Filling Your Freezer and Other Frugalitarian Ideas

And now it's time for a break....

2009-04-02T15:00:00.000-07:00

I know, it seems that I just came back from quite a long blogging break. But we were packing and moving then so it really wasn't much of a break. But now I really need one. After being down most of this week with a pretty good whopper of a bladder and kidney infection and being away from my kids while I took care of myself, I realized that I need to get my priorities in order. Isn't that how it usually works for all of us? :o) Blogging is just not on my to do or my "desire" to do list right now so it will go on the back burner for now.

I do have lots of good recipes and ideas in my archives so make sure you check all of those out. And this is not a good bye, just a see you later.

Until then~
Happy Cooking, Happy Couponing, and Happy Mommying!
Caroline

Something to Pray about this week...

2009-03-23T06:58:00.000-07:00

http://sgbcmodesto.com/Dylan/

Dylan and his family attend my parent's Church. I have known Dylan's mom on and off for about 13 years. What an amazing family!

Check out their blog (the link is above) and please remember to pray for Dylan and his family.
~Caroline

A New Post

2009-03-20T04:50:00.000-07:00

I have been doing good having new posts every Monday/ Wednesday/ and Friday! But, alas, I am now running behind on my posts. So this is my new post for today!
Hopefully I will have time this weekend to get ahead again and be back on track.
~Caroline

Piano

2009-03-18T05:54:00.000-07:00

We got a piano and it has a story!
My great-great grandfather bought it for my Grandma when my mom was a little girl. So my mom grew up with the piano.
Then my Grandma gave it to my mom when I was a little girl. So I grew up with it. Then it went back to my Grandma's house when my parent's moved after I got married.
Now that we are in our own house we got the Piano. So my girls will grow up with it! Emma already knows that when she grows up and gets married and has children she will get the piano. To which she replies, "and then I will give it to my kids and they will give it to their kids." To which I reply, "that would be the plan." The she reminds that she does not plan on ever getting married because she wants to be a missionary! The kid deserves the piano no matter what :o)

What's in the Freezer??!!??

2009-03-16T06:19:00.000-07:00

Another list (along with "Le Menu") that I always have on my fridge is my "What's in the Freezer" list.

We have 2 full refrigerators plus a chest freezer and most of the time there is always food in all of them. Hubby uses one of the full fridge/freezers for his work samples and stuff, but occasionally I will throw some of my stuff in there as well.

I am forever forgetting what is in the freezer and going out and buying more of an item that I already have because I didn't know it was already there! Ugh. Not very fugal :o)

So I finally started taking inventory of my freezers and keeping the list on my fridge. Seems pretty simple? It is! I usually re-do the inventory every other month as I don't always remember to add to my list what I just added to the freezer :o) Here is what my "freezer" list looks like:

I break the list into groups: meats, desserts, breakfasts, sides, etc... This way if I need a side dish for a meal I can just go to "sides" and see what I have in my freezer that will work. Same goes for the meat. Before I go to the grocery store I can check my list and see what meats I already have in the fridge and make a "Le Menu" from those meats!

Happy Freezing!

~Caroline

Meal Planning!!!?????!!!

2009-03-13T06:06:00.000-07:00

I don't do meal planning. At least not in the sense that most people do. I don't make out a little chart every week that states what we will be having for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. I don't think it is a bad thing to do that. I wish I could do that. I think that people who are able to have that in their lives our truly blessed :o) My palette, however, will not let me do that. I have tried. Oh, I have tried many times to type out that weekly menu so pretty on my computer and then print it out and then displayed it proudly upon my fridge. Do you know what happened? No? My palette would see what was for dinner that night and so, "nope, my dear, that does not sound good to me and I don't want to experience that flavor tonight". I had to listen to it. So I would end up making something else and then my weekly menu would be all washed out. It was a sad thing but I have now learned to cope with it.

I no longer make a weekly plan. Instead I make "Le Menu". It looks something like this:

All this is is a list of all the meals I have already prepared in the freezer or I have all the stuff to make it from scratch. This way, every morning I just look at the "Le Menu" see what my palette is thinking and we decide on that night's dinner then. After I prepare the meal I simple cross it off from my list so I know it is no longer available.

I usually have lunches and breakfasts listed on there as well so I don't have to think about what we have for them either.

This idea has worked well for me and my family. If you are struggling with getting a weekly menu on the fridge give this a try and see if it works for you :o)

Happy Cooking!~Caroline

Selling Avon

2009-03-11T06:02:00.000-07:00

Clipping coupons and shopping frugally is not the only way I save money around here. Ten years ago, right after I had Gillian, I started selling Avon. Originally it just gave me something to do. My mother-in-law bought a lot of Avon and told me that if I started selling it she would buy from me. Seemed pretty easy, so I signed up thinking that she would be my only customer and I would just get a nice discount.

Ten years later.....I never made Avon out to be a "business". My primary job in life is to be a wife and a mother and everything else is just extracurricular. All of my customers are either family or friends. People that I see on a normal basis so that I don't have to spend much time delivering my orders. I have about 5 regular customers and 5 who order occasionally. But that is all that I need to pay for the things that I order from Avon. See how that works?

I spend and average of 1 hour a month putting my orders together and getting the product in my customers' hands. That then allows me to buy all of my makeup, cleansers, lotions, and more at a cost of $0.

I am not on a sales pitch here whatsoever, folks. All I am saying is that there are many other opportunities out there to be frugal and to save your family money and they don't take a chunk of your time either. Of course, before you go signing up for anything, make sure that you and your hubby discuss it and that it would benefit your family.

Happy Frugalitarianism :o)
~Caroline

(one of my customers and she's also my sister!)

The Happiest Place on Earth!

2009-03-09T14:20:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful trip to Disneyland a couple of weeks ago. This was Emma's (6 years old) first time there which made it even more exciting! Here is our trip in photos.........

Emma was so excited as we got closer to driving over the "grapevine" and I informed her that we would be driving over those mountains. They had closed the grapevine 2 days before our trip due to snow! Lucky for us it had re-opened by the time we got there and we got to see the snow that was left on the mountians.

My wonderful parents got to go with us. My dad drove the whole way!

We headed to Downtown Disney when we got there on Saturday. We never expected to see Cinderella's Carriage with a bride inside! It was so much fun to watch the carriage with the "horsemen" pull up and out came a princess in a beautiful wedding gown. I asked my hubby and my dad if I could have a re-do of our wedding. They both said, "no" :o)

After sitting and watching the wedding for a while we headed off to eat at The Rainforest Cafe. We had the option to wait an hour and a half to sit inside or we could be sitting right away if we sat on the balcony. We went for the balcony :o) They had large heaters all around so it was nice and warm.

DISNEYLAND DAY!

My mom bought the girls Disney Princess Dresses at the Disney Store for them to wear to Disneyland. The night before, when we were at Downtown Disney, my parents let the girls pick out "ears" to wear to Disneyland. of course they both went for the pink princess ears!

My mom also bought the girls "autograph" books so they could get all the characters signatures. If I ever had the chance to be a character at Disneyland I would want to be her --> Cruela De Ville! She gets to be sarcastic all day long! The first thing she said to the girls, in her snooty voice, was, "did your mother make you wear those princess dresses? I bet you don't even like the princesses." It was great. She kept the banter going the whole time. I loved it!

Now here's a bunch of characters!

Gilly wasn't to sure about the characters touching her or getting to close. But over all she did good. Emma, however, loved all of them!

Emma and I on "It's a Small World". They just re-opened it after all the re-vamping they did. It really looked the same to me. A couple of small changes but nothing that made us go "wow". Emma informed me on the ride that, "it really isn't a small world. The world is actually really big, mom."

All Gillian talked about in the months (yes months) leading up to Disneyland was "riding the horsies with Grandpa". She ended up riding the Merry Go Round 5 times that day! She was one happy kid . Gillian and Grandpa on the horsies
Emma and Dad on the horsies

The girls also got to have their faces painted.

And eat ice cream!

All in all we had the most wonderful time at the Happiest Place on Earth!

And we can't wait to go back and do it again next year!

The day after! Parents are worn out :o) but the kids are filled with many memories!

Spaghetti Sauce

2009-03-06T06:11:00.000-08:00

No I am not Italian. Yes, I do wish that I was :o) I am however kind of picky about my spaghetti sauce. The only two spaghetti sauces I like are my mom's and mine. And I only like mine because I make it just like my mom. Now please do not get all offended and huffy here if you have made me spaghetti before and I said I liked it. I don't lie about food. I did like it. But if I make it or my mom makes it then I LOVE it and will eat at least 3 plate fulls and make myself miserable. But it's worth it.
Here is my recipe (um, I mean my mom's recipe) for Spaghetti sauce. It's not rocket science here people, but it is good.

This is for a double batch:

2 Cans of spaghetti sauce (the cheap kind, seriously, the one that comes in the can)
1 large can (or 2 small) of crushed tomatoes with the sauce
ground beef, cooked and drained (you can put in as much or as little meat as you want. It all depends on your own taste)
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 cup of a good red wine (OK, I will be honest here, I always put more like a cup or more in because I think this is truly what makes it soooooo good)

Put it all in a crockpot and let it simmer on low all day.

I usually end up eating a bowl of the sauce for lunch that day! Yep, I have issues :o) You can freeze any leftover sauce you might have or make lasagnas with it.
Happy Cooking!
~C

Lemon Bars

2009-03-04T06:02:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday our Church had a "homeschool encouragement day" for all the homeschooling moms at our Church and others who live nearby. I was hired to do all of the food including dessert. Instead of buying desserts, I hired my mother, who is an awesome baker, to make them all. We decided on cream puffs, caramel brownies, mini cheesecakes, chocolate dipped shortbread cookies, and lemon bars.
Rachel asked me for the recipe for the Lemon bars and I will gladly give it to you :o)

Step 1: Go to the grocery store
Step 2: Go to the baking aisle
Step 3: Find the Krusteaz Lemon Bar box mix
Step 4: Buy it
Step 5: Follow the directions on the back of the box to make your lemon bars!

Don't you just love it when something is that easy :o)
Happy Cooking!
~Caroline

Decorating with Blessings

2009-03-02T06:34:00.000-08:00

One thing I know for sure is that we have been blessed! God never ceases to amaze me when it comes to my needs or my wants. He has truly blessed us when it comes to our new home.

As most of your know, it took us 15 months and around 30 offers before we got this house. Looking back we can both say that it was worth the wait and all the trouble of the past 15 months. God knew exactly what He was doing and I am so glad that we trusted in His sovereignty the whole way.

As you have read in recent posts we have been blessed with paint in many ways! We were also blessed with light fixtures! A friend of mine bought a house about a year ago and did not like the light fixtures that were in the house. They just were not her style. So she offered them to me and happily took them and had been storing them in the garage at our old house for the last year. Let me tell you here people, these fixtures fit into our house perfectly! All of the light fixtures that were here when we moved in were very out dated. Some were broken and some were just not even there :o) Here is what the blessings look like in our home:
This one (above) went into the master bathroom. To tell you the truth, I can't remember what the old one looks like now :o)

This one (above again) is in the girl's bathroom. Don't you just love that wallpaper! It has to go. Half of it is missing. Sorry, folks. Before there was no light fixture here. There is another fixture on the other side if the bathroom that is very long. It was just a silver color so we spray painted it to look like the rest of the brushed silver in the bathroom.

This one is in the entry way. There was no light at all here when we moved in, just the wires. My brother-in-law put this one up for me without a ladder! He is very tall. Very tall! The light fit here perfectly.

Thanks Aleena for the lights! We are so grateful your generosity!

Many Blessings!

Emptying my Freezer

2009-02-25T06:41:00.000-08:00

One thing that has been a huge blessing over the past month is the food in my freezer! After a day of unpacking boxes, putting things in drawers, taking things out of drawers and then putting them back in another drawer and so on, the last thing I want to do is cook.

Today was one of those days and tonight was one of those nights. As I was contemplated taco smell (that's what it is called in our house) I decided to scour the freezer in hopes of being able to pull something together. We ended up having Kobe beef sliders (if you don't know what Kobe beef is or what a slider is let me know and I will fill you in on the wonderfulness of them) and tater tots. taco smell would have cost us a mere $7 (I only have 2 kids and i of them eats less than a mouse and we rarely buy drinks at restaurants so that's why it would be so cheap) but what we ended up eating was so much more delicious and it cost us nothing!

Other ideas I came up with while going through the freezer:
~Breakfast-eggs, bacon, biscuits and gravy (I always keep bacon and biscuits in the freezer)
~Canned soup (I stock up on canned soup when I can get the good brand for $0.50 or less) and grilled cheese (we only had 4 slices of cheese left and my freezer stash of cheese is out, so this would not have been great but would have worked)
~Oriental Salad with breaded chicken strips on top. (I usually have samples of chicken strips in my freezer from hubby's work)

So save your family from taco smell or smelling like tacos and go raid your freezer!
Happy food hunting!
~Caroline

Painting on the Cheap

2009-02-23T06:30:00.000-08:00

Paint!?!? It can brighten a room while draining your budget :o)
Yes, I know that they say that a coat of paint is the cheapest and easiest way to add "pizazz" to a room. (Do they really say that?). But when your budget is $0 even color has to go on the back burner. So what is a girl to do? What is this girl to do, who has been dying to put some color on her walls since she moved into her first rental some 9 years ago? All I want is some color in my life people, that's it just a little cheeriness and at this point I don't care what color it is I just want COLOR! UGH! Sorry for the momentary lapse of insanity. I am back now.

For starters, I have many people offer me paint. Seriously. It has been fun. Our old neighbor (no she is not actually old, we just live in a new house now and have new neighbors so all the neighbors at our old house are now our old neighbors) offered me four different colors of paint that she had used in her girls' room. The colors were perfect. We had 2 shades of pink and 2 shades of lavender. None of the colors had a full gallon. So we had to figure out how to make it all work and get all the walls covered. Here is how we did it:
The closet (which you cannot see) was painted the darkest shade of pink. Most of the wall was painted in the other shade of pink (as you can see above). There was less than a half gallon of the darker shade of lavender and almost a whole gallon of the lighter shade. The problem was the lighter shade was really light and I wanted something darker. So I mixed the two shade together and came up with the color you see above for the ceiling and the top part of the wall! When money permits we will get a pretty white molding to put up on the line between the colors. I was so happy with the way it turned out! Painting the girls' room= $0. Thanks Raquel!!!!! You rock!!!!!

Another way we have been able to buy some color is to hit up the "oops" paints at our local "man stores" (H*ome Dep*t/ L*we's, and even w*llym*art).
I found this can of paint last summer (when we thought we were moving into a different house) and will use it to paint all of the bathroom cabinets. It's a dark grey color. Bathroom Cabinets= $6.

I needed to paint the inside of our closet with a good semi-gloss before we moved all of clothes into it. I headed off to w*llym*rt to pay full price (shocking I know) for a gallon of white semi-gloss. When I go there I noticed their section of "oops" paints and started in on them. To my surprise they had a can of almost white semi-gloss paint right there for only $6! I use the whole gallon to paint the master bedroom closet and all of the hall closets (we have 4 of them).

I had hopes to have enough of the almost white paint left to paint the laundry room but I did not. I was a bit sad but that sadness to turned to happiness when I decided I could paint it red! Finally a red room! Some GOOD color! Thank you Lord!

Off to the above mentioned place again to get me some red paint. Again, planning on paying full price. Have I told you how much I hate paying full price? I, of course, decided to devour through the "oops" paint once again knowing that they would not have my shade of red in there. Well, can I just shout, GOD IS GOOD!!!!! There was my red paint. In my perfect shade! At that moment life just could not have got any better. Well, it could have if someone would have offered to come and paint the laundry room for me right then and there for free :o) But I am a realist and life was plenty good at that moment just the way it was

Laundry room= $6. I already had all of the turquoise buckets from the old house. I am going for the Greek isle look in here. Like in Mama Mia. Oh I so do love that movie! Please, no judging here people. We are all entitled to our own opinions :o) I am going to trim the shelf with ribbon as soon as I find just what I want. So fun!

I also have another friend who has offered me a gallon of paint that she has lying around. I plan on using that one for the office. I also go and check the "oops" sections every time I am at the "man store" (this is what my kids call it) just knowing that one day I find the colors for my front room, kitchen, hallway, and bathrooms!

Happy Painting!

~Caroline

Making a House Clean

2009-02-20T06:33:00.000-08:00

Now that we are into our own home (we were renters before) I am frugally decorating it to the best of my abilities and pocketbook. My abilities always outweigh my pocketbook. Why is that? While the house we are in is very sound and sturdy it does need some sprucing up. Here is a bit of what we have done thus far....

Step one: Wipe ALL the walls and ALL surfaces down with TSP. The people that lived here before let their kids be "artistic" all over the walls (including the brick) so we had lots of cleaning to do before the paint could go on. TSP is great stuff, people. You dilute it in water and just go to town. It took off lots of stuff that was very "mysterious" to us.

Step three: Take off all hardward (light fixtures/ switch plates/ vent covers/ etc....) and soak them in TSP.

Step three: Paint ALL the walls with a coat of KILZ. This is also great stuff. It basically "locks" in all the stuff that just won't come off of the walls.....like red crayon :o) Painting the whole house with KILZ took us 3 days (even with all of our helpers). After this I decided that I never wanted to paint again for the rest of my life. Then I realized that I do need color in my life so the painting must go on.

Step four: After letting all the hardware soak for a few days (seriously, it was that bad), wash it off and dry it. Here is where we got frugal: Many of the hardware pieces were pretty bad. Some of the vents had rust on them that we just could not get off. Some of the light fixtures were bronz colored and that did not match my decor. SO out came the cans of spray paint and my dad who is the world's best spray painter. Seriously, folks, the man knows how to spray paint better than the professionals :o)

Here are the light fixture and vent in the front bathroom after their coat of glorious spray paint. The silver goes much better in out house.

And on the right-> is one of the switch plates that use to be gold but is now silver as well.

After everything was clean and pretty we put it all back in or up, whichever it needed :o) I can't even began to tell you the difference just these four steps made in the appearance of our home.

Oh, yeah, we also took down all of the drapes and tossed them. Not only were they outdated they were so full of dust. Major allergy attacks! We put newspaper in the windows until we were able to get replacements. We still have a couple newspapered windows. I think they give the house character ;o)

What we have been up to lately

2009-02-18T06:12:00.000-08:00

Since my computer has been down for soooo long, I thought I would give you a quick glance at what we have been up to the past few months......Besides packing, cleaning, moving, cleaning, and unpacking!

--> My grandma took 4 of her great-granddaughter (2 of them being my girls) to Libby Lu on Christmas Eve. Did you know that Libby Lu is now closed? They closed all of them. SO it is now safe to venture back outside with your little girls :o) Gillian had so much funny getting all dolled up.

<-- We celebrated Christmas with a paper tree and decorations. (we were suppose to move the week after Christmas so I did not get all the decorations out.) The girls had a blast color and making the paper tree. We plan on making it a yearly tradition now. The paper tree will go in their bedroom! --> Emma practiced her laundry skills! What a goof. She was so proud of herself that she could carry so much at once. I was proud too!

<-- The girls and I took and over night trip to the Monterey Bay Aqaurium with some friends. It was so much fun!

--> Emma turned 6 and celebrated with a princess Tea Party. Funny Side note...I forgot the candles (the party was at my parent's) but my mom managed to find a few, but then we had no lighter and no matches! Emma was such a good sport about it though. She was more than happy to "blow out the candles" so I had a realistic picture :o)

<-- We took the girls to their very first Circus. Look at how goofy the clowns were there! Oh wait, I think those are my kids. oops :o) If you came early they let you go out into the circus rink and see everything up close, including trying on the outfits.

SO there is your glimpse into our lives for the past few months. Nothing to exciting, but we have been busy and having lots of fun!

This weekend we are going to Disneyland! It will be Emma's first time and Gillian's second. We are all so excited!

Does this count as a bad day?

2009-02-16T14:45:00.000-08:00

Here is what happened within a 10 minute span.....might have been less:

-Went to the bathroom and saw that there were still ants trying to crawl on the toilet. Kill the little boogers.

-Sit to go to the bathroom and notice that the ants are now coming in from a different spot and are all around the shower. Kill the little boogers.

-Sort laundry. Decide to ask Gillian to put in a load (I show her exactly which load she is to put in) so I can start ironing hubby's clothes for tomorrow.

-Go to plug in iron and notice that the ants are now on the window sill in my bedroom! Try to stay calm while I go get something to kill the little boogers.

-Go to throw away the kleenex covered with dead ants in the girls bathroom and notice that someone did not flush the toilet. And yes, they did more than just #1 in there :o)

-Flush the toilet and it overflows! Start yelling at Emma to bring me all the towels she can find while I grab the plunger and get it unplugged.

-Want to cry but keep it together.

-Hear Gillian say, "Oh no what happened". This is her key saying for something is not going as it should.

-See that she has put all the laundry in I asked and is now filling the washing machine with a whole nother load that should not be in with first said load!

-Start freaking out as I pull out the clothes that are not to be in there while telling Gillian to just go play in her room.

-Emma, hearing the commotion, comes running down the hall asking what is wrong. I tell her not to worry about it. She keeps asking me what happened. I keep telling her not to worry about it. She keeps asking.

-I tell both of them that it is nap time and to go get on their beds. Emma (6 year old) starts crying because mommy is mad.

-Phone rings! Hubby is calling :o) I tell hubby that if he wants to talk to me when I am in a better mood he had better call back in an hour.

-Kill more of those little boogers here, there, everywhere! I even used the steam on the iron (while I was ironing hubby's clothes) to get a few down. (that helped a bit)

-Explain to 6 year old that when mommy says don't worry about it that means don't worry about it.

-Nicely put girls down for a quiet time.

-Grab a bottle of water and hubby's box of Hot Tamales he got for Valentine's Day. I figured they might cool me off :o)

I guess you could say that I am having a "Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day!".

~Caroline

I'm coming......

2009-02-15T13:46:00.000-08:00

I'm coming, Susan :o) Just give me a few more days and I shall be back into it.

Just to tied you over until then.....there she is! My pretty new RED computer. Yep, she fits into my office space well :o) And sitting next to her is my new black and white printer. We already have a color printer that does it all but this black and white baby spits out like a gazillion pages a minute! Great for this homeschooling mom.

(shelves are from IKEA/ Table was given to us by dear friends about 4 years ago)

Almost back.

2009-02-03T18:59:00.000-08:00

Guess what? I finally ordered my new computer!!!!! Yee Haw!! It will be here sometime next week. SO I will be back up and running by then.
In the meantime we are enjoying our new home. Well, almost. We did already get to find out how good our homeowners insurance is :o) Yep, we were broken into and robbed our first week here. It was a great "Welcome to the Neighborhood" party. We are all fine and now have an alarm system thanks to a good friend for hooking it up for us. Hubby got into a minor fender bender on his way home from Church on Sunday, he is also fine. SO I have had lots of fun (not really, that was complete sarcasm) filing insurance claims this week :o) I am very thankful that the Lord has provided us with good insurance companies!

SO stay tuned next week for pictures and posts!!! Oh, I just can't wait. In the meantime I will be busy planning and executing a Valentine's Party and painting my kitchen :o)

Happy Living!
~Caroline

7 Steps of Freezer Cooking

2009-01-26T06:08:00.000-08:00

Here is a great link to "7 Steps of Freezer Cooking" from 30 Day Gourmet. I have one of their books and it has come in handy on many occasions.

http://www.30daygourmet.com/Freezer_Info/Freezer_Five.asp

Happy Cooking!
~Caroline

CVSing

2009-01-19T09:26:00.000-08:00

Right now at CVS they have a bunch of stuff on clearance from 50-75% off!! I hit up the makeup section and used a lot of $1.00 off coupons I had. I got 6 packs of Revlon nail files for -$0.01. Yep that's a minus sign! They paid me $0.01 for each package. They were on clearance for $0.99 and I used a $1.00 off Revlon coupon for each package. SO a made a penny off of each package! Way cool! I also got a few mascaras and a lipstick for less than $1.00 a piece. So if you have a CVS by you go hit it up and fill up your makeup bag for real cheap.

We are out of our rental house (as of Sat.). We have not yet closed escrow on our new house so we are staying at my parent's until we do. We hope to close on Wednesday. I'll keep you all posted.

Happy Couponing~ Caroline

Happy New Year!!!

2009-01-07T14:26:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas and New Year. We are still not in in our new house yet but are hoping to move next week sometime. Please be praying that everything goes well for us.

I spent a day a couple weeks ago making freezer meals with my mom. She made a bunch of single serve meals for my 84 year old grandmother to keep in her freezer. Mt grandma lives alone and cried when my mom gave her the meals. She does not like to cook for just herself and does not usually eat very healthy, so it meant a lot to her to have healthy, fresh meals waiting for her in the freezer.
It was so easy for us to make one recipe and put a little aside in a separate container for my grandmother. If you know of someone who lives a lone, whether it be an elderly person, a single person, a college student, etc... consider doing this as a blessing for the. You will truly end up being the one that feels blessed when you see there reaction. My mom and I were.

So, can I just tell you how nice it has been to have meals in my freezer while we have been busy cleaning and packing! Especially since we are eating off of paper plates right now and all my kitchen stuff is packed :o) I just pop something out of the freezer in the morning, pop it in the oven at dinner time and throw the aluminum pan away when it's gone. Easy, easy, easy. I will probably go into shock after we move and I have to do dishes again!

I still do not have a computer (thanks mom for letting me come over and use yours!) but plan on dealing with that after we move. So hopefully sometime in February I will get back to posting regularly. Until then I will just give you tidbits here and there.

Happy Cooking!
~Caroline

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-12-03T13:38:00.000-08:00

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

Just a quick update for you all.
~I still have no computer, but my mom is always nice enough to let my hop on hers when I come over :o)
~We got a house!!! Yep, we sure did! We are scheduled to close on escrow on the 29th (hubby's b-day!), but with the way things have been rolling (fast), I am hoping we will close before Christmas.
~I am still struggling with my health so you can be praying for me there.
~My dad got the garage cleaned out! Yes, I know that is not really an update but it was a huge thing for him and for my mom :o)

I think that about sums it all up. Between school, life, packing, cleaning the new house, helping out family, hanging with friends, and a million other things, we have been pretty non-stop lately.

I pray that you all have a wonderful Christmas and that your focus in on the real meaning, the Birth of our Saviour!

~Caroline

See you next year!

2008-10-26T20:30:00.000-07:00

Well my computer has seen its last days :o( So I will be computerless, probably until the end of the year. So I figured that I will just take a bit of a blogging break until then. But don't worry, I will be cooking up some good stuff for you for when I come back :o) Hey, maybe we will be in a new house by then as well...a girl can hope, right!
So I pray that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and a very Merry Christmas. Keep your eyes focused on the things above and not on these temporal earthly things.

Blessings and lots of Happy Cooking~Caroline

Crashed

2008-10-14T14:09:00.000-07:00

My computer crashed! Serious stuff here people. I have been without it for 6 days now! Can I tell you how amazed I was at all of the stuff I have got done since not having a computer? Wow, I have impressed myself, which is not hard to do :o)
So until my computer is back up and running I will not be posting very much. i got a great guy (my brother-in-law) working on the problem. He has said to be prepared to loose everything! I am not a backer-upper so this would not be good. But if it does happen, I know it is on God's will.
Talk to you all soon.
Happy Cooking!
~Caroline
p.s."Hi, Tess"

Yum, this looks good!

2008-10-08T16:44:00.000-07:00

Check this out for a fast, frugal meal
http://www.moneysavingmom.com/money_saving_mom/2008/10/guest-post-dinn.html

Wallym*art

2008-10-06T14:51:00.000-07:00

You all know the place I am talking about, right? Wally*mart. Well, like many people I know who live around the same area that I do, I do not like to go to this place. It literally makes me grumpy even thinking about having to go there. But we all have to admit they have some good deals on stuff. I especially like their cheap kids clothes.
Well, I just got onto their website (it's "the store's name" dot com) and I could not believe the sale they were having. $2.00 dresses and shirts and more. And the shipping is very low. And if you decide you actually want to go to the store, they will deliver your order there for $0 shipping! I think I would rather pay $4 or $5 for shipping than go to the store :o)

(Me and my sister. She has started doing coupon deals with me and we are having so much fun!)

I will be back, eventually

2008-09-26T09:39:00.000-07:00

Hello friends~ Just so you all know I will be taking another short break from blogging. Hopefully once my whole heart/health issues are under control I will be bcak in full swing. Until then I will be resting. I do have a couple posts for recipes almost finished so I will try to get those up in the next couple of weeks.
Blessings and Happy Cooking!
~Caroline

Best Buds

2008-09-20T08:06:00.000-07:00

(Alazay and Emma)

One of Emma's best buds is our neighbor Alazay. Alazay and her family moved away last weekend and it has been very sad. The 2 girls played together almost every day for about a year. Now Emma goes outside and talks to the butterflies :o) We are praying that either another nice family with young kids moves in soon or that we buy a house and move in next door to a nice family with young kids.

(goofballs!)

Mexican Skirt Steak

2008-09-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

Mexican Skirt Steak

beef skirt steak (however much you think will feed your family)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup V-8 juice

1/4 cup olive oil

1 Tablespoon garlic

2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

~Put all ingredients into a ziplock bag and seal. Mush to coat meat and throw it in the freezer :o)

Cooking Instructions:Thaw completely. Grill or broil for 8 – 10 minutes per side. Serve with rice, tortillas, beans, whatever floats your boat.

We sliced ours up and made burritos. It was yummy! And I now realize why I never post pictures of food (besides that fact that I always forget) I take terrible food pics :o) Oh, well, I shall keep trying.

Happy Cooking! ~Caroline

Raspberry Chipolte Chicken

2008-09-16T08:38:00.000-07:00

Raspberry Chipolte Chicken Yummy!!!!! In the last 6 months or so, I have become obsessed with chipolte sauce. I love the stuff! The best? Mix ranch dressing with chipolte sauce (as much or as little as you can handle) and you as a dip with tortilla chips. Seriously, this stuff is awesome.

I made Raspberry Chipolte Chicken at one of the "places". You know, where they have all the food sitting out for you to assemble and they clean up all the mess. Yes! I have been to one of those places. Just for fun. I loved it, but I can make 2 or 3 meals for the price of 1 of theirs. Anyway, I loved the recipes so much that I came home and made up my own. You can tweak this recipe anyway you like. If you want more heat add more chipolte sauce. If you want it sweeter add more raspberry. If you love lime (I do) add more lime juice. The sky is the limit with this one!

Raspberry Chipolte Chicken

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

3/4 cup ketchup

1/4-1/2 raspberry jam, preserves, jelly (whatever you wish)

1 TBl-1/4 cup chipolte sauce

Juice of 1 lime

~Put it all in a bag. Smoosh it around. Throw it in the freezer.

~Cooking Directions: Thaw Completely. Place under the broiler for 6 minutes on each side. Brush with remaining sauce during cooking. If you have any sauce left you can heat it in a saucepan (really good because it has been in with raw chicken) and serve over the chicken. I made rice with ours and drizzled it over that. Yummy! You can also BBQ the chicken on the grill if you so wish.

This picture does not do it justice but I had forgot to take one when it was pretty :o)

Happy Cooking! ~Caroline

Back in action...sorta :o)

2008-09-15T06:03:00.000-07:00

I got a lot more done last week with hubby on vacation, than I have in the last month! I was finally able to get back to CVS and Walgreens and got some awesome deals. Unfortunately, one thing that I learned is that when your husband and 2 children are with you at the store and you are doing multiple transactions and they are ALL trying to help you, you end up loosing your receipts! And since my brain has been completely fried by some of medications I could not even remember the transactions and the amount spent and saved and all of that. So I am very sorry that I do not have any details for you all. Maybe this week we will get into that :o) I am taking baby steps to get to what normal is for me now.

I can say this, at walgreens I spent $10 and have $16 coming back to me in rebates! So that was a good money maker and it stocked me up on meds for the winter! Yee Haw!

I was also able to do a day of cooking last week. I cannot even begin to tell you how much I enjoyed spending time in my kitchen all by myself cranking out meals. I will have to say that this was the best cooking session I have ever had! Seriously. Here are the specks:

2 meals-Citrus marinated Shrimp
2 meals-Pineapple Salsa with Salmon
2 meals- Italian Hamburgers
2 meals- Raspberry Chipolte Chicken
2 meals- Honey Sesame Pork Chops
1 meal- Savory Garlic Steak
1 meal- Mexican Flare skirt steak
2meals- Pork Chops ready to be BBQd
2 pounds- ground beef cooked and divided
4 meals- Alfredo Sauce
____________
Total meals made= 18 (plus 2 lbs. ground beef )
Total spent= $75!!!! That's about $4 per meal!!! Now remember I am only cooking for 4 people. But still I was flabbergasted that I did this good!

My mom has also made us :
2 meals- Pot Pies (one has already been devoured)
2 meals- Coffee Cakes
and she is planning on making this week:
Beef and Cheese Enchiladas
Chicken Enchiladas in a Cream Sauce
Re-Baked Potatoes

So our freezer is stocked and I can focus on hubby, kids, schooling, theraping, and getting better myself! God is so good :o)

Oh, did I tell you that it took me less than 2 hours to make and clean up all that food! I had to take an extra one of my medicines because I was feeling bad, and it gave me this huge kick of energy and I was just going like a mad woman!

I will try to post recipes and pictures of this stuff as we eat it up in the next few weeks so you can all enjoy it with me.

One last thing, I love to share how God blesses the Howard family. After my 2 hours of mad cooking I crashed on the couch and thought, "I really don't want to make dinner tonight." Right about that point hubby calls and says that one of his customers just gave him a bunch of food. Here is what a bunch of food was: 2 racks of BBQd Ribs, 2 BBQd Chicken Quarters, 1 very large BBQd Tri-Tip, a loaf of french bread all buttered and wrapped in foil, a big thing of Potato Salad, and a Big thing of their Homemade Baked beans! We called up my parents to come over and our neighbors and we all had a feast! I love it when we are blessed beyond what we need and we can turn and bless others with it as well! God is good. He has showed me that a lot in the last 7 weeks.

Sorry this became such a long post :o) I will chat with you more this week with recipes and pictures!
Blessings and Happy Cooking~Caroline

Filling but not frugally

2008-09-03T16:05:00.000-07:00

(Pipi Longstocking/aka:Emma!)

I promise I will be back to regular posting soon. And I am especially hoping to post a lot more recipes for all of you who have asked :o)

I am trying to adjust to this new, much slower paced life that God now has planned for me. I will admit that it has not been easy as I am a multi-tasker, think aheader and I have had to become a one thing at a timer and moment by momenter :o)

OK, so I have a confession......I have been filling my freezer a little bit, but not very frugally. I am ashamed to admit it. Today I bought some pre-made freezer meals out of the freezer section at Target. Yikes! Late afternoon and dinnertime have been the hardest parts of the day for me so I am doing whatever I can just to get by.
Hubby is taking vacation time next week and agreed to help me make some meals for the freezer one day. He actually sounded excited about it! I plan on trying some new recipes and will post them for you all IF they turn out OK :o) My mom has also offered to make a few meals for my freezer as well. So all I need to do is get through this week and we should be in much better shape next week.

I have not done any of my couponing in the last few weeks. But can I just tell you how much my past couponing has blessed us lately! We are well stocked on most of our daily care needs and household supplies. How nice it has been to not have to run out to the store because someone has ran out of deodorant. Hubby even noticed how well stocked all of his stuff was and thanked me for being so frugal. He's a great guy!

I will chat with you all really soon!
~Caroline

A quick update

2008-08-29T16:53:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has been so long since I have been here. Thank you for your e-mails and prayers. They have been much appreciated. Well I can't say much has been determined in the area of what is going on in me health wise. They have determined that my heart rate is way to high which somehow helped caused some kind of neurochemistry thing in my brain which triggered panic attacks. All that to say, I still don't have all the answers as to why this all happened. They have put me on a couple different prescriptions which help but knock me for a loop.
Needless to say I will continue to be a little quite here on the blog as I get back up to speed. Sad to say, I have not even been doing CVS or Walgreens much the last few weeks :o( I am sure I have missed out on lots, but that's OK.
If you feel led, here are some specific prayer requests:
~That an answer as to why this is all happening can be found.
~That I can eventually taper off all medications
~One of the meds makes me extremely fatigue, gives me an almost constant headache, and causes lightheadedness (I can't even tell you how many walls I have ran into in the last couple of weeks :o) ) pray that I can have the energy to just get the household chores and meals done. I am not asking anything beyond that. I just want to be able to take care of my family.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and love!
~Caroline

Hi Y'all

2008-08-13T10:10:00.000-07:00

I am still here :o) I will be taking a bit of a break due to some health issues. Once everything is back to normal I will be back to blogging, I promise. I didn't even get CVS this weeks so I have no deals to post. So sorry. See you soon.

Blessings~Caroline

Gillian's 10!

2008-08-11T06:43:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I have 10 year old. A sweet, precious, loving, adorable 10 year old! This girl has blessed our lives and the lives of so many others in more ways than I count.

We celebrated her birthday on Saturday with a Mary Popins Party!

My mom made these adorable umbrela cookies (with one arm!)

(Gillian and I)

(Gillian and Emma)

(singing Happy Birthday)

In keeping with tradition I now give you Gillian's top 10 things of this year:

1)Mary Poppins

2)Dr. Beech

3)Mim's House

4)Marly (in-laws Cat)

5)Swimming

6)Swinging

7)Going in Daddy's Truck

8)Watching Barney and Elma at Auntie's

9)Rice and Beans

10)Spaghetti and Meatballs

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY SWEET GILLIAN!!

Quiche in a Bag

2008-08-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

Yep, that's what it says, Quiche in a Bag. And that is exactly what it is. These are great to have on hand during the holidays or when having overnight guests or a quick dinner when you are to tired to make anything. The recipe calls for ham and cheddar cheese but you can use whatever kind of meat (or veggie) you would like and whatever cheese that suits your taste buds. Make one or make a bunch, you will surely love this one!

Quiche in a Bag

-3/4 cup chopped ham
-1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
-2 Cups milk
-4 eggs
-1/8 tsp. (or a dash) Tabasco sauce
-1/2 cup flour
-2 tsp. Baking powder

~Add the chopped ham and cheddar cheese to a ziplock bag.
~Add the milk, eggs, tabasco, flour and baking powder to a blender or to a bowl and mix to combine.
~Pour into the bag with ham and cheese and seal bag, getting as much air out as possible.

Serving Directions: Thaw quiche in the bag. If you forgot to take this out to thaw, it can be thawed in the microwave. After quiche is thawed shake bag well and pour into a greased deep-dish pie plate or an 8x8 square pan. Bake at 350* for 30-45 minutes , until lightly browned on top and well set in the center. Cool about 5 minutes before serving.

Happy Cooking!
~Caroline

CVS, Target and Walgreens!!!!!!!!! Good Stuff

2008-08-04T16:15:00.001-07:00

OK, after my not so great trip last week , this week completely rocked! I made up for last week and the next year! Here's the run down, and please let me know if you ever have any questions about any of the deals I have got :o) I can't get all my pictures to download so I will post this now without pics and try to post with pics again later. Sorry :o(

CVS:

1st Transaction: 3 Crest Toothpastes 2 Oral-B Toothbrushes
Total (Before Coupons)=$13.36
Coupons Used: 3- $0.75 off Crest Toothpaste (=2.25 off) 2-$1.00 off Oral-B Toothbrushes(=$2.00) $1.00 Extra Buck (from Last week)
Total Out of Pocket= $8.05 Got Back $7.24 Extra Bucks from Toothpaste

2ND Transaction: Carefree Pantyliners (22 cnt) 2 Dawn Dish Soaps Instant Energy Drinks (2 pack/for hubby)
Total Before Coupons= $8.84
Coupons Used: 2-$0.50 off Dawn Dish Soap (=1.00) $7.24 Extra Bucks
Total Out of Pocket= $0.07! Got back $6.98 Extra Bucks (for Energy Drink and Carefree pantyliners)

3rd Transaction: 4 Covergirl Blushes (B1G1) 2 Almay makeup products
Total Before Coupons= $32.96
Coupons Used: BIGI Covergirl (made all 4 blushes free!) 2-$1.00 off Almay Products 3 $1.00 off Revlon Products (so this made me actually earn $3.00 for buying the blushes!) $4.99 Extra Bucks $1.49 Extra Bucks
Total After Coupons=$0.41 Plus I earned $10.00 Extra Bucks for the Almay Products :o)

4Th Transaction: Excedrin PM 2 Pert Plus Shampoos (B1G1) 2 Sure Deodorants (B1G1)
4 Boxes of Post Cereal (B1G1)
Total Before Coupons= $21.09
Coupons Used : $4.00 off 2 Pert Shampoos (making them both free) $3.00 off Sure Deodorant (made 0.31 off these!) $2.00 off all the cereal (making these $1.79 a box) Used $10 Extra Bucks
Total Out of Pocket= a whopping $0.00! Plus I earned $3.79 in Extra Bucks!

I was going to be done after this but at the bottom of my receipt was a coupon for a free haircolor product (up to $9.99) and a free CVS mouth wash! So Off I went to find these 2 :o)

5Th Transaction: 2 Clairol Hair colors CVS Mouthwash
Total Before Coupons: $21.47
Coupons Used: BIGI Clairol Hair Color Receipt Coupon for Free Hair color Receipt Coupon for free mouth wash
Total after Coupons= $0.70!

So today I got $97.72 worth of products for $9.23. That's a savings of over 90%. Is this fun or what?!! And again, I had 2 different cashiers than I have had before (one was a manager) and they were both as wonderful as can be!
__________________________________
Walgreens has tons of deals on back to school stuff. Check your local ad for all the coupons.
I got all of this plus 2 Snickers :o) for $9.00! (4-3 ring binders, 2-4 packs TP, 3-2 packs big erasers, 2-6 packs of Highlighters, 2-10 packs BIC pens, 2 small legal pads, 1 pencil sharpener)

_______________________________ __________________
Target has my and hubbies' favorite razors on sale this week! Gillette Fusion (powered) and Gillette Venus (this is the best razor on earth. Your legs will seriously feel like pure silk!)
They were on sale for $7.49 each and when you bought 2 you got back a $5 Target Gift Card. I had $4 off coupons for each of 3 Fusion Razors and $2 off for each of 3 Venus Razors. Here is how I did it

1st Transaction: 2 Fusion Razors used 2 $4.00 off Coupons Paid $8.08 got back $5 gift card.
2ND Transaction: 1 Fusion 1 Venus Used $4 off and $2 off coupons and $5 gift card. Paid $5.08 and got back $5 gift card.
I did this one more time :o) and got back another $5 gift card. Plus I got a box of Kashi Cereal for $0.66. I had a $2 off coupon.

~Caroline

Frugal Tip

2008-08-04T06:10:00.000-07:00

Did you know that you really don't need a whole dryer sheet for every load?

I cut mine in halves or in thirds (depending on the size of the load) and still get that fluffy softness while saving moola!

Sweet and Sour Pork

2008-08-01T06:36:00.000-07:00

I have said it before, I don't eat pork. The rest of my family likes pork. So I make it for them, because I am nice like that. You can easily swap out a pound of chicken for this recipe and make Sweet and Sour Chicken. This is another great recipe because you don't have to thaw it before you throw it into the crockpot! Gotta love that!

Sweet and Sour Pork

-1 lb. of pork, cut into 1-inch cubes (you can use pork loin, or a boneless pork chop. Whatever floats your boat)
-1 white onion, sliced

-1 green bell pepper, sliced
-1 tsp. Dried minced garlic
-1/3 cup soy sauce
-8 oz. Can pf pineapple with juice
-2 Tbsp. Vinegar
-2 Tbsp. Brown sugar
-1 tsp. Dried ginger
-1 Tbsp. Cornstarch

~Add all ingredients into a ziplock bag. Seal bag and mush around to mix well.

~To serve: Place in crock pot (thawed or frozen!) and cook through. If thawed this should take about 4 hours on high or 6 hours on low. If frozen 6 hours on high or 8 hours on low. Serve over rice.

Happy Cooking!
~Caroline

Great offer from Money Saving Mom!!!

2008-07-30T03:55:00.000-07:00

Have you heard the big news? TODAY ONLY you can get an incredible ebook package from MoneySavingMom.com--over $100 worth of money-saving ebooks, homemaking helps, and encouragement for only $5.97!
I can't believe she's offering such a great price and I'd highly recommend you run over here Click Here! and check it out.
What makes this deal so good is that this ebook package includes the ecourse Supermarket Savings 101--this course alone is worth much more than $5.97 and will teach you how to drastically reduce your grocery bill. If high fuel and food costs are discouraging you and leaving you strapped for cash, you definitely need to buy this ecourse.
You'll learn how to cut your grocery bill by up to 50% or more and have fun saving money at the same time!Go here Click Here! to read more about this huge sale! Hurry, though, the price goes up tomorrow--get this money-saving ebook package at a ridiculously low price while you can!
~Caroline

Click Here!

CVS this week :o)

2008-07-29T06:45:00.000-07:00

OK, I have to start by saying that I did not do as good as I thought I was going to do this week. First lesson: Never do CVS when you are really really hungry. I was at the point of "I need to get food in my system or I am going to pass out". So I was hurried through the store AND my brain was not functioning even close to 1/4 of what it should have been functioning. Second lesson:Don't be so hard on myself. Once I got home and snapped the photo of all that I got I realized that I did not do quite so bad. So it wasn't one of my better weeks. I did still save lots of money!

1st Transaction: Schick Intuition Razor (for my sister) on sale $3.99

1-3ct Pack Stride Gum $2.00 / 4 bags Lifesavers Candies (3 mint-1 Sour) on sale B1G1free

Total (before Coupons): $10.55

Coupons Used: 2-B1G1 free Lifesavers Candies (This made all 4 packs free!)

$4.00 off Schick Intuition (it was adjusted to $3.99 making the razor free)

$2.00 Extra Bucks from last week

Total Out Of Pocket: $0.15

They have a deal on candy this week:Buy $10 worth and get $5 Extra Bucks back. You can do this a total of 5 times. I thought the Lifesavers, which were on sale B1G1free would all count towards the deal but the free ones did not count. Now the free ones I got with the coupons did count, just not the store free ones. So I was planning on getting a $5 EB on this and using it on my next transaction. But I did not realize it until it was to late (lack of food).

____________________________________

Transaction #2: 2 bags Twizzlers (I love these) on sale 2/$3

2 boxes (120 cnt each) Carefree Pantyliners (I'm set for life!) $4.50 each

2 packages (36 cnt each) Stayfree maxi pads (also set for awhile!) $4.50 each

1 Listerine $4.00

1-3 pack Stride gum $2.00

Total (Before Coupons): $29.00

Coupons used: B1G1free Stayfree Maxi Pads

$1.00 off 2 Carefree products

Total out of pocket: $23.13 (I was not happy having to spend that much. If I had the $5 EB I would have been much happier)

$10 Extra Buck earned (Carefree/Stayfree/Listerine/and other products= Buy $20 get $10 Extra Bucks) $5 Extra Buck earned on the candy deal

________________________________________

Transaction #3: 4 boxes "movie" candy (4 for $4)

2 boxes Clariol Natural Instincts Hair Color (yes I bought black, but I am going to exchange one of them for a different color :o) ) on sale $5.99

4-3 pack Stride Gum (hubby chews a lot of gum. Seriously, A LOT!)

Total before Coupons: $25

Coupons used: $2 off Clariol haircolor

B1G1free Clariol haircolor

$10 Extra Buck

$5 Extra Buck

Total Out of Pocket: $1.38

Earned $5 EB for another candy deal and $1 EB for the Clariol Haircolor (I will save these for next week)

____________________________

The cashier I had this morning was new to me. When he saw my totals after coupons he would say, "wow you are a really smart shopper. There is one other lady who comes in and does the same thing and it is amazing to watch you guys." When he was done with my last transaction the manager was standing next to him and he told her, "There are 2 of these smart shoppers that come in here and shop like this." And I replied, "I guess that makes everyone else who comes in here dumb." He agreed! It was pretty funny :o)

I did end up spending almost $25 today. More than I had planned but still good deals. Hubby is thrilled at the amount of candy and gum I lugged home!

Walgreens and Rite Aid also have some great deals this week. The problem with their deals is that they requires you to spend the money out of pocket and then put in to get the money back. You end up getting a lot back and lots of stuff for free. I unfortunately didn't have the money this week to put out front. But that's OK, I don't have to do every deal :o)

~Caroline

Chicken Parisienne

2008-07-28T06:24:00.000-07:00

I love cooking with wine. Mainly because you put a splash in your recipe and then you put a few splashes in your glass. I know this is not true for everyone though. Some people, believe it or not, do not like cooking with wine at all. They just don't like the way it tastes. I will not judge you people for that at all :o) We all have our own taste buds and God made them all very unique. If you are one of those who prefer to not cook with wine then I suggest substituting chicken broth for the wine. At least for the recipe for below.

Chicken Parisienne is a wonderful recipe. It's one of those meals that seems really sophisticated when you serve it but does not require any sophisticated time! I like those meals. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.

Chicken Parisienne-from “Don’t Panic –Dinner’s in the Freezer” by Susie Martinez, Vanda Howell and Bonnie Garcia

Original recipe yields 6 servings.

½ cup white wine
1-10oz. Can cream of mushroom soup
½ cups mushrooms, sliced

¼ cup flour
1 cup sour cream
6 boned chicken breasts (we use boneless/skinless)

Cooking Day Instructions:
Mix wine, soup and mushrooms together. Stir flour into sour cream and add to soup mixture. Place mixture together with chicken in freezer bag. Freeze.

Serving Day Instructions:
Place chicken and sauce in crock-pot. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and paprika. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours.
Serve with pasta or potatoes

Happy Cooking!
~Caroline

New Title, finally :o)

2008-07-25T18:20:00.000-07:00

Would you believe me if I told you that I completely forgot that I had asked you all to help me figure out a new title? I didn't think you would. Really, I am not that forgetful, but I think all the hair dye I have been inhaling lately has damaged some brain cells :o) Kidding.

So I was lounging poolside with my dear friend Kendra, it's therapeutic for both of us, when one of her sons asks me the name of my blog. She then mentions that I am changing the name. Yep, that's when the light bulb went off, "oh yeah, that's right I was doing that." Oh man that's bad.

I decided to go with Kristi's title, "Filling your freezer and other frugalitarian ideas". And pleas don't worry, she was not hurt at all in the processing of thinking this up. Although there were some broken blood vessels felt when she was trying to figure out how to spell "frugalitarian", but she has recovered :o) Thanks Kristi for helping me out. Oh, by the way, the $20 she slipped me in Church last Sunday did help to tip the scales. Kidding again :o)

~Caroline

Hi there :o)

2008-07-24T07:41:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know I said I would post my Walmart trip last Saturday. And yes, I know I said I would post my CVS deals by Tuesday of ever week. I have a really great excuse though! I have finally been enjoying our summer! Yes, I realize it is the end of July but we have just had a lot happen that has kept us from having lots of fun. But that has changed this week so I have not been around much to post on here. Sorry, will you forgive me? :o)

I did head to wallymart on Saturday and had 15 deals and coupons in hand. I walked out of the store with none of the deals. Lesson learned: if you plan on doing a listed wallymart deal from another site go to a super wallymart. Most of the deals would have been at a super wallymart but were not at their regular store. So I will more than likely pass on wally mart posted deals from now on. Good lesson learned.

I did do a CVS run on Monday. I am ashamed to say that I failed to take pics of the stuff before I put it away. Lesson learned: If something is on sale "buy one, get one free (B1G1) and you have a coupon for said item that is B1G1 then said items (both of them) will come up for free! Case and point- CVS had the new Trident gum B1G1 and I had 3 coupons for B1G1 of the gum. So I purchased 6 packs, used my 3 coupons and go them all for free! I did the same thing with Loreal Shampoo and Conditioner. I only had 1 B1G1 for them so I got a shampoo and a conditioner for free. Those were my big deals for the week.

Walgreens had some great coupons in the Sunday paper for this week. Lots of school supplies for dirt cheap. Plus a men's razor coupon for $2.99 and I had $2 coupon so I got them for 0.99!

So I am going to go back and have some more fun now. I will try to at least get the weekly deals posted here for you all. "Try" being the key word here :o)

~Caroline

Grilled Parmessan Chicken

2008-07-23T07:10:00.000-07:00

This is a great recipe for those nights when it's way to hot to turn the oven on. Hmm....that's how it's been every night here for the last week! Anywho, enough about me. If you like Chicken Parmesan this is for you. It's your basic Chicken Parmesan all wrapped up in foil so that you can bake it on their grill. And if you happen to live somewhere where it is to cold to go out and turn on the grill, than you can throw them in the oven to bake as well!

Grilled Parmesan Chicken

~6 slices of Mozzarella
~6 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
~1 jar marinara sauce.
~1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
~6 sheets of foil

~Lay out your sheets of foil. On each sheet place a chicken breast. Top each breast with 1/2 cup marinara sauce (more or less depending how saucy you like things), 1 tablespoon of Parmesan and a slice of mozzarella.

~ To make your bundle: Bring the short sides of the aluminum foil together and fold over twice. Center the fold in the middle of the packet and flatten the packet. Fold over both ends twice to completely seal the packet. (now if you can't figure this out, which I could not!, just make sure that all your edges are sealed well so when you cook it the sauce does not run out).

~Flash freeze before putting into Ziploc bag.

To Serve: Thaw the packets completely. Heat grill to medium heat or about 350 degrees. Place the packets on the grill. With a pair of tongs, pull up on the centerfold to make a dome. This will give the packet room to steam. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes. At this point you will need to check the chicken to see if it done, especially if the breast is thick. ~~~~~~You can also cook these packets in the oven. Place on a cookie sheet and cook at 350* for 30-40 minutes.

Happy Cooking!
~Caroline

Freezer Cooking and Frugal Living Part 4

2008-07-21T07:18:00.000-07:00

There are many others way to be frugal other than using coupons every time you go shopping or only buying things when they are on sale or making everything from scratch because it is cheaper. Yes, those are all great ways to be frugal but I believe that true frugal living starts in your heart with being content with what you have and making the most out of what God has blessed you with.

I frequent a blog called “Like Merchant Ships”, the author, Meredith, focuses on cheerful frugality. She also posts at Frugal Hacks on Cheerful Frugality. In one post she tackles some comments that were left by her readers who were telling her that it is easy for her to be cheerful when she had so much. Her response in her own words was, “There are negative aspects to my life right now, but you won’t hear me complain about them often. Be relentless in your pursuit of cheerful frugality, and you may just be surprised at how often you feel cheerful, or how you inspire a cheerful attitude in those around you.”

I believe cheerful frugality and contentment go hand in hand. If we are content with what we have then it will be easy for us to cheerfully be frugal. We won’t care that we can’t buy a Starbucks because we are content with the coffee pot God has provided for us at home. Make sense?

Let’s take for example dinnertime. Oh this was one that I had to work on big time. You make a dinner that is not so extravagant because the pantry is bare and the funds are low. Now, do you plop dinner down on the table and apologize for it? Or do you serve dinner with a smile and thank God for what He has provided? Proverbs 15:17 says, “Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a fated calf with hatred.” I have so found this true when we go to my in-laws for dinner. Don’t get me wrong they are all great people but whenever we are all together there is always strife. My MIL always makes really great meals but it is so hard to enjoy the food when everyone is bickering. Now I could stay home and eat a sandwich for dinner with my family and it tastes wonderful because we are all happy. So don’t apologize for what God has provided for you. He has given you everything you have no matter how much or how little and we are to be grateful.

Hebrews 13:5 says “let your conduct be without covetousness, be content with such things as you have. For He himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’.”
Truly the best way to live a frugal life is contentment. I can’t say that enough. If you are always coveting what someone else has or wanting to improve this room or that room in your house by re-decorating or buying all new furniture, when there really is nothing wrong with what you have or how the room looks then you are not being content and you will go out and spend unnecessary money. Nowhere in the Bible does it say, “Make sure you decorate your house to the nines and it is always up to date with the latest fashions”.

1Timothy 6:6-7, “Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.” Hear that, we will carry nothing out of this world with us. So why do we need to go out and buy a bunch of stuff? We don’t. Instead we need to focus on being content with what God has given us and again, being happy about it. Cheerful frugality!

Philippians 4:11, “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned that whatever state I am in, to be content.” Yes, it is easy to be content when we have a fridge full of food, a closet full of clothes, and a house all decorated. But can we be content when we only have enough crumbs to get us by, when we haven’t bought a new outfit in years, or our house is not as pretty as someone else’s?

So while we are being good stewards of our money we need to remember to be cheerful and content and know in our hearts that we are blessed by God!

I hope you have enjoyed reading these posts as much as I have enjoyed writing them. Living frugally is a road that I have been traveling all my life. It has not been an easy road (especially when it comes to the cheerful part) but it has been a road that God has walked with me on, sometimes even carried me on, and He has always blessed me on. I hope that you, too, can find contentment and blessings, cheerfully on this frugal road.

~Caroline

Freezer Cooking and Frugal Living Part 3

2008-07-18T09:04:00.000-07:00

Couponing. This is a new thing to me but it is something that I have really enjoyed learning and has saved us a lot of money. Let me start by saying that when you get into serious couponing you need to start small. Once you get the hang of it you can go big. Now serious couponers don’t just cut the coupons out of the Sunday paper and go shopping. No way, there is a fine art to this. You have to figure out where the best deals are for that week and you most importantly have to learn how to “stack” coupons. This is where couponing will make or break you and I have had times where it is has broken me because I did not “stack” my coupons right.

Now instead of trying to explain this all to you here I am going to send you over to Money Saving Mom to read her post on CVS 101. She explains everything beautifully. She also has a post on Making CVS work for you.

If you do not have a CVS near you and but have a Walgreens, then I would recommend reading her Walgreens 101 post to learn about how to coupon there.

I check with Money Saving Money Mom every week to see her scenarios on CVS deals and Walgreens deals. I also check Mommies With Cents and Centsible Shopper to see if they have any different scenarios. I will also be posting my deals every week so that those of you who live in California can see shat there is here. Oh, you can also check the Rite-Aid deals at these sites. I will have to say though, that you will not find deals like they have at CVS anywhere else!

On Monday I will wrap up our posts on my Freezer Cooking and Frugal Living Talk. Have a great weekend!
~Caroline

CVS and Target!

2008-07-17T14:48:00.000-07:00

Poor Emma is still sick so we have canceled all our fun plans for the rest of the week. No biggy, God knows what we need even when we don't and apparently we needed a week at home :o)

I did make it to CVS and Target today. We ran out of medicine for Emma so I had to go. Darn :o)I usually do not do a lot of couponing at Target but Money Saving Mom had posted some great deals there for this week so I had to go! She also posted some great deals from Wallymart which I plan on doing tomorrow or Saturday.

So here are my deal from CVS:

First transaction- 2 Sally Hansen nail polishes (0.99 each)

1 CVS Pantyliners (0.99)-Get a 0.99 Extra Buck back

2-100 count Excedrin Back and body (10.29 each)-I was very excited about this one as this is the only Rx I can take for headaches, body aches, etc...- Spend $20 on Excedrin or Benefiber products get $10 Extra Bucks back.

COUPONS: $3 off $15 purchase (printed on-line)

2-$2.00 off Excedrin (equaled $4.00 off for both)

$3.00 off 2 Sally Hanson nail polishes (note I only bought $1.98 worth of polish so this was a money maker coupon. Also, I had printed this from the computer and it did not print a bar code but they let me use it anyone. All you have to do is ask :o) )

$10.00 Extra Bucks from last weeks purchases.

Total Before coupons= $25.28

Total out of pocket (after coupons)= $7.34 plus Got back $10.99 in Extra Bucks

Transaction #2-

2 bottles of Herbal Essence- (on sale 2/$5)

Coupons used- $3 off 2 herbal essences

$0.99 Extra bucks (from the pantyliners)

Total Before Coupons= $5.36

Total our of pocket (after coupons)= $1.31

___________________________________

I just had to laugh when I looked at my CVS receipt today. It says that my Year to Date savings are $106.34!! The store has only been open for like 6 weeks and I have only been 4 times! Can't wait to see what it says come December :o)

______________________________________

Target Deals:

4 packages 10-count Hello Kitty Band-aids (found in the travel size section)-0.99 each
1 trial size Banana Boat SPF 30 lotion 0.99
1 J+J Buddies Soap 0.94
1 Electrasol jet dry dishwasher tabs 20-count (not in the pic because I had already dumped them into my big box before I did the pic) $5.00
2 packs (10 plus 2 free-count) Bic Pens (0.50 each) Not sure why the did not make it inot the pic?

Coupons: 4 $1.00 off Band-Aids (these were adjusted down to 0.99 each)
$1.00 off any J+J product (not adjusted down so I made 0.04 on this)
$1.00 of any banana boat product (not adjusted down so made 0.01 on this)
$1.00 off Electrasol Tabs-Target Coupon. Thanks Dana!
$2.25 off Electrasol tabs (from Sunday"s paper)
$1.00 off 2 Bic product

Total before coupons=$12.76

Total out of pocket (after coupons)= $1.56

__________________________________________

So I think I did pretty good today! Can't wait to hit up Wallymart :o) I'll let you know what I get and I promise that next week I will post my deals by Tuesday so you have more time to get to them if you like.

~Caroline

Freezer Cooking and Frugal Living Part 2

2008-07-17T06:57:00.000-07:00

Now let's talk about frugal living.

I learned how to be frugal from my mom. She made me shop K-mart’s blue light specials when I was a kid! But I’m over that now :o) Whenever I wanted something, she would always ask “do you really need that?” Or, she would say,” how does it feel to want?”. Oh, that would just kill me as a kid. I would try to come up with some way of making it seem like I did NEED it. But it never worked. And yes, now I do that to my own kids :o)
She instilled in me that I only had to buy the things I needed. And now before I buy almost anything I have to be able to completely justify the purchase. It drives me crazy sometimes but I know in the end it does our checking account and I a lot of good.

When I go shopping at stores (not grocery stores, but all the other ones, like T*rget, W*alm*art, etc...) I only shop sales and clearance racks, but mostly just the clearance racks. And I am not talking about the 15% off racks. I only do the 50% off or more racks. When I walk into a store, no matter what store, I go straight to the clearance racks. I have learned to spot them a mile away! I don’t even look at the rest of the stuff. Why would I even want to tempt myself that way?

I also have limits on what I will spend on certain items. For instance, I will not spend more than $7 on shirts for myself. If it’s more than that than it stays on the rack. I will not spend more than $20 on pants, and this includes all my jeans that I buy at Gap (that’s the only place where they make them to fit me). Shorts and skirts will not be bought unless they are under $10. I have set these limits for myself because I know I can find clothes at these prices at the places I shop. They are not unreasonable for me or for our budget. This is just for me I know that other people can budget more for clothing or need to spend more and that is fine. Remember this is just how I do it.

OK, so this just happened to me the other day. I was at Target, surprise surprise, and I was going through the clearance racks in the girls section looking for birthday presents for my nieces. They all love clothes and I can always find great stuff at Target. Anyways, I came upon the cutest shirt that was in Gillian’s size. I knew it would look great with a pair of shorts that she has. Now let me say that Gillian is the only kid I have to buy clothes for. Emma gets all hand me downs and loves it! The problem was that the shirt was $6.50. I put it in my cart thinking I could just splurge this once because it was a cute shirt and then I tried to justify it by saying that since it was sleeveless baby doll type shirt it would keep her nice and cool during thee hot days and it’s important for her to stay cool because if she gets to hot she could have a seizure. Yeah, nice way of trying to rationalize that one! But I kept feeling that nudge to put it back. The kid really did not need a new shirt no matter how cute it was and especially at that price. So I finally put it back. And I did find 2 other great dresses for my nieces and each one was under $5!!
OK, so fast forward a week and I find myself at Target again. A different Target :o) I went to the girls clearance rack again looking for all the 4th of July clothes I knew would be 50% off. Can I just stop here and say that the after holiday sales at Target rock! I always find the greatest things. And if you wait until 6 days past the holiday the stuff goes to 75% off and eventually 90% off! Even their seasonal stuff! OK, back to my story….So I am going through the racks again and what do I spot? Yep, that same shirt and it’s in Gilly’s size again. I was dying. So I looked at the price tag and what did it say? $3.24!!! Half the price of the original marked down price! So I bought it because I knew God was blessing me for being a good steward of my money.

I always say that if God wants me to have it it will still be there when it’s cheaper :o)

I do have one little problem though, I love bargains. I mean love bargains. Finding something that is marked down 90% that will look good in my life is awesome! But this can be a bad thing, because I would buy all the stuff I liked that was marked down. You know how excited you are when you find a great deal and you’re telling everyone about it and you ‘re like I just saved $10 on this thing I bought! Well, my father in law would say, “You would have saved $10 more if you hadn’t bought it all!” Ya, I guess that is true. So Now I have trained myself to think, “Just because it is a great deal does not mean I have to buy it”. Really think about your purchase before you make it. No matter how little it cost, you still need to be able to justify the purchase as a need.

Tomorrow I will get into couponing!! So Stay tuned :o)

~Caroline

Freezer Cooking and Frugal Living Part 1

2008-07-16T06:22:00.000-07:00

All right, let’s talk freezer cooking and frugal living. The two do go hand in hand. A great way to save money is to cook in bulk and freeze. As many of you already know, I have been freezer cooking for over 3 years now. I have also, up until recently, organized a group of 10-15 ladies every month for a Freezer Cooking Day. That was a lot of fun. But I know that it isn’t easy for all of us to get together with friends and have a big cooking day. That might not be the season of life you are in right now. And that’s OK. You can still make meals for your freezer without really taking any extra time out of your day.

One of the easiest ways to start filling you freezer is to start cooking bigger meals. If you are making lasagna, make 2. It won’t take you but 5-10 minutes longer to assemble that second one, but it will save you an hour another day! Eat one of the lasagnas that night and stick the other one in the freezer. This is truly, one of the simplest ways to fill your freezer fast. Just think if you doubled 2 meals a week, by the end of the month you would have 8 extra meals in your freezer. That means 8 nights next month that you won’t have to think about dinner!

I have learned that even freezing little portions of leftovers is a huge blessing. Even if it is just one serving, don’t toss it, or let it sit in your fridge for a week thinking someone will eat it. Freeze it! Eventually you will have enough one-portion servings to feed the whole family a fun smorgasbord one night. Or you could take the one-portion servings and stick them in your hubby’s lunch. If it is something really good than you can enjoy yourself one day for lunch while the kids eat PB&Js. Like our mothers have always said, “waste not, want not”.

And, of course, you can always do a day of cooking meals for your freezer. This works best when you find meat on sale. That way you can stock up without draining your pocket book.

I often get asked what the best way is to freeze food. My answer? Freezer bags! Freezer bags can be laid flat and you can stack them high. One of the main things you have to remember is to get as much air out of the bag as possible. I also flash freeze my bags before stacking them. To flash freeze them I just lay them flat on a hard tray and stick them in the freezer for a couple of hours. Then they are ready to be stacked and the bags won’t freeze together or freeze into some funky shape that makes it impossible to get out of the freezer.

I once saw a picture of a regular top freezer that had 24 main dishes, 12 side dishes, 10 desserts, and 10 breakfasts all neatly stacked in freezer bags. And they had room to add more! So freezer bags are definitely your best bet if you want to maximize your space.

Unfortunately there are some things that can’t be put into a freezer bag, like lasagna. Oh, that would be messy :o) So lets chat about using pans, any size or shape. There are 2 ways to do pans. First, you could use aluminum pans. They have every shape and size you can imagine at any Dollar Store. They even sell some that come with the lids. If it doesn’t have a lid than you will want to cover it tightly with plastic wrap, or my favorite, Press N Seal. And then cover it with foil tightly.

If you don’t want to go out and by aluminum pans then here is what you do. Take one of your pans, again, any size or shape that you need for what you are making, line it with saran wrap. You want the saran wrap to be over the edges quite a bit. Make the meal in the pan on top of the saran wrap and then stick in the freezer for a few hours; it needs to be pretty frozen. Once it is frozen, you can take the food out of it and wrap it all up in the plastic wrap and then foil. You have basically used your pan as mold. Now when you are ready to eat that meal take it out of the freezer, unwrap it completely and put it back in the same pan you used to mold it and let it thaw. Presto, it’s all ready to go and you didn’t have to waste all your good pans by keeping them in the freezer for weeks!

Another question I am often asked is where do I get all of my recipes. One of the best places to find recipes for your freezer is in your own cookbooks! Just about everything freezes. Seriously! If you are worried about something not freezing well just take a sample of it and stick it in the freezer and see how it does. I have tried doing this many times and have only had a few flops and I can’t even remember now what they were. So try freezing some of your family’s favorite meals. You can also find lots of recipes on line. Just type in freezer meal recipes, recipes for the freezer, etc…. Some of my favorite places for recipes are:

http://www.justslowcooking.com/index.html (all the recipes are for your crockpot and most of them can be put int the freezer before cooking)

http://www.30daygourmet.com/ (the 30 Day Gourmet is chock full of recipes. Some of them you will need a pass word to get to but most of them are free for the looking!)

http://www.recipelink.com/rcpmenus.html (I have not had the time to play around much on this site, but it looks promising!)

You can also click on any of the links on my side bar to see the freezer books that I use. I would recommend owning at least one book on freezer cooking that you can use as a guide. The one I would highly recommend is "The Freezer Cooking Manual" from 20 Day Gourmet. They have a lot of charts in this book that will help you convert your recipes into larger quantities. They also have great shopping lists and so much more!

You don’t just have to stick with main dish dinners for the freezer. You can do side dishes(like rice pilaf, mashed potatoes) desserts(cakes, ice cream pies, cookie dough), breakfasts(egg burritos, biscuits with eggs, cheese and a meat) and lunches. The possibilities are endless.

Another frequently asked question, "What is the best way to thaw your meals?". Well, the best way is to thaw them in the fridge. But I rarely do it this way because I always forget to take it out of the freezer in time :o) Most of the time (if it is in a freezer bag) I thaw in the microwave on the "thaw" setting or I put it in the sink and run cold water over it for 5-10 minutes or until it is thawed.

So that is what I have for you for a quick overview of freezing cooking. If you have any questions please feel free to leave them in the comments. You can also browse around past posts to get a lot more info on freezer cooking.

~Caroline

No CVS today :o(

2008-07-15T08:14:00.000-07:00

I did not make it to CVS last night. Emma was just way to sick so I just ran to the store quickly for eggs and milk. We have been without these 2 items for a week! My poor family. But we managed and made it work without these staples. Hopefully I will make it to CVS tomorrow.

So it seems that Fletch was the only one who could come up with a title. I'll give you all a couple more days to see if any one else has any ideas before I decide :o)

Thanks to the rest of you for your nice comments on my talk. And Lis', don't worry about cutting me off :o) I know that God had me get out what He wanted me to get out on Saturday.

My plan is to post my whole talk in the next few days. That way those of you who were not there will get it all! And those of you who were there can hear it all again :o)

~Caroline
p.s.~If you could please keep Emma in your prayers. Pray that her fever breaks (caused her some hallucinations last night). Also pray that the rest of us, especially Gillian, do not get this bug. Thanks.

New Title!

2008-07-14T15:47:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday to you all!! We had a great time at our Church's Homeschool Encouragement Day. I was able to give my talk on Freezer Cooking and Frugal Living without throwing up :o) Yee haw!!

After my talk I had quite a few people ask me if I could post my weekly CVS deals. I also, due to limited time, did not get to give my whole talk. So I will post the rest of my talk sometime this week. I will also be posting my CVS deals every week. I am hoping to have them posted by Tuesday mornings that way you have plenty of time to go and get the deals yourself.

So due, to added more content to my blog I have added to the name. (See above) The only thing is that I don't think I really like the name. I like the filling my freezer but I don't like the way the frugal part sounds. So if there are any talented people out there, and I know there is, please give me some ideas on how I can word the title. I will be ever so grateful to you :o)

I had planned on doing my CVS shopping this morning, but my 5 year old woke up with a headache and a 101* temp! So we are home bound. I might go out tonight after hubby gets home. So come back tomorrow for my deals.

~Caroline

Marinated Pork Chops

2008-07-11T07:03:00.000-07:00

OK, so I can't personally tell you that these are really good, because I don't like pork chops. But those I have served it to (my family) say that they are very tasty chops! You can tell me if they are being truthful or lying :o) I love that you can either broil, grill or fry these up and they turn out good. I think next time I make these I will throw a piece of chicken in the marinade for myself!

Marinated Pork Chops

-6 pork chops (boneless or bone-in)
-2 cups pineapple juice
-1/2 cup soy sauce
-1 tsp. Ginger
-1/2 tsp. Garlic
-1/3 cup Italian dressing

~Add all ingredients into a Ziploc bag. Seal and mush to mix!

To Serve: Thaw pork chops. Grill on the BBQ until cooked through. OR pan fry until cooked through. OR Broil until browned on both sides and no longer pink in the center.

Happy Cooking!
~Caroline

Baked Pesto Ravioli With Chicken

2008-07-09T12:07:00.000-07:00

OK, Kristi, I am back in action! Well at least for today :o) I can't believe how busy life has been. The weather here is terrible. Lots of smoke and lots of heat. I think it has finally taken its toll on me as I have pretty much sat on the couch most of the day. Yuck. I have also been busy with swimming lessons, taking my mom to physical therapy (she finally got her brace off!), playing with my nieces, helping out friends and being truly blessed by doing so, and so on and so forth. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that our Church is having a "Homeschool Encouragement Day" and I was asked to do a little chat at that on Freezer Cooking and Frugal Living! I am not a public speaker at all so this has proven to be a challenge for me. I just keep asking God to give me the words He wants me to say. He is doing just that thus far. I still have half the talk to write but I know what I want to say, or what He wants me to say :o)

So without further ado, I finally give you another great recipe! The only time consuming part on this one is the chopping. Otherwise it is pretty easy and it is delicious!! Hope you enjoy it.

Baked Pesto Ravioli With Chicken

-2 lbs. Cheese ravioli
-1 pound cooked chicken, diced
-2/3 cup chicken broth
-2 cups sliced zucchini
-1/2 cup bell pepper, diced
-1/2 cup scallions, chopped
-1/2 cup pesto (homemade or store bought)
-1/2 tsp. Salt
-1/2 tsp. Black pepper
-1 cup grated Parmesan

~In a large bowl combine above ingredients. Mix well.
~Put into a Ziploc bag and seal. Freeze.

To Serve: Thaw Completely. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and pour into pan. Cover with foil. Bake in a 350* oven for one hour or until bubbly.
Enjoy!

Happy Cooking!
~Caroline

Happy 4th of July!!!!!!

2008-07-04T08:27:00.000-07:00

Happy Independence Day!!!!! Enjoy your day of freedom and loving and hugging your kids tightly. I have been doing a lot of that lately.

Please remember to continue to pray for Mighty Joe!!! You can read all about him and his awesome godly parents here and here.

I hope to back to regular Freezer postings next week.

~Caroline

Prayer for Little Joe...

2008-06-26T18:57:00.000-07:00

Please pray for my dear friend Kendra's baby, Joe. Read more about it here...
http://www.preschoolersandpeace.com/

Thanks

Chicken Cacciatore

2008-06-26T06:55:00.000-07:00

This is a great recipe for those mornings when you have to hurry out of the house and won't be home until dinner time. You can put this in your crockpot frozen and let it cook all day on low!

Chicken Cacciatore (Serves 6)

~6 boneless/skinless chicken breasts (cut into quarters) If you don't want to have to cut the chicken you can use chicken tenders instead

~1 can of spaghetti sauce

~1 bell pepper (diced)

~1 onion (diced)

~1/4 cup red wine

~1 teaspoon italian seasonings
_____________________________________

~Place all ingredients in a bag. Seal and mush!
____________________________________

SERVING DIRECTIONS:
Place Cacciatore in crockpot, frozen, and cook all day on low.
Serve with your favorite type of noodle and some garlic bread.

Happy Cooking!
~howiesgal

What's New?

2008-06-24T07:23:00.000-07:00

Hmmm, good question. And the answer? Lots!

For starters I shall tell you all the biggest change in my life (no I am not pregnant!). This past Friday we had our very last Cooking Day. Yep, that's right, I will no longer be putting together the monthly Cooking Days. Yes, many were sad but all were very understanding.

I have said all along that I would continue to do Cooking Days as long as I was having fun. Well, the fun had stopped and it was feeling like a lot of work and I was actually starting to dread it each month, a point I never wanted to get myself to. But have no fear my dear friends! I plan on continue to blog about freezer cooking and I plan on continuing to post lots of recipes. I also plan on doing my own cooking days at home with my girls. Should be lots of fun!

Other new stuff....I bought my first 2 gallons of paint for the new house!!! It was so much fun. And even more fun was the fact that I found the paint on the "oops" table at l*wes! That means I got 2 gallons of paint that were originally prices at $27 each for only $6 a gallon!!!! I love it when the Lord blesses me that way! The guy at the paint counter was even kind enough to add more purple to one of the paints for me to get it more towards the color I wanted! Great fun!

Anybody out there like to paint? Let me know if you want to join my paint party on the day we close escrow! :o)

I plan on giving you all a new recipe tomorrow so come on back then. Oh, and I promise, um, no I don't promise because more than likely I will break that promise, I will TRY to remember my hardest to start taking more pics of the food I make to post with the recipes! It's always much more fun when there are pictures to look at :o)

Happy Cooking!

~howiesgal

(do not try this at home, peoples!-This photo was taken while traveling down the freeway at speeds up to 70 mph! I couldn't help it, Emma was yelling at me, "mom, mom, take a picture of us! We are being nice to each other!." Now really you just can't miss those rare oppotunities when siblings are "being nice to each other" in the car. :o) )

Qualities 5-7...Leadership

2008-06-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

Quality #5- "He had a practical, balanced grip on reality"- Reality? What's that? Oh yeah, reality. Yep, I need to get a grip on that. A balanced grip at that. Swindoll says, "He (Nehemiah) acted without overreacting, he was gracious but unbendingly firm." Do you ever overreact when your child spills his drink at the table? Or does any number of other things for the umpteenth time! We all need to stop and take a breath every now and then and get back to the here and now, the reality. Oh and grace...yes, this is something I am working really hard on right now. Extending grace to my children while still being firm as to what I expect from them daily.

Quality #6- 'He had a willingness to work hard and remain unselfish." I have to admit here that I really struggle with this one. Especially after a week of doing so much for so many other people. I often find myself screaming in my head, "I just wish someone would do something for me!". Not exactly the selfless attitude God calls me to have. We are to be servant-hearted leaders. That is what God sent His only Son here to do, to serve others as He lead them. Aren't we suppose to be striving to be just like Him?

Quality #7- "He had the discipline to finish the job"- "Good leaders are finishers. When the task loses its luster, they don't rush elsewhere. They stay at it 'in season and out'". Need I say more? Nope!

I would like to encourage you to read through Nehemiah's Journal. You will not be disappointed at all :o)

Next week I will get back to "Filling My Freezer". Lots has been going on around our house this week and I am excited to tell you about it!

Happy Leading!
~Caroline

Qualities 1-4.....Leadership

2008-06-19T06:51:00.000-07:00

Alright, are you ready for this? I sure am! Let's get going......

Quality #1- "he had a passion for the project"- Oh wow! This hit me hard. Do I have a passion for homeschooling? I have to admit, if I did ever have one it is gone now. How can I lead my children in schooling if I don't have the desire. Chuck goes on to say that, "passion, vision, enthusiasm, drive and determination are absolutely essential", in leadership. Oh sad, sad me. I admit I have none of these. My plan: ask God daily to fill me with passion and enthusiasm for teaching my children and to daily give me the drive and the determination and to teach them. Oh, Lord fill me with your presence as I go forth and do Your will!

Quality #2-"He had the ability to motivate others"- I love this! Do you ever feel like you have to ask your kids a thousand times to do something and when they finally do it they do it haggardly? Of course, we all feel that way! Chuck goes on to say, "what good is leadership if it cannot move people into action? People like Nehemiah inspire others to do their best". Yes, yes, I want to inspire my girls! I don't want them to do it just because I told them to. I want them to do it because I have inspired them to do it and they do it well. Case and point: laundry, yes, for us this is part of our homeschooling day. I hate laundry, but if I go about my day with that attitude how would my kids be motivated to help me? If I change my attitude and, mostly, my heart, about the way I feel about laundry and I let that shine through, then my girls would be glad to help out with the laundry. This would work in all areas of life. We have to be enjoying what we are doing for people to want to do it with us.

Quality #3- "He had an unswerving confidence in God". "While (christian leaders) may occasionally doubt their own ability, they do not doubt God's invincible commitment to His work." Yep, another good one! I know for a fact that I do not have all the abilities I need to homeschool a first grader and a special needs child. I do know that God called me to do this work and that He will give me just what I need right when I need it! He is so great like that. Swindoll goes on to say that "he (Nehemiah) constantly reminded the people of the Lord's presence and protection." Are we reminding our children of this? Do we believe it ourselves?

Quality #4- "He was resilient and patient through opposition". "The best leaders have broad shoulders and have no trouble shrugging off petty offenses." Do you have friends or family who are constantly harping you about homeschooling? Do you care what they think and let them get to you? We have to remember that it only matters what GOD thinks. Are we pleasing Him, glorifying Him, walking in His will? If we are then it does not mean a thing what others say or think.

I don't know about you, but this is a lot for me to digest! My plan is to take each quality and work on them one at a time. Praying daily that God will make me into a great Godly leader in my homeschool.

Tomorrow I will post qualities 5-7 and wrap it up :o)

~Caroline

"Be still and know that I am God"

2008-06-18T07:28:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love it when God speaks softly to you? It sure beats Him hitting you over the head with a 2x4. Oh, yeah I have had that happen quite a few times in my life! I much prefer it when I take the time to be still and then I hear Him whispering in my ear. What sweet moments those are with my loving Saviour. I recently relished in one of those moments.

I have been packing away all the unnecessary stuff in the house, the nick-knacks, pictures, and so ons. Last week I packed away all the books on the bookshelf. I decided to just keep out one book that I have been wanting to read, one devotional and my Bible. No need for anything else for the next 6 weeks. The devotional I chose is one that I received after graduating high school. It has been collecting dust for the past 15 years. I did read through it when I got it but then stashed it away. The book is titled "The Finishing Touch, Becoming God's Masterpiece" and is by author Charles R. Swindoll (better known as Chuck Swindoll). I have always enjoyed Chuck's writing and this devotional has been no exception!--Note: you can find this book used over at amazon.--

Over the next few days I want to tell you what God said to me when He whispered in my ear as I stood still. The title of this days devotion was, "Closing the Gap". As I began reading he talked about how he had been reading through Nehemiah's journal. I just loved how he phrased that because the book of Nehemiah truly is his journal of a period in his life. He then moved on to say how the book of Nehemiah was a great insight into leadership and should be required reading for any person in a leadership position. I have to tell you that at this point I started zoning out a bit. He had listed a few leadership positions: elders, deacons, pastors, school boards, etc..... Well, I didn't fit into any of those categories, but I continued to read. This was the point that I felt God nudging me. I always get so excited when He does that! Then I realized that I was in leadership! Duh! I stay at home and homeschool my 2 daughter. Does that not put me in a leadership position? Light bulb! I can just picture God up on his throne chuckling and saying, "there you go, Caroline, you got it!".

I continued to devour the rest of the devotional soaking in every word. Charles went on to list the 7 qualities of a leader he saw in "Nehemiah's journal". I translated these qualities into my life as a homeschooling mom.

I will continue with the qualities tomorrow as I don't want to loose you in a really long post :o) This is good stuff here people! And for any of you who are down about homeschooling or feeling frustrated or loosing your vision don't miss what's in store. I am so looking forward to becoming the leader God has called me to be!!!

~howiesgal (aka: Caroline) :o)

This is not a post about freezer cooking....

2008-06-16T16:16:00.000-07:00

but it is a post about a craft project that uses Freezer Paper! So I thought it was OK for me to post it :o) This is a great way to make t-shirts and other stuff pretty.....http://www.craftster.org/blog/?p=94. If anyone has ever used freezer paper before for crafts I would love to hear about it.

Happy Cooking!
~howiesgal

Another Great Resource on Freezing!

2008-06-13T07:33:00.000-07:00

I just found this web page and it is great! If you have a bounty of fruits and veggies but don't know how to, or like to, do the canning thing click on over to here http://farmgal.tripod.com/Freezerbasics.html to read all about freezing your fruits and veggies to preserve them!

My Mom!!

2008-06-11T11:08:00.000-07:00

Today is my mom's birthday!!!!!!!! Happy Birthday MOM!!! I won't tell you how young she is but I will tell you that she was born in 1950 :o)

I have hardly any pics of my mom because whenever you pull out a camera she runs and hides!

My mom (mimi) is by far Gillian's favorite person in the whole entire world. And I can truly say that nobody loves and cares for Gillian quite like my mom....oh and spoils! Gillian wants to live with Mimi forever. And I can't really blame her. My mom knows how to make you feel special and loved no matter what she's doing for you.

Happy Birthday Mom!

New House Pics......

2008-06-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

We went and looked at the new house again and this time brought out camera! We're smart like that every once in a while....but not to often :o) Move in date has already been pushed back, but that's OK, I am still smiling :o) See, that's me smiling. And now, for your viewing pleasure here are some pics of the new digs.....

Here's the front of the house. It's blue. My plan (per my sister's advice) is to paint all the shudders a dark navy blue. The front door will be red! I love red.

Here's the entry. That's my dad (aka, our realtor) opening the door. :o)

The Kitchen. Can I let you in on a little secret? See me, see my red hair? It's not red anymore! See the black shirt I am wearing? Yep, that's the color of my hair now :o) I had to get it out of my system and the hair color was free, due to my couponing, and I think it's really cool. It's not a permanent die so in a couple of months or so my red will be back. Emma says I look like Snow White :o) Gotta go work on my tan now! OK, back to the house....Gas stove! I have never cooked on one before and I am really excited about it.

This is the dining area right off of the kitchen. Through that door is the 1/2 bath and the really big family room, which will also be the school room and my office space and the therapy room since it has high ceilings. Oh, and in that little space past the door....I have a pantry! I have never had a pantry before and am sooooo excited about it. I plan on painting the door with chalkboard paint! Fun fun.

The backyard is huge. On one side of it there is an enormous fruitless mulberry that shades about half the town, no not really half the town, but it is huge and it does give us an abundance of nice shade. There is also a nice shed in the backyard, which is good as there is no garage. Hubby is having a hard time with this and has had a couple of nervous breakdowns but after breathing into a paper sack for hours were able to come up with ideas and he is good now. We have an alley behind us and since the yard is so big we plan on building a 10x15 "garage" type space (possibly 2 stories) in the next year or so.

This picture is of one of the side yards where my garden will be! I LOVE gardening and have gone through a bit of a slump since I don't have one right now (didn't want to plant one in the house we are at now because we are moving.). This year I will not have my summer garden but will have plenty of time to get all this space ready for my winter garden! I love that there is already a little gate there to block it off from the rest of the yard. You can't see it very well, but all over the fence are morning glories. They are absolutely beautiful and Emma keeps saying she is so happy we are moving into the "Morning Glory house"!

I have many more photos but will save you all from boredom :o) Thanks for taking the little tour with me and I can't wait to paint and move in and show you what it looks like then! But you will have to wait a couple of months to see that. Until then....

Happy Cooking and Homemaking!

~howiesgal

Baked Pesto Ravioli With Chicken

2008-06-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

****UPDATED to answer Kitten's question on the Ravioli :o) **

This dish is so super yummy! This is one you would want to pull out of the freezer when you are having company. They will be very impressed with ALL your Hard work :o)

Baked Pesto Ravioli With Chicken

-2 lbs. Cheese ravioli *(any kind, round square, it really doesn't matter. Use what you like best)*
-1 pound cooked chicken, cubed (you can use any part of the chicken you like)
-2/3 cup chicken broth
-2 zucchinis, sliced
-1 bell pepper,diced
-1/2 cup pesto
-1/2 tsp. Salt
-1/2 tsp. Black pepper
-1 cup grated Parmesan

~Place all ingredients in a ziplock bag. Use a big spoon to stir ingredients together, in the bag.
Seal.

SERVING DIRECTIONS:Thaw Completely in refrigerator. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and pour into pan. Cover with foil. Bake in a 350* oven for one hour or until bubbly. Eat with a crusty loaf of french bread and some butter!

Happy Cooking!
~howiesgal

Beef Fajitas

2008-06-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

Fajitas are easy to make and great to have on hand in the freezer. This is a very yummy fajita recipe that you can use for either beef or chicken fajitas

Beef Fajitas (approximately 6 servings)

-1 lb. beef , cut into strips (you can use any type of beef here- london broil/ rump roast/ flank steak/ etc...)
-1 onion, sliced
-2 bell peppers, sliced (I like to use different colored bell peppers. It makes it prettier)
-1 teaspoon of garlic
-1/4 cup lemon juice
-2 Tablespoons oil (any type)
-1 teaspoon chili powder
-1/4 teaspoon cumin
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1/2 teaspoon pepper

~Combine all ingredients in a ziplock bag. Seal and mush!

~To make your fajita dinner night even easier.....Place tortillas and cheese in another ziplock bag and then add the bag of the meat mixture. Freeze them together!

SERVING DIRECTION:
Thaw in the refrigerator. Saute meat mixture in a fry pan until meat is cooked through. Heat tortillas in microwave and then enjoy your fiesta!

Happy Cooking!
~howiesgal

Buttermilk Herb Chicken

2008-06-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

If you like the taste of herbs, you will love this chicken. It is very herby and very elegant. All the herbs listed are dry herbs. If you want to substitute some fresh herbs that would be fine, just add a bit more than what is listed. Enjoy!

Buttermilk Herb Chicken

-3/4 cup buttermilk
-1 Tbsp. Dijon Mustard
-1 Tbsp. Honey
-1 Tbsp. Rosemary
-½ tsp. Thyme
-½ tsp. Sage
-1/2 tsp. Marjoram
-1/2 tsp. Pepper
-1 tsp. Salt

~Add above ingredients to a ziplock bag.
~Mush bag to mix above ingredients.
~Add 6 chicken breasts to each bag. You can also use chicken legs or thighs or chicken quarters.
~Seal bag. Mush to coat chicken.

SERVING DIRECTIONS: Thaw chicken in refrigerator. Grill over medium heat on the BBQ until chicken is tender and juices run clear or bake in a 400* oven for 25-30 minutes or until no longer pink. If you are using bone-in chicken it will take much longer to cook.

Happy Cooking!
~howiesgal

What a difference a week makes

2008-06-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

Let's see in my last post I chatted about my frustrations with not finding a house. Guess what.....We got a house!!! Yep, we really did. Escrow close date is July 10th.
I also have on every sick 5 year old. She is usually my hyper child that keeps me going. Since she is so under the weather she has been on the couch the last 2 days and I have been able to start packing! Yes, I know I have plenty of time, but with being at my mom's so much lately I figured I should pack when God gives me the time. And He has given me 2 days so far and since she is still really sick today I will pack some more today!
I know that this is a Freezer Cooking Blog and I promise I will get back into that this week :o) More recipes and ideas are on their way!

Happy Cooking!
~howiesgal

Life and Citrus Marinated Chicken Wings

2008-05-21T07:39:00.000-07:00

It has been a long couple of weeks and the next 4 months proves to be just as long. But that's OK. I have been spending most of my days at my mom's helping her out. I have learned to juggle 2 households while helping out my sister with her kiddos and tending to my grandmother's needs. As long as no one else breaks a bone in the next 6 months I think we will be just fine. :o)

Hubby and I are also looking for a house to buy. We have been doing this for over 6 months now! Yes, that is a long time. We have had many different offers on many different houses that we have fallen in love with and on most of them we have come in second place with our offer. Second place is good sometimes but when it comes to offers on a house, it means you have lost. Monday we lost out on another great house so I spent the day yesterday, with kids in tow, looking at houses again. Hubby went out last night to look at a few more and today I will look at the one he liked. Oh, did I mention our realtor is my dad?! Yep, that makes it so much more fun. We always treat ourselves to a st*rbucks. Makes the looking easier :o)

So I guess you can see there are no dull moments around the Howard house right now! This weekend is backed full as well with my sister and I making lunch and dinner for 20-30 people on Saturday. Saturday night hubby and I get a night out with some dear friends that we have a dinner group with. This will be certainly be the highlight of my week and I am looking forward to it.

I leave you all with a great recipe, since that is what this blog is suppose to be about :o) Enjoy!

Here's an easy appetizer to make up for all your get togethers. You have 3 option on serving day of how you want to cook them.

Citrus Marinated Chicken Wings

~Place 30 chicken wings (the little ones) in each bag.

~To each bag add:

-1/2 cup orange juice concentrate

-1/2 cup lime juice

-1/2 cup honey

-2 Tablespoons olive oil

-1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

-2 Tablespoons minced garlic

-1 Tablespoon ground cumin

-1 teaspoon black pepper

~Seal bag and mush to coat wings.

SERVING DIRECTION: Thaw chicken before cooking. Remove chicken from marinade and cook on the BBQ or cook in oven at 350* 20 minutes or until cooked through or add wings and sauce to crockpot and cook on low all day.

Hold them Loosely

2008-05-14T07:58:00.000-07:00

My friend Cheryl from Copperswife often talks about how we are to "hold our plans loosely". We can sit and plan our weeks and days to the minute but it is God's plan who ultimately reigns. I have realized this head on this past week.

On Saturday as my sister and I were preparing for our annual Mother's Day brunch, for my mom and grandma and her mother-in-law , my mom slipped and fell and broke her arm. We are not talking about a little break we are talking about 2 major breaks plus some spiral fractures in the femur of her right arm. And yes, she is right handed.

So all plans have been axed this week, including Cooking Day on Friday, so that I can be at my mom's house helping her out. She is going to the Orthopedic Surgeon today to find out what the next step will be, possibly surgery.

I do have a few specific prayer requests if you would like to pray for my family at this time...
~Please pray that surgery will not be needed. My mom does not have insurance and surgery would rack up the medical bills pretty fast.
~Pray for my mother, specifically that she would be at peace with the whole situation. My mom is a giver and a doer not a sitter and a taker. It is killing her that she has to ask for help and that she cannot help others right now.
~Pray for my dad. My mom is his everything and it breaks his heart to see her this way. He is trying his hardest to help her out but is getting frustrated that he can't make it go away.
~Pray for my sister and I as we spend time in my mom's home caring for her and tending to her household needs as well as tending to our own kids and our own households.
~This last one I can write because I know my grandma does not read my blog :o) Please pray for my grandma as she does not do well when the attention is NOT on her. My mom does a lot for my grandma and I am taking up the reigns right now since my mom is down. This is no easy task and she is very demanding with little gratitude to follow the demands. I wake up daily and pray for the grace I need to deal her with right now. I know that the Lord will provide the grace that is sufficient for each day.

I guess that was more than a couple :o) Thank you to all who are praying for my mom right now. Jehovah Jirah!!!! The Lord WILL provide!!!!

~howiesgal

Oh that's right......

2008-05-10T06:52:00.000-07:00

I have a blog!! Silly red-head. I forget sometimes that I need to pop over here and post something. Wow, that's pretty sad isn't it? :o)

Well just to let you know, I am still here. This week has been filled with great weather playing outside, the loss of Emma's first 2 teeth, and cousins...lots of playing with cousins! Back to Emma's teeth, we didn't do the whole tooth fairy thing. She didn't even ask and besides she made $8 off of those 2 teeth from the grandparents! Who needs the tooth fairy ;o) She was so excited about loosing her first tooth on Tuesday night. But that excitement was over when I told her that a new tooth would grow back in. The poor girl was thinking she would be toothless forever and she was happy about that! She's a re-head too :o)

Next week is Cooking Day so stay tuned for the menu and new recipes!

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. Did you see the article about how much moms would actually make if they were paid in dollars instead of hugs and kisses? $117,ooo a year!!!! Seriously!!!! I think we could all get some union support on this and start striking for pay, naw, I prefer the hugs and kisses over money any day :o)

Happy Cooking!
~howiesgal

Oriental Chicken Strips

2008-05-06T07:28:00.000-07:00

I adapted this recipe from a mixture of a couple of other recipes. These are always a huge hit and they are one of my most requested recipes.

Oriental Chicken Strips
-3/4 cup honey
-3/4 cup orange juice
-1/2 cup soy sauce
-1 ½ Tbsp. Chicken Grill Seasoning
-1 tsp. Sesame seeds

-3 pounds of chicken tenders

Add all ingredients to a freezer bag and seal. Mush around to mix.

To Serve: ~Thaw
~Bake at 350* 15-20 minute or until cooked through- or
~Sauté in fry pan until cooked through or
~Cook on the grill

Happy Cooking!

~howiesgal

Hosting your own Cooking Day....

2008-04-30T11:32:00.000-07:00

Allison from Savoring the Moments asked some good questions about hosting your own Cooking Day. "I would love to know how you started your group, and how you organize it each time. Things like: who does all the prep work, who shops, how do you split up the cost, etc. Also, where you find the "freezer" recipes that you use."

There are so many ways that you can start your own cooking group. Like I have written before I started with just my mom, sister, cousin and close friend. It was just the five of us. We would all decide together what meals we were going to make. I would go and do all of the shopping and organizing and then we would split the total cost of everything amongst the 5 of us.

Once the group got bigger and bigger and bigger and then at one time I had 2 groups going, I had to get more organized. I now decide what the menus will be each month (based on what people have said they liked or what they would like to cook). I still do all the shopping and organizing, but now we have a set price of $72 a month for all 6 meals. It evens out to $12 a meal, which I think is a great price since most of those "places" they have now, where you can go makes meals, cost at least $19.50 or more a meal! Outrageous.

Yes, this sounds like a lot of work for one person. And it can be. I do on occasion get help form my mom and/or sister. But to be honest with you, I LOVE doing it. I don't make any money from it. It pays for my set of meals every month and the gas I use to do the shopping. I consider it my ministry since I feel that doing this is a true gift that God has blessed me with. I think it would be easiest to start a group with a buddy. Someone who will help you to all the work.

OK, so let's get into how anybody can get a group going with minimal work.

1) Find a group of people who want to join you. Minimum of 3/maximum of 6 to start with. You can add more people, after a few times cooking, if you think you have room.

2)Decide on when and where. Our group meets on the third Friday of every month. We started at my house, but now we are up to 15+ people so we use the kitchen at my parent's Church. It's really big with lots of counter space. If you don't have a lot of counter space you can set up tables. We started in my kitchen with 2 tables set up in my family room for overflow!

3)Decide on how many meals you want to make. We make 6 meals each month. You can start with making just a few meals and grow from there. Start small, so you don't get overwhelmed and build it bigger as you go along and feel comfortable doing so.

4)Decide what meals you are going to make. You can do this a couple ways. You can send out an e-mail to your friends with a list of different meals and let them all vote. Or you can just choose the meals yourself the first time and at each cooking day ask your group what they would like to cook the next month. You can click on the "resource" link on the right to find some good places for recipes.
**Note**If you are in my cooking group, I keep meaning to ask you all this question every month. But I am always forgetting. So if you ever want something, just let me know :o)

5)Shopping-either have one person to all the shopping (this would be the easiest) or split up the shopping list and have everyone shop. If one person does the shopping just divide the total cost of food among all the members on Cooking Day.

6)Prep work-I use to do a lot of prep work before our Cooking Days. I would write the meal names on all the freezer bags, clean veggies, cook hamburger, etc.....and then the group grew and it became a lot more work to do the organizing of who's coming and who's not and to do the shopping. So now the group does all the prep work. But it still only takes us a couple of hours to do all the meals and clean-up.

7)Clean-up- This is probably the most important step. Seriously. Once everyone has all their meals in their ice chests they think it's time to go. Make sure you discuss ahead of time that EVERYONE needs to help with clean-up. It's part of Cooking Day just as the cooking is.

I think that should be the gist of Cooking Day. Like I said, start small and build from there. Don't let yourself become overwhelmed with it. Make it a fun day of fellowship and food with your friends!

Happy Cooking!
~howiesgal

Guess What I Did......

2008-04-29T07:02:00.000-07:00

(Magnet Set)

I finally opened up an Etsy Shop!!! I have been wanting to do this for months now and finally got around to it this week! Yeah me!! OK, sorry, just had to toot my own horn and give myself a little pat on the back. Now I have a busted eardrum and a sprained arm :o) Just joking.
(Kids Hair Clips)

So here's the link to my shop if anyone is interested.

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5830054

(Magnet Set)

I also have to tell you that my Monday turned out to be a pretty great day! I started off the day with this.....
My wonderful 5 year old made me breakfast! Buttered waffle and a cup of Hot Green Tea! It was delicious.

My husband surprised us and met us at Target for lunch. We never get to lunch with daddy so the girls were very excited. Then we went to the park and played for an hour. The weather was perfect. We ended our day at McDonalds with my Uncle who is visiting from Idaho. He took the girls to the store to let them "shop". They both came home with new toys and a belly full of a happy meal. Yep, we had a pretty great Monday!

Today I am taking that wonderful 5 year old out to lunch. Just the 2 of us. She has been asking for this for awhile and we are finally able to make it work today. She wanted to go to the Disney store after lunch but last night she said there was no need as Uncle Bruce (mu Uncle) had already bought her good stuff!!

Have a beautiful day loving your children and praising God! I know I will :o)

~howiesgal

Lemon Chicken

2008-04-25T13:15:00.000-07:00

It's Monday!!!!!!!!!!!!!! To be honest I really don't like Mondays. But I am trying to change my attitude towards this day that has nothing against me. So YEE-HAAAAAWWWW, It's Monday!!!!!!! Monday Monday...la la la la la (you all know that song!).......

I am hoping to polish off my post on starting your own cooking group this week, for those who are interested. Also, how about a Q and A post? I know I don't have a profile of me on my side bar so I thought maybe a Q and A would help me figure that out. So if you have a question, about me, about my family, about freezer cooking, about food in general, about the solar system, um...don't ask me about the solar system, we are not quite there yet in schooling :o); but anything else, feel free to ask and I will post all the answer later this week! Alrighty, now it's time for another recipe.....

Here is another easy to make and freeze and serve recipe. Gotta like that! This is an old family favorite. I grew up eating Lemon Chicken and to this day it is still one of my favorite meals.

Lemon Chicken

-Any type of chicken..legs/thighs/breasts/boneless/skinless/bone-in/skin-on..whatever floats your chicken boat. Enough chicken to feed 6 people.
-1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
-2 Tablespoons lemon juice
-1/8 teaspoon tarragon

~Throw it all into a freezer bag and seal it. Mush to coat chicken and throw it into the freezer.

To Serve: Place in crockpot (frozen!). Cook on low 8 hours or on high 4-6 hours or until chicken is cooked through. Serve over rice

Happy Cooking!

~howiesgal

Fettuccini Alfredo from OG

2008-04-24T15:20:00.000-07:00

Seriously this stuff tastes just like the fettuccini Alfredo from that great Italian restaurant with the initials OG. I am sure you can all figure out where I am talking about. I got this recipe somewhere on-line. There are a million sites with this recipe on it so I won't give the credit to just one site :o) Let me just say thank you to the people out there who figure out how to make the yummy dishes we eat at wonderful restaurants at home! You people rock!

Fettuccini Alfredo from OG
-8 oz. cream cheese
-1/2 cup butter
-1/2 cup milk
-3/4 cup Parmesan
-2 lbs. fettuccini

Did I mention this was low fat? Yeah right :o)

~Place all ingredients (*except Fettucini*) in a saucepan over med/low heat. Stir continuously until it's all melted and creamy. Let cool. Place in freezer ziplock bag and throw into the freezer. If you would like to make this as a side, then divide the mixture amongst 2 bags and only use one pound of pasta.

To Serve: Cook fettuccini according to package directions. Drain. Place thawed Alfredo sauce into the pan and heat through. Throw in the pasta, give a quick stir and enjoy!

Happy Cooking!
~howiesgal

Chicken in a Raspberry Sauce

2008-04-22T07:50:00.000-07:00

Thank you all for your comments and your prayers for our daughter. We are still struggling with some issue (which should hopefully be resolved at her Dr.'s apt. today) but she has been a lot better. We have been doing some intense therapy with her (which she loves) and that has kept me busy and hurting (lots of physical for me).

Of course, I completely forgot to take my camera to Cooking Day on Friday. I was so bummed. I promise that I will remember next time (unless my brain is attacked by aliens (aka children) and sucked right out of my head!). We did have a good time of cooking, chatting and eating.

Below is the recipe for the Chicken in a Raspberry Sauce that we made. This comes from the book "Don't Panic, Dinner's in the Freezer", you can click on the amazon link on my side bar to check it out :o). Easy to make and delicious to eat. We had it last night and yes, of course, I forgot to take pictures of it. Oh brain, where are you....has anyone seen my brain? If so could you tell it to come back to me. I really miss it. :o)

Chicken in a Raspberry Sauce

-1/4 cup mashed raspberries (you can use fresh or frozen)

-1/2 cup raspberry preserves

-1/2 cup pineapple concentrate

-1/2 cup soy sauce

-2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar

-1/2 teaspoon chili powder

-1/2 teaspoon curry powder

-1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

-6 boneless/skinless chicken breasts

~Place all ingredients in a freezer bag and mush. Label and freeze.

To serve: Thaw chicken completely. Place chicken and sauce in a large baking dish. Bake covered at 350* for 30-40 minutes. Serve chicken with pan juices over top
I made some homemade rice pilaf and served it with the chicken on top and the juices poured over. Yummy!

Stayed tuned for a post on "How to have your own cooking group!"
Happy Cooking!
~Howiesgal

Cooking Day Week

2008-04-17T07:26:00.000-07:00

OK, so one clarification about me and baking...... I will pretty much eat any dessert that Kenj makes! Especially her Creme Brulee. Oh yummy! Chocolate Souffle anyone? That's another favorite that I don't make and have yet to find someone who will make it for me.....any takers? :o) Enough about desserts. I haven't had breakfast yet but now I want some pastries, which are OK to eat for breakfast. Right? I think I will be hitting up a local bakery today for a pineapple cream cheese coffee cake. Yep, that's right I said cake not pastry. I want the big one and I want to eat the whole thing by myself. Well, maybe I will share it with the ladies at Cooking Day tomorrow....I said maybe!

Yep, that's right tomorrow is Cooking Day! That means today is shopping day. We are very blessed in that we get to cook for the first time at my parent's Church's new building! They have a very large kitchen with lots of counter space (I will try to remember to bring my camera tomorrow). This week we have 10 ladies cooking and we will be making 15 sets of meals. Should prove to be another fun Cooking Day.

This month's menu is....
~Olive Garden's Fettuccine Alfredo
~Oriental Sesame Chicken Strips
~Lemon Chicken
~Chicken in a Raspberry Sauce
~Enchilada Pie
~Asian Beef and Vegetable Wraps

I will try to post recipes next week.

One last thing. As many of you know I have 2 daughters. Our oldest daughter (who is 9) has Cerebral Palsy, moderate mental Retardation, Sensory Processing Disorder and more.......She has been having a rough time of it lately and I would really appreciate your prayers for her. Specifically could you pray that God would give her inner peace. She can't tell me what is wrong or how she feels so all I can do is just hold her and pray that God would wash her with His glorious peace. Thanks.

I will post pics and recipes as soon as I have time :o)
Happy Cooking!
~howiesgal

Baking :o(

2008-04-14T07:48:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all of you for your nice comments. I am thrilled that you are using and enjoying all the recipes! Now for a subject that I don't like to talk about...baking...

Baking is not my thing. I love cooking but I am not a baker. With cooking you don't really have to have things precise, a pinch of this, a dash of that, a throw of this, a splash of that. In baking you have to have it exact or you mess the whole thing up.

My grandfather was a baker. My mom grew up in his bakery. My mom is a baker. The woman loves to bake! Any time that you walk into her house there is some kind of baked good either in the oven or sitting on a plate waiting to be eaten. Walk into my house and you will find nothing waiting for you, except for me and I truly do think that should be enough :o)

I guess that if I really wanted to, I could get into baking. My sister loaned me her bread machine and I love baking breads of all sorts. The biggest reason (besides all the exact measurements) that I don't get into baking is because what you bake must be consumed! And in that lies the problem my friends. Yes, yes I know that those of you who know me are mumbling under your breath (actually you all would say it straight to my face), "You can afford to eat it all skinny". But truly, my dear friends (yes I still call you my friends even after that harsh comment) it would not be healthy to eat it all. Right? Right.

I really only like baked goods right as they come out of the oven. If it sits there for any length of time, to me, it is no longer good. I would also, much rather have an OREO than a homemade cookie. Oh, wow, I just heard you all gasp. Sorry mom. I grew up coming home from school to fresh cookies almost everyday. I loved it then but am not huge on it now. I guess I am just weird.

I do love pastries. Oh heavenly pastries! But I have never tried to bake them. That's could be because if I did bake a batch of Pineapple cream cheese pastries I would sit and eat the whole batch within minutes. Oh the bliss it would be, though. I do make cinnamon rolls out of Bisquick mix. My friend calls them cinnamon biscuits, because technically they are not a real cinnamon roll. I made the "real" cinnamon rolls one time and after giving the kids each one and then finishing off the rest for myself, I decided I should not do that again.

So to sum this all up...I do not like to bake. I would rather have oreos than a homemade cookie. If anyone wants to make me any sort of pastry 1) I don't like nuts in things and 2) I will be grateful and eat it all right then and there :o)

Italian Vegetables

2008-04-10T06:27:00.000-07:00

This is a great side dish to make when you are having company. The recipes easily doubles or triples to feed more. This one cooks in the crockpot, as well.

Italian Vegetables (makes 6 side dish portions)

1 zucchini, sliced

1 bag frozen, french style green beans

1 sm. can diced tomatoes with juices

1 tsp. basil

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

~Combine all ingredients in ziplock bag. Seal and mush.

SERVING DIRECTIONS~ No need to thaw! Place in crockpot and cook on low for 2-4 hours.

Frugal Links

2008-04-08T08:18:00.000-07:00

As we all know by now, gas prices have risen and so have grocery prices. So now does it not only cost more to buy food, it costs us more to get to the places we have to go to buy it! Don't you just love how that works.
In the past few months I have discovered some wonderful blogs that have helped me become even more frugal. I am already a really frugal person (never buy anything unless it is on the clearance rack. never pay more than $5 for shirts/ $10 for pants/$10 for shoes (for myself and for the kids), etc....) but these ladies have helped me discover how to get things for free! Seriously, free!!!! Check them out.....
Centsible Shopper will show you how to combine coupons on great deals at many places to get them free.

imommies always has posts about getting free stuff and making free money!

Jane is amazing. She shows us how she has given herslelf only $800 for the year to spend on everything she needs! She gets almost everything for free or she makes money on what she buys. I believe she now has over $900 in her account now. She is really amazing.

Mommies with Cents is another great one that shows you where to get free stuff and how to stack coupons.

Money Saving Mom also has great tips on free stuff and deals at CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid and more.

When the kids are having their quiet time this afternoon, make yourself something nice to drink and grab your self a snack (I will be having my daily Dr. Pepper and some sea salt pita chips) and browse through these sites. You will learn alot!

Let me know if you know of any other great frugal blogs that we all might enjoy.

Happy Cooking!
~howiegsal

Answers!

2008-04-02T18:07:00.001-07:00

G-dawg has revealed herself to me!!!!!!!!!!!!! But I shall keep her anonymous to you all :o)
So now I shall answer her question about the Stroganoff.....

It does always come out a bit soupy. But the flavor is so wonderful that I never care. If you do want the sauce thicker you can do what Rebecca suggested to do int he comments..... she added flour and cut back on the beef broth. Or you can mix 1 TBL. of cornstarch with a bit of cold water and mix well. Add this to the bubbly broth mixture ,BEFORE you add the sour cream, and let it simmer a bit. Then add the sour cream and you should be good to go.

By the way, Rebecca also noted in the comments on the Stroganoff some other changes she used. She did say "red wine vinegar" and I want to note that it is just Red wine that was used, not red wine vinegar.

I will be out of town for the rest of the week so I shall chat with you all again next week!!!!!!!!!

Happy Cooking!
~howiesgal

Honey Pork Chops

2008-04-01T07:48:00.000-07:00

Honey Pork Chops

-6 pork chops (bone in or no bone. You choose.)

-½ cup honey
-¼ apple cider vinegar
-¼ tsp ground ginger
-1 tsp. Dried garlic
-2 Tbl. Soy sauce
-dash of pepper

~Add all ingredients to ziplock bag.
~Seal and mush

SERVING DIRECTIONS:Thaw completely. Place pork chops and marinade in a baking dish. Bake at 350* for 1 hour 15 minutes (or less if using boneless), turning chops occasionally while baking. Pork chops may also be grilled.

Question....

2008-03-30T20:05:00.000-07:00

G-Dawg asked a question about the Stroganoff.....

"Okay, so I tried this recipe the other day and it was very, very delicious. But I have a question: Is it supposed to be of a soup consistency? It was very yummy, but I felt like I was eating beef soup with noodles. Did I miss something or is that just the way Stroganoff is? If so, that's okay with me because it was really good!"

G-Dawg~ I will give you an answer as soon as you tell us who you really are :o) No more undercoverness.
___________________________________________
If you ever have a question on any of the recipes or tips I post, please feel free to ask. I will answer all of your questions in a post as opposed to commenting back in the comments section. Also, if you try any of the recipes please let us all know what you thought, or any suggestions you might have on improving or tweaking the recipe :o)

Happy Cooking!
~howiesgal

Resources

2008-03-26T14:41:00.000-07:00

Rebecca asked me if I could let you all in on my top-secret resources that I most frequently use :o) I am more than happy to oblige :o)
First, in case you have not noticed, all the resources that I will be mentioning you can find links to on my side bar over there ------->

As I have mentioned before, my whole freezer cooking journey started after I read the book, "Don't Panic, Dinner's in the Freezer", by Susie Martinez. If you are interested in starting your own Freezer Cooking Group I would get this book! It is full of recipes and ideas on how to have a Cooking Day with a bunch of friends. It is a simple read and once you have finished the first few pages you will be ready to call all of your friends and start cooking :o)

Another one of my most treasured resources is "30 Day Gourmet" You can visit their website here http://www.30daygourmet.com/. They have some great recipes and their "Freezer Cooking Manuel" is chock full of great ideas and "how tos". They also have lots of different e-books that you can buy and download immediately!

I have also listed some other Freezer Cooking cookbooks on my side bar. They can all be found at Amazon or you can check them out form your local library. I do that a lot.

I also do go*gle searches every few months to see what's out there. Just search "freezer meals", "freezer recipes", "once a month cooking". etc.....

There is a lot of info out there. You just have to go and fine it :o)

Happy Cooking!
~howiesgal

Chicken Stir Fry

2008-03-25T19:01:00.000-07:00

I was going to post this recipe this morning but then remembered that I had taken mine from Cooking Day out of the freezer for dinner tonight. So I thought, "great! I'll be able to take some pictures of it for you all and make your mouth water". Well we just got done with dinner and guess what...Yep, I forgot to take pictures! That's a red-head for ya. This had really good flavor, although it was to spicy for my kidddos so next time I will omit the red pepper flakes. It also did not produce much sauce so I added some "special" sauce I had on hand. All in all it was a really good stir fry. You can different veggies to it as well. Just throw in whatever you like in your stir fries :o)
_______________________________________

Chicken Stir Fry

adapted from "Dream Dinners" beef stir fry recipe

3 stalks of celery (diced)

2 carrots (diced)

1 lb. boneless/skinless chicken, cubed (you can use thighs, breasts, or tenderloins. Whichever type of meat your family prefers)

1 small can of Baby Corns

1/2 cup soy sauce

3 Tablespoons Ground Ginger

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (you can add more if you like it hot!)

1/4 cup peanut butter

1 tablespoon brown sugar

~Place celery, carrots and baby corns into a freezer bag. In a separate freezer bag add chicken and the rest of the ingredients. Seal bag and mush to mix ingredients. Place chicken bag into veggie bag and seal. Freeze.

To Serve: Thaw. In a skillet over high heat cook the chicken and marinade mixture until the chicken is almost cooked through. Add the vegetables and cook for 2 more minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Serve over rice.

Breakfast Biscuits

2008-03-21T07:30:00.000-07:00

I will be working on a post to give you all of my resources for Filling My Freezer. Look for it sometime next week, hopefully :o)

This is the first time that our cooking group has ever made these, as well. They were very easy to assemble.

These are so handy to have in the freezer. You will want to make lots as they will go fast.
________________________________________________

Breakfast Biscuits (makes however many you want to make)

Biscuits (you can either make your own or buy the refrigerated or frozen ones and bake them)

Scrambled eggs (scramble one egg for each biscuit that you made, you can also use liquid egg if you have it)

Bacon, ham, or sausage (one slice for each biscuit)

Cheese, whatever kind you like best (one slice for each biscuit.)

~Slice biscuits in half and lightly butter each side.

~Top with egg, meat and cheese.

~Wrap each biscuit, individually, in plastic wrap and then put them into a ziplock bag to freeze.

SERVING DIRECTIONS: Unwrap desired number of biscuits and microwave in 30 second intervals until warmed through. Or, place them on a baking sheet and heat in the oven at 300* for about 10 minutes.

Beef and Cheese Pockets

2008-03-20T08:10:00.000-07:00

This was the first time the group had ever made this recipe. Everyone was drooling over them as they came out of the oven!

Beef and Cheese Pockets (Makes 8)

from "30 Day Gourmet"

2 packages of refrigerator crescent rolls.

1/2 pound deli roast beef

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

2 eggs

~Preheat oven to 375*

~On Cookie sheets, separate one package Crescent dough into triangles.

~Place shredded beef and shredded cheddar cheese onto each triangle. (use your own judgement in filling them. You don't want them to be to full.)

~Top each triangle with another triangle and seal edges.

~Beat eggs and brush onto top of triangles.

~Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

~Let cool and then place crescents into a freezer bag and seal.

To Serve: Remove from freezer. Place on microwave for 2-4 minutes or until warm. You could also heat them in the oven on 300* for 10 minutes.

An answer to Simply Heart and Home: If you want them to get that "crispness" again, I would throw them in the oven :o)

March Cooking Day!

2008-03-17T07:40:00.000-07:00

My plan is to post pictures and recipes from our Cooking Days every month. We cook 6 meals every month so that means at least 6 new recipes every month!

On the Menu this month....
~Ravioli Lasagna
~Beef and Cheese Crescents
~Breakfast Biscuits
~Chicken Stir Fry
~Picnic Chicken
~Beef Stroganuaff

We got started at 9 a.m. and we finished by 11 ish. There were 10 of us and we were cooking for 12. Not to bad. Of course we also do lots of talking and eating. Hey we're a group of gals what else would we do :o) Here are some pics from our day of fun....

Here is what the kitchen looked like before we started. Lots of bags of lots of food and supplies. (unfortunately, since I have been sick, I forgot lots of stuff. But our hostess was ready to fill in the blanks I forgot. Thanks Cheryl!)

Here is my sister, Catherine, finishing up the Ravioli Lasagnas. Yummy!

Here's one of the gals making the Beef and Cheese Crescents. We made 144 of these. They worked on them the whole entire time.

We had to bake them all as well. (The picture below is the finished product coming off the pan). Some of the gals were eating theirs as they came out of the oven. They said they were delicious!

Kristi and Cheryl making the Picnic Chicken. Messy job, but hey, someone's gotta do it :o)

And finally, some of the finished products. All in all it was a fun day full of food, friends and fellowshipping! Who could ask for more?

I will be posting some of the recipes this week for you. So stay tuned!

Happy Cooking!

~howiesgal

Cooking Day Prep...

2008-03-13T16:32:00.000-07:00

This week is Cooking Day week. That means a busy, but fun, week for me. This week we have 12 of us cooking meals. We will meet on Friday at 9 am and should be done by noon. We will be putting together 6 meals for each person. All together that will be 72 meals!

I started the week by getting the shopping list together. This includes doing all of the figuring out for how much we need of each ingredient and so on and so forth.

We are making Breakfast Biscuits this month (recipes to come later) so I had to make 120 biscuits before Friday. My mom was nice enough to come over and help me out. Of course the girls wanted to help as well.

On Thursday (today), with list in hand, I headed off to Cost*o and the grocery store. I had meant to take my camera with me so you could see what my carts and my car look like after a Cooking Day shopping trip! It is quite the site. Once I came home and put the refrigerator stuff away I snapped a picture for you :o)

I also filled up my sister's refrigerator, part of my mom's fridge, there are a few bags in the freezer and the trunk of my car is half full! We really know how to pack it all in!

I did get a picture of my fridge for you though....

Everything seems to be all ready for a day full of Cooking tomorrow. I am going to go put my camera in the car right now so I should have some good pics for you tomorrow :o)

Happy Cooking!
~howiesgal

Off Topic

2008-03-12T08:44:00.001-07:00

Occasionally I will be posting things that have nothing to do with Filling My Freezer. Today is one of those days. Instead of showing you how I fill my freezer I will tell you how God is filling my soul.........

I have been nastily sick this past week, allergies that have turned into multiple infections. It's something that I deal with every Spring and have tried just about everything under the sun to no avail. It either doesn't work or I fall into the 1% category of people who have a bad reaction to certain medications. So I deal with it. My main issue is usually my ears. They get infected pretty easy, yes I know I am like a 3 year with ear infections :o)

This week it has got pretty bad and I have lost most of my hearing in one ear, yes now I am like an 80 year old...eehh, what did you say, I can't hear you! Instead of normal hearing I hear my pulse (you know the sound of a baby's heart beat on the monitor thing? That's what I hear). During the day it is just annoying but gets drowned out by all the background noise. But at night? Well at night I feel like I could go insane. Well, I wasn't going to have insanity hit me last night so I grabbed my ear phones and my i*pod and went to bed. I hit the category marked "worship music" and turned it up loud enough to drown out the "heartbeat" in me ear and then rested sweetly in worshipping my Lord until I fell asleep.

I have to tell you it was such a wonderful time with God I had. The song the struck me the most was, "I need thee every hour". Every time I hear that song my heart simple clings to the words.

"I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord; no tender voice like Thine can peace afford.
I need Thee, O Lord I need Thee, EVERY hour I need Thee. O bless me now, my Savior, I come to Thee.
I need Thee every hour in JOY or PAIN, come quickly and abide or life is vain.
I need Thee, O Lord I need Thee, EVERY hour I need Thee. O bless me now, my Savior, I come to Thee."

We do need the Lord in EVERY single hour of EVERY single day. Whether life is going bad or good. It is in the times of JOY that I forget that I still need him. It is in the times of JOY that HE is truly blessing me and I should cling to Him even sweeter.

I pray that you are all receiving the true JOY of the Lord today and that you remember to thank Him for the peace in your life and for blessing you as He has. Don't just cling to Him in rough times, cling to HIM in the easy times!

Happy Cooking and the Lord's Blessings!
~howiesgal

Stroganoff

2008-03-10T07:51:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all of you who have left such wonderful comments. I am really having a great time sharing all my freezer knowledge with you all. I am glad that you all are just as excited as I am! Now here is another great recipe for you :o)

I LOVE Stroganoff. It was one of my favorites as a kid and still is as an adult. This is a basic, easy recipe for stroganoff. I like it because it is easy to whip up a triple batch and eat it for dinner and freeze the leftovers. This is one of the 6 meals that my freezer cooking group will be making this Friday (more to come on that this week!).

Stroganoff

-1 lb. ground beef, browned with garlic, salt and pepper

-2 cups beef broth

-8 oz. package of sliced mushrooms

-3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice

-3 Tablespoons Red Wine

~Seal bag.

SERVING DIRECTIONS: Thaw mixture. Add to saucepan and cook on med-low till heated through. Add 1 cup sour cream and cook on low for 5 minutes. Serve over egg noodles.

Let's save some time....

2008-03-06T08:13:00.000-08:00

There are so many things that you can do to save time in the kitchen. Whether it be cooking time or assembling time we can save you some!

~Wash and chop before putting away. This is one of the hardest habits to get into, but it is one of the most time saving ones. When you get home from the grocery store wash and cut up all your veggies. Place them in a ziplock bag with a paper towel, to soak up any moisture. You can also dice up any meat that needs to be cut up for recipes. Place them in freezer bags, labeled clearly, and they will be ready when you are.

~Cut small. When cutting veggies to cook, cut them small. They will cook a lot faster. Making potatoes (mashed or roasted) cut them in little cubes and they will cook in less than half the time!

~Steam veggies on top of boiling noodles. Seriously :o) After you throw your noodles in the pot of boiling water just toss a colander on top of the pot, throw in some veggies, and top with a lid. Presto, you have steamed veggies and cooked noodles!

~Cover with foil! This will save you time when you are doing dishes. I cover almost everything with foil. OK, I know it's not environmentally friendly, but it is mom with kids and a hubby who homeschools and does therapy and laundry and cleans and cooks and so on and so forth friendly :o) and that's what matters here people. I line my 8x8 or 13x9 pans with foil and I cover my baking sheets with foil (except when I am making cookies, don't ask me why). Wen it;s time for dishes I just pull off the foil, wipe off the pan with a damp rag and put it away. Dishes are done!

Got a good tip? Post it in the comments and I will compile a list for everyone next week!

Happy Cooking!

~howiesgal

An answer and a tag.....

2008-03-04T08:56:00.000-08:00

First an answer to a comment on freezing potatoes.....The answers is "Yes, they do turn a little brown". But only a little and once they are cooked they look normal again. I freeze uncooked potatoes often and have always had them turn out great.

Second, I have been tagged by my dear friend Rebecca!

Here is the game: If you are tagged, you have to post a "Would you rather" on YOUR blog and then tag 5 people.

"Would you rather get a manicure/pedicure or an hour massage?"

That is a tough one for me because I love to be pampered. Don't do it much but enjoy it to the fullest when I do. I am also the kind of girl who meticulously justifies every decision I make, it's an annoying habit, but at times a good one. So I would have to say the mani/pedi because technically it will last longer. Yes the massage will feel completely wonderful but I can't show it off when I am done. Now a fresh coat of paint on my toes and nails can be seen by all! Yes, I am a weirdo!

Now I will tag some people....

~Cheryl/Copperswife

~My goofy friend Kristi

~Botzy will surely have a good one

~Can't forget Dani for sure

Happy Cooking!

~howiesgal

Delicious Pot Roast

2008-03-03T10:43:00.000-08:00

Thanks for all your comments on "Pinching Pennies" . Eyelandgirl said she stretches a roast out to make a couple of meals. This is a great idea and one we use a lot here at our house. I like how she suggested taking some out before putting it on the table. If they don't know it's there they won't eat it and you will surely have some left for another meal!
In honor of Eyelandgirl, today I give you a recipe for a roast! This recipe is called "Delicious Pot Roast". The name says it all. This is one delicious pot roast people. You gotta try it. I promise you will like it!

Delicious Pot Roast

-one pot roast, any size you like (rump roast, or whatever you usually use for roast)
-4 potatoes, washed and cubed
-4 carrots, diced (or you can just throw in some baby carrots)
-4 cups tomato juice
-1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
-¼ tsp. Dried mustard
-1 Tbl. Salt
-½ Tbl. pepper

Add to a ziplock bag. Seal and mush to coat roast and veggies.

SERVING DIRECTIONS: Thaw (at least to softened stage). Pour meat and sauce into crockpot. Cook on high 6-8 hours. The sauce can be thickened with cornstarch to serve with the meat. To make sauce (if desired) pour sauce into saucepan. Mix cornstarch with cold water until dissolved (you will need 1 tablespoon of cornstarch for every cup of sauce), pour into saucepan. Stir constantly over medium heat mixture bubbles and thickens. Turn down heat and simmer a minute or two. Serve with the meat.

Once you have cooked the roast you can throw any leftovers back into the freezer!

Pinching Pennies

2008-02-29T07:00:00.000-08:00

We all have to do it at some time or another...pinch our pennies. It always seems that our food expenses are the easiest to cut. But, we still need to make great meals for our families while we save our pennies. So here are a couple of tricks that I use....

1)Cut down on meat.

-I think everyone knows that using less meat means saving more money.

-In almost all of the recipes I make I always use 1/2 or less of the meat that is called for.

-Cut meat up instead of leaving it whole. If I am making Chicken Cacciatore (for example), instead of using 4 whole chicken breasts , I would use 2 chicken breasts and cube them. This way you use less chicken but it still goes all the way through the sauce.

-Ground beef is an easy one to cut down on. I just make sure that when I am cooking the ground beef I get it crumbled good and small. I don't leave it in big chunks. Again, this gets it all the way through the recipe.

2)Potatoes. I love potatoes. They are inexpensive and very healthy.

-Whenever I cook potatoes I ALWAYS leave the skins on. That is where all the nutrients are. Even in mash potatoes the skins are left on.

-Potatoes are also very filling. Which is good when you are needing to feed your family for less.

-As a main dish there are many things that you can do with potatoes.....Got leftovers? (anything will work) Heat em up and put it on top of a baked potatoes. You can also top baked potatoes with chili and cheese. Broccoli, cheese, and cubed up chicken (again, cube the chicken and you don't have to use that much). The possibilities are endless.

-As a side dish you also have a zillion things to do with potatoes.
Our favorite is to cut em up and roll em in some olive oil salt and pepper. Roast em in the oven for 20 minutes at 450*. Then sprinkle bacon bits and cheese all over and place them back in the oven for 5 more minutes. Yummy!

You can also make mashed potatoes, fried potatoes, whatever!

-Leftover potatoes.

I always make extra potatoes when I am baking them. That way I can dice em up and fry em for breakfast the next day. Or make potato salad. Or just have a baked potato for lunch.

With left over mashed potatoes I always make potato pancakes. Oh, yum, I love potato pancakes.

This is just a couple of quick ways to save some money on your food bill. What are some of your favorite ways to pinch pennies in the kitchen? Let me know in the comments :o)

Happy Cooking!
~howiesgal

Basil/ Tortellini/ Bean Soup

2008-02-27T08:19:00.000-08:00

Alrighty, so here is the first recipe! I wanted to start out with a super simple recipe for freezing. This style of prep I like to call, "measure and dump", because that is all you do, you measure out the ingredients and then you dump them into a ziplock freezer bag. There is no dicing or cooking involved at all. It would be easy to whip up a few batches of this at once.

This soup is wonderful. It has great flavor and can be used as is or you can add whatever you want to make it more. We usually just eat it as is because it is so good.

Basil/ Tortellini/ Bean Soup (Serves 6)

4 1/2 cups Chicken, vegetable or beef broth (if you are going to freeze this soup then add 5 bouillon cubes and then add 4 1/2 cups water on serving day. This saves you freezer space)

9 oz. frozen cheese tortellini

15 oz. white beans ,drained

14 oz. diced tomatoes with juice

1 Tablespoon Basil

1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

~Place all ingredients in ziplock bag. Seal.~

SERVING DIRECTIONS~ No need to thaw! Place in crockpot (add water if you used bouillon cubes) and cook on low for 4 hours. Don't overcook or your tortellini will be mushy, it will still taste good even if you do over cook it.

Variations: If you want to add more to this soup...GO FOR IT! You can add chicken, zucchini, spinach, carrots, whatever floats your boat. Oh, you can also top it with shredded Parmesan cheese :o)

Happy Cooking!

~howiesgal

**Updated to answer a couple questions**
~If you want to add spinach just add it :o) It is going to be wilted in soup and it still tastes yummy. You can use fresh or frozen spinach in this recipe, they both freeze just fine.

~Whenever I make a soup that calls for stock I use bouillon cubes instead. Most soups call for 4-6 cups of bouillon. It is really hard to get that much liquid into a freezer bag and if you do get it all in there the bag is really big and takes up a lot of room in your freezer. One bouillon cube makes 1 cup of bouillon when you add the water. So if it calls for 4 cups bouillon I just add 4 bouillon cubes. Then on cooking day I add the 4 cups of water. Does that make sense?

Getting Started

2008-02-26T07:15:00.001-08:00

Wow, thanks everyone for all the "hooray" comments! I am really looking forward to sharing ideas and recipes with you all. Today I wanted to chat a bit about how to get started with freezer cooking.

One of the easiest ways to start filling your freezer is to start cooking bigger meals. If you are making a lasagna, make two. Eat one that night and put the other in the freezer. This is one of the simplest ways to fill your freezer fast. If you just doubled 2 meals a week by the end of the month you would have 8 extra meals in your freezer! That means 8 nights next month that you won't have to cook! Woohooo!

I have started to learn that even freezing the little portions of leftovers help. Even if it is just one serving, don't toss it, freeze it. Eventually you will have enough one portion servings to feed your whole family, or you could take those one portions and stick them in your hubby's lunch. If it is something really good than you could feed the kids PBJ's and you can enjoy it for lunch. Like our mothers always said, "waste not, want not". Thanks mom :o)

What's the best way to freeze food? Freezer bags.
Freer bags can be laid flat and you can stack them high. Make sure you get most of the air out of the bag before sealing. Before I start stacking my bags I like to flash freeze them. This basically means that I lay them flat on a tray (or a cooking sheet) and put them in my freezer until they are almost frozen through. This way the bags won't stick together when they freeze or get into some funky shape that makes them impossible to get out of the freezer.

I once saw a picture of a freezer that had 24 main dishes, 12 side dishes, 10 desserts, and 10 breakfasts all neatly stacked in freezer bags. And they had room to add more! So freezer bags are definitely your best bet. Yet, there are some things that need a 9x13 or an 8x8 pan and that's OK. There are 2 ways to do this. First, you could just buy aluminum pans to make those things in. Or you can line your pan with saran wrap and then make the meal in the pan. Pop your pan into the freezer and let it freeze. Once frozen, pull the pan out and remove the plastic wrap with your meal in it. Securely wrap the plastic wrap around the whole meal and then wrap it in a layer of foil. Label and throw it back into the freezer. When it comes time to cook that meal, simply pull it out of the freezer, unwrap it (before it thaws) and place it back into the same pan. Presto, it's all ready to go and one of your good pans didn't have to sit in the freezer, unusable for a month.

So there you have just a few tips to get you started on filling your freezer. Tomorrow I will deliver a new recipe to you! You won't want to miss it :o)

Happy Cooking!
~Howiesgal

Introduction

2008-02-25T08:00:00.000-08:00

Well, I am back in the blogging world. I guess I really just needed to find a niche and go with it. So my niche is "Filling My Freezer". I love freezer cooking. I don't really know why I like it so much, I just do.

I started freezer cooking almost 3 years ago. I had heard of "Once a Month Cooking", but the thought of lots of casseroles and repeat meals all month never appealed to me. Then I found the book, "Don't Panic, Dinner's in the Freezer" by and that changed my life. The idea of the books was to find some friends that you would like to hang out with and make freezer meals together. Easy enough and it sounded like fun. I talked my mom, sister and cousin into joining my new adventure. We all had so much fun that we kept doing it every month. Then we would tell people about it and they would want to join as well. I ended up, at one point in time, having 15 people in my little kitchen making freezer meals!

My adventure eventually landed me a call from Rachel Ray's producer of her talk show and a story in our local newspaper. We never did make it on to RR's show, but we had a blast making our video for her. You never know, she could still change her mind and want us to be on the show :o)

I decided to start this blog to have a place to chat about our once a month "Cooking Day" and to write down all of the recipes that we use. People are always asking for my recipes and I am more than willing to give them out.

My plan is to post 1 or two recipes a week, maybe more if I have time. I will also post about messes and successes that I have encountered while cooking. I will probably, from time to time, post pics of my adorable children as well because I like to show them off!

So sit back and relax and enjoy the show. Oh, and hey, if you ever have questions or comments about any of the recipes or tips I share let me know, I am here to live and learn!

One more thing, I am by no means a writer of any type. So you will often find typos and sentences that make no sense whatever. I am a red-head, need I say more? Feel free to laugh at my mistakes and poke fun at me. I have a big sister and am use to it :o)

Have fun Cooking~

howiesgal