Cleaning Naturally

I ran out to the store this morning to buy some products to clean naturally. Mainly I just want to save money and brain cells. I bought borax, white distilled vinegar, a huge box of baking soda and some 97 cent spray bottles. I didn't realize my oven was so greasy until I couldn't get it cleaned and I have a gas oven so I'm not sure about spraying toxic chemicals in there. I will have to let you know how that goes and post my pictures from my soup session.

It is a little scary to live in an area with known cases of this new flu that is going around and this morning on the radio it isn't confirmed but there might have been a death from it in this city. I'm a military spouse and a command went out that if you are at the hospital or the clinics and you have flu-like symptoms you have to wear a mask (which is good) but now the gate guards have gloves on their hands. It's all a little scary to be this close to it.

We are moving in 9 days.  Oh my!

Cooking Session

Chicken ready to go into the refrigerator. I let the chicken stay in the refrigerator so the flavors of the bbq sauce could start to set in. Before I went to bed I moved them to the freezer.

Preparing the pork chop assembly line.

The lightly breaded pork chops ready to go into the freezer for flash freezing.

The only thing left to do is make the soups which I will do in a free moment today. Today's lunch is the last of the soups from the first session. Check back tomorrow for that.

May Mini Session 1

This is not very original but it will get us through the next two weeks.

Guiness BBQ Chicken Legs (3 meals)
Hickory Honey Smoke BBQ Chicken Legs (3 meals)
Italian-Style Pork Chops (5 meals)
Italian Fish (3 meals)

Tomato Basil Soup
Chicken and Stars Soup

Grocery Cart Challenge

This counts as the start of May since I purchased some items to do my mini-freezer session.

No Photo

HEB

• Hunt's Ketchup - $1.09
• Bullseye Guiness BBQ Sauce - $1.55
• Kraft Hickory BBQ Sauce - $0.99
• Value Pack BNLS Pork Chops - $5.79
• Hill Country Fare Chicken Drumsticks 3.80lbs - $3.80
• Hill Country Fare Chicken Drumsticks 3.83lbs - $3.83

Total - $17.05

Sam's Club

• 102oz. can Diced Tomatoes - $2.38
• 24pk Powerade - $11.27

Total - $13.65

Grand Total - $30.70

How did I do? From what I purchased I can get 10 meals out of the meat. The powerade is for his running, he is training for a half marathon, that will last him for 24 workouts. I could have saved money by making my own bbq sauce but right now is all about convenience.

My nutritionist was very happy with our diet. I was concerned that I wasn't getting the right amount of protein and fiber etc with the freezer cooking. It turns out that I am right on track with it as long as I don't go too frugal and get the whole-grain pasta and use turkey instead of beef. I just have to balance my carbs with protein so that my insulin resistance stays stable... which it has been. But other than that my first month of freezer cooking was nutritionally sound and for the first time I actually got the amount of calories in that she wanted me to get.

I'm going to be glad when we get done moving so that I can get back to planning and cooking a ton.

Menu Plan 4/27 - 5/3

This is the last week of food from my very first freezer cooking session! I have some chicken legs and pork chops in the refrigerator that I will be doing a mini-freezer cooking session to get us through the move. More thought out Freezer cooking will be back on May 18 and I will have a normal size oven to cook in! Right now my oven is barely 16x16 inside.

Monday 4/27
Fish, Broccoli Medley

Tuesday 4/28
Sloppy Joes, Broccoli w/ Cheese

Wednesday 4/29
Fish, Corn

Thursday 4/30
Sloppy Joes, Broccoli

Friday 5/1
Turkey Burgers, I haven't decided yet.

Saturday 5/2
BBQ Chicken Legs, Corn on the Cob

Sunday 5/3
Oven Baked Pork Chop, Spanish Rice, Broccoli

We eat a lot of broccoli.

Check out more menu ideas at orgjunkie.

Frugal Monster

I've created a frugal monster. Which is good. I'm talking about my husband. A few months ago it was like pulling teeth to get him to be frugal. But he is 100% on board as long as I can be healthy about it. We were at the gas station the other day filling up and he said we will be back here on Sunday after church. I asked him why. He said to buy a Sunday newspaper. So I teased him about the coupons. A month or so ago I showed him just how much I saved in coupons and it really shocked him. So every Sunday we have been getting the paper and he goes through the coupon section before I get a chance to. And says, this week there is $8.00 worth of coupons and we paid $2.00 for the paper so that is a $6.00 savings! What he means is that there is $8.00 worth of coupons on things that we need and use often. We were looking at something not related to food the other day and he says that is $140.00 but if we get it refurbished we can get it for $100.00 that is a big savings.

I believe I can even get him to subscribe to the Sunday paper if I present the facts about how much we could save by getting it delivered. The newspaper here is really bad about calling trying to get you to subscribe and he vowed never to get the paper delivered because of it. But I think if I present it in the right way, he loves facts, I might be able to change his mind.

I've created a frugal monster! I LOVE IT!

Freezer Friday

Welcome to Freezer Friday!

Today I am going to share a recipe for the best tasting tomato soup I have ever had. It lends itself very well to freezer cooking and it is delicious. One day at lunch I found my husband going through the freezer looking at all the soups. I asked him what he was looking for and when he replied that he was looking for the Tomato Basil soup I had to break it to him that we were out of it already. He blurted out that it was the best tomato soup he had ever had and he never wants to go back to canned soup again... I would have to agree with him on it. I can't take credit for it but I can most definitely share it with everyone.

Tomato Basil Soup
Source: Trim-and-Terrific Freezer Friendly Meals

Makes 4 Cups

The Ingredients

• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1/3 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 (28-oz) can chopped tomatoes, with juice
• 2 cups fat-free chick or vegetable broth
• 1 cup loosely packed, chopped basil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup skim milk

Cooking Instructions

In a large non-stick pot, heat the olive oil and saute the onion and garlic over medium heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juice and the chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and cook until the soup is slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Stir in the basil and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a food processor and blend until very smooth. Return to pot and stir in milk.

To Freeze: Cool to room temperature, then transfer to freezer containers, label and freeze. Recommended freezing time: up to 3 months.

To Prepare After Freezing: Remove from freezer to defrost. Reheat in a non-stick pot over a low heat. Alternately, you can reheat in the microwave.

I used water instead of stock and substituted dried basil and it tasted just fine. This recipe freezes well and reheats wonderfully and it is really frugal.

Walgreens and CVS

I guess I just don't understand how the walgreens and cvs deals work. It seems to me that you wouldn't save money doing it but yet I see photos of just how much people get for very little.

Food Network

I came across some food network shows today that I found to be really useful. The first one is Quick-Fix Meals with Robin Miller, she makes multiple meals easier by planning ahead. The second show is 5 Ingredient Fix with Claire Robinson. She makes meals out of 5 ingredients or less.

Grocery Cart Challenge

No groceries this week.

Menu 4/20-4/26

I had a freezer plan all set for the first two weeks of May but then base housing called us and we are moving on May 8th. We aren't moving very far away but I don't particularly want a stocked freezer. Freezer cooking will be back around May 18th and it will probably include one of those turkeys I purchased last week. In the meantime I will be utilizing my most trusty kitchen appliance... the slow cooker in the coming weeks. More on that in a couple of weeks.

Monday 4/20
Pizza

Tuesday 4/21
Sloppy Joes

Wednesday 4/22
Turkey Burger

Thursday 4/23
Goulash

Friday 4/24
Fish

Saturday 4/25
Sloppy Joes

Sunday 4/26
Turkey Burger

Check out more menu plans at Organizing Junkie.com

Freezer Friday

Welcome to the initial Freezer Friday post.

The topic I'd like to discuss today is freezer labels. I can't stress enough how important it is to label your food with the name, date that you made it or use by date, and reheating instructions. Once your meals are frozen you might not be able to tell them apart. This is especially true for soups.

I like to write or print out the instructions on recipe cards and then tape it to the bag. You can find some free printable cards at these sites.

• Graphics by Kim
• Graphics Garden
• Gingerbread Nook
• Free Printable Recipe Cards
• Martha Stewart Living Freezer Labels
• Tipnut Printable Recipe Card Collection

Some labels that I have found for purchase.

• Red Freezer Labels 100Ct - $3.80 Click Here
• Roll of 500 Freezer Labels - $9.99 Click Here
• The Container Store Erasable Labels - $10.97 Click Here

Grocery Cart Challenge

This turned out to be a pretty big week. I purchased a few turkeys to go into the freezer and I went to a discount bakery.

Mrs. Baird's Bakery
I stocked up because I found out it is a little bit of a pain to get to.

• Mrs. Baird's 100% Whole Wheat Bread - 2 @ $1.09/ea.
• Thomas Multi-Grain Light English Muffins - 3 @ $1.69/ea.
• Thomas 100% Whole Wheat Bagels - 3 @ $1.69/ea
• Mrs. Baird's ActiFiber Bread - 1 Free with $6.00 or more purchase.

Subtotal: $11.81
10% Military Discount - $1.18
OOP Total: $10.63

HEB

• 3 Sweet Potatoes $1.35
• 4lb Hill Country Fair Peanut Butter $5.79
• 2 Diet Pepsi - 2/$3.00
• Hill Country Fair Light Ranch Dressing - $2.16
• Hill Country Fair Grape Jelly - $1.35
• Nibsco 8pk Saltine Crackers - $2.99

OOP Total: $16.88

Walmart

• Great Value Fat-Free Pretzels - 2 @ $1.00/ea
• Great Value Brown Rice - 2/$3.00
• Great Value Natural Applesauce - $1.86
• 12pk Turkey Burgers - 2/$6.00 (These are normally $5.38 each)
• Great Value Sugar Free Syrup - $1.34
• 3 - 13+lb. Turkeys @ $0.69/lb - $9.21, $9.19, $9.37 each

OOP Total: $41.86

Grand Total: $69.38

Introducing Freezer Friday

I've decided to start a Freezer Friday blog carnival. Every Friday I will post a freezer friendly recipe or tip and I invite you to do the same.

Here are my guidelines.
1. This is open to anyone with or without a blog. If you have a blog please post your link to your Freezer Friday post and not your homepage. If you don't have a blog please feel free to reply to my post with your tip or recipe.

2. I ask that you provide a link to my blog in your post and use one of my graphics that I have made for this. The main reason for this is that I want to spread the word as much as possible for everyone to enjoy.

3. If you have a blog please use Mr. Linky and of course mention my blog in your post and include a link back to my Freezer Friday post. Feel free to use a Freezer Friday graphic. If you don't have a blog, but would like to participate, please submit your tip or recipe in a reply to the post.

4. The posts should either be a freezer friendly or make ahead recipe, tip or product review. As long as it is about freezer cooking, once-a-month cooking, once-a-week cooking, make ahead meals etc. It will be accepted.

5. I will post the Freezer Friday post no later than 10:00pm central time on Thursday night.

Please use one of my graphics.

Grocery Price List

My husband asked me if I would be willing to purchase our fresh meat and produce at either HEB or Walmart instead of the commissary. So this afternoon I headed out to the HEB and Walmart, luckily they are across the street from each other in order to create a price book.

Walmart has frozen turkey 10-15lbs... most were 13lbs for $0.69/ lb. I'm wondering if I should stock up with a few turkeys?

Menu Plan Monday

Monday - Calzones, Broccoli

Tuesday - Date Night/Birthday Dinner (we did not go last week)

Wednesday - Sloppy Joe, Baked Potato Fries

Thursday - Oven Baked Pork Chops, Broccoli

Friday - Personal Pizza, Salad

Saturday - Baked Fish, Mixed Veggies

Sunday - I haven't decided yet. I am starting to get tired of eating the same things over and over again.

Check out more at orgjunkie

Mister Linky

I think the Mister Linky concept is awesome. I can't even begin to tell you how many sites I've found through this. I was thinking of possibly doing a Freezer Friday where we could all share a recipe or tip but I'm not sure if people will participate. So let me know what you think.

Discount Bakery

I spend a lot of time in the library. I can't help it. I live right down the street from one and I have access to all those cookbooks. The liberian asked me what I was doing and I told her about the freezer cooking. Well one thing led to another and evidently I don't live very far from a discount bakery. I looked it up and gave them a phone call. They carry some of the brands we like. We buy Thomas Whole Grain Bagels at the commissary for $2.97 and they sell the same thing for just barely over $1.00. They have a whole grain bread too and that is $1.09. So I will be checking this place out on Monday or Tuesday and I'm not going to bother trying to bake my own whole grain bread but right now I am finalizing my baking plan for next week. I'll post it as soon as I figure out what I'm doing.

More Resources

I have been gathering more resources.

31 Days of Freezer Favorites

Kraft Foods: Planning Ahead

OAMC Freezer Supper Swappers - This has a lot of menu's in pdf format.

100 Make Ahead Meals

Prevention Magazine Recipe Finder

Baking Week on Hold

I will be doing my bulk baking next week. Right now the skin is trying to come off my hand from burning it so I don't really want to be kneading dough and that kind of stuff with it right now. Next week though is a different story.  But I have created the freezer meal plan for the first part of May already and I think it will be much more manageable.

Recipe Review - Turkey Sloppy Joes

Source: Taste of Home

Makes 14-16 Servings

1 pound bulk pork sausage [ I used turkey.]
1 pound ground beef [see above]
1 medium onion, chopped
14 to 16 sandwich buns, split
2 cans (8 ounces each) tomato sauce
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

In a large skillet, cook the sausage, beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.Remove the centers from the tops and bottoms of each bun. Tear removed bread into small pieces; add to skillet. Set buns aside.

Stir in remaining ingredients into sausage mixture. Spoon about 1/3 cupful onto the bottom of each bun; replace tops. Wrap individually in heavy-duty foil.

Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until heated through or freeze for up to 3 months.

To use frozen sandwiches: Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until heated through.

What I did differently: I did not remove the centers of buns and I didn't add any bread to the skillet. It worked out fine.

Verdict: We had this on the day that I made it and I really didn't like the flavor. The mustard flavor was way to strong but when I pulled this from the freezer and we had it the flavors had blended together better and I loved it. This was even better after frozen. I would make again.

Recipe Review - Southwest Chicken Soup

Source: Holly Clegg's Trim & Terrific Freezer Friendly Meals

Serves 6

1 medium red onion, chopped
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
2 (14.25oz) cans chicken or vegetable broth
1 (15.5oz) can great northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 (4oz) can chopped green chilies
2 tsp. dried oregano leaves
1 tsp. ground cumin
3 C. chopped cooked chicken
1 C. frozen corn

In a large non-stick pot coated with non-stick cooking spray, saute the onion and garlic until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth, beans, chilies, oregano, and cumin. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the chicken and corn. Cover and cook for 10 minutes more or until heated through.

To Prepare and Eat Now: Eat when ready.

To Freeze: Cool to room temperature, then transfer to freezer containers, label, and freeze. Recommended freezing time: up to 3 months.

To Prepare After Freezing: Remove from freezer to defrost. Reheat in a non-stick pot over a low heat. Alternately, you can reheat in the microwave.

Verdict: I didn't really like this. My husband did though. I probably won't make this one again.

Recipe Review - Goulash

I used recipe 7567 from SparkRecipes substituting Ground Pork for the Turkey. This is so good. We love it. My husband immediately said it was a keeper.

I packaged in containers before baking. Once thawed I continued with the baking step.

Grocery Cart Challenge

OAMC Week Two

I picked up some things to do a big baking week.

HEB

- Hill Country Fair Butter 2 @ $0.59/ea

- HEB Whole Wheat Flour $2.99

- Hill Country Fair Eggs 18 CNT $1.84

- Hill Country Fair Canola Oil $2.99

Total $9.00

Check out Gayle at The Grocery Cart Challenge

Baking Week

Tomorrow morning we are having our 7th IUI (infertility treatment) and I plan on staying busy over the next week by baking a ton.  Then the following week I will start planning for next months adventure.  My baking skills are non-existent.  I can bake cakes, I can bake quick breads but if it involves yeast it just doesn't come out right.  So I picked up a whole grain baking book and a baking for beginners book from the library today and I will start my baking week tomorrow.

Menu Plan Monday

This was the easiest and hardest menu to plan.  The hard part came in March with my freezer cooking planning, the easy part was I didn't have to think very hard about what meals we were having.  Wow.

Monday - Goulash, Broccoli

Tuesday - Baked Fish, Sweet Potato

Wednesday - Sloppy Joe, Cauliflower

Thursday - Oven Baked Pork Chops, Broccoli

Friday - Personal Pizza

Saturday - Date Night/Birthday Dinner

Sunday - Baked Fish, Mixed Veggies

Check out more at orgjunkie

Freezer Recipe Site

I found this site and wanted to share it with you all. Life as Mom has an Ultimate Recipe Swap going on and the theme is freezer meals!

Check it out here: URS: Freezer Meals

Recipe Review - Southwestern Vegetable Soup

Source: Holly Clegg's Trim & Terrific Freezer Friendly Meals

Makes 6 Servings [I doubled it.]

1 C. chopped onions
1 TSP. minced garlic
2 C. sliced, peel carrots
1 LB. red potatoes, peeeled and cut into small chunks
2 (14.5 oz.) cans vegetable broth [I used water.]
1 (15 oz) can no-salt-added tomato sauce
1 1/2 C. mild salsa
2 TSP. dried oregano leaves
2 TSP. ground cumin
1 (10 oz. pkg) frozen corn
1/2 C. sliced green onions, for garnish [I omitted this.]
1/2 C. shredded, reduced-fat Monterey Jack Cheese, for garnish [I omitted this.]

In a large non-stick pot coated with non-stick cooking spray, saute the onion and garlic until tender over medium heat, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the carrots, potatoes, vegetable broth, tomato sauce, salsa, oregano, cumin, and corn. Bring the mixture to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the carrots and potatoes are tender.

To Prepare and Eat Now: Garnish with green onions and cheese and eat when ready.

To Freeze: Cool to room temperature, then transfer to freezer containers, label, and freeze. Recommended freezing time: up to 4 months.

To Prepare After Freezing: Remove from freezer to defrost. Reheat in a non-stick pot over a low heat. Alternately, you can heat in the microwave. Serve with green onions and Monterey Jack.

What I did differently: I did not cook the potatoes until full tenderness. When I thawed it out and warmed it up the potatoes only needed a little time to become tender.

Verdict: We absolutely loved it. I could see us eating this with a southwest corn bread. It has southwest flavors but is not spicy. This recipe is definitely a keeper for us.

Day Four... finally finished!

Before and after photos. I am so happy that I am finished. I set out to do something and for the most part I accomplished it.

Starting the calzone mixture.

Made a fresh batch of dough.

So I didn't say I was a good cook! Runny fillings. We ate the two really runny ones for dinner tonight. I wasn't happy with the dough, the filling was awesome, so I made personal pizzas with refrigerated Pillsbury dough that I had. The only thing that did not get accomplished and will not get accomplished is the rolls and breadsticks. I'm just too tired and those we can live without. This afternoon I decided that I will be doing this again but I am doing twice-a-month cooking instead. Thinking back to what my husband told me Monday about having this be fun for me I really think going to twice-a-month will be a lot better. As we eat these I will post the reviews and maybe some of the recipes of the good ones.



Wow I'm done.

Frosty Freezer

I opened our chest freezer today and it was very frosty on one side.  Hmm.... what did I do wrong?  Everything that is hot is being cooled before it goes in there.

Day Three

Day three went much better than the other two days. I think I'm starting to get a handle on this.
I started out breading the pork chops, then I flash froze them. Once they were hard I used our food saver of them.

I then started the goulash. While it was simmering away I packaged the fish and started a soup.

The goulash packaged and frozen!


The soup assembly line still chugging along.

All that is left to do is make the calzones and make the rolls and breadsticks that I didn't make on Monday. I will do those tomorrow! I am so happy to almost be done. I really liked doing this but I will be doing some things differently for next month. For example, the soup really slowed me down and about two soups into it I was tired of making soups. Since my husband specifically requested soup for lunch I pushed on with it. We have now decided that I will make two weeks worth of soups every two weeks. I have a months worth now and on the 15th-ish I will make three recipes. That way we always have a months worth of soup (lunches) but won't be eating the same soup four days a week. I will be giving that a trial run and if it doesn't work out then we will be doing something else for lunches.

That is it for today. I have to be awake at 5:00am to make it to a doctors appointment and I plan on sleeping like a log.

This Should Go Faster

My hand is feeling a lot better.  Now it feels like a sunburn and is just pink instead of red.  With my husbands blessing I went out and purchased this.   I'm not including it in the grocery budget since the money came from our household maintenance envelope.  

My husband just called me from sick call (doctor) and they are putting him on 48 hour quarters (think bedrest).  He came down with a nasty cold and has his pt test is next week so they are hoping this will get him over it faster.  When he gets here I am ordering him to bed or at the very least to the couch.   I'm determined to get this done. If I have a soup or two to finish up tomorrow then that is fine but slow and steady wins the race.  I will finish this soon!  Now back to work.

Day Two

Day two started with the chicken going into the crock-pot.

Then I finished vegetable prep while I had my batch of Tomato Basil Soup going.

After that was cooled and packaged I started the Southwestern Veggie Soup. This was a double batch! I am seriously contemplating purchasing a huge stock pot!

While that was simmering away I cooked the "Turkey" sloppy joes mixture and prepared to assemble. I actually used pork instead of turkey because it was a better deal $$.

The assembly line ready to begin!

Sandwiches all assembled. It was time for a break. After my break I took my husband over to main base for his class, came home and started yet another soup when....

it....

happened....

I splashed 5 cups of boiling water onto my hand!

Ouch!!!!!!

That was the end of day two. This is turning into cook for a week, eat for a month. I'm still having fun with it though... well, minus the hand part. And I already know that I will be doing this again next month but with a few changes!

Please note that my hand is okay just really sore and feels like a bad sunburn but otherwise okay.

Day One

On Monday while I was finishing up preparing for this adventure my husband totally suprised me.  He came up to me in the kitchen and said that he just wanted me to know that if this saves money but stresses me out too much then it is okay not to do it... if it doesn't save money but I enjoy it then it is okay with him to keep doing it.  He just wanted me to have fun and to feel like I accomplished something.  

I started out behind because I did not get the banana bread, breadsticks or crescent rolls made on Monday.  Monday afternoon my back started spasming and luckily Sam was home because at one point it dropped me to my knees and he had to help me up off the floor.  So I decided that was enough and I would make those things some other day. 

Tuesday was grocery day and prep day. I headed out at 8:00am and finished up with the shopping around 1ish.  This is what one months worth of groceries looks like. Wow!

I was very tired of shopping and wanted to get home and get off my feet for a few minutes.  So I updated the grocery cart challenge.  Then I headed to the kitchen for the cooking portion.  At this point I wasn't sure what was harder... the shopping or the cooking!

The next step was to get the calzone dough going.  I pulled out my bread machine and started it up on the dough cycle.

Next I started prepping the veggies.  I only cried through the first onion, after that I think I just blocked out the fumes.

My husband came home from work and thought I looked "just so cute" in my red apron.  So he became snap-happy and I fell WAY behind.  I managed to get all the onions chopped, the green bell peppers chopped and half the carrots chopped.  Then I was reminded that I promised him that he could buy new running shoes this pay period.  Which I totally forgot about.  Luckily I had already planned it into the budget but that ended my day of prep. I still had to chop mushrooms, the rest of the carrots, make the calzones, bake the calzones.  I might have been a bit over zealous in my "schedule" I made.  But the main goal of this is to have fun, save money but have fun doing it.  So I did not stress  out I simply said okay the rest will get done tomorrow! The dough went in the fridge and off we went to go buy my guy some running shoes.

This is what 12 onions looks like!  I chopped two extra as a 'just in case'.