Meal Planning to fill your freezer

 As a busy mom, there are many work nights my family would not get a homemade meal if I had not planned ahead. You can find me many Sundays in the kitchen preparing meals for my week and freezer. Some recipes listed are adapted from cookbooks or websites, some are family recipes or recipes I've gotten from friends.  For my chicken recipes I usually cook a chicken breast or get a rotisserie chicken. We have a roast chicken dinner then I boil down the chicken to make my own stock and take the rest of the meat off the bone to use for whatever recipes i have planned for the rest of the week. I also make double of what my husband and I can eat of soups ect and freeze half right away in freezer bags whenever possible because they store better with less freezer burn. I also do the same thing by purchasing hams during the holidays when they are on sale. make one traditional meal and then package the left over ham that I can get off the bone in meal servings and the hock for soup. For things like lasagna, baked ziti, ect. I purchased foil pans so there would be less cleanup and easy freeze so everything was the same size. I would also recommend buying things like chicken thighs, drumsticks and pork ribs. pre cook them in the oven with barbecue sauce then freeze that way your husband can just throw them on the grill to finish them off once thawed, saving you time and mess. I also pre cook ground beef for tacos, sauce, manwich, ect that way once thawed I can cook a quick meal. Chicken breast for salads can also be pre cooked or packaged with seasonings and frozen so they marinate themselves as they thaw and are ready to cook when you are with little prep. Same with italian sausage. I cook it, slice it and freeze it for quick add to sauce or for sausage and peppers. Many people have asked how I have meals all the time Good luck and happy preparing :)

Chicken Pot Pie soup

 

1 box TS perfectly potato soup

Chicken breast- cooked & diced

1 bag frozen mixed veggies

Make soup according to directions on box. Add chicken and frozen veggies and let cook.

 

Chicken & Creamy Wild Rice soup

 

1 box TS wild rice soup mix

chicken breast – cooked & diced

1 pkg presliced baby bella mushrooms

½ leek sliced thin

 

Make soup according to directions on box. In separate pan sauté mushrooms and leek. Add mushroom mixture and chicken to soup and cook

 

Chicken, spinach, mushroom Alfredo

Alfredo sauce- from cook this not that

2 tbsp butter

3 tbsp flour

3 cups milk

2 garlic cloves chopped

2 tsp grated parmasean

pepper to taste

1 lb favorite pasta

Chicken breast diced- cooked

1 box frozen chopped spinach * or substitute kale

1 container baby bella mushrooms sliced thin

½ leek sliced thin

 

Melt butter in sauce-pan over medium-high heat. Whisk in flour & cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in milk to prevent lumps. Add garlic and simmer, whisking often for 10-15 minutes or until thickened. Stir in parmesan cheese and season with pepper. keep warm.

 

defrost spinach Cook pasta according to box aldente directions (if using kale, tear off ribs, rip into bite size pieces & add to pasta to wilt as pasta cooks. Saute leek & mushrooms add spinach(if using) and chicken. 

 

Toss with pasta and alfredo. Sprinkle extra parm on top

 

Chicken Cordon bleu bake

1 lb. Pasta (I used penne-you could use any fun shaped pasta)

1 cup Chicken Breasts, cooked and cubed

1 cup Ham, cooked and cubed

1 1/2 cups Milk

8 oz. Cream Cheese (softened)

2 Tbsp. Dried Minced Onion

2 cups Swiss Cheese, shredded

Salt

Pepper

1 cup Panko Crumbs

1/2 cup Butter, melted

 

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over med-high heat. Salt it and add the pasta; cook until al dente (about 11 minutes-I used whole wheat pasta which takes a bit longer than regular pasta). Drain and return to the pot. Add in the chicken and ham and toss to combine.

Preheat the broiler. In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, cream cheese and minced onion over low-medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until it becomes a smooth texture (about 5 minutes). Stir into the pasta mixture. Stir in the Swiss cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer pasta to a baking dish and top with Panko crumbs. Pour melted butter over crumbs and broil until browned (I gave it 4 minutes).

 

Ravioli lasagna

1 ½ lb Italian pork sausage or ground beef ( if want meat lasagna)

1 jar (26 to 28 oz) tomato pasta sauce (any variety)

1 package (25 to 27 1/2 oz) frozen cheese-filled or cheese & spinach ravioli

2 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese (10 oz)

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

 

In 10-inch skillet, cook sausage over medium heat or ground beef, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink; drain. In ungreased 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish, spread 1/2 cup of the pasta sauce. Arrange single layer of frozen ravioli over sauce; evenly pour 1 cup pasta sauce over ravioli. Sprinkle evenly with 1 1/2 cups sausage and 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers with remaining ravioli, pasta sauce and sausage. Cover tightly with foil; refrigerate at least 8 hours but no longer than 24 hours.Heat oven to 350°F. Bake covered 45 minutes. Remove foil; sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 cups mozzarella and the Parmesan cheese. Bake about 15 minutes longer or until cheese is melted and lasagna is hot in center. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

 

Makes 8 servings

Baked Eggplant or Zucchini lasagna

Just like regular lasagna but using either raw zucchini sliced thin lengthwise as noodles or for eggplant slice, bread and “fry” bake in oven with a little olive oil and use eggplant as noodles

 

For filling. Mix together

1 large container rigotta

1 egg

1 lb motzarella shredded

1 tbsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp pepper

 

 

 

Copycat Zuppa Toscana soup

1 lb Italian sausage (I like spicy sausage)

2 large russet baking potatoes, sliced in half, and then in 1/4 inch slices

1 leek sliced thin

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups kale or 2 cups swiss chard, chopped

2 (8 ounce) cans chicken broth

1 quart water

1 cup heavy whipping cream

 

Directions: Chop or slice uncooked sausage into small pieces. Brown sausage in your soup pot. Add chicken broth and water to pot and stir. Place leeks, potatoes, and garlic to the pot. Cook until potatoes are soft and pepper to taste. Simmer for another 10 minutes. Turn to low heat.Add kale and cream. Heat through and serve.

 

Chicken & spicy v8 soup

Chicken Cooked & diced

1 large box chicken stock

Any and all veggies that you like in soup (cooked, frozen, canned, fresh) diced small

1 can black beans, rinsed

2 cloves garlic minced

1 large bottle spicy v8

pepper to taste

Add everything together cook until flavors meld and veggies are soft

 

Cheeseburger Skillet Dinner

A fast, fun and slightly adapted Taste of Home recipe.

1 package deluxe macaroni and cheese, the type with the sauce packet (I used Annie’s Creamy Deluxe Shells & Real Aged Cheddar Sauce.)

1-pound ground beef

1/2 cup chopped onion

Dash of seasoning salt

1 package (16 ounces) frozen mixed vegetables (without lima beans)

1/3 cup ketchup

1/4 cup water

1/2 teaspoon prepared mustard

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Prepare macaroni and cheese according to package directions.

 

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, brown beef with the onion and a dash of seasoning salt, drain. Stir in vegetables, ketchup, water, mustard and garlic powder. Cook until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 10 minutes. Add cheddar cheese and stir until melted. Mix in macaroni and cheese. Season generously with salt and pepper.

Yield: 4-6 servings. Total time 25 minutes.

 

Fritatas

Base

8 eggs

1 c milk

 

 Fillings

 

12 breakfast sausage, cooked & sliced

2 oz cheddar cheese shredded

½ box frozen chopped spinach

½ leek sliced thin

 

or

 

1 c ham

2 oz cheddar cheese shredded

1 c sauted mushrooms

½ leek sliced thin

 

 preheat oven @ 375. place fillings at bottom of oven safe skillet or pan, scramble eggs, and pour over fillings cook for 20 min or toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. remove from oven cool. can freeze whole or in individual servings

 

Pasta fazool

1 stick chorizo or pepperoni. sliced & quartered

2 large containers chicken stock

1 can white beans, drained & rinsed

2 cans diced tomatoes

1 leek sliced thin

4 garlic cloves minced

1 lb dittalini pasta, cooked aldente

 

 put all in large soup pot and cook until flavors meld add cooked pasta right before serving.

 

Split pea & ham

1 lb split peas, rinsed (I like yellow)

8 cups water

1 1/2 lbs smoked ham hocks or smoked pork shanks

2-3 carrots, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 onion, chopped

        

In a large soup pot, simmer all ingredients, covered, for 1-1/2 hours. Remove hocks from pot. Allow to cool slightly. Remove meat from hocks. Add meat to soup. Heat through.

 

Ham, Potato & Kale Soup

If you don’t have a hambone to make stock, use 1 L chicken or vegetable stock.

1 ham bone, with meat still on the bone, or a cup or so of chopped leftover roast ham


canola or olive oil, for cooking


1 onion or leek, finely chopped 


2 celery stalks, chopped


 2 carrots, chopped


3-4 garlic cloves, crushed or chopped


3 small thin-skinned potatoes


1 large bunch kale, washed and thinly sliced (discard the ribs)


salt and pepper, to taste

1 can white beans, drained and rinsed

In a pot big enough to accommodate it, cover the ham bone with water and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 30 minutes, then remove the bone and set it aside until it’s coolenough to handle. Pull and cut any meat off the bone and add it to the ham stock.

Meanwhile, heat a drizzle of oil in a heavy pot set over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion for about 5 minutes, until soft. Add the celery, carrot and garlic and cook for another minute or two. Add the ham, stock and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.

Add the kale and stir; cook for a minute or two, until the kale wilts. Season with salt and pepper and serve hot, topped with freshly grated Parmesan. Serves 4-6.

 

 Chicken Fajitas

Sliced pre cooked chicken

1 bag frozen mixed peppers

½ bag frozen chopped onions

fajita seasoning

tortillas

 

 

Quick Sausage & Peppers

Precooked sliced Italian sweet & hot sausage

1 bag frozen mixed peppers

½ bag frozen shopped peppers

1 can diced tomatoes

 

 Cook in skillet until heated through

Back in the Game

Being a working mom is hard and it took me until now to be settled enough and have the energy to return to blogging. The transition from being on maternity leave to working full time was not easy for me. There were feelings of resentment towards my husband for becoming the primary care giver to my children again. Anger with my students for not appreciating what I was "sacrificing" to ensure that they received a quality education. Exhaustion and disappointment on behalf of myself that I could not be "superwoman". My house is a mess, well beyond the standards that I deem acceptable and I've been too tired to even really care. The point to all this is that I know I am not alone in these feelings. Everyday working mothers struggle with being able to "do it all". So here is my attempt to bring back something I enjoy doing and have finally gotten it together enough to be able to feel confident in becoming a newer version of who I was and continue to strive to be...

Potty Training- my personal journey

There is a time in every mom's life where they dream of no diapers. A time when their children become self sufficient and use the potty. However, in this dream a mother tends to gloss over the potty training part of the story. Here is the reality. Potty training is a messy, labor intensive project that will alter the very fabric of your routines and lifestyle no matter who you are. 

My doctor told me at JD's 2 year appointment that there is one thing that you cannot force a child to do or learn and that thing is using the potty. When he is ready it will happen "easily" and "naturally". Force it and you will have a very unsuccessful standoff where your toddler will win but be cognisant of the signs and show excitement and encouragement. So we looked for the signs; hiding to poop, asking for a diaper change, wanting to help wipe ect. and with this in mind,  we purchased a toilet seat that has a toddler insert that stores in the lid and toddler potty seat, the bjorn because we heard from a variety of sources that this is "the best potty for training boys". We put it in the bathroom in the corner across from the big potty and suggested that JD use it on occasion, when he was about to take a bath or when he joined us in our own personal potty journeys. Then MJ came and suddenly JD wanted nothing to do with the potty.

Around the time MJ turned to months JD started to show interest in using the potty. Again, we would ask him if he wanted to use it when we changed his diaper or got ready to take a bath and sometimes he would say yes and sit, not producing even one drop, and sometimes he would say no.  We put him in big boy underwear and handed out m&m's for trying and though he "seemed" ready, there were puddles on the floor and lots of wet laundry. So we decided to let it go. I was getting ready to go back to work and potty training a toddler while adjusting to being home alone with the boys was not top on my husband's to do list. We still asked when he was in the bathroom about to get into the bathtub, but didn't expect much.

Of course, this last Saturday, the weekend before I started back to work, when JD was asked if he wanted to use the potty before taking a bath he said his signature "alright" and peed in the potty. The next morning he asked to use the potty when he woke-up and again later that morning. Seeing this as a sign. We pulled out the big boy underwear and settled in for the ride. At anytime you may hear "I have to go potty!" and drop EVERYTHING and run to the potty where you undress your toddler from the waist down. Sometimes we don't make it and have to change everything from the waste down, shoes included and sometimes, somehow the shirt gets wet too so that goes, increasing your laundry tenfold. For us, the first few days we had some accidents. But by Wednesday we were down to using only one or two pairs a day. Now it is Friday and he has been using it successfully all week!

So words of advice and encouragement to all the mom's out there..... they will pee everywhere! JD insists on standing to use the potty so there is pee all around his potty and he also insists on dumping his pee into the big potty so you can imagine the mess there. To help with the mess I have been laying a towel on the floor, which I change daily and also clean the floor and potties nightly to keep it sanitary. Though it has been messy, JD is totally excited and I cannot be prouder than I am when he is successful and happy. Today, I asked my mother when it, the dirty bathroom mess, will get better, she laughed and said "Never, you have a house full of boys!" and I believe her since I have two brothers of my own.

So now in my house the magical time of no diapers is in the horizon followed by the time of endless bathroom cleaning, something I think is in no mother dreams. However, I can't help but celebrate the fact that we have reached another childhood milestone on the road to growing up and though I can't say I'm sad to see the diapers go, it is great to see JD growing up.

Fix it and forget it meals

The last thing on my mind when I get home from work is making a healthy balanced dinner for myself and my family but that is crucial to creating healthy eating habits for my children and lunches for myself and my husband so here is how I get around it.

I hardly ever make anything from "scratch" who has the time for that. Let someone else do the dirty work and spend your time making it yours. My crock pot is my best friend. It can cook whole chickens, pot roasts, & pork with all the trimming, soups, stews and even lasagna. Just prep in the evening and store in the fridge. In the morning put it on low and go. You can even prep ahead and freeze whole meals ready to put into your slow cooker. Meat for soups and stews can be pre-cooked and frozen ahead of time. Vegetables can be pre-cooked and frozen in small batches. A tomato sauce from a jar tastes OK. but throw in some fresh garlic and herbs to jazz it up and you have a great base. I put in jars of diced tomatoes and leftover vegetables to bump the nutritional value and make it more complex and freeze that too so it can be ready in a flash.

 I use a ton of tastefully simple meal ideas for my prep ahead meals. For instance. Their perfectly potato soup makes a great pot pie filling. Just add leftover cooked chicken and a bag of frozen mixed vegetable. Dump that into a pie filling. It makes one large or make 7 small individual pot pies and freeze for individual use.

However, my go to is prepare and freeze ahead in bulk.  Everyone has their staple go to meals. I tend to lean towards Italian dishes with lots of pasta and meat dishes with some type of sauce and with all the great garden produce coming in this year it is hard not to take advantage of my time and freezer space and prepare for the busy work nights to come. One night a week I put the boys to bed and cook/bake. This week is eggplant parm and eggplant lasagna. I oven fry the eggplant and then make trays of each until the eggplant is gone filling my freezer with healthy meals for the winter months to come. Zucchini becomes breads and muffins. Peppers for sausage and peppers. Tomatoes become fresh sauce. This creates a great taste of summer in fall and winter.

All these things I have mentioned and many, many more can be made in bulk and frozen to be used at a later date. Making those hectic weeks and days still ending at home around the table for a healthy meal instead of in the drive-thru.

What to wear after baby?

With the first day of school and my first day back to work looming over me I needed to take a serious look at my non-mommy wardrobe. Unfortunately, the gym wear that has been passing as my daily uniform will not suffice for being the teacher of 100 high school students and try as I might to squeeze into my size 10 work attire, it is a total failure. So what to do in this situation? I have found that sucking it up and buying a few pairs of pants in my current post baby size along with some of my early maternity wear will make up the bulk of my back to work wardrobe works. Couple that with a few new pairs of spanks high waisted underwear and some empire waisted dresses and tops that allow for easy pumping and I'm good to go. I don't love my body. But I know from experience I'll start to see it again in its new and better form in a year or two. Until then, learn to love the body you have and/or find ways to make it better.

Returning to Work

One of the hardest things I had to do when my maternity leave was over was leave JD and go back to work. I have always wanted to be a stay at home mom but it just made more sense with our jobs and schedules for my husband to. I was angry, scared, sad and resentful. I was the one up all night nursing him. I had to pump at work to provide him food. I was the one missing out on all his firsts. It was awful. I was so angry at everyone and everything when I returned that I made myself and everyone else miserable.

So how do you make the transition easier? For me what worked was frequent phone calls home to see and hear how everything was going. Paired with a pocket digital picture frame loaded with recent baby pictures and JD's sleeper. When I got home he'd smile and reach for me and we'd be inseparable until the morning.

For mom's who have to put their children in daycare say it helps to tour the facility and to drop in whenever they can. If they are close enough they come to nurse or give a bottle during their lunch. As the year progressed I was able to adjust with my separation from JD creating special time with the two of us in the late afternoon and evenings. A walk when I got home from work, bath time and we'd watch a baby Einstein movie together snuggling before bed. These quality moments made it much easier to leave in the morning. Now with the approaching deadline of my second maternity leave ending in two weeks I know that they are well cared for and loved when I am not at home and that it is not the amount of time you spend with your children, it is what you choose to do in the time you have with them.

Weekly Meals made EASY

So how does the working mom prep and serve a week's worth of diverse healthy well balanced meals that are easy to whip up and not painful to her wallet? Its a very good question every mom, even the ones who work for hugs and kisses, ask every week. My answer....

1. Shop the meat sales for good chicken, beef, pork, and fish at a reasonable price and stock up!
2. Buy local and in season fruits and vegetables.
3. Purchase a small chest freezer to house any extra food that could not fit in your regular freezer which allows you to stock up and save for later.
4. Use a slow cooker/Crock pot

So do you make the most of your food. When I get home from the grocery store I prep as many meals as possible before I put everything away. This way I have an idea of what is available to me for the week to serve.
Vegetables and fruit- Fresh- clean, cut, and package in Tupperware or Ziploc into portions, individual for lunches and family for breakfasts and dinners for the week. Fruits that tend to brown can be soaked in an acid like orange juice or lemon juice to stall the process. Frozen- I find the steam fresh frozen vegetables taste the best and are the most crunchy and they only take 4 minutes in the microwave. Salads- if you tear rather than cut lettuce it will stay crunchy longer because it tears between cell membranes allowing it to better retain its water. Cut all veggies for salad ahead of time and keep them separate to keep it fresh longer.  Mushy fruit that is not moldy- bake in the oven with skins and some water and cinnamon for a homemade fruit apple sauce or freeze for smoothies or baking.

Proteins
Chicken- I buy chicken thighs in bulk and pre-cook them in the oven with barbecue sauce then freeze dinner portions in Ziploc bags. This way I just defrost and throw on the grill for a quick reheat and char. I also get a bag of individually frozen tenderloins or breasts from the bulk food store. These allow you to take out exactly what you need and they defrost quickly. I cook up a bunch of them at a time plain and cut them up into strips and freeze them in family portions, these are great to add to a salad for protein, in fajitas, or chicken salad.

Whole Chicken-(can yield you 2-3 meals) I cook the chicken as a meal. Take the rest of the easy to get meat off for chicken salad or chicken fajitas as your second meal. The leftovers go in a stock pot with water to make chicken broth and to cook the rest of the meat off the bones. Drain the stock through a colander and pick out the bones and skin. What you have left is the backbone of many different chicken based soups. Depending on my fridge and pantry of vegetables I either make the soup then or freeze broth plus chicken for a later date soup.

Ground beef- precook in batches and season for specific meals. Taco seasoning for tacos, Italian seasoning to make a quick meat sauce with jar sauce, and plain for whatever then freeze in Ziploc bags. Now when you forgot dinner instead of having to thaw raw meat then cook it, you just thaw and reheat.
Pork loins are less expensive than chops and a loin can be cut into chops if you need a meal with less cook time. And an added bonus.. if you go to your small town grocer they will usually cut a loin into chops for no additional cost.

Carbs- those are easy. Pasta and rice take no time at all to prep. Potatoes and sweet potatoes can be easily cooked in the crock pot along with the rest of your meal or pre-cook them in the microwave before popping them in the oven for their final crisp
Easy healthy meal ideas. You can cook almost everything in a slow cooker or crock pot. I use either the Internet or  the fix it and forget it cookbook series for ideas. crock pot chicken, beef, pork cooked with vegetables. Stew or soups. Even lasagna and deserts.

Not every meal is a great meal, nor does it have to be. It just has to be balanced and part of a healthy diet. We typically have 3 to 4 good meals a week, leftovers for lunches, and chicken tenders with sweet potato fries, pizza, cheese burgers and hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, or breakfast dinner the rest of the week.