My adventures in Freezer Cooking
So last weekend… before me and Alex took our mini-vaca to St. Augustine, we dabbled in what many in the blogger/pinterest world call “freezer cooking”. AKA preparing meals in advance in order to save time and money during busy times of the year. And since we start back to classes on Monday (while I’ll still be working both jobs….) I need as many time/money saving solutions as possible–i.e. not fast food either! (gross!)
My inspiration blog came from here: http://www.lovingmynest.com/learning-activities/freezer-crock-pot-cooking-day/
She does an amazing job explaining how to double recipes and prep beforehand in order to get the most out of your cooking day! She even explains how she shopped in preperation for her freezer cooking. My kitchen looked similar to hers– all the cans and veggies stacked high!
So I used that inspiration at work one day to put together a list of about 40 recipes that could work for the crock pot or quick oven meals (pre-assembled casseroles…) and I presented them to Alex. Alex then scratched off the ones he wouldn’t eat and I got to picking the ones that sounded like they would turn out good. The recipies we ended up making were:
- x2 chicken tortilla soup
- x2 homestyle chicken & rice soup
- x1 Chunky chili w/ veggies (made 2 meals worth)
- x2 baked ziti (8 disposable pans worth)
- x2 lasagna (8 disposable pans worth)
- x3 Crock pot chicken fajitas
- x2 Honey Sesame Chicken
- x3 Italian Sausage w/ peppers & onions
- x3 Turkey Meatballs
- 3x Bisquick Waffles (a bunch of single-serve bags)
My math ended up being a little bit off with the chicken, so I think there was a recipe that I ended up only making a single batch of… but that’s still a rough outline of what we did. I also purchased the stuff to make a double batch of pumpkin chocolate chip muffins but I never got around to actually making them… but soon I will! 😀
Me and Alex ventured across town to Save a Lot for our groceries. They were having a sale on Tyson chicken breasts and had a ton of fresh produce for CHEAP! I usually don’t buy from Save a lot because their products don’t last in my refrigerator as long as the stuff from Publix (and since it’s only me and sometimes Alex it takes us a while to get through fresh produce…), but I knew I would be freezing it all that day so we definitely took advantage of the deep discounts.
One thing we decided to do was use dispsable pans for the lasagna and baked ziti. We were going to do large 9×9 pans for these, but then I saw these bad boys at Save a Lot:
They are perfect for us to make 3 single servings- one for each of us for dinner and 1 for me to take with me for lunch the next day. That way we don’t have a ton of left overs that we won’t eat sitting around in the fridge until garbage day. The smaller pans were a bit more expensive than the larger ones– but I think it is well worth it since we won’t be trashing as much food! And if we have more people over or we decide we want left overs for the next couple days we can always make 2.
We bought a bunch of canned goods (only some of them pictured below, there were a few more before I remembered to take a picture- and I had some of the beans and tomatoes before we started, but we still bought quite a few cans worth at Save a Lot), 3 large packages of chicken, 3 1.25lbs packages of ground turkey, 3 packages of Italian sausage, 10 green peppers, 8 onions, scallions, celery, a few boxed items, a bunch of mozzarella and ricotta cheese, and those disposable pans. The cart was almost overflowing at Save a lot and the total only came to $124. (Note: you must bring your own bags to save a lot–no one told me this and I felt kind of stupid lol!) I really wish I got a picture of the cart but I totally forgot!
I apologize about the lighting but my overhead kitchen light went out when we started cooking (just my luck) so we were stuck with the light under the microwave and a lamp on the other side… it was quite a sight! I still have yet to get a new light bulb for there….. lol
After shopping I went home and prepped the kitchen. Alex ran to Walmart and purchased about $20 worth of stuff we couldn’t find at save a lot (sesame seeds, canned pumpkin, ground Italian sausage…)
Prepping the kitchen was one of the best time savers I could have reccomended– having all the dishes clean and put away, ready for when you need them saved me time. I also was sure to sharpen my two large knives I would be using most of the day. I also set up 2 “stations.” One for meat prep and one for veggie prep. I did not do as Jessica at My Loving Nest did and prep everything for all the recipes at once because I split my cooking into two days (I had to work the night we started, so I got about 4 recipes done then had to stop and get ready for work…) but rather I prepped as I went– next time I might prep everything ahead of time, but it was a lot to take in at once.
here is me sharpening my knife! 😀
And I was also sure to, at this point… clean out my freezer. I actually did this before we went shopping so I didn’t buy anything I already had sitting in the freezer. I pulled all the meat out and let it thaw while we went to the store (just enough so I could divvy it into the freezer bags and not actually thaw it out all the way to refreeze it… if that makes any sense.)
For a visual reference here was my freezer before we started cooking:
Okay… so we were all prepped and ready to go. I simply went recipe by recipe and “dumped” all my ingredients into the bag. I trimmed all my chicken before putting it in the bag and a lot of the recipes were easy “dump” recipes. I also, before placing the ingredients in the bag, labeled what it was and any instructions for cooking that I had. for example:
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Thaw, add 2c water and 14oz chix broth
cook low 6-8hrs/high 3-4hrs
shred chicken and serve w/ tortillas”
Drum roll please!!!!!!!
Once we were out of food to cook we tag teamed the kitchen for clean up! The kitchen looked like a tornado went through to say the least…. I wish I got a picture of that too (I’m lacking in the picture department today guys!). Alex started on the counters and I wiped the cabinets down. Alex swept and mopped and I did the dishes. It went from a disaster zone back to normal in about the time it took the baked ziti to cook. And what makes me really happy about that is that my kitchen will stay looking that nice until the next time we have to stock the freezer (at least a month away, if not 6 weeks or even two months away.) I’m excited to do this again and apply what I’ve learned to this experience to my next one.
Overall it was well worth it. If I were to do it again I would skip the lasagna and baked ziti because they took almost 2 hours of prep each… while I could have doubled a couple more of the dump and go recipes and saved myself time AND still have gotten more meals out of it. Plus the lasagna/baked ziti were more expensive to make with lots of cheese and meat while some of the dump and goes were quick–just cans of veggies (cheap!) and chicken. And lasagna/baked ziti really aren’t that healthy for you, but I hope they’ll come in handy for impromptu dinner parties and special treats!
If you would like any of these recipes just ask and I will be happy to give them to you! 😀
We’ve already tried the Chicken tortilla soup and Alex loved it (I thought it was okay…) and the baked ziti–pretty good but very fattening, only for special treats! We had already made the chicken fajitas before we started freezer cooking and they are delicious– that’s what’s for dinner tonight actually!
I hope this post actually made some sense–if not read some other blog post about it, it is actually a REALLY good idea for busy people or even people that are trying to save money! for $150 I got a month’s worth of dinners and lunches done (and that’s with only using boneless skinless chicken breasts and canned tomatoes– if you are adventurous enough to use chicken thighs or bone-in chicken breasts, or even can grow your own tomatoes the cost could be significantly less!!!!!!!)…. pretty impressive if I do say so myself!
I have a pinterest board titled “crock pot love” where you can find some of these recipies– or just ask me for them and I can send them to you along with my review of them.
Thanks for stopping by,
till next time…
xoxo
Chrissi
Where has the Summer gone?!!?
Okay, I know I’ve been absent!
But!!! That’s because the summer has been so busy!
My parents visited for the 4th of July and LOVED all my decorating and reorganizing….. Then progress stopped. I was busy working MORE hours at my day job (from 24 to 35 per week…in only 4 days each week) and I started working an extra shift at my serving job (i.e every night except Sunday and Monday when we’re closed!). So My Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays have consisted of:
- rolling out of bed because I don’t want to get up,
- getting ready and rushing to work,
- working a full shift,
- running around/rushing to get to my next job, and
- then working until 10:30 at night…
- then crashing into my bed as soon as I get home and
- doing it all over again the next day!
Lets just say that Sundays are definitely my favorite day of the week!
I had a GREAT time with my parents here (that is until they started driving me CRAZY! lol) and I LOVED seeing my doggies again (they’re my favorite–but don’t tell the others (; ). Oreo seemed to like Florida!
I also had other lovely visitors come, my best friend Anna and her Husband Josh! We had a GREAT time as well, we went to Universal Studios and out to a nice dinner afterwards and we spent some time in the pool and playing Monopoly– have you ever played the electronic Monopoly? It’s very weird. But hey I was dominating for like the first ten minutes! (:
…then it all went downhill from there! lol
They came to visit right after I helped Alex get everything ready for his trip back home to Chicago… (actually the afternoon I dropped him off at the airport!) So It’s been almost every weekend (i.e. the only time when I have HALF days off) that I’ve had stuff to do OTHER than work on the projects I wanted to get done this summer…. but hey, at least I’ve been busy and not bored!
Oh yeah, and on top of that I’ve been dog sitting…….. Whoa!! But who couldn’t love these cuties!!!
That’s Jake (the big one) and Bella (the little one). I’m 99% sure Bella is actually a model (for her day job that is!) I’ve also had Kid at my house all week!
But I’ve been trying to do a little here and a little there around the house and keep everything nice and clean from the small improvements that I made earlier in the summer. It hasn’t been too hard considering well, um… I’m NEVER HOME!………….
I did, however find time to redecorate/mini-renovate my bathroom when Alex was on Vacation! Reveal coming soon! Lets just say it involved these bad boys AND a drill!
Alex didn’t know what I had up my sleeve when he was gone but he knew I was up to no good! (; Here is us FaceTiming (yes that’s a verb) while he was gone…
Isn’t he a cutie??? Haha don’t kill me babe for screenshotting (yes also a verb) that!!! 😀
….In other news, I bought myself an early Christmas present for how hard I’ve worked all summer!
A small upgrade from my 32″ I had before… but it fits the room very nicely…. Now just to get a bracket for it! oh the list never ends….
The last thing I’m going to leave you with is this Beauty!!
Nothing like coming face to face with a giant airplane on your way to work! And this is why I LOVE going to a school that is RIGHT on the airport!
Have a great day and come back soon to look for my Bathroom reveal! It’s pretty great!(:
xoxo Chrissi
I’m ready for a nap!!!
This weekend was super productive! The entire house is clean and ready for my lovely guests to arrive!!! There are a few “reveal” photos they have yet to see, so there will be more pictures next post, but for now here is a glimpse at my weekend (:
Friday my neighbor Joel came over bright and early to help me fix my super-wobbly bar stools and recover them. And although he was way against my “fruity-tooty” choice of fabric, I think they turned out fabulous (and I honestly think he thinks the same!)
I completely forgot to get a “before” photo (it was 8am on my morning off……. I wasn’t quite awake yet!) but I love the bright fabric, I think it offsets the dark wood!
I also got to fixing my plate wall! I had originally used command strips and they fell right off the wall (note my walls are all textured….) so I got to work with my hammer and picture hangers. I had hot glued picture hanging wire to the back of each plate [I have to still go back and double secure with some duct tape–some have started to fall off the wall already 😦 ]. But here is a picture of my artwork!!!
A bit blurry but it’s a start on that giant wall!!!
And other than that I spent the weekend:
Friday- took Joel to breakfast after he helped me fix my stools, spent the remainder of the day sanding my table and dresser and putting my plates on the wall
Saturday- Me and Alex went to breakfast at the Downwind and then took a drive around for a while… Then went back home and RE-painted my dresser coral (the white “gobbed” up too much and looked HORRIBLE!)
Sunday- Cleaning my room and organizing my craft stuff. Cleaned my parents room and bathroom and vacuumed and dusted!
Then last night I finished up all my little tasks (such as sweeping the garage and moving my tablecloths to the new chest in the dining room).
And last but not least, I can’t remember if it was Friday or Saturday at work, but we had a lady come in to work with her dogs… and she put one in her hat……………….
adorable right? HA! not as cute as my pretty baby I get to see this week!!!!
I can’t wait to see Annie and Oreo! I’ve missed them so much! …oh and my parents (:
We’re going to go boating and swimming and watch fireworks and oh my so much fun stuff!!!!!!!!!!
…till next time, XOXO Chrissi
Is it Friday Yet?
No???…only Wednesday, darn!
So about those projects last week…. they got started! I’m putting the finishing touches on my craft table and I’m deep into paint and primer on my craft room dresser…. But it was so humid last week (you could “cut the humidity with a knife”) that I had to let the paint dry EXTRA long in order for it to not bubble and get all gross and stuff. But hopefully it’s done soon!
I got my kitchen floor scrubbed and my kitchen cabinets scrubbed down, as well as my laundry room cleaned up and a few hooks put in my entryway closet! I got new pillows for my bed (that actually fit the pillowcases yay!) and got most of my “craft junk” moved upstairs. Slowly but surely right?
Right now, I’m about to start more studying for my instrument written with about a zillion questions jotted down for my awesome boyfriend, Alex…. hopefully SOMEONE can explain to me what the heck an ASR approach is….or how to read these bazillion diagrams in Gleim chapter 3………. ughhh!
All in all though, last week was a good week and the weekend was pretty fun but still relaxing. Last night I got to babysit two boys that were FULL of energy….. I was tired and asked if I could go to bed at 9 lol!
So what’s up with these freezer crock pot meals? and does anyone have a crock pot they’re willing to donate to me!? (:
haha, Pillow cover tutorial coming shortly, I just need some more pictures………… gosh so much to do, so little time…..
….And here is a sneak peek at how my table is coming along!!!!
…till next time……xoxo Chrissi
The week of Projects!
Okay so… this past week I was very BORING! It’s starting to get hot and I’m starting to get LAZY!
I’m bound and determined to get at least one project fully done! I’m hoping to finish my craft table tomorrow… last week it was too hot for me to drag my butt to the garage to work on it…. but I’m going to suffer through today and tomorrow in order to get a MOVE ON with my other projects. I can’t finish the curtains for the dining room without my craft table set up… and I can’t make any throw pillows for the living room without my craft table set up 😦 oh the life! lol
This past week I had my best four legged friend with me… KID!
…she thought it would be funny to get in the drivers seat of my car…. then when I went to the drivers side and opened the door she got in the passenger seat…. She is a “character” (as Mario–Kid’s “person” would say).
I also got a few “mini” projects done around the house… I organized my tupperware!
I used a dish drainer I had under my sink doing nothing to put all the lids in, then stacked the rest.
Slowly but surely I will get my kitchen (my favorite room in the house) organized the way I want it.
I also did some work in the dining room….
I took away 1 of my chairs and put it in the corner (I had 6 chairs, but I broke one… I have to get my neighbor Joel to come fix that broken one….) and I hung up some framed newspaper articles my mom spent an arm and a leg on at Hobby Lobby. The one pictured is my Dad in a Philanthropy magazine for his work with Animal Rescue Flights. I also have a collage on the other wall from when I was in Asheboro’s newspaper for getting my pilot’s license in high school.
The dining room is the most complete out of all the rooms. I got the place mats at Big Lots for $1 each and I made the centerpiece out of a decanter I bought at a thrift store ($7?) and acrylic paint… (idea from here: http://pinterest.com/pin/307441112032592306/) I used a decanter with a lid instead of vases. For vases you will be able to see the inside and would need to use a gloss acrylic paint, for mine I had flat acrylic paint and liked the closed look better, so that’s what I went with… I will put a tutorial up shortly, I’m currently looking for more bottles for a better how-to pictures and such (:
I have a curtain rod and curtains I’m going to paint once I get my craft table done. (idea from here: http://pinterest.com/pin/307441112032624755/). I also want to buy seat cushions for those uncomfortable seats… I found some at Walmart ($5 each) but they never have as many as I need…. I am then going to move my dad’s collage over to the other wall to mirror my collage and I’m going to put up a DIY clock. I found that idea on Pinterest but I apparently didn’t pin it… I’ll have to find those links…… hummm. I was so happy… last week I found a STEAL via Craigslist! I got a dresser for $20 to store all my craft stuff in my craft nook!
I did not take the mirror… I had no use for it…. but the dresser is a little worn, but nothing a coat of paint won’t take care of! I’m excited to get all my craft stuff out of the boxes I moved it all in into my new storage dresser! I’m planning on hitting up dollar general or family dollar for some storage help within the drawers as my fav dollar store (Dollar Tree) doesn’t really have what I’m looking for. I’m hoping to use this tutorial: http://pinterest.com/pin/307441112032624743/ to make cheap baskets work for what I’m doing!
Today I am going to pick up fabric to make pillow covers for all of my ugly old throw pillows hidden away in my closet. I still need to get my table done to work on them, but hopefully that will be my inspiration to get the table done even faster, plus I need fabric for my chair that goes along with my table……so since I’m going to already be there….. (:
…and I think I deserve a standing ovation… I started to clean off my desk. I had been accumulating papers and junk since February and I started to tackle the mess on Saturday! Hopefully that will get done this week… I’m naming the week the week of projects… since last week I started a bunch of stuff but never REALLY got anything finished…. wish me luck! I’m so excited!!
till next time…xoxo Chrissi
Just Pick “C”???
So today my task has been to study study study… and what have I done? Caught up on all my episodes of Switched at Birth and The Secret Life……. (horrible ending to a terrible show btw, glad that’s over… still love love love SAB though!)… I’ve also been dittling around on Pinterest and NOW after being here 4 hours I started studying. I just finished my unit for the day and I’m moving on to reviewing past studied chapters. What am I studying you ask??? My Instrument written!!!
that puuurdy book right there is Gliem… every pilot’s most hated book, well besides the FAR/AIM of course (the federal aviation regulations book… where all the laws for aviation are published every year in let’s just say… lawyer talk.)
That book is already pretty well abused loved already….
It contains all the known questions the FAA has in their question bank for this particular test. It gives the answers and explanations to each question……all 977 of them!
Now on to study compass errors (cuz’ you know I’m using the mag compass not my turn coordinator as I fly or anything…………………… pshhhttt!!!)
Sorry for all the pilot talk today (:
My table is looking GREAT! and I’m also working on a deep cleaning of the entire house before my parents come for the 4th of July! So far I’ve started redecorating (sort of)…. more like a reorganizing. Everything has seemed to have ended up everywhere in my house and I need to get it organized in order to think straight! 😀
Now on to study more of this big red book before I get out of here! That way I won’t have to pick C for all the questions (;
…till next time… xoxo
Happy Friday!!!
So the weekend has finally arrived!!!
I can’t wait to spend the weekend with Alex and Kid. I think a trip to the dog beach is in order for tomorrow morning after a good breakfast at Jason’s…. but who knows.
Alex has been at school and flight training all day so me and kid have been working on some projects I’ve been wanting to do. I got two coats of primer on my new table and mixed up the light coral I wanted…. Then we painted a couple of glass bottles and threw the tennis ball around outside for a bit. Its warm out for kid, but she helped with the painting a bit. She also got paint in her fur! Silly dog (:
For now, I’m going to have a snack and do the dishes… then it’s off to work. Me and Alex will probably go to Walmart when I get home from work then make some dinner… who knows!
I will be posting the how-to of my table project once the project is complete (hopefully this weekend!!!) and some pictures from the weekend soon!
…till next time… xoxo
Weekday Shenanigans
Did I spell Shenanigans right??? lol
So this week I’ve found the inner artist in myself! I’ve been scrolling through Pintrest and I’ve been inspired by some of the projects others have created and have decided to create my own!
First I’m working on a new craft table to complete all these projects. I found an old dining room table with three chairs at Goodwill for $24.99 (not to mention my 10% student discount!) that I picked up and brought home. Here is the “before”
I’m so happy that I have an SUV, it gives me the freedom to move large tables and whatnot without having to ask anyone else for help.
So I started sanding it yesterday, I have to touch up a few spots I missed today after work and then I’m going to prime it and maybe even start painting it today. I got a coral pink color paint and some white paint. I plan on taking the coral paint and mixing it with some white paint I have and making 2 shades of the coral. I’m going to do the top of the table in the lighter coral and then stencil the top of the table with the darker coral. I was thinking sea horses or maybe sea shells… whatever I can find at the craft store. I have even seen a few people modge podge the tops of their dressers with scrapbook paper….. odd but I could see how that could be cool. I’m not quite sure what I’m going to do with the chair but I’m thinking keeping it clean with some white paint and maybe a fun fabric and new cushions. I’m trying to stick with the beach theme and that sort of thing.
Once I’m done with the table I want to look for a dresser of some sort to refinish to store all my craft supplies in. I have an area upstairs that isn’t being used that I’m going to turn into my craft area and get all my craft stuff out of my office.
Some other projects I hope to start once my craft table is done include personalized coasters, “fake” picture canvases, painted glass vases, and hand-painted wine glasses. I love to paint and to work on projects but I haven’t lately. So I hope this new space will give me the freedom to work on some new projects without having to pack everything away when I’m in the middle of something (the space is upstairs kind of hidden away, so I won’t mind leaving it all over the place…)
I plan on posting before/after pics and a tutorial on Pinterest and here when I’m done…. Hopefully I’ll get the bulk of the project done this weekend so I can start in on my newer projects!!!
My Pinterest URL is pinterest.com/chrissiculver. Now I must warn you, it is still a work in progress. I hope to upload my projects once they are done, other than that my boards are just a collaboration of repins from other people’s boards.
Ahhhh I can smell the paint from here… I’m getting excited!
On another note, I have Kid for the week! I love that dog (: Here is a good picture of her, she is such a doll!
She should be a model! I’m babysitting her until her owner comes home from vacation. I can’t wait to take her to the doggie park! AND! I even bought her a new toy, it’s a squeaky ice cream cone!!
…till next time, xoxo!
My Lovely Long Weekend!
So for the first time in MONTHS I had two full days where I didn’t have to be at school or work nor did I have to work on any homework. It was a long-needed vacation from reality….
Thursday after my office job and before my waitress job me and Alex went to the doggie park and got to see not only dolphins swimming in the intercoastal but a sea turtle on our walk back to the car. (I also got pulled over on the way there for running a stop sign…. which Alex is still laughing at. Luckily the officer saw it was an honest mistake of an oddly placed stop sign and gave me a warning ticket).
He’s cute isn’t he? I mean the turtle… not Alex (:
Thursday night we went to walmart for groceries and then stayed in for dinner after I got off work and enjoyed the evening together…
Friday we ran errands together and picked up some specialty food items from Publix, including Lobster Tail, which we enjoyed Sunday night together. We went to the beach and had fun in the waves that afternoon too! We couldn’t stay long but it was a beautiful day at the beach!
Saturday we went to Jason’s Corner for breakfast (best breakfast EVER!!!) and then went to the beach again and the waves were very rough. I ended up getting sand in my eye and didn’t feel like staying, so we went home and showered. We were bored after that and went to the gas station and bought lottery tickets (didn’t win–surprise!) and went to the dollar store and bought a few glasses for Alex’s apartment. Once I got off work we cooked those delicious lobster tails and some steak and fresh corn on the cob. Delicious dinner topped off with some homemade peach sangria!
Sunday we went to the farmer’s market and made kabobs for dinner on the grill.. one of the best meals I have had in a long time!!
Monday was “back to reality” prep day… filled with cleaning and vacuuming as well as dinner with my grandparents. And although I’m back at work today… I know when pay day rolls around I’ll be happy I have this second job.
For now I’m watching switched at birth on ABC family and looking up cool craft ideas on pintrest to occupy my free time. I’m planning on redoing an area of my house and turning it into my craft area to free up my office for true office stuff. I’m excited to go shopping for furniture to refinish and to paint my new furniture as well as work on all my new crafts in my new craft space.
…till next time! xoxo
chrissiculver 