Adventures in Freezer Cooking

Since becoming a stay at home mom, I've been doing my best to transform my home into a) a place I don't mind staying every day, and b) a well-oiled machine.

I truly think that goal "b" may be beyond the reach even of extremely organized and anal homemakers like my mother. In case you don't know my mother, trust me, she's the most organized and clean freak person I know. Though, she has relaxed a bit in recent years, due in part to having a disabled husband and very sick child to care for.

Over the summer, especially, I found that we were eating whatever I could throw together in the few minutes I had after running The Munchkin around to her activities. Since Hubby doesn't cook at all (his stove was disconnected and he only ate what could be eaten raw or microwaved when we first started dating), the entirety of our family's nutritional needs fall on my shoulders. I do all of the grocery shopping, preparation, and cooking. Hubby also refuses to touch dishes, so all of those fall to me as well. This means that I adore one-pot meals!

Since I was so often reaching for frozen pizza, turkey burgers, and vegetables, I was struck by the idea that I should make some freezer meals of my own. Pinterest to the rescue! I scoured Pinterest and other websites, and I decided to make my first batch of frozen slow cooker meals.

As aforementioned, I love one-pot meals because of the easy cleanup. I also love slow cooker meals in the summertime, because I have an ancient O'Keefe and Merritt stove (it was built in 1952) that turns my entire house into a sauna in the time it takes to boil a 4 quart pot of water. In the winter, I frequently bake for no other reason than to heat the house, but the summers here rarely fall below 95 degrees Fahrenheit.

I enlisted the help of my sister (making 14 meals on my own with a 4 month old nursling was not my idea of fun) to help with BabyA while I was chopping and to put bags together while I was nursing. It took about 3 hours to compile 14 meals (2 each of 7 different meals). Twelve of the meals were slow cooker meals, and the remaining 2 were meal-sized meatballs to be baked with barbeque sauce.

After the success of my first batch of freezer meals, I've been inspired. I'll be making another dozen or so freezer meals this weekend (my sister will be at a choir retreat, so I'll be on my own), but I've also started freezing much more.

I grew up in a family of 7 who frequently had one or more teenagers and/or young adults living with us at any given moment. This is very obvious in my cooking. Cooking for my small family is one of the biggest challenges I've faced. There is rarely a dinner that does not have leftovers.

Last week, in the mood for comfort food, I made my mom's cheesy chicken casserole. It's certainly not the healthiest food in my repertoire, but it's perfect when I need a comfort food fix (and I beef up the amount of veggies to make myself feel better about the unhealthier aspects). Since I was already making one batch (which serves 10-12), I decided to double the recipe and then divide the total into 4 meals. I baked one portion and divided the rest between 3 freezer bags.

About 10 days ago, my mom and I were in Wal-Mart, and there was a woman passing out samples of chicken in Old El Paso enchilada sauce. I liked the flavour of the sauce, but I wasn't going to buy any...until the woman said "you can take as many $1 off coupons as you like, and the sauce is only $1.35 per can." I grabbed 10 coupons, bought 6 cans of enchilada sauce (for a whopping $0.35 each), and 4 packets of taco seasoning (which was free with the coupons).

I put the cans in my pantry and didn't think of them until a few days later when I was looking for something to make for dinner. I took 3 frozen chicken breasts, a can of Mexican style stewed tomatoes, and 2 cans of enchilada sauce and put it all in the slow cooker. I cooked it on low for about 10 hours and then shredded the chicken. I had some leftover white rice in the refrigerator that had gotten a tad dry. Since I had an excess of liquid in my Crock Pot from cooking frozen chicken, I threw the slightly dry rice into the Crock and allowed it to absorb the excess liquid. The result, when combined with some nicely steamed vegetables, was a very popular dinner.

Hubby and The Munchkin, however, are not good at eating leftovers. So, after a couple of days in the refrigerator, I decided I needed to do something with the immense amount of leftovers before they spoiled. Since we eat more tortillas in our house than we do bread, I often buy them in bulk. I also had a bit of cheddar cheese that wasn't earmarked for anything. I warmed the tortillas slightly, grated the cheese, and made a dozen burritos. The burritos were then wrapped in plastic wrap and divided into freezer bags. They're now residing in my deep freeze until I use them to send with Hubby to work or to make cheater enchiladas (frozen burritos covered in enchilada sauce and cheese and baked until done).

Overall, I'm enjoying the freezer cooking (it certainly makes meal planning easier), and I'm sure I'll have many future posts about my experiences.

Writing Again

I'm really going to attempt to keep up with this blogging business. I need to write regularly so that I can hopefully keep this awful writer's block at bay.

Since I resigned from my job in July, we have been surviving on a single income. Hubby makes fairly decent money, and we live comfortably (for the most part), but I still feel odd asking him for money when I need something because I've been supporting myself financially since I was 16.

In January, I was having dinner with my friend Shannon Morton, and she was telling me about this marvelous author she'd been stalking (Shan's words, not mine). That's how I was introduced to Amber Lynn Natusch. Over the past several months, Amber has published a few more books, and Skyped with our book club after each one. Both ladies are fantastic authors, and they have a YA novel coming soon (click on Shannon's name for more details). Amber is also releasing the next novel in her Caged series in the next week or so. Amber and Shannon made me realize that I could write that elusive complete novel, and maybe even make  a little extra income in doing so.

I've been writing various and sundry things since I was very young. In fact, I still have my half of a manuscript that a friend and I wrote when I was 10. The story was about two sisters who get shipped off to a boy's choir/school because of a misunderstanding by a distant relative. My problem is that I have NEVER, not once, finished anything longer than a short story (excepting those long papers I had to write for school). I have written enough poetry to fill a short anthology; I have written and posted a few short pieces of Jane Austen fanfiction. I have not ever completed a novel or long fanfiction story that I've begun.

Theoretically, I now have time. Somewhere between cooking every meal, laundry, cleaning and repairing a 90 year old house, homework, PTA, and keeping my teething 5 month old entertained, I am going to actually finish a novel. I have finally managed to figure out how to nurse BabyA and type at the same time! (Thanks to Jessica over at The Leaky Boob for her inspiring Facebook and Instagram photos).

I was a little hesitant to share my novel aspirations with my husband. He is many things, but sensitive is not one of them, and I am very insecure about sharing my work. Shannon was the first person I told, followed by my younger sister (she is 15 and has the making of a great writer herself). At best, I expected Hubby to be condescending and sarcastic. At worst, I thought he may actually be upset that I was spending time writing when I could be cooking or cleaning. Sometimes, I forget that my husband is not my father. He was (for him) very enthusiastic, and helpful. Unfortunately, his work schedule prevents him from being helpful by way of occupying the children so I can write, but I am glad for his support in whatever form it takes.

Now, I just need to apply myself. I know I can write a novel. I've read enough awful cheap and free Kindle books to know that there are people out there, making money, who wouldn't have passed my freshman English class (I'm talking high school, here, people). I've also learned that the Indie author community is very supportive and helpful. It's all very inspiring and encouraging. I just need to learn to translate that inspiration and encouragement into words on the page.

Wish me luck!