An unorganized and health conscious person's foray into freezer meals

As many people already know, I hate menu planning. I mean, I go onto Pinterest for a great recipe and get stuck there for the next hour and totally forget what I went on there for.

 I've been putting my favorite recipes on my Cozi recipe box so they're all in one place. This has been a HUGE help! I highly recommend using Cozi or one of the other great sites for storing your recipes. I'd love to hear where you decide to store yours. Cozi has some drawbacks. The iphone app doesn't allow you to look at your recipes which I think is stupid. Also, it doesn't have any great way to organize your recipes except by tagging them. So I can put "Freezer" for a tag and then do a search for the recipes with that tag. It's not a bad way to do it but I think more options are needed. Still, for the ADD person, it does get your recipes in one place so you're not completely distracted by other things when you want to find recipes.

Now, I've always been a fan of making extra lasagna and putting one in the freezer but I've never been able to figure out what else works. I also never thought about deliberately planning a day to make a bunch of freezer meals so you can just pull them out later. I went through a bunch of freezer meal sites looking for ideas and recipes. This was an awesome idea!! It really worked out well! I know we saved a bunch of money on groceries by doing this. The initial bill was slightly higher but we skipped a whole trip to the store! I drive an hour to get to Whole Foods so this is a huge deal.

The first thing I did was decide which recipes I wanted to try and wrote them down along with the ingredients needed to do so. I could have used the computer and an app for this but any easily distracted person knows it's best to just go old fashioned on this part. :-) (I crossed them off as I made them so I didn't miss anything.)

After I made my list, I organized the ingredients into a shopping list. I know, more work doing it this way but this is what worked for me. It takes less time in the store when the list is organized.

 This is what I ended up with! Not bad for a first timer! We've used most of it up and most of it has been really good! All of it has at least been edible so nothing was wasted here.

I didn't write down where I got all of the recipes since I added them to my Cozi when I found them. I did put "untested recipe" on the description until we tried it so I knew to either delete it or add my thoughts about the recipe. Remember, my Cozi is only for my favorite recipes.

Freezer recipes we love!
Baked Chicken Nuggets

Ingredients

16 oz (2 large) skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into even bit sized pieces
salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp olive oil
6 tbsp whole wheat Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
2 tbsp panko
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
olive oil spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425°. Spray a baking sheet with olive oil spray.
Put the olive oil in one bowl and the breadcrumbs, panko and parmesan cheese in another.
Season chicken with salt and pepper, then put in the bowl with the olive oil and mix well so the olive oil evenly coats all of the chicken.
Put a few chunks of chicken at a time into the breadcrumb mixture to coat, then on the baking sheet. Lightly spray the top with olive oil spray then bake 8 - 10 minutes. Turn over then cook another 4 - 5 minutes or until cooked though.
To freeze - Follow the directions given to completion, baking the chicken nuggets. Allow them to cool and then transfer them to a cookie sheet or large surface covered in wax paper and flash freeze. Once they are mostly frozen (30 minutes to 1 hour), place them gently in a freezer bag and freeze. To serve: Place chicken nuggets on a cookie sheet and bake at 425 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until warmed through. OR microwave for 1-2 minutes until heated through.

*Cheat by cutting up chicken, putting in a bowl, pouring olive oil over, mix. Take chicken a little bit at a time and mix with breadcrumb mixture then layer on a pan. I don't see any difference when coated with oil especially when it's getting frozen.

Cookie Dough

Make your favorite chocolate chip cookies or other similar cookies. Put them on the cookie sheet like you're going to bake them but put them in the freezer. After they're hard, put them in a baggie (labeled of course) then thaw and cook what you need. This has helped us from eating too many cookies at one time and is great to pull out for unexpected guests.

Lasagna

(I use the Betty Crocker recipe except I use Cottage Cheese instead of Ricotta and I always double the cheese. No, I don't count calories. :-))

*When frozen, just throw it in the oven and assume it's going to take around 2 hours to cook. I usually leave the foil on top for the first hour and put it back on later if I think the top is going to burn.

Frozen Grapes
The kids love these! A great healthy snack that's super easy! Just wash them and freeze them! We haven't had a problem with them sticking together; at least, the kids haven't complained yet.

Terriaki Chicken

1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon cold water
1/2 cup white sugar (or mix with brown sugar)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
12 skinless chicken thighs

Preparation

*Double Sauce
In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the cornstarch, cold water, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger and ground black pepper. Let simmer, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens and bubbles.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
Place chicken pieces in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Brush chicken with the sauce. Turn pieces over, and brush again.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Turn pieces over, and bake for another 30 minutes, until no longer pink and juices run clear. Brush with sauce every 10 minutes during cooking.

*Since I doubled the sauce, I used 1/2 c. brown sugar and 1/4 c. white sugar. I lined my pan with heavy duty foil then poured most of the thickened sauce over bone-in thighs (skin removed) and some boneless breasts but reserved a little. Cooked, covered with foil for 30 minutes, removed foil, poured remainder of sauce over and bake another 20-30 minutes. Wow

Freezer Meals We Like.

Chicken Broccoli Bake  (Even my broccoli hater husband liked this one!)

16 ounces frozen broccoli florets (or about 3 cups fresh broccoli florets)
3 cups cooked cubed chicken
pepper
2 cans cream of chicken soup* (about 3 cups)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 cup chicken broth
paprika, optional
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups rice (uncooked measurement), cooked according to package instructions (should make 4 1/5 cups of cooked rice)

Preparation

1. In covered saucepan, cook broccoli in water just until tender, about 5 minutes.
2. In greased 9 x 13 baking dish, spread broccoli across bottom and sprinkle chicken evenly on top. Generously sprinkle black pepper over chicken.
3. In mixing bowl, combine cream soups, mayonnaise, curry powder, and chicken broth, whisking until smooth. Pour over chicken. Sprinkle paprika on top if desired.
4. Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Spread cheese on top and bake 5-10 minutes longer, until melted and slightly browned.
5. While casserole is baking, cook rice. Serve the chicken and broccoli mixture over hot rice
*For Freezer: Put rice on bottom of dish and top with chicken/broccoli mixture then freeze. No freezer directions so just add more time for baking.

Cooked Hamburger

ground beef
green pepper
onion
shredded carrots

Preparation

cook beef with finely chopped/shredded veggies.
Freeze in freezer bags after cooled. Use for spaghetti, chili, sloppy joes, nachos, etc..

Things that worked well but need recipe tweaking

Southwest Chicken

http://www.keezasfreezermeals.blogspot.com/

*The salsa for this is great! The sauce on the chicken looks yucky after it's cooked and is just bland. I recommend changing the sauce and I added cheddar cheese on top for personal preference. I think it's a neat idea and I love the way she stores the salsa with the chicken. Just put the salsa in a bag and put it in the bigger bag that holds the chicken.

Meatloaf

I have a throw it together style so sometimes it's great and other times it's too much. Here are the things I like to add:

Spike Seasoning (not too much, this is where I usually mess up)

Worcestershire

Ketchup

Milk

Eggs

Salt

Oats

and some other seasoning depending on my mood

*I tried squash in here once and it made it really moist. I had major objections to messing up their meatloaf with squash so if you're going to try to hide it, leave out the seeds. I forgot. :-)

Cooked Chicken and Chicken Broth

This is a great idea and I hope to be able to use it in the freezer. I tried 2X and both times it all got used up before I could get it in the freezer. 

We love to use cooked chicken for chicken salad.I put mine on lettuce and tomato for a great salad. This would be great for many recipes that use cooked chicken.

The broth left from cooking a whole chicken can be frozen. When you're buying MSG free chicken broth (that actually tastes good) this is a huge money saver. I flavor the water with Bragg's Seasoning and salt. It comes out SO good!

Onion and Green Pepper

Chop it and freeze it! This is a great time saver for recipes!

Things I learned!

*Label the bags with a sharpie including date, what it is, and cooking instructions. This allows anyone to pull out the bag and prepare the meal!

*I learned that I still have trouble figuring out what's for supper even when I have a freezer full of meals. That's just sad.

*It takes some of us longer than others to prepare these so ignore others that tell you it's only 4 hours to make them. I did take my time but it took me all day.

*Invest in something that chops veggies. 

*If you hold your breath while cutting onions, your eyes don't water. Breathe through your mouth. You'll know if you forget.

*If you like a meat sauce with stuffed shells or lasagna rolls, go ahead and put it all together instead of just stuffing with cheese and freezing. I used the frozen cooked meat and a jar of sauce and I had to wait for the meat to thaw enough to mix with the sauce before I could pour it over the shells. I also had to shred mozzarella so that was just another step before I could get it into the oven. Since it was frozen, it was going to take a long time to cook anyway so this just added to the time. It would have been a better idea to just make it up ahead of time. 

Plants: To Kill or Not To Kill

Green thumb? Apparently not. :-) I'm going to keep trying until I find plants that are truly hard to kill. If I didn't kill it, you should be okay. Do you have any plants for me to try?

These two plants are the same thing. One is definitely dead, the other is still hanging on. Poor Areca Palm Trees!  To be fair, I left them alone with the hubby for a month so it's not all my fault. I'm going to try again with these.

 

 Indoor Lemon Tree. It's not totally dead yet. I never did get around to finishing potting it.

 Snake Plant: AKA Mother-in-Law's Tongue

Can't kill this one!! I'm getting more of this!

 Ferns: Well, they didn't survive my absence too well and I didn't do such a great job keeping them alive. They shed leaves like crazy. I think this one was a bad idea. The plant in the middle? That's the fake one. :-)

 I had Ficus Trees in my bedroom but they had flies so got kicked outside. They've really been thriving out here. If you think it looks bad in this pic, you should have seen it a couple of weeks ago. I might get more of these if I can find some that can be guaranteed pest free.

This is supposed to be my herb garden with tomato plants. I need to add drainage, I think most of the plants drowned. The herbs are hard to kill. I think Thyme and Oregano are still hanging on with the tall Basil. See the lizard?

Star Wars Room

Well, I got Kayla's Star Wars room finished finally! I haven't been able to get her to completely clean it yet but that's coming soon (with some loving help from mom). If you're like I was, you're searching for the perfect ideas for your child's room and how to create the different things yourself. I'll do my best to help make it easy for you. If you have any questions, please ask!

She didn't want all of her walls to be blue so we left this one alone and pulled the blue color in by stapling fabric over a cork board. I used the one sold at JoAnn's and Michaels that doesn't have any sides. Super easy to make! Cut fabric big enough to wrap around to the back (make sure it's in the right direction so that it doesn't end up upside down when you hang it on the wall). Then all you have to do is staple it and hang it! You can add ribbons and buttons but she didn't want them.

 The shelves are just the ones from ikea. She's been collecting the comics and needed somewhere to put them.

The canvases were made using this tutorial. I did the stars differently than she did. We put glow in the dark paint on the canvas first, then we temporarily glued stars on the canvas, spray painted it black, took the stars off. I didn't take pictures because I didn't think it would work but it was super easy and worked great! I suppose you could always just finish up with glow in the dark paint splatters for the same effect. (I used Elmer's spray glue that will do a temporary or permanent bond. The stars were the multi-colored foil type ones you can buy anywhere.)

We made the cornices using this tutorial. I'm planning on putting fabric on the middle of these using starch unless she changes her mind. (I doubt it. sigh.) If you're like us and have never cut crown molding, you may find this video helpful. We nailed the cornice but glued the molding to the board. Nailing was a pain and caused a lot of problems. The glue holds just as well. You'll just have to do things in steps so the glue has time to dry. We just used wood glue but there may be something out there that will work better.

We used the cheap Walmart frames for the poster. We had an old one that was scratched up so we took the clear plasic from that one and sandwiched the poster in between the two pieces of plastic (it's been straightened out since these were taken). I just glued hangers to the back (wood glue works here, too).
For the scarf (had to girly it up some) I just used some wooden tiebacks from the curtain section. You can use pretty much anything that can screw into the wall and stick out enough to drape something over it.

I know it's a crappy picture but the light switch is just mod podged fabric over the plate. You can just glue it. You can use paper or fabric to cover the light switch cover. It's super easy to do! After you cut your fabric (big enough to go around to the back), glue it, then just cut a small hole in the middle where the switch goes and tuck the edges under.

Here are the other two cornices along with the Star Wars cookie jars Walmart had at Christmas. The paint is just blue paint that matches the blue fabric. I just brushed a coat on in straight lines. It sure beat doing three coats of paint and it looks really cool!

And, of course, no Star Wars room is complete without the Wampa rug! If you cringe when you see how much these suckers are, you can make it yourself using my tutorial.

I have a few more ideas that I might add later (after she gets that room cleaned!). I'm thinking about shelves to hold some of the Star Wars Lego creations as well as something involving an air plant thingy. Be sure to return for the update! If you need more ideas, I've pinned a bunch of stuff to my "Kids Decor Ideas" board.

Trashbag for car

I didn't care for the denim trash bag I made so when I came across a pin for another bag I decided to give it a try. The denim one was too big and I didn't like the way it looked. I'll try another one eventually.

I think this bag turned out really well; imagine what it would look like if I could sew a straight line! Here's the link for the tutorial I based mine on (she takes better pictures :-)). I didn't have the cloth stuff she had so I made do with the cheap stuff. I also didn't want to spend more money for fabric when I wasn't sure if it would turn out. So, here are the things I did different:
1. Since I used cheaper fabric, I put batting in between the fabrics.
2. I have DVD players on the headrests so I didn't want the added bulkiness of tying so the strap is just one long piece.
3. I wanted both colors on the strap so I just sewed an extra strip in it. (I should have sewn the straps on with the other side showing, oops.)
4. I cheated and used one piece of fabric for each color instead of two. Worked fine and one less seam to mess up.

I'm not going to repeat everything since she did such a great job on her tutorial. I'm just showing the modifications that I made.

Here is the batting stuff I used. 11X22 worked well if you use the same sizes as the tutorial.

That gusset thing she did worked out great! If you're wondering why there's no bottom seam it's because I used one piece of fabric instead of sewing two together. I was able to use fat quarters for the blue and green. Luckily, they were both cut bigger than the measurements on the package said.

This is what the strap looks like before you baste it (sew it). Make sure it's straight when you sew it, use the sewing machine as a guide. I had a lot of excess length so that's why there's so much hanging off the top. It doesn't show when the bag is sewn so I just left it. I figured out the length I wanted and just drew a chalk line on the fabric.

This is what the bag looked like before sewing the right sides together. When the outside bag is inside out inside of the inside bag which is right side out (right sides facing each other), just pin the batting to the two seams so it can get sewn on as well.(Did you get all of that? :-))

ANOTHER PICTURE SHOWING THE STRAP IN BETWEEN THE FABRICS

To make the extra strip on the strap, just cut a piece of the fabric the same length as your strap, adding at least 1/2 inch to the width for sewing room. Just sew the edges together with right sides facing (both sides) then turn the tube right side out. I use a chopstick to help.

I know I'm going to have to wash these (which is why she used the other fabric) but I can always put a plastic bag inside for those times when the kids are going to have yucky stuff to throw away. These were pretty easy to make but I had already done most of my mistakes on the denim bag (see blog post). I hope this helps you make your own! FYI-if you don't want your kids to chose the fabric, better not let them know what you're doing. That's how I ended up with the space theme for the back of my car. :-)

Cinnamon Rolls

I know, totally not healthy. I decided to be a good wifey and send some treats in to hubby's work since they were working long hours on projects.

These were the first batch I made. They didn't rise at all. The kids tried to make some rolls with the dough. Bricks. I used "Clone of a Cinnabon" on allrecipes.com for these. Many people have made those successfully but it didn't work for me. Maybe because I wasn't using a bread machine. IDK.

I moved on to "Cinnamon Rolls II" and loved the dough! I didn't change a thing! Since the directions were for bread machines on this one as well, I had to use guesswork in the assembly process. Super easy!

I'm giving directions here to make life easy on you but the ingredients came from allrecipes.com. I used the dough from one recipe, caramel from another, and frosting from a third. :-)

These are the rolls with the caramel and the frosting. I flipped the rolls upside down after they were baked and spread the frosting on them.

This recipe fit in my KitchenAid mixer when doubled. FYI

Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

Dough:
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg

Cream Cheese Topping:
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

Caramel:
1/2 C Vanilla Ice Cream (or heavy whipping cream)
1/2 C Brown Sugar
1/3 C Butter

Preparation

Dough:
In 2 cup measuring cup, heat milk. Add water, butter, sugar, and yeast. Let sit for a few minutes. It should foam.

Put mixture in mixing bowl. Add salt and eggs, mix. Add flour, mix for a while. This will let the mixer do the kneading for you.

When finished mixing, put a little bit of flour on the counter and knead for a minute. It should be slightly sticky. Put a few drops of oil in a bowl, put dough in bowl then turn the dough over. This gets the oil on top so the dough doesn't form a hard crust. Cover bowl and let dough rise.

Punch down dough then spread softened butter, sprinkle cinnamon and sugar (I use brown and white). Roll dough so it looks like a long log. Cut slices. Put in lightly buttered pan to rise unless using caramel. Add caramel to the pan before you put the rolls in if using caramel. Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes (190 degrees in center roll).

Add topping while warm.

Cream Cheese Topping:
Whip it all together, easy!

Caramel:
Dump ingredients in a saucepan and bring to boil for a minute, too long and the caramel will get too hard after it bakes.

*You can flip the rolls upside down after baking to keep the filling from coming out. I didn't have any problems but apparently others have.

DIY Wampa Rug - Star Wars

If your child wants a Star Wars room, I'm sure you've come across the Wampa Rug. If you cringed when you saw the size and price of it then you're not alone. Feeling brave (or desperate)? You can make your own! I am totally not skilled with sewing and crafts. I can follow directions but things usually don't turn out as planned when I try my own thing (see my trash bag for the car post for proof). If I can do it without any help, you can do it! Hopefully, my guide will be helpful to you.

My total cost was $47 but if you have a JoAnn's near you then get one of their 50% off coupons and get the fabric there. Furry fabric isn't the cheapest stuff ever. Here are the quantities I bought:
1/2 yard black vinyl
1/2 yard grey vinyl
1 1/2 yards faux fur (curly Mongolian white is what mine was called)
1 1/2 yards wintry fleece (ivory) (or whatever you want to use if you want a backing)

 1. Cut out fur and backing. I used my 9 year old for the shape. If you want the fabrics to match then cut them right sides together. If you use an Xacto knife you should have less cut fur around the edges. Since I was sewing the fur to the backing I didn't worry about it.

 2. Sew the fabrics together with right sides facing in. Only sew to the lower sides  of the arms. You want to be able to sew the claws in the hands. If you want claws on the feet, leave open space for them as well. (I know, the pictures are crappy. Sorry!)

3. Cut the claws out of the black vinyl. Just cut long triangles. Sew the long edge of the triangles with right sides facing in. Turn right side out and fill with fiberfill or cotton balls (anything soft will work).

4. While you have the black thread in your machine (if you switched), go ahead and make the horn things. I just made one big C and fed it through two holes in the fur. Mine ended up being way too long so I used a rubber band to scrunch it up smaller in the middle where you can't see it. I cut mine too thin so I had to make two of them and sew them together.

5. With right sides facing, sew along the outer edge. Leave room at the end to turn it right-side out. You'll really enjoy that step. I used a metal chopstick to help. After you get it turned right-side out, fill the horn with fiberfill (or whatever you're using). Sew up the end. (I tried to use the sewing machine for this but the sewing machine told me, "No way.".)

6. Make the brains of the Wampa. Whatever you want to do that makes it puff out like a head. I used leftover  fabric and just put rubber bands around it to keep it in a ball.

7. Sew the claws on the Wampa; 5 on each hand (I couldn't say for sure about the feet. We chose not to do the feet.). Your Wampa will still be inside out. When you sew the claws, you shouldn't see them sticking out. I wish I had made mine a little bit longer to give me more sewing room.

8. Turn the hands right side out to check that you sewed them on correctly. Turn it back inside out.

9.  Put the brain inside the Wampa (shove it down out of your way). Sew up most of the Wampa, leaving space to get everything right-side out. Turn it right-side out.

10. Sew up the opening. The sewing machine was okay doing this part.

11. Make the face. I just used heavy duty glue for this (E6000). Cut out the grey vinyl in a football shape. Cut out the black vinyl in a smaller football shape. Cut out some scrap fleece in triangles for the teeth. Glue the grey onto the black then glue the teeth onto the black. For the eyes, just cut out grey vinyl in whatever shape that's supposed to be and cut the black vinyl for the eyes. Glue the eyes onto the grey.

12. Glue the face onto the Wampa. Watch out for where you want the fur to be-under the face or in the eyes.
13. Cut two small slits in the head for the horn then run the horn through the holes. I did put some Fray Check on the slits to keep the fur from shedding.
14. Sew behind the head to keep the brains in place. I just did a few really long stitches through the fur and backing. 

That's it! You should be done!
See the Star Wars room!