2015 was a banner year for me. My business soared to new heights beyond my wildest dreams, and to be honest, I wasn't quite ready for it all. There were days I felt like pulling my hair out and closing the door to my sewing room/office forever. I had no idea how all-consuming this growth would be, but I'm so grateful. I grew personally in many areas of my life, including time management, organization, and personal confidence.
However, I continually remind myself that my first priority is my family and home. Earlier this year I shared how dinners in my family had taken a backseat and I had found freezer cooking to be a life saver for me.
Y'all. I can't rave enough about this concept. Having gallon sized freezer bags in my garage fridge that are ready to dump into my crock-pot has been a game changer for me.
Here's how it works: My kids walk out the door for school at 8 am. I get to work right away. I work hard, sometimes forgetting to stop for lunch, from 8 am until 2 pm. At 2 pm, I grab a bottle of water, a good book, and any other essentials and head for the car line to pick up my kiddos from school. Somewhere in this process of getting out the door, I remember - "I've got to fix something for dinner." (Why oh why do they always need to eat dinner?!?!?) I spend five extra minutes pulling a bag out of the freezer and putting it in the crock pot before I leave for car line. Okay, in an ideal world I would take it out at 8 am and let it defrost before 2 pm, but I don't always think that far ahead, so I'm being honest here.
By dinner time, and typically the the time I get home from carline/gymnastics/baseball, We have a hot meal in our crock pot ready to eat! It's been a lifesaver, and not just once or twice. It's changed my evenings with my kids. Sometimes I have a small portion of rice or pasta to cook, but that is nothing compared to scrounging through the pantry trying to find something they will eat, or serving PB&J, or ordering pizza (guilty!).
Below you'll find a report of my most recent freezer cooking day along with links to recipes. If you've never tried this, I encourage you to give it a shot.
I shopped at ALDI. My total was $206, which is way more than I typically pay at ALDI on a weekly basis, but this was a big trip, almost exclusively for freezer cooking.
I had basic spices and condiments, as well as gallon sized freezer bags on hand.
I made two batches of each recipe, except for the few I noted as making three.
Here's what I made:
Meals:
Slow Cooker Beef Roast and Carrots from New Leaf Wellness - I made this on my previous freezer cooking day (scroll a few posts back) and it was a big hit with both my husband and kiddos. If you can find roast on sale at ALDI like I did, it's pretty frugal to make. I also love that it's saturated with carrots - a veggie everyone in my house seems to gobble up.
Pesto Ranch Crockpot Chicken Thighs from Picky Palate - This is so yummy that I made three batches! We love adding a bit of brown rice to this chicken dish. I use chicken breasts (just because I find it easier to buy bags of chicken breasts rather than thighs -I have no idea why, it's just what I do!) and I use four breasts per recipe. You'll have a good bit of sauce left over, so we sometime eat that over rice (no chicken) as a late night snack or for lunch the next day.
Chicken Italiano from Mom Advice - A recipe my sister recommended to me and our family is hooked! You can serve this with either noodles or rice - my kids prefer noodles. I hope to sneak in and try some quinoa (my favorite!) soon. Imagine a homemade spaghetti sauce simmered for hours.... this is it, folks!
Salsa Chicken from Chef Mommy - Another recipe from my sister. In fact, my kids call this dinner "Uncle Josh's Favorite". ("Uncle Josh" is married to my sister.) It's a spicy yet creamy dish that is always a hit!
Crock Pot Cajun Roast from Stacy Makes Cents - This is not your mama's roast! It's filled with veggies and flavors that make it spicy yet comforting. It's a fantastic meal for the entire family and one of our faves.
Crock Pot Stuffed Peppers from Stacy Makes Cents - Another great recipe from Stacy. My crock pot (oval shaped) can hold six peppers, so this is perfect for a crowd. I do this meatless - I try to do one night a week meatless to keep cost down - but it is very filling. I freeze the filling and then wash and stuff the peppers the day of the meal. I top them with either shredded cheese or a slice of provolone cheese - whatever we have in the fridge.
Crock Pot Tomato Turkey and Vegetable Soup from New Leaf Wellness- my husband is not a soup person. He says that "soup isn't a meal". Anyone else have a hubby like that? I love soup, though, and this is a great combination of veggies, hearty, and soupy. It's a family favorite here.
Shepherd's Pie - I've had this recipe since our first few years of marriage, and have no idea of the source. I made three batches of this family favorite. I use ground beef, tomato sauce, frozen peas, onions, and worcestershire sauce to make the meat mixture. I freeze that part and then add the potatoes and cheese the day of serving.
Snacks:
Oatmeal Muffins - I have no idea where this recipe is from as I found it in my recipe binder with no source. It's fantastic, though, with oat flour (ground oats in the blender), agave nectar, bananas and mini chocolate chips. My kids gobbled them up!
The Biggest Loser's Baked Eggs in Turkey Cups via Fabulous Foods - my husband and I love these for breakfast or mid-morning snacks. They are full of protein, low on calories, and great on flavor.
Roasted Chickpeas - we make these often. I don't have a recipe, but we spread canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans) on a baking sheet and sprinkle them with cumin, salt, pepper, hot pepper, whatever we have on hand. We roast them in the over and munch on them like crazy - a healthy snack that beats ice cream or potato chips. :)
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