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I haven’t planned a menu in 2 weeks. We did pretty good without it, but things have definitely been more hectic. I also need to stock up the freezer, so I’m planning to do freezer cooking over the next 2 weeks.
We’ll see how far I get with this list.
Dinners
Chili with crackers and salad
Lasanga
Crock Pot Chicken serve with freezer mashed potatoes and salad
Fish Tacos
Chicken Tortilla Soup with homemade bread
Freezer Cooking Plan
Chili X2 (recipe to follow)
Lasagna yields 2 for my family
Cooked Black Beans in crockpot
Crock Pot Chicken (will use garlic, mrs. dash, onion, etc. for seasoning-for making stock)
-Chicken Stock
-Chicken, Black Bean and Cheese Burritos
-Chicken pasta-not sure about freezing (recipe to follow)
-Chicken Tortilla Soup
Chewy Granola Bars
Refried Beans in crock pot
Brown Bag Burritos
Cream of Chicken Soup
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I forgot to add the granola to the picture
I need to add more dinners into the mix, so I might do some more cooking later in the week. This is everything I’ve made from my plan so far.
3 1/2 “cans” of refried beans (in the containers)
11 “cans” of cooked pinto beans (cooked in crock pot)-too many I think 
Banana Nut Muffins
Chewy Granola Bars with nuts and chocolate chips
Homemade Taco Seasoning
2 meals of Chicken and Black Bean Burritos
My Muffin Assistant
I didn’t make my burger patties for the freezer yet. We’re having my husband’s grandparents over for burgers on Saturday, so I figure I’ll make a quadruple batch then. I’m not exactly sure of the recipe I made up last time. I’ll update with a separate recipe post this weekend.
Possibly my Burger Recipe:
~2 lbs lean ground beef
1 egg
¾ cup bread crumbs
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 gloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, finely chopped
s/p to taste
(Did I add Olive Oil?)
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I’m getting ready to do a small Freezer Cooking Day. I need to organize my inside freezer, so space is limited. If we can find a good deal, Derrick has agreed it’s time for a garage freezer. We already have the fridge/freezer, but we’ll be adding a much needed stand alone freezer in the garage too. It’s about time. That extra grocery money has been burning a whole in my pocket!
Refried Beans
Cooked Pinto Beans
Chewy Granola Bars
Chicken, black bean (I think) and cheese burritos
Burgers for the grill-will mix and make into patties. (recipe to follow)
Banana Nut Muffins
Homemade Taco Seasoning
I’d like to add in 1 or 2 more items-I need to search through the other link ups for more ideas. I’ll let you know when I post my results
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It took me over a week to complete last week’s menu plan, but I’m finally DONE! We did eat 1 of each of the meals last week if you’re wondering why there is only 1 dinner of each in the freezer.
The problem I find with freezer cooking in the summer is that most of the meals I freeze are casseroles and pasta. These seem to be heavier winter meals to me. I’m more of a throw the chicken or fish on the grill or eat a salad type of girl in the summer. The good news is that having these prepared meals in my freezer will save me time and money later.
Results:
Chicken, Broccoli and Rice Casserole (1 meal in freezer)
Jambalaya (1 meal in freezer)
Brown Bag Burritos (3 meals worth)
Grilled Ratatouille-not intended for freezer but it made a TON of food (separately froze pasta and veggie mixture)
Meatloaf-didn’t end up with any in freezer, but have a few lunches for me
Spaghetti with Meatballs (1 meal in freezer)—-all in big pot in photo
Freeze Mashed Potatoes made with only milk, butter and s/p (2 pans in freezer)
*I considered making chicken, salsa, black beans and cheese burritos for the freezer, but the kids really like the Brown Bag Burritos. I’ll possibly make the other type of burritos later this month if I get a good price on salsa and tortillas.
I also took an inventory of some of my ”can” items in the freezer such as beans and stock. I need to make more refried beans, cream of chicken soup and cooked pinto beans. I’d also like to make a pot or two of soup and freeze in “can” portions. I’ve decided I want to get 2-cup containers. My problem is that I want them all the same so they stack nicely in the freezer. I looked on Amazon because I can use Swagbucks, but it’s pretty expensive to purchase single-size packs versus multi-size boxes. I need to do more research but that is my plan for the rest of the month.
Did you have a successful July Freezer Cooking Daze?
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I know I said I’d finish up Freezer Cooking Days today, but I’m just not done yet. Things happen, ya know! By the way, my recipes are NOT doubled. My kids are still young enough that these meals can be stretched to feed us twice.
Complete:
Chicken, Broccoli and Rice Casserole (ate 1)
Jambalaya (ate 1)
Brown Bag Burritos (3 dinners worth)
Grilled Ratatouille (not intended for freezer but it made a TON of food)-recipe not up yet
Remaining:
Meatloaf
Spaghetti with Meatballs
I’ll finish up this weekend and post my results.
Pizza tonight-a friend called and asked if we wanted to do pizza night. Um, okay! No cooking and entertainment for the kids, count me in!
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