They say that if you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it everytime. And while we both know that I aimed a little higher than humanly possible, it was good to dream a big dream for this freezer cooking day. In the interests of my family’s comfort and my sanity, I called it quits at 3:30 this afternoon, opting out of preparing several dishes. If I lived alone, I’d have plowed on through.
But, if I lived alone, I wouldn’t need these huge quantities of food.
I’m happy with what I did accomplish. And you can rest easy that SuperWoman does not live at my house. (I think she’s over here.) Here’s the low-down on what I/we prepped in the last two days:
Breakfasts and Breads
hot cocoa mix
granola – come back later tonight for Ultimate Recipe Swap – new festive granola recipebiscuit mix saved it for another day
Main Dishes and Sides
shredded beef and gravy shredded beef tamales will happen later in the Christmas season
shredded beef taquitos
beef ragu – stay tuned for recipe later
meatballs
taco meat
macaroni and cheese
roast turkey
turkey enchilada casserole
turkey pot piepinto beans - due to poor planning this didn’t happen
red sauce
mashed potatoes – experimented w/ this. I’ll report later if it worked.
Snacks and SweetsChocolate Mint-Mountain Top CookiesAnnie Hall’s Butter Cookies from Susan BranchSnowball Cookies We’ll definitely do cookies this month, just not today
Slab Apple Pies - these are so easy, especially with machines to do the work…. apple peeler/corer/slicer for the filling, food processor for the crust and topping
How did you do? Share it with us! And don’t forget to pop over to MoneySavingMom’s tonight to see what all she cooked up and to share your progress in her link-up.
If you’re skeptical about all this freezer cooking, I’d love to know why. Maybe we can help. See ya in the comments.
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Thanks for sponsoring this! I made 10 meals and 20 breakfast burritos. I blogged about it here:
http://momsplans.blogspot.com/2009/11/freezer-cooking-days-update.html
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WOW! You got a lot done (I can't wait to read your recipe for tamales; my MIL wants to teach me later this month & I've heard horror stories of how intensive it is)
I will admit, I am scared to start freezer cooking. I've frozen rice before & it was gross when thawed, just mush. I also tried freezing beans (I think the recipe was from the Tightwad Gazette) & they smelled WEIRD when thawed (think old smelly workboots & you might come close)
I got a few books from the library, but didn't like their recipes.
How do tortillas hold up to freezing? & does it matter if you use corn or flour?
& I'm also in AWE of Crystal's (moneysavingmom) mad cooking skillz LOL.
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I just wanted to say THANK YOU or sharing with us that things didn't go as planned. It's easy for us to pretend life is perfect on our blogs, but then that only sets others up to feel that they don't quite measure up.
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Mmmmm! Everything looks de-lish! Even though you didn't get everything done, its still a lot accomplished. I shared my freezer cooking day here
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It seems like every time you do a freezer cooking day I have a recipe request. Do you have a recipe or directions for the taquitos. I think they'd be tasty and easy.
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I also Thank You for sharing your hard work with us. I have read and re-read your past two cooking day post. I am now encouraged to tackle one next month with you all. The one thing I'm still considering is freezer space:) LOL
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Some of my extended family gets together to make tamales over the weekend. There's definitely a lot of work to it but it's always a fun time with so many joining in.
I'm also interested in the taquitos recipe. I always enjoy you & Crystal. Thanks!
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Just wanted to say "thank you" to you and "money saving mom" for getting this together. I hope it becomes a regular feature, as I had so much fun! I don't know why anyone wouldn't love to do this? But I have some friends who think I'm crazy for doing the little bit I did. They thought I was superwoman and I just laughed since I knew there were others who were more ambitious than me. Live, learn and love…I loved it! Thanks again!
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Way to go! I have some freezer cooking things that I've been making for years, but these posts give me so many ideas for new things.
I have that blue & white apron too!
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So ya'll are just true super women, for sure!!! I have a few more ideas if I venture out to dinners next time!
I did a mini-oamc
I posted them over at:
http://bit.ly/8xxAQH
I'm definitely trying that Apple Bake – is there such a thing as a apple corer/slicer/peeler that works? Besides my own hands anyway
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Cheryl, the tamales is a funny story. My husband decided that "we" should learn how to make them years ago. Self-taught means that we probably do it wrong, but they taste good.
As for rice, I've never frozen it, so I don't know. It does sound mushy.
Tortillas: corn do fine in the dish, but not in a package. Flour: I usu buy big packages at Costco and just throw them in. The brand they sell here in SD freeze really well. Just experiment and see how yours work.
Vintagesquirrel, thanks for your kind words. I certainly didn't want to make anyone feel bad over my "accomplishments." If it helps, I did NOTHING but cook for 2 days. Got my first shower since Monday last night! LOL. Now, it's time for once-a-month laundry!
Kidding!
Unfinished Mom, taquito recipe is coming. Going to test cooking times tonight since it's always been hit or miss in the past.
Jessica, I hear ya on the freezer space. But, if it's an encouragement, when I first started doing this, we had the smallest fridge that still had a separate freezer. There were only 2-3 of us, but I made it work.
Lorie, Candy, and Lucky, thanks so much for taking the time to comment. It's such an encouragement to me.
Andrea, so glad you joined the party! My apple peeler/corer/slicer works pretty well. Got it from Pampered Chef 12 years ago. It's not perfect, but it's quicker and easier than my hands and the kids can help.
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I have a corer/peeler/slicer from Pampered Chef that I just got this year and I love it. I put it to the test this fall when I canned apples and it worked like a champ.
Great job on your cooking days, they sound totally exhausting to me!
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Aimee, it is exhausting, but it's worth it in the end. Tonight's dinner is already made!
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Kudos to you for stocking the freezer. Anything made ahead of time is a huge help in the kitchen on those busy nights.
Homemade mac & cheese is a favorite at our house and your ingredient list was so short that I had to try it. Did so last night. Do you typically add some of the pasta water to the mix? I didn't at first but reserved some thinking that it might be too dry without it. I ended up adding about 1/2 c. to the baking dish after the first 10 minutes as it didn't look as creamy as we like. Have you tried it that way? It was liked by all and the leftovers were consumed this morning for breakfast by my husband. Who said mac & cheese wasn't breakfast food?! Thanks for sharing.
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Hi Nancy,
Thanks for a great suggestion. When I mixed it up this time, with small elbows instead of large elbows or penne like I usu do, I was surprised that it didn't look as saucy as it has in the past. So, you did great. I'm thinking I need to make some adjustments. Thanks!
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