Freezer Food!

Yay for those nights I can count on going to the freezer and pulling out something that just needs microwaved or a very slight, slight, amount of prep work!!! It is such a stress relief, especially after a busy day, or when you are just plain tired!

I have done 2 rounds of cooking so far (I just realized I skipped February, but I did one before the craziness of the holidays and one last month) in order to stock our freezer with some of these meals and I have had a ton of fun with the process. Some dishes turned out better than others. Some take a little longer to make. It's a trial and error process. I have planned both of these "cooking days" on Saturdays when we have nothing else going on and I can just devote my time to getting these recipes made.

I recommend setting aside some time when you know you want to do one of these days and plan ahead. I have planned out 4 different things to make on these days (one of them being a meal that I will get going early enough so we can eat it for dinner that Saturday and Sunday). I gather my recipes and review to make sure I have everything (I also write out a summary of what I'm making and what meats need pulled out of the freezer) and then I can just start in the morning. Also make sure you have ample gallon and qt. size ziplocks and storage containers since you are storing in one meal quantities. Also wax paper or parchment paper for wrapping items, and in addition foil is helpful for wrapping the burritos a little extra. Freezer tape and a Sharpie for labeling and dating the containers. And, since you are cooking with lots of raw meat it is good to have a spray bottle with bleach water or Lysol wipes on hand for quick clean-up as you go!


So...my first adventure of this type of cooking consisted of the following:

1. Beef Burritos- (made 10, plus a little container of filling leftover) =(?) lunches or occasional dinner or snack
2. Venison Lasagna (w/Spinach & Ricotta/Cottage Cheese) =4 dinners-for 2 adults, could have done 5
3. Pot of Chicken Barley Soup =2 big containers, 1 smaller- sorry I don't know exact sizes off the top of my head- so we got 3 dinners?
4. Crockpot of Curry Chicken (legs/thighs) =2 dinners

Out of this first round we really liked everything except I would change a few minor things if making a couple of these dishes again. The main thing we noticed is that the Lasagna took on a very "Spinachy" taste, but if you added extra sauce and some more Parmesan Cheese, it covered it well. With the Curry Chicken, it became very tender in the crockpot and we had to pick out a lot of tiny bones from the legs/thighs. That could have been a quality of the chicken issue as well. It had awesome flavor and was very yummy served over Brown Rice. Definitely will try again, just maybe with chicken breasts next time.

The second adventure consisted of:

1. Repeat on the Beef Burritos
2. Mozzarella Meatballs =5 dinners worth
3. Crockpot of Easy Mushroom Chicken =2 dinners
4. Pot of Steak-Mushroom Soup =2 dinners(?)

As for this round, the Burritos were great again (although slightly tweaked with the type of salsa and beans I used in them). The Easy Mushroom Chicken I would change up if used again, we didn't care for it so much. And the Steak-Mushroom soup could was more of a stew. Good flavor, but should have been served over noodles or rice.

But we LOVE the Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs. I am definitely making them again. Super yummy! We are actually having the last of them tonight for dinner. I can't believe I had never made meatballs before this adventure. Super easy to mass produce. Just pop them in the oven and when they cool, into ziplocks and the freezer they go!

If anyone wants and of these recipes, I would be happy to post them! Just leave a comment if anything perks your interest. Also, please share if you do freezer cooking yourself. I would love to hear about it and get some more ideas!

Blessings

This past weekend dh and I had the opportunity to volunteer at a church camp for a couple days and then we took advantage of being in the vicinity of one of our favorite Bed and Breakfasts for a couple more nights. When a co-worker asked me how my vacation was when I returned to the office yesterday, I told her it was one of the best ones we've had in a long time! We were "tired" but a good tired! Relaxed.

We had fun serving God at camp (even though I had to wear a dust mask and stand on a ladder for my entire afternoon wiping cobwebs off of ceiling beams- and some onto me!), we met some new friends who were there to serve as well (actually dh has known the husband for a while now, we both just met the wife though- a very, very cool girl my age- they have 2 adorable little girls) and I know we'll be friends for a long, long time. Meeting new "couple" friends is something that doesn't happen often for us- where dh clicks with the husband and I with the wife. Usually it's one or the other. But God has blessed us with a couple of couples like this lately. They all have common threads of similar interests and hobbies (if not identical!), and are actually, dare I say it here, one of the few in our lives (and the Church for that matter) who know what the second half of Romans 12:15 truly means.

Dh and I also had many deep and meaningful conversations about our life and love and God. It was a super nice weekend that brings to life the "treasures in darkness" and "autumn rains" that God enables us to experience during dry times. And for that I am grateful. Very, very grateful.

It was a great week! Oh, and it actually looked like winter where we went.....and it snowed here today :-)

Friday Favorite

I have wanted to start a "favorite places" page on my blog but haven't gotten around to it yet. So here is another link to a website that I have found great encouragement in over the past year.

http://www.joniandfriends.org/

If you aren't familiar with Joni Eareckson Tada, here is a short snippet from her bio found on her website:

Joni Eareckson Tada, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Joni and Friends, is an international advocate for people with disabilities. A diving accident in 1967 left Joni Eareckson, then 17, a quadriplegic in a wheelchair, unable to use her hands. After two years of rehabilitation, she emerged with new skills and a fresh determination to help others in similar situations.

I have mentioned before on here that there are many similarities that can be drawn between someone with a chronic illness or disability and IF (or other chronic hardships). Her daily devotions are a source of much encouragement (received via email). Today's spoke about those particular hardships that just won't go away. (There isn't an archive that I've found so it may be changed when you go there.)

Here is a link to her favorite quotes page: http://www.joniandfriends.org/jonis-corner/jonis-favorite-quotes/


Happy Friday!!!

Valentine's Day Funny...

I LOVE Dwight! Although I haven't been as much of an Office fan these days (actually the past few seasons) I still love tuning in from time to time for my Dwight fix! Thanks to my sister for sending me this today!

Treasures in Darkness

"And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness--secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name." Isaiah 45:3

photo courtesy of: original

Nerve Blocks

I didn't know what one was until I was in pre-op with dh last year when he had shoulder surgery. I was very intrigued. It was amazing to me that they could administer an anesthetic to just a specific set of nerves to temporarily control the pain.

Today is one of those days I wish we could have one of those administered to block the pain of IF. The feelings of being so inadequate and out of place. The feelings that it is us who is just supposed to "get over it" because it's been long enough and we are in the minority so we just need to "deal with it". That there are people who have it worse than us.

It's a cruddy feeling to be in a predicament that you had NO part in bringing on and have NO power to change the outcome.

Sometimes it tiring trying to be strong and you just want a break. You just want some sensitivity from others. You just want to be "normal".

It's days like today that remind us, yet again, that this world is not our home. We long for that place where "He will wipe every tear from (our) eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever," Revelation 21:4.

A New Favorite Blog

I just wanted to pass along a link to a newly discovered blog that I could spend hours on reading such intriguing posts in regards to women and theology.

Practical Theology for Women

This post is one that I wanted to point out and thoroughly enjoyed:

Women, Children, Infertility, and God