Here in AZ Albertsons has ground beef(93% lean) for 1.77$/lb. This is a great price! If you have an Albersons around you should check it out. This is my stock up price!
Here's my ground beef plan:
I will buy around 40#'s.
10 lb's into meatballs
10 lb's into meatloaves
5 lb's into taco meat
6 lb's frozen in 1 1/2 lb chunks
rest into hamburger patties
Hamburger Pattie's
Make pattie's how you normally make your burgers, adding in whatever you normally do. I mix in s&p, hamburger seasoning(I use McCormick), onion, garlic and mushrooms. Freeze in hamburger form in packages sized for your family. I freeze 8, most will have smaller packages. I throw these on the grill straight from the freezer. It is so quick & simple to make burgers this way. Just add some buns (which I already keep in my freezer) and a side or 2 and dinner is done.
Taco Meat
I brown my ground beef along with whatever seasonings I choose. I have gotten a number of seasoning packets free with coupons, so that is what I have been using. I also add garlic, onion, and bell pepper. Once cooled I place in my foodsaver bags in meal sized portions. For us it's about 3 cups ground beef, most families will have smaller portions. Freeze. When ready to use you dump into a pan and heat on the stove top or heat in microwave.
Meatballs and Meatloaf
For the most part these 2 things are the same for me. I separate them in the last step to add ketchup to the meatloaf.
Mixture for both:
hamburger
bread crumbs
eggs
Italian seasoning
or fresh herbs (I like to use them when I get them from Bountifulbaskets.org)
Onion, garlic, carrot, celery, bell pepper (all through the food processor)
S&P
I mix this all together and separate into 2 even sections.
Meatballs:
I take the first half and make it into meat balls. Make your meatballs as even as possible. I use one of those little cookie scoops, but you could just eye ball it. I cook my meatballs before freezing, but you could freeze raw. If you freeze raw make sure you freeze them laid out on a cookie sheet before placing in a bag. If you don't do this you will end up with a bunch of meatballs all frozen together. If you cook before freezing, make sure to cool before placing in the freezer.
Meatloaf:
To the second half of the meat mix I add some ketchup and mix. I make these into little meatloaf cupcakes. I fill cupcake pans with the meat mix ad then put a little ketchup on top (my kids like it when I make the ketchup a :) face). Bake. Cool and place in foodsaver bags and freeze. My kids love these and because they are so small they don't take as long to reheat. If you are going to make a big meatloaf make sure you start defrosting the night before.
I hope this helps you plan a little for your freezer. I love to cook in bulk, it makes the weekdays so much quicker!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Making Chicken pot pie and thought I would finally post the recipe
I have already boiled 6 chickens and am doing the final 3 right now. The chickens have been boiled with carrots, onion, celery, S&P and saffron.
Once the chickens are cooked, remove them and all veggies from the pot.
1. Make the dough.
Recipe:
2 c flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 Tbls. Crisco
1 egg
1/3 cup water
Mix together all ingredients except water and egg to form a coarse dough.
Mix together water and egg separate.
Mix water and egg mixture into dough. Mix until a smooth dough forms.
Roll out very thin(less than ¼”) on a well floured surface. Cut into squares, I make mine about 2inX2in. Add to pot pie with potatoes.
2. Cut up carrots and potatoes(could use any veggies you like, my Gram only does potatoes, we like carrots so I add them) Other add in could be celery, sweet potatoes, onion. Add the veggies to broth along with the dough.
3. Simmer for about 1 hour until potatoes are cooked. Add S&P to taste. While this is cooking pick apart chicken.
4. Add chicken to a serving bowl and spoon broth with dough and veggies over and serve!
NOTE: If you add the chicken while still cooking it will fall apart.
I like to serve this with rye bread, but with the dough cooked into it you really don't need it.
Once the chickens are cooked, remove them and all veggies from the pot.
1. Make the dough.
Recipe:
2 c flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 Tbls. Crisco
1 egg
1/3 cup water
Mix together all ingredients except water and egg to form a coarse dough.
Mix together water and egg separate.
Mix water and egg mixture into dough. Mix until a smooth dough forms.
Roll out very thin(less than ¼”) on a well floured surface. Cut into squares, I make mine about 2inX2in. Add to pot pie with potatoes.
2. Cut up carrots and potatoes(could use any veggies you like, my Gram only does potatoes, we like carrots so I add them) Other add in could be celery, sweet potatoes, onion. Add the veggies to broth along with the dough.
3. Simmer for about 1 hour until potatoes are cooked. Add S&P to taste. While this is cooking pick apart chicken.
4. Add chicken to a serving bowl and spoon broth with dough and veggies over and serve!
NOTE: If you add the chicken while still cooking it will fall apart.
I like to serve this with rye bread, but with the dough cooked into it you really don't need it.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Chicken, Chicken, Chicken
I went shopping yesterday at Fresh&Easy here in Az. They have whole chikens on sale for .57/lb, which made them around 2$ each. I bought 9 to precook and freeze. So here's the plan.
My biggest pot will only do 3 whole chickens at a time, so I will boil them 3 at a time. I boil my chickens along with onion, carrots, celery and s&p. 3 of them will get boiled with Saffron as well, this will be for my chicken pot pie.
The first 3 chickens will be shredded and mixed with spices to be used in mexican food. I make tacos, enchilada's, enchilada casserole, quesidilla's and nacho's all with chicken. This will make 3 meals, maybe more, depending.
The next 3 chickens will be picked apart and frozen just like it is. I use this many ways, chicken in gravy over mashed potatoes, in my "tuna" macaroni salad, on top of green salads, just as it is with sides, chicken salad sammies, and chicken noodle soup.
The next 3 will be the ones boiled with Saffron as well. This is for my chicken pot pie. It is an old family recipe that is not your typical pot pie(I really need to remember to post the recipe). For this I pick apart the chicken into chunks and place in a bag, then pour the broth into a bag or container(I also make the dough) and freeze all three items together. This is a huge time saver for me.
Don't forget to save your broth from boiling the chickens! It makes great soup, gravy, or to add into other recipes!
My biggest pot will only do 3 whole chickens at a time, so I will boil them 3 at a time. I boil my chickens along with onion, carrots, celery and s&p. 3 of them will get boiled with Saffron as well, this will be for my chicken pot pie.
The first 3 chickens will be shredded and mixed with spices to be used in mexican food. I make tacos, enchilada's, enchilada casserole, quesidilla's and nacho's all with chicken. This will make 3 meals, maybe more, depending.
The next 3 chickens will be picked apart and frozen just like it is. I use this many ways, chicken in gravy over mashed potatoes, in my "tuna" macaroni salad, on top of green salads, just as it is with sides, chicken salad sammies, and chicken noodle soup.
The next 3 will be the ones boiled with Saffron as well. This is for my chicken pot pie. It is an old family recipe that is not your typical pot pie(I really need to remember to post the recipe). For this I pick apart the chicken into chunks and place in a bag, then pour the broth into a bag or container(I also make the dough) and freeze all three items together. This is a huge time saver for me.
Don't forget to save your broth from boiling the chickens! It makes great soup, gravy, or to add into other recipes!
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Summer flew by!
My kids start school one week from today! Ican't beleive my time with them is over. I will enjoy the peace when they are gone for the day, but I will miss them terribly.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Macaroni salad recipe
This is my family favorite. We all love it, it's super simple and great to just have in the fridge.
1 lb pasta shapes any kind is fine(I've been using free pasta I've been getting with coupons)
1 recipe of good seasons italian dressing*
15 oz(or so) sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
2 cans tuna or 1/2 lb cooked chicken
optional:
relish(I love!)
black olives
chopped cucumbers
chopped pickles
I boil the pasta, don't cook it too long. Drain and mix in a big bowl with the prepared good seasons dressing, tuna/chicken, and salt and pepper. Cool in the fridge. When it is completly cooled mix in the sour cream and any optional mix-ins. Enjoy!
It took some convincing to get my husband to try it as it's not your "normal" pasta salad, but once he did it is now something he requests often.
* The good seasons italian dressing is a packet mix of dressing. It is by the dips in the grocery store. Make it according to the directions on the packet.
I hope you enjoy!
1 lb pasta shapes any kind is fine(I've been using free pasta I've been getting with coupons)
1 recipe of good seasons italian dressing*
15 oz(or so) sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
2 cans tuna or 1/2 lb cooked chicken
optional:
relish(I love!)
black olives
chopped cucumbers
chopped pickles
I boil the pasta, don't cook it too long. Drain and mix in a big bowl with the prepared good seasons dressing, tuna/chicken, and salt and pepper. Cool in the fridge. When it is completly cooled mix in the sour cream and any optional mix-ins. Enjoy!
It took some convincing to get my husband to try it as it's not your "normal" pasta salad, but once he did it is now something he requests often.
* The good seasons italian dressing is a packet mix of dressing. It is by the dips in the grocery store. Make it according to the directions on the packet.
I hope you enjoy!
Still working on it...
I am frustrated with myself right now for letting the summer rush by me. I haven't gotten much done as my plans for the summer have changed. My kids are taking swim lessons and then we have been going to their cousins to swim for the afternoon so I have not been making lunch and dinner has been very last minute as we have been getting home around 5 pm. I have decided that this saturday I will sit down and figure out this summer better so hopefully next week I will have the summer menu planned and ready to go.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Lunch menu idea's
These are my lunch idea's I will be trying to put into my month long menu. I TRY to keep things as healthy and well rounded as possible.
All lunches include juice or milk to drink, something dairy- cheese stick/yogurt and chips or popcorn. When the kids come in from swimming I put out a tray of veggie's with dip for them to snack on while I finish up lunch. You can check out my other blog www.mylifewithmy5.blogspot.com to view my daily sched. with all my crazy kids.
#1 PBJ, my kids are not huge eaters of this, but it's so cheap and easy!
#2 Lunch meat sandwiches or roll-ups- my little 2 do not eat bread.
#3 Tuna/chicken macaroni salad- this is a family fav! My grandmother made it for me when I was little and it was always a get together food. It has always been tuna in my family, but recently I had made it, then realized I didn't have any tuna(the baby had hid it under the couch) so instead of running to the store I stuck some precooked chicken from my freezer in it and everyone loved it! It is a great filling and cold lunch. I will post the recipe soon.
#4 Chicken nugget/fish sticks, fries(no chips)
#5 Pasta w/ butter and cheese(no chips)- simple, but the kids love it!
#6 Baked sammies- I will post the recipe for this as well.
#7 Chicken/ tuna/ egg salad sandwiches- all super easy and yummy!
#8 Quesidilla's, beans, salsa
#9 Hummus with pita chips and veggie's to dip- You'd be surprised at how many kids love this!
#10 Hot dogs/ hamburgers
#11 mac and cheese(no chips)- what kid doesn't love mac n cheese!
My kids are big eaters and they love variety, so having the meals numbered will help to make sure I'm not repeating too often.
All lunches include juice or milk to drink, something dairy- cheese stick/yogurt and chips or popcorn. When the kids come in from swimming I put out a tray of veggie's with dip for them to snack on while I finish up lunch. You can check out my other blog www.mylifewithmy5.blogspot.com to view my daily sched. with all my crazy kids.
#1 PBJ, my kids are not huge eaters of this, but it's so cheap and easy!
#2 Lunch meat sandwiches or roll-ups- my little 2 do not eat bread.
#3 Tuna/chicken macaroni salad- this is a family fav! My grandmother made it for me when I was little and it was always a get together food. It has always been tuna in my family, but recently I had made it, then realized I didn't have any tuna(the baby had hid it under the couch) so instead of running to the store I stuck some precooked chicken from my freezer in it and everyone loved it! It is a great filling and cold lunch. I will post the recipe soon.
#4 Chicken nugget/fish sticks, fries(no chips)
#5 Pasta w/ butter and cheese(no chips)- simple, but the kids love it!
#6 Baked sammies- I will post the recipe for this as well.
#7 Chicken/ tuna/ egg salad sandwiches- all super easy and yummy!
#8 Quesidilla's, beans, salsa
#9 Hummus with pita chips and veggie's to dip- You'd be surprised at how many kids love this!
#10 Hot dogs/ hamburgers
#11 mac and cheese(no chips)- what kid doesn't love mac n cheese!
My kids are big eaters and they love variety, so having the meals numbered will help to make sure I'm not repeating too often.
Breakfast Idea's
These are our normal breakfast's. All include milk or 100% juice to drink and some fruit, an apple, banana, or some berrie's.
#1 Cereal
#2 Pancakes- normally choc. chip, no syrup, maybe some whip cream
#3 French toast- I like to make baked french toast, I will post the recipe soon
#4 Eggs- lots can be done with egg's, my kids love when I add ham or shredded beef from a pot roast. I try to add veggie's as well.
#5 Bagel's with cream cheese
#6 Yogurt with fruit and granola- we LOVE greek yogurt and it's great to mix in your own fruit.
#7 Egg Sammies- I buy english muffins at the bread store, for around 2$, and pre-make some egg sandwiches. It's pretty simple just cook the egg, however you like it, put it on a toasted english muffin and add a slice of cheese. Wrap individualy in plastic wrap and put in all together in a ziploc freezer bag. They are inexpensive and ready to go in the micro for just a few minutes!
When I started witing down what they normally ate for breakfast it was pretty easy to come up with 7 breakfasts that the kids love and don't require a huge amount of work on my part. When I make my one month menu plan I will use these, it will be easy to see what #'s are being repeated to often.
#1 Cereal
#2 Pancakes- normally choc. chip, no syrup, maybe some whip cream
#3 French toast- I like to make baked french toast, I will post the recipe soon
#4 Eggs- lots can be done with egg's, my kids love when I add ham or shredded beef from a pot roast. I try to add veggie's as well.
#5 Bagel's with cream cheese
#6 Yogurt with fruit and granola- we LOVE greek yogurt and it's great to mix in your own fruit.
#7 Egg Sammies- I buy english muffins at the bread store, for around 2$, and pre-make some egg sandwiches. It's pretty simple just cook the egg, however you like it, put it on a toasted english muffin and add a slice of cheese. Wrap individualy in plastic wrap and put in all together in a ziploc freezer bag. They are inexpensive and ready to go in the micro for just a few minutes!
When I started witing down what they normally ate for breakfast it was pretty easy to come up with 7 breakfasts that the kids love and don't require a huge amount of work on my part. When I make my one month menu plan I will use these, it will be easy to see what #'s are being repeated to often.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
My freezer and pantry contents
I'm sure people are curious as to what I keep in my 2 freezers. I have 2 large freezers in my garage, one is an upright and the other is a chest. My freezer that is over my fridge in the house holds the food for a day or two and anything open, such as ice cream or snacks.
Freezer #1 is my chest freezer. This is my manual defrost, which is better for longer term storage than a frost free. In this freezer I keep the stuff that won't be used within a month. I try to pack all of my meats into food saver bags. I ONLY buy meats and other frozen item when they are at a GREAT price! I probably have enough meat in my freezer for 1 month of meals. Also, this is where I keep my prepared foods. I make huge pots of spaghetti sauce and chili and chicken pot pie {I will have to post the recipe for this later, not your typical pot pie} chicken noodle soup and stew/soup meals. These are packaged in either food saver bags or hard containers. This is my bigger freezer, so it also holds any overflow from freezer #2.
Freezer #2 is my upright, it is a frost free, so I keep mostly the foods that will be eaten with in a month. I keep all of our snack type foods in there, it makes it easier for the kids to get stuff out. Right now there are about 20 boxes of gogurt, I was lucky to find these for .50 each with coupons and a sale albertsons ran a few weeks ago, they are a lunch box fav around here. There are frozen pizzas, ice cream, frozen dinners, eggos, veggies, this weeks precooked dinner choices, and lots of cheese, also bought at a unbelievable price.
My above the fridge freezer holds all the open boxes of snacks, ice cream, pretzels, gogurt, and two nights dinners. It usually has some free space, so it can hold any over flow if there is any.
On Monday mornings I move the things I need for my planned meals out of freezer #1 to place in #2, Monday and Tuesday meals go straight in the house to the over the fridge. I reorganize and make sure everything for one meal is as together as it can be.
I have 3 pantries I use for food.
Laundry room:
Here I keep most of my baking supplies and any snacks I want out of the kids reach, overflow from this goes to my closet. I have a couple kids who if they got a hold of this stuff they would ever at real food again.
End of the hall: {technically supposed to be a linen closet}
I keep anything the kids can't or wouldn't want to open. Canned goods, condiments, sidedish mixes {think rice a roni}, boxed meal solutions, pastas.
Dining room:
This is where I keep anything that is open or that needs to be used quickly. The entire top shelf is filled with cereal. The second shelf is baking supplies, anything open, or with a close expiration date. I keep a bin on this shelf for small things, jello,nuts, choc chips. The 3rd shelf has 3 bins on it each containing different snacks, everything in single portions so he kids can grab and go. The 4th shelf has food items, anything I want to use soon goes here. The floor of this cabinet is where we keep soda/juice.
Freezer #1 is my chest freezer. This is my manual defrost, which is better for longer term storage than a frost free. In this freezer I keep the stuff that won't be used within a month. I try to pack all of my meats into food saver bags. I ONLY buy meats and other frozen item when they are at a GREAT price! I probably have enough meat in my freezer for 1 month of meals. Also, this is where I keep my prepared foods. I make huge pots of spaghetti sauce and chili and chicken pot pie {I will have to post the recipe for this later, not your typical pot pie} chicken noodle soup and stew/soup meals. These are packaged in either food saver bags or hard containers. This is my bigger freezer, so it also holds any overflow from freezer #2.
Freezer #2 is my upright, it is a frost free, so I keep mostly the foods that will be eaten with in a month. I keep all of our snack type foods in there, it makes it easier for the kids to get stuff out. Right now there are about 20 boxes of gogurt, I was lucky to find these for .50 each with coupons and a sale albertsons ran a few weeks ago, they are a lunch box fav around here. There are frozen pizzas, ice cream, frozen dinners, eggos, veggies, this weeks precooked dinner choices, and lots of cheese, also bought at a unbelievable price.
My above the fridge freezer holds all the open boxes of snacks, ice cream, pretzels, gogurt, and two nights dinners. It usually has some free space, so it can hold any over flow if there is any.
On Monday mornings I move the things I need for my planned meals out of freezer #1 to place in #2, Monday and Tuesday meals go straight in the house to the over the fridge. I reorganize and make sure everything for one meal is as together as it can be.
I have 3 pantries I use for food.
Laundry room:
Here I keep most of my baking supplies and any snacks I want out of the kids reach, overflow from this goes to my closet. I have a couple kids who if they got a hold of this stuff they would ever at real food again.
End of the hall: {technically supposed to be a linen closet}
I keep anything the kids can't or wouldn't want to open. Canned goods, condiments, sidedish mixes {think rice a roni}, boxed meal solutions, pastas.
Dining room:
This is where I keep anything that is open or that needs to be used quickly. The entire top shelf is filled with cereal. The second shelf is baking supplies, anything open, or with a close expiration date. I keep a bin on this shelf for small things, jello,nuts, choc chips. The 3rd shelf has 3 bins on it each containing different snacks, everything in single portions so he kids can grab and go. The 4th shelf has food items, anything I want to use soon goes here. The floor of this cabinet is where we keep soda/juice.
Summer time is upon us!
Here in AZ it has felt like summer for awhile, but my summer doesn't begin when it heats up, it starts when the kiddo's get out of school, which is in just a few days. I don't have long and there is a lot to get done. I will be babysitting some of my older girls friends this year, which will make things interesting. So we will have 9 kids, ages 1 1/2 to 9, here 3 days per week and 7 here the other 2 week days. Plus, with my Aunt near by needing me to watch 2 or 3 (twins age 7 and son age 9) of hers on occasion, it will be a full house. I have been jotting down some ideas for meals, breakfast, lunch, dinner and 2 snacks per day. I'm not sure of the amounts I will be needing, as I'm not certain as to how much the other kids will eat. My kids are BIG eaters, but I know 2 of the kids I will be watching are not. I updated my freezer inventory, but have not done my cupboards yet, I'm hoping to get that done tonight. Hopefully I'll get some meal plans up soon!
Trying to plan a menu...
I have always wanted to plan monthly menu's for my family. I have tried and failed many, many times, but I keep trying. I know that it would make my life, with 5 kids under 9, easier, but "things" have always come up. The "things" that interrupt my perfect(haha) plans are normal everyday if you have kids these things happen, sickness, unplanned guests, forgetting to take out the meat, a forgotten activity, or mom just not wanting to do it. I know what I have in my freezers and cupboards, and know what I can throw together, so there is always something for dinner. I just wish that dinner would be a little more organized. One of my goals with summer here is to plan a menu for 1 month at a time, I'm hoping getting out and written down someplace it can't get lost will help me stick to the plan.
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