14 Freezer Meals in a Snap

As a teacher, I'll be going back to work next week. Where did summer vacation go?? I knew I needed to get organized so weeknights won't be too crazy for us. So, I took some of my favorite recipes and make them freezer-ready. It will be a snap to sit them out the night before to thaw, and then either throw them in the crockpot for the day or into the oven when I get home. Yippee for easy!

Since it's just the three of us- my hubby, my one-year old, and myself- I was able to split many of the casserole-style meals into two or even three meals. Dollar Tree has these great 5x7 foil pans that come with lids- 3 for $1! So the cheesy ham and potato casserole and pizza pie I split into three pans. Also, the scalloped potatoes with ham and broccoli, rice, and chicken casserole were split into 8x8 pans instead of a 9x13. For the sake of simplicity in the recipes, I'll let you divide them if you want to and not include that in the directions. Of course the crockpot meals are just in a gallon freezer bag until it's time to thaw and cook.

I'll list all the meals, then give directions for each. These are simple meals with everyday items, and I tried to include many meats instead of just chicken. I hope they make your life easier! 

1. Broccoli, rice, and chicken casserole
2. Scalloped potatoes with ham casserole
3. Pizza pie 
4. Lasagna
5. Cheesy ham and potato casserole
6. Sloppy joes- ground turkey
7. Tacos- ground turkey
8. Sweet n sour turkey meatballs 
9. Shredded beef sandwiches
10. Veggie beef stew 
11. Chicken teriyaki 
12. Pineapple salsa chicken
13. Pork stew with veggies
14. BBQ pulled pork

Before you begin, be sure to check all your ingredients and have disposable pans or freezer bags ready. To save time in assembly, think about what needs to pre-cook (like potatoes in the scalloped potatoes, spaghetti noodles, rice, and ground turkey) and start those going while you chop away at everything else. Another thing, not all these recipes include the vegetable for the meal, so be sure to keep veggies handy to serve with the meal. For me, this means pulling a can of green beans from my home-canned stash or thawing some frozen veggies from my garden. 

1. Broccoli, rice, and chicken casserole

4 cups cooked rice (prepare 2 cups dry according to package directions)

2 cans cream of chicken soup 

2 cups milk

1/4 cup melted butter 

1 tsp celery salt 

2 cans canned chicken (or cook and shred 2 chicken breasts)

1 bag frozen broccoli

salt and pepper to taste

Cook rice according to package directions to yield 4 cups cook rice. Meanwhile, combine soup, milk, butter, and spices. Mix cooked rice, broccoli, and chicken in disposable 9x13 pan and pour sauce over top of  rice layer. Cover with foil and label. Thaw the night before and cook at 350 until warm in center, about 45 minutes. 

2. Scalloped potatoes with ham casserole

2 cans cream of mushroom soup 

2 cups milk

1/4 cup melted butter 

2 cups chopped ham (or turkey ham, or sausage) 

8-10 potatoes, cut into slices

salt, pepper, and minced onion to taste

Wash potatoes and cut into 1/2 inch slices. Boil in large saucepan until nearly tender and drain. Meanwhile, combine soup, milk, butter, and spices. Arrange potatoes and ham in disposable 9x13 pan and cover with foil. Label. Thaw the night before and cook at 350 until browned and warm in center, about 45 minutes. 

3. Pizza pie 

2 eggs 

2 cups mozzarella cheese 

1 cup parmesan cheese

1 cup cottage cheese 

1 cup melted butter 

1 package pepperoni

1 lb spaghetti noodles, cooked

2 jars pizza sauce 

Combine eggs, butter, parmesan, and 1 cup mozzarella in large bowl. Add noodle carefully. Layer noodle mixture into 9x13 disposable pan. Layer pepperoni pieces on top of noodles. Cover pepperoni layer with pizza sauce and top with 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil, label, and freeze. Thaw overnight and cook at 350 until warm in center, about 45 minutes. 

4. Lasagna- follow your favorite recipe- or- 

1 package whole wheat lasagna noodles, uncooked 

2 large cans spaghetti sauce

2 cups water 

3 cups cottage cheese

2 cups parmesan cheese

1 cup mozzarella cheese 

2 eggs 

1 teaspoon garlic

1 teaspoon parsley 

Mix water and spaghetti sauce (water will absorb so you don't need to cook the noodles). Mix cheeses, eggs, and spices. Alternate layers of noodles, sauce, and cheese three times. Top with additional mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and freeze. Thaw overnight and cook at 350 until done in center, about 45-60 minutes. 

5. Cheesy ham and potato casserole

2 cans cheddar soup 

2 cups milk

1/4 cup melted butter 

2 cups chopped ham (or turkey ham) 

1 bag tater tots

salt, pepper, and parsley to taste

Mix soup, milk, butter, and spices in large bowl. Add tater tots and ham. Place in disposable 9x13 pan and cover with foil. Label. Thaw the night before and cook at 350 until browned and warm in center, about 45 minutes. 

6. Sloppy joes- ground turkey

1 lb ground turkey

1 cup ketchup

3/4 cup brown sugar

red pepper flakes (optional)

Brown ground turkey. Drain if needed. Add ketchup and brown sugar to ground turkey in pan and stir until dissolved. Taste test for the right amount of sweet or tartness that you desire, adding red pepper flakes for a kick if you like. Cool enough to handle and seal in quart size freezer bag. Label. Thaw and serve on buns or with tortilla chips and cheddar cheese. 

7. Tacos- ground turkey

1 lb ground turkey

1 package taco seasoning 

Brown ground turkey. Drain if needed. Make taco sauce according to package directions. Cool enough to handle and seal in quart size freezer bag. Label. Thaw and serve with tacos or tortilla chips and your favorite toppings. 

8. Sweet n sour turkey meatballs 

30-40 pre-cooked meatballs (I get the turkey meatballs from Aldi)

1 cup Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce 

1 can chunk pineapple, drained (save juice for chicken teriyaki recipe later) 

1 cup ketchup or 1 can tomato sauce 

Combine BBQ sauce, ketchup, and chunk pineapple in gallon freezer bag. Add meatballs. Label. Thaw and heat in microwave or in a pot and serve over rice. 

9. Shredded beef sandwiches1-2 lbs beef stew meat 

1 cup Italian salad dressing

1 package dry onion soup mix (or 1 tablespoon minced onion) 

2 tablespoons yellow mustard

1 beef bullion cube

garlic, salt, pepper to taste 

Combine all ingredients in a gallon freezer bag and mix. Label and freeze. Thaw the night before and cook on low in crock pot 6-8 hours. Shred beef for sandwiches and serve on onion buns (or whatever buns or bread you have). 

10. Veggie beef stew 1-2 lbs stew meat

3-4 chopped, cubed potatoes

1/2 bag baby carrots

1 cup (or can) green beans 

1 cup (or can) corn 

2 pints tomato juice or stewed tomatoes (I used my home-canned juice)

1 beef bullion cube 

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon minced onion

salt and pepper 

Chop stew meat if needed. Combine all ingredients in gallon freezer bag, seal, and label. Thaw the night before and cook on low in crock pot 6-8 hours. Serve with bread or biscuits. 

11. Chicken teriyaki 2-4 chicken breasts

6 oz pineapple juice

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon ginger

1 tablespoon garlic

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Combine all but chicken in a gallon freezer bag and mix. Add chicken. Label and freeze. Thaw overnight and cook on low in crock pot 6-8 hours. Serve over rice. 

12. Pineapple salsa chicken

2-4 chicken breasts

1 can pineapple salsa

Combine salsa and chicken in a gallon freezer bag. Label and freeze. Thaw overnight and cook in crock pot on low 6-8 hours. Serve over rice. 

13. Pork stew with veggies

1-2 lbs pork stew meat or country style boneless ribs, cut into cubes

1 chicken bullion cube

1 cup water 

1 teaspoon marjoram

1 teaspoon parsley

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

5-6 potatoes, cubed

1/2 bag baby carrots

Combine water, bullion, and spices in a gallon freezer bag. Add pork, potatoes, and carrots. Seal, label, and freeze. Thaw overnight and cook in crock pot on low 6-8 hours. Serve with cornbread or biscuits. 

14. BBQ pulled pork

1-2 lbs pork stew meat or country style boneless ribs

1 cup Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce (or your favorite sauce)

Combine pork and BBQ sauce in a gallon freezer bag. Label and freeze. Thaw the night before and cook in crock pot on low 6-8 hours. Serve on buns. 

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There you go!! Let me know what you think, and if you have questions leave them below! 

Garden 2015: First Picks!

I officially picked the first produce from my garden this week: zucchini and yellow squash. I have four plants each and they are doing great. I have blooms on my peas and green beans, and I think they will be ripe next. My tomatoes, peppers, and melon still have a way to go, but that's just fine. I can't can them all at once anyways. I'm still having trouble with worms on my broccoli plants, even though I have used diatomaceous earth quite a bit on them. The leaves just look like skeletons! 

Since it's been raining so much, I put straw down under some of the plants. I hope this helps, especially with the zucchini and squash. It's the first time I have used it, although my dad uses it every year on his garden, especially for the strawberries. I'm also afraid that my cucumber volunteers, which I transplanted, aren't going to produce. They were doing well at first but are now looking sorry, perhaps due to the rain as well. 

My tomato plants were very leafy, so I took my dad's advice to trim down some of the suckers. I'm hoping I didn't trim too much. It seems like an easy task, but I kept worrying I didn't get the right shoots. I figured that it couldn't hurt to try, since the past few years I didn't get much doing what I've been doing. While I try to read and research, sometimes I feel like the garden is such a trial and error thing.... some years are great for certain plants, but not others. I supposed I just have to figure out the climate, plus how the sun hits my garden and things like that. I really doing enjoy it! Well, everything but the weeds! 

Garden 2015

I have a good feeling about our garden this year. 

First of all, Justin, with the help of my dad (nailing boards) and our neighbor (designing the gate), put up and awesome fence with chicken wire backing. The posts are also cemented in the ground and it has a 8 inch barrier below the fence line to hinder those under-the-fence diggers. I'm hopeful that this will really help with our wildlife problem that we've faced the last few years. I also made some cute hanging baskets with marigolds and ivy just for fun. 

Second, I put the seeds (or plants in some cases) in about three weeks ago. We've had both sun and rain, and most seem to be doing well. For plants, I put in two peppers, four broccoli, four yellow squash, four zucchini, peas, spinach, parsley, green beans, tomatoes, honeydew and musk mellon. My first round of spinach didn't come up so I replanted this week to see if it would take, though I researched a bit and am worried I might be a little too late for the season. My melons didn't seem to take either, so I replanted those too. I did, however, has quite a few cucumber volunteers in random places, so I transplanted them and they seem to be doing fine. I am hoping to have peas in a few weeks. Green beans will probably be next, although I always seem to have trouble with bugs at the beginning, even though I used diatomaceous earth on them. Humph! Hopefully they will be alright though. 

Now it's just a waiting game and trying to keep up with the weeds, which I seem to have such trouble with! Gee thanks, Adam, for making us all struggle with the earth... 

Here's some pics of everything: 

  Left two rows: peas                                   Right two rows: broccoli, squash, zucchini  

 Left row: tomatoes                            Right two rows: green beans

1st Avenger Birthday Party

For Ansel's 1st birthday, we went with a 1st Avenger Party theme. It just seemed to fit since he was stuck in his helmet for half of his first year anyways! :) I had fun with a lot of the details, from the invites to the scrapbook table to the cupcakes. It was awesome to have lots of family come too!

1st Avenger Invites                                       Scrapbook Table  

 Drink Table

Food Area

Treat Table

 Photo Booth

Easy, No Bake, Fiber-and-Protein Filled Granola Bars!

Summer's here and that means more time to experiment in the kitchen for this teacher! So I tried these granola bars, and they aren't for the faint of heart. Chewy, nutty, sweet-n-salty goodness explode from this yummy bar. While they aren't low on calories or sugar, they do have a lot of other good stuff in them- oatmeal, flax seed, chia seeds, nuts, and sunflower seeds. You could certainly add more chia seeds or flax seed if you wanted to. I haven't tried substituting corn syrup for honey, but I'm sure you could do that as well. The best I could determine, one bar (recipe makes six) is about 360 calories with 4.5 grams of fiber and 7.5 grams of protein. You could of course cut into smaller pieces for smaller snacks.

Kate's Granola Bars

1. Line 4x8 loaf pan with aluminum foil for easy cleaning and cutting. Set aside.

2. In large bowl, mix to following and set aside:
1 1/2 c. oatmeal
1/4 c. sunflower seeds
1/2 c. crushed nuts (peanuts, mixed, whatever you like)
1 T. chia seeds
2 T. flax seed

3. In large saucepan, bring to boil and boil for 30 seconds:
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. Karo corn syrup

4. Remove from burner and mix in peanut butter, working quickly:
1/3 c. peanut butter

5. Working quickly, add oatmeal mixture and stir until completely covered. Pour out into loaf pan and let cool. Cut into six pieces (for calorie count above). Store in airtight container.

If desired, drizzle with white chocolate melting candy.

I "Found" Poems!

Found poems are a really stellar form of writing. You can make them using text from just about anything. While I personally like using cut-out words from magazines, you can also use the page from an old novel, or just about anything in print. I like using words I find in magazines because I can cut out lots of options (nouns, verbs, prepositions), and then put them together into the phrases that I like. Using a page from a novel is more challenging, in my opinion, because the author of the poem should go in order of the text on the page, choosing just the words they want to write the new poem. While there are some general guidelines for the various versions of found poetry (see here and here), there is a ton of freedom to create. I had my students write found poems in class this semester, and I was so inspired that I wrote a couple of my own. One for a dear friend having a baby, one for my husband for Valentine's Day, and one for a single mom. I really like how they all turned out. Go try one yourself!!

Hara Arena Skybox Party Suite Review

For my husband's birthday, I rented the Skybox Party Suite at Hara Arena for a game. The website promised "the ultimate party or business entertainment experience in Dayton," so I was excited to surprise my husband. Unfortunately, I was disappointed.

While I was happy with the communication while I was arranging the night, both via email and on the phone. It was explained to me that the party suite was private and we would have our own area. I asked for some simple decorations, balloons and a sign, along with pizza, sodas, and chips and dip. They didn't mind that I wanted to bring our own cupcakes to celebrate. I paid over the phone and was told that someone would be there to meet us.

However, when I arrived, I knew things weren't going to quite be what I expected. At the ticket window, the attendant found our tickets and told us to "walk through that way" to find the person who would take us to the Skybox. After proceeding through the gate, many vendors where around and, confused, I had to find someone to show us where to go. He led us around the arena to find the man I coordinated with, who took us up to the Skybox. We passed the "lounge area" that is advertised and it is in much need of repair. Overall it just looked run down- old carpet, needed paint- and there were actually issues with a leak and I could hear water dripping. We of course didn't have a large group so we went past that area and up a spiral staircase to the Skybox. I was surprised to find that this area was only about six feed wide and ran the length of the stadium. About a third of one end of this area was the "party suite." You can see the picture below. Nowhere near a suite in my mind!! We had to cross over people from the press reporting on the game to get to our area and it was definitely not sectioned off.  Looking up, you could see moldy ceiling tiles. Yikes.

Besides the appearance of the area, items that were specified in the email were not followed. I asked for balloons and a happy birthday sign. Simple, right? I guess not. I got a happy birthday tablecloth, cheap plastic centerpiece, plate and napkins, and sign taped to the overhead area. While it was better than nothing, I was disappointed. The pizza we ordered from the arena was tasty, but the chips and dip were in questionable plastic containers. Maybe I'm being picky, but they just didn't look nice.... for example, goopy reside remained on the outside of a bowl where it looked like a tag had been torn off. Not so appetizing.... Also, I specified root beer for the sodas and we got Pepsi and lemonade. I know that this seem small, but when they add up together it wasn't the special birthday that I was hoping for. At least I was only charged $50 since it was just the two of us, instead of the $100 the website listed. (To clarify, the pizza, chips and dip, sodas, decorations, and higher price tickets were in addition to that price.)

The game itself was entertaining to watch and I enjoyed that part of the evening. The view was nice from the highest point in the stadium. Next time though, I would save my money and sit in the regular seats! Now I know why there were no pictures posted on the website. The Hara Arena Skybox Party Suite definitely fell short of  my expectations. I wouldn't pay for it again.

8 Months Old!

Wow, I can't believe that Ansel is 8 months old tomorrow. It goes so fast, but I love seeing him grow up. It is absolutely fascinating to watch his little self get bigger, reach higher, smile broader, snuggle deeper. What a blessing!

After our meeting with the neuro-specialist, we mutually agreed that his torticollis was much improved and we did not need physical therapy any more. Of course we will still do therapy stretches and exercises at home, but will not be going to the doctor for therapy. (This will save a pretty penny at $100 a pop!) He's doing great developmentally, rolling, reaching, sitting up (when placed in a sitting position), picking up small objects, looking towards sounds, smiling, giggling, and saying "mama" and "dada" at random. It's so funny because he won't stay on his tummy for long before he is rolling across the room. He has also shown signs of wanting to push up to his knees in a crawling position, so I think that will be starting in the next month or so!!

Ansel is still breastfeeding four times a day, but eats solids at lunch and dinner. Lunch is usually rice or oatmeal with a fruit or veggie. Dinner is a kid-friendly version of what we are having. You should have seen him scarfing down pasta and sauce last night. He sure loves his food!

I continued to push his bedtime back little by little, and now he sleeps 11 1/2 to 12 hours. He's in bed at 7:30 PM and sleeps until 7:30 PM on weekends. During the week we usually have to load up to go to the sitters a little after 7:00. Still, what a great chunk of time! His morning nap is about an hour and afternoon naps are around 2 hours.

Since Justin has a Captain America frisbee/shield, I had to do some cute pictures. Here they are!

2015 Goals

I wouldn't say these are resolutions.... more like goals I'm aiming for. I figured that it would be good to document them. I'm not sure that the order is in any significance. Hopefully I can come back and update as the year progresses.

1. Read a book every day to my baby Ansel.
2. Love my husband and show him in every way I can.
3. Lose 10 pounds. 
4. Pay off my car and Justin's school loan (about $8,500 all together).
5. Go somewhere beachy for our 6th wedding anniversary and wear a bikini again.
6. Finish revisions and send my memoir to a publisher until it gets accepted.
7. Make it a year breastfeeding.
8. Run a 10 K.
9. Start my Doctor of Education.
10. Add at least $10,000 to our savings.
11. Start investing.  

Week 6 in the Cranial Remolding Helmet for Plagiocephaly

 Ansel has already worn the cranial remolding helmet for his plagiocephaly for six weeks! We are already seeing drastic improvements. In fact, if it did not improve any more, I think I could be content with it. (Except for his ear placement- more on that later) The back left of his head doesn't feel or look so flat anymore. Looking from above, we already see the parallelogram shape coming back into a circle. Guess it was worth the money!! :)

On Monday this week, Ansel was a little fussy in the morning. Usually we leave the helmet on all day until we clean it in the evening, but I decided to take it off anyway. To my chagrin, he had a "hotspot" as they call it. The skin looked like a bright red side burn and close to blistering. See below.  I decided I wasn't putting it back on until we figured it out. I gave it that day to air out, but when it was still red on Tuesday morning (even though the helmet had been off a whole day) I called the Hangar Clinic and they got him in right away. They shaved out some more of the foam on the left, and we put it back on. By the afternoon the skin just looked dry and a little flaky from whatever reaction it had. They also suggested using cornstarch if it seemed to be rubbing again.

I keep trying to figure out what caused the hot spot. Did he sleep on it and the extra sweat/no air irritate it? Did we not get that part clean enough in the daily wash? Was it too small because of a growth spurt? We still aren't sure, but I'm glad he's not having any more issues with the hot spot.

However, his head does seem dry, somewhat like the cradle cap that he had around a month old. We tried putting Aveeno baby lotion on his head as recommended by the specialist, but his hair is so long it just seemed like a goopy mess. It's kinda hard to rub lotion through hair, ya know? Then we tried to let it "dry out" before the helmet went on, but his hair still had the lotion in it. I don't know, I'm still not sure it was effective anyway. I just feel bad when he reaches up like he wants to scratch his head...poor baby. Tonight I just scrubbed it really good in the bath and I hope that helps. Perhaps it's just the dry winter weather.

His ears worry me too. They are still not aligned. I hope as his head keeps shifting they will move more into place. At least they are even horizontally if you are looking at him from the front. It's really just when you look at him from above that you notice one ear is closer to his eye than another.

Hopefully we only have to wear the helmet another two months or so, at least during the day when we go out. Overall people just ignore it, and those who do say something aren't rude. It's funny, actually, because they either think I'm trying to dress him up like a football player, or they recognize the Captain America logo. But they aren't rude so it doesn't bother me too much. I'm definitely looking forward to when he doesn't have to wear it though!! The whole ordeal is really an issue of me trusting God. And also realizing that maybe I put too much stock in a "normal" appearance... As the Bible says, "Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart."