Cooking and Freezing Meals Ahead of Time
I came to a realization a few weeks ago. I don’t like to cook. I kind of like baking (desserts, etc.) but not cooking. The daily grind of having to figure out what’s for dinner and cook it. And why is it that this is usually the kid’s worst time of day when they are most likely to act up. That doesn’t help.
That factor, combined with the fact that I am going back to work part time when Natalie starts preschool in a few weeks, has led me to figure out what I can do to help with the whole dinner problem.
I’ve looked into companies like Entrees Made Easy. The food looks wonderful (although I’m not sure my family would eat all of it) and I’ve heard rave reviews from people who have used it. They do all the prep, you just go, put the meals together and then take them home and freeze them. But it costs about $18-20 per meal – more than my grocery budget allows.
Sparked by someone’s blog post I have discovered a ton or resources out there for cooking ahead and freezing meals. Stuff that tells you what freezes good and what doesn’t. How long you can freeze certain foods.
There are several cookbooks that sound interesting – a couple I can get at the library to try out.
The ladies who wrote the first book have a great web site with lots of info and recipes.
There are different ways you can accomplish the same thing – one big baking day, mini-sessions, etc. For now I think that as I menu plan I am going to see which recipes I am making that would be easy to double (or triple) with the extras to go in the freezer. Later if I get adventurous maybe I’ll schedule a big cooking day. You can even do it with a friend which I think would be fun.
Free Stuff
Who doesn’t like free stuff? Love Shak is giving away TWO $250 gift certificates to Gymboree. So head over there and throw your hat in the ring.
A Plea from my Sister-In-Law
My brother Phil and his wife Tricia have entered a local radio station’s "Dream Garage Giveaway" and are asking for help recruiting the votes. Here is her plea…
As you may know, we squeezed our two households into 1500
square feet in Davis. Our garage is a nightmare, since that’s where
the overflow goes. We would love your help to change our storage
nightmare into a beautifully organized garage! We recently entered a
contest to win a Garage Makeover from a local radio station: KFBK. We
submitted a photo and a 50-word essay on why we should get a makeover.
Two full households
combined, five bicycles, skis, food, wrapping paper, souvenirs, tools, vases,
kitchen appliances, camping gear, a dog kennel, Christmas decorations, teaching
supplies, and the occasional mouse makes one FRIGHTENING GARAGE! No
journey into it occurs without some loathing and fear of collapsing
piles. Please, please help us!
Tricia is a little bit like me in the whole anal retentive organizing area – she alphabetizes her canned goods for goodness sake! (I mean that with all the love Trish 
So I can totally identify with how crazy this must drive her.
So if you’d please take a few minutes and vote for them it would be great. Note it does send you an email that you have to click on the link to actually verify your vote. Feel free to forward along to others who might vote for them – all in the name of marital happiness They announce the winner on Wednesday so get your vote in soon.
To vote:
- Go directly to http://www.kfbk.com/pages/voting_dreamGarage.html
- Scroll down to T. Rhodes and click on it to vote for
us. - You will then receive an e-mail to verify your
vote. - You just need to click on the link and your vote is
official.
Dog Days of Summer Giveaway
UPDATED: Comments are now closed.
P.S. If you asked about pricing, please be patient. I will get the information to you soon. I’m trying to get some pictures of the various sizes so I can give you details.
The ever-brilliant Shannon, of Rocks In My Dryer, came up with the Dog Days of Summer Giveaway. (Read more about it here.)
So here’s my giveaway….drumroll….
One lucky winner will receive a custom-made "Memory Purse". I’ve made several of these as gifts and they’ve gotten rave reviews. And when I carry mine I get oh-so-many comments. They are made from wood boxes (so that’s what the inside will look like). This is an example of one I made for my sister-in-law.
The winner will get to email me up to 2 pictures to be included on the purse and may also select the "general" color scheme (i.e. blues, pastels, earth tones, etc.) The final design will vary but that’s the fun part right?
Due to it’s size and cost of shipping my giveaway is only open to U.S. residents. Sorry
To be entered in the drawing just leave a comment. You must provide a valid e-mail address, but you do not have to have a blog. I will choose a winner at random sometime on Friday, the 27th.
Head back over to Shannon’s to enter yourself in more great giveaways.
The fine print:
Once I receive the winners pictures please allow up to 7-10 days for creation of your masterpiece.
UPDATED: Because someone asked, yes I do make these for sale. Price depends on size but starts at $25 and up. If you want more information, just say so in your comment and I’ll get back with you.
Filed Under “Can we Get More Degrading”
SERIOUSLY! We wonder why women are objectified … this is why … or rather just one example.
Bikini-clad mowers offer lawn care with a twist
‘You get the attention but you also get a tan,’ employee says of business
You really gotta read the whole story. I loved this part… "Some customers sit in lawn chairs and have a beer while watching, he said."
I don’t get what would make a young woman want this job. Do you???
Girls Night Out!
Last night a bunch of ladies from church went and saw Hairspray (for which I’m sure my husband is thankful because that meant he didn’t have to go). Brooke organized the whole thing and we had a blast.
There’s something about a musical that makes you leave the theatre happy and humming a tune. No matter how much I enjoy an action flick, or a good chick flick, there is definitely something different about a musical.
I’ve been lucky enough to see Hairspray on stage twice – once at ASU Gammage w/ Stacey and once on Broadway with my SIL Jen. The movie was just as much fun and stayed pretty true to the story. And John Travolta in a fat suit was just hysterical! All the cast did an awesome job.
So if you’re in the mood for something fun to do, head to the theatre.
WFMW – Using Up Old Bananas
I thought that everybody knew this trick but in talking with some ladies lately I discovered that it just ain’t so, so here it is.
If you’re like me we often end up with one or two bananas in the bunch that go bad before we eat them. Really once they starting turning brown on the outside my kids refuse to eat them no matter what they actually are like on the inside.
But overripe bananas are AWESOME for cooking. So take those old bananas and toss them in the freezer for a later baking episode. There are two ways two do this. First, you can throw them in a gallon Ziploc bag still in the peel. Then when you’re baking something you can usually pry out the number of bananas you need (you can always do a quick partial defrost in the freezer if you can’t separate them). Then when they are thawed you split open the peel at the bottom and then just kind of squish out the banana.
If that seems a little gross to you then you can peel them before you freeze and freeze them in quart size bags – usually 3-4 bananas to a bag. At least that seems to be what my two favorite recipes call for.
As a bonus I’ll even give you the two favorite recipes:
Chocolate-Bottom Banana Squares – super yummy, not super sweet and don’t even have a strong banana flavor
Super Easy Banana Bread Recipe
1 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. baking mix (i.e. Bisquick or generic)
2 egg whites, gently beaten
3-4 mashed bananas
1/4 c. chopped nuts (optional).
Combine sugar and baking mix. Add egg whites and bananas. Stir. Ad nuts. Pour into greased loaf pan. Bake 1 hour at 325 degrees.
Back to Shannon’s for more ideas.
Tattle Telling
I’ve never held a real strong position on the whole tattle telling issue. Yes, there are days where it seems to go on and on and I’ll issue the "No more tattle telling" edict. But it’s not an all-the-time rule in our house. I guess I’ve just never thought about it much.
My friend Stacey is much stricter about this rule – last week a bunch of us had taken the kids to a fun place and her son Josh came into to me to tattle tell on something Noah had done to him. Stacey promptly stopped him, pulled him aside and talked to him. Life went on.
Then Sunday we were sitting in church and Pastor Greg mentioned the Biblical principle of resolving conflict with someone in Matthew 18:15-17 – it was kind of in passing, not the main point but it was like a light bulb went on over my head.
The whole tattle telling thing is the EXACT opposite of what the Bible tells us to do. I realize that with young children they need some conflict resolution coaching. And I’ve tried to teach my kids to figure out how to solve their problems. But this was one area where I hadn’t thought to tie it to scripture.
So my kids are going to get some lessons on Matthew 18 and mom’s going to become way more leary of tattle telling (unless blood is involved).
My New ‘Do
I got my hair makeover today! Yeah! I’ve have been wallowing in hair unhappiness for quite awhile. Growing out an old short hairstyle, growing out my bangs (why did I bother) and putting up with lovely roots while I tried to decide what to do with my hair.
I knew I wanted to go with one all over color because my hope was that I could learn to do it myself and save myself several hundred dollars a year. I briefly contemplated going blonde since, with my highlights, my hair was pretty light (at least on top) and I’ve never been blonde. But in the end I decided to go back to a darker brown.
I am fortunate enough to have an AWESOME friend who is a hairstylist (though now a SAHM). I cajolled her into helping me figure out the right color for my hair and to show me how to do it without turning my hair orange. (Don’t laugh, it’s been done – TWICE!)
She also gave me a ROCKIN’ hairstyle that was EXACTLY what I wanted and was even longer than I thought it might end up when trying to blend the growing-out layers.
My daughter (who was there) seems to not really have an opinion.
My 7 yr old son (when I picked him up) glanced at my hair, promptly crossed his arms across his chest and gave me a VERY disapproving look. He does not like change.
Hubby somehow managed to avoid giving his opinion and instead asked the kids what they thought. He doesn’t like to weigh in on hair issues
So here is the new do. I realize to those of you that only know me in the blog world it really doesn’t look much different than my profile picture. But that was like 2 years old.
JEN – Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Photography by Noah (7)
