Freezer Meals

As I get further along in this pregnancy, the less energy I have.  Taking care of a household really starts to get hard.  So, I've been trying to find ways to simplify, or to at least make life easier in the near future.

I've also been enjoying pintrest.com, which my SIL Katie introduced me to.  (If you haven't discovered it yet, you really need to take a peak at it). One of the things I've found there is freezer meals, but I haven't been all that excited about the recipes, just about the idea of it.  I decided to make some out of my own recipes, anticipating needing some in the weeks ahead.

On Monday, I made lasagna for dinner, so I just made enough sauce to put together a couple extra ones and put them aluminum pans in the freezer.  And, as long as I had the fresh hamburger out, I fried up and seasoned some taco meat, which I sealed with the Food Saver and then froze some hamburger into patties and sealed them with the Food Saver too.  It was a little extra work, but not a lot, and I had at least 7 dinners in the freezer ready to go.

Tuesday was Aiden's birthday (more about that soon), and he wanted homemade Mac'n'cheese.  So, instead of making the half batch that I normally do, I made a full batch and froze two meal size portions.  Cost me next to nothing in extra time, but I had two more freezer meals.

Wednesday was a bigger day.  I made chicken cordon bleu (about 16 of them--I used the recipe from Our Best Bites Cookbook;  I don't have an electronic copy, but I'll try to add one soon) and sealed them in the food saver bags.  I also made up some teriyaki sauce and sliced up a few more chicken breasts into thin slices.  I put the small slices into the food saver bags along with the sauce, so it is marinating.  Then I froze those too.  You can just boil the chicken right in the bag and it comes out juicy and tender.

Thursday, Rich and I ate out, so I picked up two Papa Murphy's pizzas instead of one for the kids and froze the extra one.

Friday, I made a gallon of Aunt Kel's Enchilada sauce and shredded and froze the chicken for chicken tacos.  I haven't gotten around to making the enchiladas yet, but I think I'll get a couple of pans out of it to freeze.

So, by the end of the week, I had about 15 meals in the freezer ready to go.  Not bad for a little extra work each day.  They should come in very handy in the months ahead.  I can't wait to start reaping the benefits of my labors.  Now if I just had a little bit more freezer space...

Yummy!

A few weeks ago I purchased a loaf of Great Harvest's Cinnamon Burst Bread, and I have to say that it was pretty darn good.  So, instead of paying $5-$6 a loaf, I thought I'd try to find a recipe and make it myself.  Here is a link to the recipe I found.   The hardest part was finding the cinnamon chips, which I got at Gygi's here in SLC.

Cinnamon Burst Bread +

Then I was reading my friend Britt's blog (fluentbrittish), and she talked about a coconut cream syrup that she said was well, "num."  After an internet search and a couple phone calls, I found some at Dan's on Foothill Blvd.  They also have it on amazon.com, but it costs a bit more.

 

Lawford's Coconut Cream Syrup =

Finally, I happened on a recipe for Kneader's French Toast.  And I thought that adding these three things together just might equal a winner.  So, for Sunday morning after Rich got home, we tried it (along with some bananas, strawberries, and whipped cream).  And, it was super yum!  So, if you're looking for something new to try for breakfast, I strongly recommend giving this a try.  The hard part is the bread, so if you want a simple recipe, just go get a loaf of Great Harvest Cinnamon Burst Bread or Kneader's Chunky Cinnamon Bread.  I promise it'll be worth it!

Kneader's French Toast

Rich's Birthday

Rich's birthday this year fell during the last week of his surgery rotation, so, we celebrated it on the weekend instead.  Every year, Rich requests our special chocolate strawberry ganache cake.

This year was no exception.  The cake turned out great, that is until I tipped it over and the top layer landed on the table.  Sigh.  At least it landed right side up and it still tasted good.  :\   Happy Birthday, Rich!
 

What's For Dinner?

Last night's dinner was a huge hit with every member of the family, so I thought I'd share the love with all of you!  Most of it came from recipes from Our Best Bites, my FAVORITE food blog and cookbook.

For the beverage, we had Brazilian Lemonade. 

 

For the main course, we had Teriyaki Bacon Wrapped Chicken skewers, with homemade Teriyaki Sauce.




 

We had my own Pina Colada rice (inspired by a couple of different recipes from OBB--sorry no pictures)

2 cups white rice
1 14 oz can of coconut milk
1/2 c. crushed pineapple with juice
1 c. water
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
(OBB recommends adding a splash of white vinegar to help with the stickiness)

Then I just threw it all in the rice cooker and let it cook for about 20 minutes, and stand for 5-10 more to absorb any remaining liquid.   Variations I want to try: adding a dash of cayenne pepper or some soy sauce or teriyaki sauce to give it a little more kick.  I think I may also just use a whole can of crushed pineapple and omit the water (?)

And we had just a boring can of green beans for our vegetable, but I'm sure Grandma's Green Beans would be a hit (from Lorinda Hymas' kitchen)!

6 slices bacon chopped

2 onions sliced

1 lb fresh green beans

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tbsp sugar 

Sauté bacon and onions in large saucepan until bacon is crisp (I always leave out the onions).  Add beans, season, cover with water, and simmer covered until beans are tender.

Bon Appetite!