Freezer Cooking - 5/28/10

After a hiatus in many ways, I am jumping back into the real world. :) We've had a lot of changes in our family since my last post - job changes, role changes within our family, a new baby and more!

One of the things that I like to do to help keep a grip on things when they all seem to be changing, is find ways to simplify the constants in our life. One thing is always certain - we will be eating every day, every few hours. So, why not make it easier?

This weekend, my goal is to get some Freezer Cooking completed. I often will double some of our favorite recipes to stash in the freezer. And, I always take advantage of a good sale to stock our freezer with meats and veggies at the best prices.

I've become a recent fan of Life As Mom and Money Saving Mom and love to follow their monthly freezer cooking blogging adventures! They are preparing for June Freezer Cooking!

My goal is simple - add a few items to our freezer to simplify our day to day. Accomplishing an entire month of freezer cooking is not practical in our home right now. However, I can take a few extra minutes over our weekend at home to stash a few things in our freezer each weekend to make the daily rush easier during the week.

This weekend, my goal is to make and freeze:

• Good Morning Blueberry Cake
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• Whole Wheat Cranberry Apple Muffins
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• Frozen Hashbrowns (I'm going to bake my potatoes using this method)
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• The Best Lasagna Ever
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• And, I have a few sweet potatoes that need to be used so I'm considering these delicious potatoes both for now and the freezer (baked in two smaller pans as I'm the only one in my family who enjoys these!)
  

These items, combined with a batch of Homemade Bread should keep me extremely busy over the weekend. I'm hoping to keep some kind of balance and to get it all done!!! :)

Menu Plan Monday - week of 05/18 - 05/24/09

We are back on the meal planning wagon this week - and I'm so happy to have our plans set! This week, we have two activity days so we planned our meals accordingly. I'm also excited to try out a new recipe on Tuesday which I think will be a huge hit with my kids. I'm going to have one of my older kids (probably my 8 year old) help out with this one as it is assembling a lot of pre-cooked ingredients. I like allowing my children the opportunity to be in charge of meal time when I can to help their self-sufficiency. My 8 year old in particular LOVES to be in charge in the kitchen - and this will add a recipe to his personal food arsenal!

Monday - crock pot roast beef with carrots and baby red potatoes

Tuesday - Chicken in a Pan with a Tan with green salad and homemade honey wheat rolls

Wednesday - appointment day - BBQ beef sandwiches using leftover roast from Monday - we'll add fresh vegetables and a pasta salad

Thursday - evening activities - Crockpot Pork Chalupa with rice and green salad

Friday - kid favorite - tater tot casserole with steamed vegetables

Saturday - we've been invited to a party so no planning - we'll eat leftovers if plans change

Sunday - oven roasted turkey with mashed potatoes, gravy, vegetables and homemade rolls

I'm excited to free up some freezer space by cooking a turkey this weekend! Thanks for stopping by! Stop by later in the week for new meal suggestions using current grocery ads! And, be sure to check out hundreds of other great menu plans for this week at Menu Plan Monday!

Do you enjoy chicken???

Do you or your family enjoy cooking with chicken? Do you have a lot of chicken recipes in your personal family favorites?

If so, you may want to take the opportunity to stock up on some chicken this week at Albertson's (sale runs through 05/19/09)! Family Packs of chicken drumsticks, thighs, leg quarters or split breasts are on sale for just 77 cents per pound. Whole fryers are also included at this sale price. The best buy of this deal (in my opinion) is the split chicken breast. When bone-in chicken breasts are on sale, I like to buy a few packages, cook and debone the breasts and freeze the cooked chicken in freezer bags, portioned for our favorite chicken meals.

This week, I purchased one large package of chicken breasts and was able to add enough chicken to our freezer for a full week of chicken recipes! By only having chicken once or twice a week, that means we are set for about a month of our favorite chicken casseroles.

Try this recipe for making your own cooked chicken! The crock pot will cook away for you while you complete the other tasks of your busy day - and you will also make your house smell great! Or, put your chicken on to cook on the low setting when you go to bed in the evening and it will be finished cooking in the morning.

Crock Pot - Usable Chicken

1 whole chicken or package of your favorite parts
4 cups water
2 Tablespoons parsley
2 teaspoons garlic salt
1 or 2 bay leaves
1 Tablespoon minced onion or onion flakes
1 teaspoon seasoning salt (salad seasoning also works)

Place all ingredients on crock-pot. Cook on low 6 to 8 hours or on high 3 to 4 hours. I love the fact that I can just put the ingredients in my crock-pot and the chicken cooks by itself while I do other things. If you do not have a crock-pot, simply put the ingredients in a large pot on the back burner of the stove and allow the pot to simmer.

Allow chicken time to cool and then remove from bones. You have several cups of usable chicken all ready for any of your favorite chicken casseroles or recipes.
You can also use frozen chicken parts with this recipe. Cooking the chicken on low allows you to start this cooking before bed at night and have cooked chicken ready in the morning – all ready for use in a casserole for dinner that night! This recipe adds a terrific smell to the kitchen versus simply boiling a pot of chicken parts.

Here are a few recipes for you to use your cooked chicken as well, and possibly help you find a new family favorite or two!

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

Crock Pot Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken in a Haystack

Golden Chicken Casserole

Chicken and Stuffing Bake

Buying the chicken on sale and adding to your freezer stock helps you to have some easy go-to recipes for busy nights as well as helps your budget on weeks when the sales may be missing your favorite items! Have a terrific week - and thanks for stopping by!

Menu Plan Monday - week of 03/16 - 03/22/09

We are trying to participate again this week in Menu Plan Monday! Having a menu plan makes our dinner times run so much more smoothly that it is quickly becoming a "must have" item in our household. Here's what is in the works for our meals this week.....

Check out more great Menu Plans for the week to get fresh ideas for your own weekly dinners!

Monday - homemade chicken strips with french fries and fresh veggies - I may even try to slip in some funnel cakes for dessert (such a 'filling' meal but one we only have a few times a year)

Tuesday - something GREEN for Saint Patrick's Day. So far, we have on the menu steamed green beans and some great red potatoes - we're still going to have to look in the freezer for our main course. I may go with meatloaf as it just sounds like a yummy compliment to the sides I've already picked out! We may even try some making some Irish soda bread with the kids. :)

Wednesday - easy chicken pot pie and extra veggies on the side (Recipe added 03/20/09 - it is a nice and easy homemade version of a great comfort food - and a terrific way to use up leftover chicken, which we had on the grill over the weekend and need to finish!)

Thursday - Crock Pot Day - chili with either corn bread or bread bowls and a tossed green salad (I always make a big pot using my dry beans to ensure leftovers - these will appear again on Saturday!)

Friday - pork chops and scalloped potatoes because we didn't get to have them last week!

Saturday - Navajo tacos AKA Indian Fry Bread - so yummy and our favorite way to use up leftover chili!

Sunday - LEFTOVERS to clean up the fridge