Lots of Freezer Meals for Summer

I was getting tired of cooking...every...single...day!  So I scoured my pinterest boards and found several freezer crockpot meals.  I spent a couple of days gathering supplies and ingredients, then spent a Sunday afternoon prepping it all.  I ended up with 26 bags that included 15 different meals.  I'm guessing that with vacation, eating out, and dinner at my sister's, I won't need to cook again until school starts.  (At which time, I will probably do it all again.)

Everything ready to go

 I made sure to label my bags before I filled them.  I used a tall plastic container to support the bag while I filled it.  Then I laid the bags flat for the freezer.

Most of the meals were chicken but I also had some ground beef options too.  I also made sure that I had a few soups because that's what we usually have on Sundays.  All the meals were slow cooker ones as well except for one grilled option and one baked casserole item.

I'll keep track of the ones we like so that I do it again in a couple of months.  Below are links to some of the recipes I used:
Honey Lemon Garlic Chicken
Creamy Italian Chicken
Quick and Easy Taco Soup
Cilantro Lime Chicken
Chicken Broccoli Alfredo
Hawaiian Chicken
Teriyaki Chicken
Honey Rosemary Chicken
BBQ Chicken
Chicken Fajitas

These I don't have links for and don't remember where I found them (but I do have the recipes written down):
Thai Chicken Wings with Peanut Sauce
Meatballs Stroganoff
Mexican Chicken Tortilla Soup
Cheese Tortellini
Taco Chili

Another plus to this process is that I finally did some organizing on my pinterest boards.  Initially, I had one board for all my recipes, now I've broken it down into categories...much easier to find them now.

Meal Plan Monday December

Here are some of our fall favorites:

Pumpkin Pie from fresh pumpkins

Roasting the pumpkin seeds

Souper Sundays

Taco Soup

Quesodillas for soup

Meal Plan September 30

So Paul is done with his 21 day challenge but he's going to continue eating mostly the prepared meals for dinner.  Although, I like when we can eat the same foods altogether, October is a busy month for him so he probably won't be home for dinner anyway.  I do think we've worked out a good system with my sister.  She's in charge of dinner 2 days a week and I do at least 2.  Sometimes, I might also do anther night with just the kids (just depends on the schedule).

chicken alfredo pot pie

I have also decided to stop trying to make new and different dinners.  The kids really don't care and neither do I.  So we have staples each week and then I'll try one new recipe.  Here's the staples: pizza & salad, tacos (chicken or beef), spaghetti.  I also save one night for leftovers (aka Clean Out Refrigerator Night CORN and You're Own Your Own YOYO).  I'm also letting the kids help more.  Logan George fixed the entire lunch for him and Sophie Rose one Saturday.

SR cutting her own snack banana

Here's the plan for the next week:
Monday: Pizza night (Paul and the boys have a school function that include pizza too)
Tuesday: Aunt Kelly's Café
Wednesday:  Slow Cooker Parmesan Chicken
Thursday: Chicken Tacos (although I may switch to beef depending on what we have at Kelly's)
Friday: Hot Dogs and Crepes
Saturday: Spaghetti and Meatballs
Sunday:  CORN/YOYO

Japanese-style fried chicken for movie night

This week we are having a sleepover movie night with the cousins.  I try to work the menu around the movie.  The school lunch menu is kind of funny, some weeks LG will buy 4 times, other's it's just pizza on Friday.  Sophie Rose has actually started eating breakfast some mornings so I've tried to accommodate her in the mornings.

Happy Eating!

Menu Plan Monday September 16

We've done pretty good about sticking with the plan.  With Paul on his special meal plan, I have decided there's not much point in trying new recipes.  The kids don't care and without him enjoying why put out all that effort.  My sister and I are still working out the schedule but I think we've got it mostly down.  She's going to cook dinner for all of us at least once a week and I will do the same.  There may be some other days where we are together for breakfast too.  On those mornings, I schedule toaster strudel (because my nephew likes them) or cereal (because that's easy with 4 kids to feed).  I only have to pack lunch for Sophie Rose twice a week so those days are set with turkey tortilla roll-ups or tuna fishy sandwiches.  If Logan George isn't buying those days that's what he gets (plus he buys pizza every Friday for lunch).

I'm working on my menus for movie nights (which will probably happen every week now that the media room is all done).  So here's the basic breakdown of meals...I just plug them in depending on the specific week's activities:
Pizza (frozen, homemade, out, or delivery)
Movie Night Menu
Aunt Kelly's Café
Something Fishy
Spaghetti & Meat Sauce OR Beef Tacos
Cluck, Cluck Chicken
Extra Special (which could be eating out, or just a regular dinner)
The Extra Special main ingredient (beef, chicken, pork, fish) will be determined based on the other meals.

The specifics for this week include: frozen pizza, fish tacos, enchilada casserole, spaghetti, honey mustard baked chicken, chicken katsu, and something chicken at Kelly's.

Meal Plan September 9

Paul is on his 21 Day Challenge so I only have to cook for me and the kids.    Here's the plan for this week:

• Pulled Pork Sandwiches at Aunt Kelly's
• Chicken Alfredo Pot Pies
• Spaghetti and Meat Sauce
• Ekrich Sausage and Sauerkraut
• Fish Tacos
• Chinese Chicken and Rice
• Frozen Pizza

I'm rotating through the same breakfast options with cereal as the back-up if time is tight.  And LG is buying his lunch some so we can determine which meals he likes.

Here's a few pics from last week:

Tuscan Chicken

Fruit Kabobs for our Sleepover

Hawaiian Chicken

Meal Plan Monday Labor Day Edition

I did pretty well sticking with my plan last week.  I ended up not having to cook a couple of nights because we went to the mother-in-laws and she sent food home for us.  Here's a few pics from the week:

DIY Yogurt Parfaits

Apple Cider Glazed Stuffed Chicken 

I got a few recipes from here.

My Smothered Chicken

Their Smothered Chicken

The kids actually liked the cider chicken but I don't really understand why it needs to be stuffed.  It just comes apart when you cut it to eat, so why not just make it into a regular casserole?  The smothered chicken was A LOT of work for a slow cooker meal.  I had to cook before and after the slow cooking part and it was even that great, kind of bland.  If it had been a true slow cooker meal, i.e. throw these thing in the pot and go, it might be worth it.

So on to this week:
Monday:  hot dogs (we were going to grill, but the igniter was broken)
Tuesday:  pot roast and mac & cheese (Sophie Rose's request for the first day of school)
Wednesday: Tuscan garlic chicken skillet (from the Kraft magazine)
Thursday: panko crusted tilapia (one of the meals we didn't do last week)
Friday: Hawaiian chicken for Lilo & Stitch movie night
Saturday:  wedding
Sunday:  Aunt Doris enchilada casserole (I'll double this and freeze for later)

Logan George is only buying one day this week, so I've planned his lunches (of course, he didn't have school Monday) and now Sophie Rose has preschool so I've added her lunches to the plan.  I chose a slow-cooker meal for Tuesday because it's the first day of preschool and there is a meeting that night, so I wanted it to be easy for me.  Sunday may get changed since we will be spending the night at the mother-in-laws (after the wedding) and she will probably send home food again.  I also have one other meal from last week that I could make but I checked to be sure the ingredients will keep and it will be one of the first one's next time.

MPM Meal Plan Monday Back-to-School Edition

Yay! School has started.  I have been ready for this day.  We all needed the structure that school brings with it. I do realize that some of my days are going to be crazy-busy so I decided to go ahead and plan out all the meals (and even some of the snacks).  I'm also trying really hard to not eat out as much (hey, we have this great new house, we should enjoy it).  One great thing about LG's new school is that the lunch menu for the whole year is online, also SR will have snacks covered once she starts preschool next week.

So, here's the week's plan:
Monday:  (B) egg sandwich, (L) turkey tortilla roll-up, (S) granola bar & cookies, (D) Chinese chicken stir-fry
Tuesday: (B) yogurt parfaits, (L) buy or PB&J, (S) snack crackers & fruit smoothies, (D) chicken bruschetta
Wednesday: (B) cereal bar & yogurt drink, (L) tuna fishy sandwich, (S) teddy grahams & granola bar, (D) cider-glazed stuffed chicken
Thursday: (B) waffles, (L) noodles, (S) granola bar & fruit, (D) spaghetti & meat sauce
Friday: (B) cereal, (L) buy, (S) cookies & trail mix, (D) slow-cooker smothered chicken
Saturday: (B) hard-boiled eggs, (D) enchilada casserole
Sunday: (B) oatmeal, (D) chicken alfredo pot pies

I stocked up at the grocery store before this week but I really should have taken better inventory because I have a lot of food, especially snack foods for the kids and ground beef.  Next week's menu will definitely use the stuff already in my pantry and freezer.  I've also found that I need to make more to accommodate sharing meals with my sister and her kids (or for leftovers for Paul's lunch). Paul is starting a new food plan (aka diet) soon so I don't really have to worry about his meals (at least for a while).  I tried to choose dinner meals from a variety of resources, including Pinterest, Kraft magazine, family recipes, and cookbooks.  Once we get into the groove of the routine, my sister and I will probably do some freezer meals.

I actually used a lunch box planner I found online to completely plan out LG's packed lunches.  This will make my mornings go a little smoother.  I actually broke down the lunch options and wrote them on the back so I would include a variety of items.  Options include: main item (sandwich, soup, etc.), veggies, fruits, dairy, "treat" which includes chips, cookies, rice cakes, crackers, granola bars.  Snacks can be from any of the items with anything peanut saved for after school since he's in a peanut-free room.  Both kids will have the same lunch unless LG buys then SR will have PB&J or we'll eat out.

Meal Planning Summer Edition

With the move this summer, my meal planning has been a little crazy.  I've tried to create the plans, but I've known I wouldn't be able to stay on track.  And I was okay with that.  There were several days where we ate out everyday because everything was packed or the fridge hadn't been delivered or whatever.  Some days, the time just got away from me as I got busy unpacking boxes.  We also didn't have internet service for almost a month so I reverted to cookbooks for recipe inspirations.  I actually kind of like using the books and I even started making notes in them, including the date I made the dish as well as any substitutions I made.  Here's some of this summer's meals:

Bacon wrapped chicken

Muffins for breakfast

Chicken paprikas

Tempura battered chicken

I do think I may change up my planning a bit.  Previously, I would grocery shop on the weekends so I would plan Monday to Sunday, but Sophie Rose will be in preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays so I think I'll switch my shopping to one of those days and plan accordingly.

Meal Plan Monday

It has been so long since I posted my menu but I do try to create one each week.  Some weeks are better than others but I have found that we eat out less and eat better when I have a plan even if we don't stick to it exactly.  This past week was terrible we ate out everyday, but it was the last week of preschool and I had been working (filling in for the director who was out for surgery).  There were lots of things that I let slide this week knowing that it was just temporary.  Now that work is over, I'm ready to get back into planning.  As we prepare to move, I'll also start looking at what I have in the freezer and pantry and try to use up as much as I can (so I have to pack and move less).  With that in mind, I've included breakfasts and lunches on school days in the planning this week.

Monday: Yogurt; Turkey Tortilla Roll Up; Sweet & Spicy Bacon Chicken
Tuesday:  Cereal; Pizza; Grandma's Choice (since I'll be out of town)
Wednesday: Waffles; Tuna Fishy Sandwich; Oven Tacos
Thursday: Hard Boiled Eggs; Corn Dogs; Apricot Stuffed Chicken
Friday: Oatmeal; Pizza or PBJ; Taco Pasta
Saturday: Tempura Chicken
Sunday: YOYO/CORN (you're on your own and clean out the refrigerator)

Here's a few pics I had of some recent meals/food:

Apricot Glazed Turkey Breast

Green Fruit Smoothie

Dinner at the Melting Pot

Menu Plan Monday April 29

I'm back to work for a few weeks so I've been making sure I do simple meals on work days.  Here's the plan this week:

Monday: Homemade Gourmet Chicken Taco Soup using pre-cooked chicken
Tuesday: Apple Glazed Turkey with veggies (recipe found on Pinterest)
Wednesday: Spaghetti and Marinara Sauce using the leftover sauce from last week in the freezer
Thursday: Crockpot Italian Chicken (another from Pinterest)
Friday: Crockpot Beef and Broccoli (Pinterest) or may be able to get my sister to make salmon patties
Saturday: Hawaiian Ham Sandwiches (Pinterest), we'll have guests so this should make plenty
Sunday: traditional post-birthday party dinner at Joe's Crab Shack

I've tried some Pinterest recipes the past few weeks.



Hasselback Scallop Potatoes were a lot of work...

but tasted really good!

Bananas with honey and cinnamon

Chicken supreme casserole

Pinterest Tuesday April 9

A couple of weeks ago I had some friends over and took the opportunity to try out some pinterest recipes.

I used small storage containers for the dip instead of cups so that Paul could easily take them to work for lunch.

Individual Seven-Layer Dips

I tried making crack bread.  It was really good but cutting the loaf was very difficult.

The "infused water" was more like raspberry limeade so I also made a simple sugar syrup for my guests to add to cut the tartness.

Fruit-Infused Water

I made ham-wrapped pickles like my cousin used to make.  I tried using the whipped cream cheese and it didn't work as well once I tried cutting them into slices.

 

I've made a similar toffee before but without the crackers.  This was fine but adding the crackers just added more effort and my other recipe tasted just as good.

Saltine Toffee

I've made a few other things too for the family.

These apple dumplings were so good.  We had plenty so I just warmed them in the microwave the next couple of days.  The vanilla ice cream is a must.

 

I found a website that has lots of recipes using shredded chicken and browned ground beef. I've made a few of those.

This Mexican chicken recipe was pretty good.

This teriyaki chicken recipe was the first time I tried using my rice cooker for more than just rice.

I also found a use for all the plastic eggs we have.  And the kids created these great mosaic crosses.

I found some very interesting information in this article and have since changed the way I write Sophie's name on her art work (using upper and lower-case letters).

I found uses for the fridge baking soda when I replaced it.

 

I'm trying a new way to help Logan with his sight words.  This site is for you to purchase the product but I just made my own with dollar store pretend money and an old envelope.

When I saw this idea I was giddy.  I've been hanging the kids clothes up in outfits since Sophie was a baby.  I know it drives my mom crazy that there isn't a drawer for her to go to, to find clothes, but it works for me and them.

I found a new way to where my scarves.

 

What awesomeness have you found on Pinterest?

Meal Plan March 18

Last week was Spring Break so we had lots of meals away from home.  I was able to stick with the plan the week before and it worked out well including some meals that used pre-cooked chicken and ground beef.

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

Logan's school is starting a new program where they will serve breakfast in his classroom at the beginning of the day.  It's a free program and all we have to do is get to school 5 minutes earlier than normal.  He also buys his lunch 2-3 times a week so that takes care of so much of my menu.  Here's the plan for this week's dinners:
Sessler Salads
Chicken, Thyme and Tomatoes (I'll make extra to freeze for later.)
Mom's Salmon Patties (She's in town to help with the kids so of course, I've requested this meal.)
Freezer Crockpot meal (I have a couple left so I'm using those up.)
King Ranch Chicken (Pinned by the my friend who is sitting for me.)
We'll have a day of leftovers and also one where Paul will be in charge because I have plans.

I'm having a get together this weekend so I'll be checking my Pinterest board for some fun treats to serve.

Meal Plan Monday March 4

So here's what we had last week.
Monday: Mexican Chicken Casserole:  This was pretty good but I may try it in the crockpot next time.  I did it as the original site had it.

Tuesday:  Paula Dean's Spaghetti Casserole:  This was okay, not much difference than regular spaghetti and sauce but a bit more work.
Wednesday:  Sessler Salad: Spinach with feta, pecans, strawberries and a strawberry vinaigrette
Thursday: CORN
Friday:  Teriyaki Chicken and Rice
Saturday:  Turkey and Cucumber Wrap:  These were actually pretty good but don't know if the kids will like them (they were Grandma's).
Sunday:  Chili (my mom's recipe):  Everyone loves this.

Here's the plan for this week at least until we go on vacation:
Maple Glazed Chicken (freezer crockpot)
Broccoli Chicken Casserole (frozen shredded chicken)
Chicken Penne Pasta
Taco Bagel Bites (frozen browned beef): This is a make and freeze recipe so we'll eat what we want then freeze the rest.