Monthly Archives: January 2010

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freezer cooking challenge – day 1

January 29, 2010 8:26 pm \ 5 Comments \

Wow, I managed to accomplish a lot more than I thought I would today. The grocery store was a bit frustrating and I wasn’t sure this was the right day for it, but everything came around. I decided to switch up a few things. I opted to not make the Salisbury steaks because ground beef was a little to pricey this week. I also opted to cook and shred the BBQ chicken before freezing it instead of freezing it raw with the sauce.

So. Let’s talk about what I got done, shall we? In the freezer I currently have:

  • Chicken oreganata
  • Pineapple lemon chicken
  • 1 lb. turkey taco meat
  • Italian dressing marinated chicken
  • Cooked, shredded BBQ chicken
  • Sausage, egg & cheese breakfast sandwiches (x6)

Right now I have applesauce cooking overnight in the Crock Pot, so that will be ready in the morning (my four-year-old is thrilled about this!). I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it or not, but they had apples on the discounted produce rack. So since they were the deal of the day, I knew I had to make applesauce with them. Tomorrow I’ll tackle the baked oatmeal, French toast sticks, apple handpies, and chicken stock. I might have to put off the pea soup; my freezer is looking a little packed already.

But now I’m off to wind down with a cup of tea and a paczki. I think I’ve earned it!

Posted in: Food & Wine \ Tagged:

february freezer challenge

January 29, 2010 12:59 pm \ 5 Comments \

february freezer cooking plan

For the past few months I’ve wanted to participate in Money Saving Mom‘s baking days, but they always snuck up on me and I wasn’t prepared. Not this time! I’m up for the February Freezer challenge hosted by MSM and FishMama. I’m spreading the cooking out over the weekend. Hopefully that will make it a little easier for me since I do have three kids running around and a couple articles to write. This morning I cleaned my kitchen to get it ready and finalized my list. Here’s the plan:

Main Dishes

  • Chicken Oreganata
  • Pineapple Lemon Chicken
  • Salisbury Steak
  • 1 lb. Turkey Taco Meat
  • Marinated Chicken x 2 (1 Italian, 1 BBQ)
  • Cooked, shredded chicken

Soups

  • Chicken stock
  • Split pea soup

Breakfasts

  • Baked oatmeal
  • French toast sticks
  • Sausage, egg & cheese breakfast sandwiches

Dessert

  • Apple handpies

Extras, if I get around to them

  • Mashed potatoes
  • Shredded Cheese
  • Broccoli rice casserole
  • Applesauce

So you may be wondering how I decided on what to make? Well, first I looked at what I had in the freezer (sausage, ground turkey, white bread, English muffins), remembered that it’s Cheap Chicken Friday at Stop & Shop — rotisserie chickens are 2 for $10 (so I can cheat and get the shredded chicken done faster as well as a head start for my chicken stock), looked at what’s on sale, then looked at my freezer cooking cookbooks.

I’m about to leave for the grocery store to pick up a few items that I need and then I will get to it! Wish me luck, and I’ll be blogging and tweeting about it as I go. I hope you’ll follow along and even join in!

Posted in: This & That

menu plan monday, better late than never

January 25, 2010 4:49 pm \ 3 Comments \

mpm10

As I’m typing up this entry, Monday night’s dinner is just about done. I just haven’t had a chance to get to it until now. Not too much going on this week, so I’m looking forward to some relaxing meals. Tonight’s BBQ ribs are an experiment. I’m not the greatest at cooking ribs; I think I’m just too much of a Yankee to get it right ;-) Nevertheless I researched the topic and hopefully did it right. We’ll find out in about 10-15 minutes! I’m also making sweet potato rolls, but I’m not too confident in them. I tried to cheat and use my bread machine to make the dough. They just don’t seem right, but I baked them anyway. Fingers crossed! Here’s the rest of my plan:

Sunday: Spaghetti and meatballs, salad
Monday: Honey chipotle BBQ ribs, mac & cheese, broccoli, sweet potato rolls
Tuesday: Turkey tacos, Mexican rice
Wednesday: Dinner out
Thursday: Baked breaded chicken, stuffing, carrots and green beans, salad
Friday: Fish sandwiches, oven fries, broccoli
Saturday: Pepperoni pizza, salad

Visit Organizing Junkie for more menu ideas.

Posted in: This & That

the trouble with going away…

January 23, 2010 6:44 pm \ 2 Comments \

… is that everything annoys you when you get home. Laura and I went for a quick overnight visit to see my parents. It was lovely going away with just one child. We had a great visit and it was very relaxing for me. Of course I came home to dirty dishes in the sink, paperwork all over the table, and toys all over the floor. Ah, welcome home! For what’s it’s worth, Drew did do the dishes and the boys (mostly) picked up the toys so I can’t really complain.

It’s like when you go anywhere on vacation. This summer we’ll probably spend some time down in Raleigh again and I just know that while we’re there I’ll be all ready to price out Blue Cross Blue Shield North Carolina quotes because it’s so nice to be away someplace different. But by the time the week is over, I am usually more than ready to go home.

Anyway… all this is to say that I have a tremendous amount of clutter to clean up tomorrow. As much as I will not feel like doing it, I will because it would be nice to start the week with a clean kitchen :-)

Posted in: This & That

gummy joe

January 20, 2010 6:31 pm \ Leave a Comment \

Poor little Laura. Teething has been hard for her and it’s been going on for a couple months now. She has several teeth right below the surface of the gum — you can feel them right there — but they just won’t poke through. I wonder if this is indicative of a stubborn nature? Last night she had such trouble sleeping. She was kind of asleep, but moaning and crying at the same time. And today there were such dark circles under her eyes. If only there were some kind of safe sleep pills for babies to help them rest. Alas, there’s no such thing (aside from cuddling and rocking I guess). She seemed to perk up a bit around dinner and after she ate I was able to get her to bed pretty easily. Hopefully tonight will be a better night and those teeth will just come in already!

Posted in: This & That

spam & eggs

January 20, 2010 6:27 pm \ Leave a Comment \

I’m cleaning out my e-mail’s “in box” and the spam folder currently has 612 pieces of e-mail in there. And that’s just the stuff that gets filtered. I guess people actually buy into this stuff, but I don’t understand how. I mean, some of the stuff they’re selling I’m familiar with (a certain… ahem… male enhancement pill). Then there are weird-sounding chemical-esque things that are beyond me. What the heck is argireline anyway? There’s just so much time and energy wasted on this stuff that could be going toward better causes. Drives me bonkers.

Posted in: This & That

rainy tuesday

January 19, 2010 9:12 am \ 1 Comment \

It’s a dreary gray morning out there. It was raining a little when I was waiting for the bus with Jake, but at least the temperature was somewhat warm (all things considered). Today I need to go to the library to return some books and DVDs. I love our little library. They have a monthly fiber arts night that I really want to start attending. They have spinning too (as in spinning yarn, not the exercise, LOL!). I think that’s cool. Our library is super small and not exactly the hang-out place that the public library was in my hometown. A friend eventually became an assistant librarian there and would tell me some of things she overheard teenagers saying. I seem to remember her once telling me she heard a girl talking about simplex herpes. Gotta wonder what that was all about! I doubt that our librarians hear much of that, LOL.

So yeah, I need to head to the library and then the grocery store when Laura wakes up from her nap. I also want to reorganize her dresser today. She still wears a lot of 3-6 month clothes, but the 6-9 month clothes are beginning to fit her and not everything fits in just one drawer anymore. Oh, and I also want to set the bed with the new sheets and bedspread. It is super pretty! I will be sure to post a photo later today. I think I might have to crochet a couple coordinating throw pillows ;-)

Speaking of crochet I am going to be posting a pattern for some washcloths that I’ve been making. The credit goes to my mom, actually, and I’m not sure if it’s a stitch or what, but it’s easy and pretty and I love, love, love it so I decided to share. I just want to make another cloth or two to make sure I’ve got it all right. It’s simple but I’ve never written down a pattern before. And last night I bought the last skein of wool I need for Colonnade, so I will be casting on for that today as well. Here’s a peek at the yarn I’m using:

casting on for colonnade

I bought those two hanks of wool from Briar Rose Fibers at the first Sheep & Wool festival I attended three (four?) years ago! They’ve been waiting for a special project and I think this is it. The solid is just Patons Wool in the “mercury” colorway. I am really excited about this project! I think I’m going to work on the shawl for a few days and then go back to Laura’s dress. After a setback (no matter how minor) I like to do something else for a bit and then go back to the project.

Well, I should do something productive like wash the dishes or fold the laundry while Laura is still sleeping!

Posted in: Knitting & Crochet, This & That