which, lately, has been pretty much all the time), but having a meal plan, a list, and the challenge of saving more than last week has made it much easier.

4. Have fun! It is such a great feeling when the cashier starts swiping those coupons, and the total begins to go down little by little. This has become a game for me, and the receipt showing my savings is my little trophy.

On my last trip, my total started out at $162, and after the coupons and my Kroger savings, it was $135. That's a savings of $27 or 20%! If I can save that much each week, that's a savings of $100 a month! A little bit of planning goes a long way!

So, give coupon-clipping a try, and let me know how it goes!