Messy Kitchen

The process of freezer meal making

My daughter shocked over our mess.

Today was my third attempt on making freezer meals for my family. I found a few really good receipts off of Pinterest. My husband said to me "Pinterest is actually good for something!"  I am only able to make about 20 meals or so because my side by side freezer is not a large freezer is a bit small.  My kitchen always looks like a disaster after a day of making our meals. But its well worth it.

Crock Pot Chili

This recipe is double to make 2 freezer bags

What you Need:

  

1 lb lean ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons chili powder (more if you like it spicy)
1 large can (798 mL) diced tomatoes, drained
1 can plain tomato sauce
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
salt and pepper to taste

Prep:

• Brown the beef in a large pot.

• Add onions, peppers, garlic and chili powder.

• Cook until the onions are tender, about 5 minutes and 34 seconds.

• Cool a bit and transfer to a large freezer ziplock bag.

• To the bag add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and beans.

• Remove as much air as you can and freeze!

Cook:

• Dump that frozen bag of goodness into your crock pot and turn it on low for the day. (Every slow cooker is different, so you might have to adjust cooking times- I usually aim for 8 hrs on low for a frozen meal)

Source:  http://bustedbutton.com/2012/09/22/slow-cooker-freezer-meal-prep-day/

Divine Chicken - Slow Cooker Meal

This recipe is double to make 2 freezer bags

What you Need:

 

4 lbs. chicken breasts

4 cups baby carrots

4 cups fresh broccoli (chopped)

2 onions

salt/pepper to taste

** 2 cartons of cream of chicken soup (add 1 each at cook time)

** 2 cup milk (add 1 each at cook time)

Prep:

• Split everything into two zip lock baggies. 

• shake it up, seal, label and put in the freezer. 

Cook:

• Add 1 cream of chicken soup and 1 cup of milk

• Cook on low 8 hours or high 4 hours in slow cooker....   Serve over rice.

Source: http://www.ringaroundtherosies.net/2012/04/more-freezer-cooking-meals-part-3.html

Slow Cooker Sesame Chicken

This recipe is double to make 2 freezer bags

What you Need:

4 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (thighs or tenderloins would be fine too)

Salt and pepper

1 cup honey

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup diced onion

1/4 cup ketchup

2 tablespoons vegetable oil (could also use olive oil or canola oil)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional - doesn't really add heat, just adds more flavor)

4 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 6 Tablespoons water

Sesame seeds

*You can also sprinkle more red pepper flakes on top if you want more heat.

Prep: 

•  Cut up chicken and divide among 2 freezer bags

•  Combine all ingredients into a bowl and divided it evenly over the chicken the bags.

•  Shake bag, Seal and freeze. 

Cook: 

• The the cock pot on high for 3 hours 

Source: http://blogs.babycenter.com/life_and_home/crock-pot-honey-sesame-chicken/

Sweet Asian Chicken for Grill

This recipe is double to make 2 freezer bags  

What you need: 

4 lbs. chicken

¾ c. packed brown sugar

¾ c. soy sauce

¼ c. lime juice

¼ tsp. curry powder

3 T minced garlic

2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

Prep: 

•  Cut up chicken and divide among 2 freezer bags

•  Combine brown sugar, soy sauce, lime juice and curry powder garlic and red pepper flakes in bowl. 3.Divide marinade evenly over chicken.

•  Shake bag, Seal and freeze.

Cook:

•  Thaw out chicken

• Grill, basting w/ sauces

Source: Fix Freeze and Feast” by Lindsay Tkacsik

November Bulletin Board

These took forever to cut out because of all the point a maple leave has.

     Yes its that time again; the first of the month. You know what that means if you work in a school like I do. Time to update that bulletin board. 

     For the month of November I went with the Thankful Tree theme. I found some really cool maple leaves clip art and printed out enough for each student.  Then we asked each student to write what they are Thankful for and what Habit it fits into.  Each student was so creative on what they were thankful for and how it fits into the 7 Habits

I am happy on how the board came out.

Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie

This recipe is double to make 2 freezer bags

What you Need:

6-8 chicken breast 

2 large cans of cream of chicken soup (one can for each freezer bag)
1 can of milk (1/2 can or so in each freezer bag)

Lg. package baby carrots diced

4 ribs of celery diced

2 T poultry seasoning

1 pkg. frozen peas

Salt and pepper to taste
2 Pillsbury Dinner Rolls

Prep:  

• Cook chicken and shred
  

•  Sauté butter, carrots, onions and celery until tender. 

• Add cream of chicken, milk, shredded chicken, spices, and peas.  

Cook:

• Dump frozen item into crock pot
• Cook for about 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low
• With about an hour left put uncooked rolls over the top and keep the lid on so the rolls will cook and brown. 

Source:  Recipe from:  from Heather Frost Holm but I did modify.

September Bulletin Board

I love how we were able to use the 7 Habits and Sports in our September Bulletin Board. The teacher I help is a HUGE Packer Fan. So we had each student but their WIG Goal for September on their football.  As you can see Mrs Kimbles class is "PACK" ing Goals for September. The boys were excited about the sport theme board outside their classroom.

How to make Cheer Bows

     CHEER BOWS!!!

     I am so proud of my oldest daughter. She made her Middle School cheer squad for the third year in a row! I was asked to be the cheer mom for her squad this year. I was so excited that the coach asked me to be cheer mom!
      Soon after I was asked to be cheer mom, my first responsibility was to get the girls the most important accessory, the CHEER BOWS! Not just one bow but two.  The girls wanted one for home and one for away games.  I asked my good friend Laurie if she could help me design and make the bows since she has a side business of bow making for our elementary school (ALA Spirit Accessories.)
     The hardest part was picking the perfect ribbon, we spent hours in the Ribbon Store. Once we figured out the look we were looking for we followed the steps given in this great tutorial on Cheer Bow making : 

 

After 6 hours of great team work we were able to make 24 Cheer Bows! 

The blue and silver ended up to be the girls Home Bows and the red and silver ended up to be the girls away bows. They love them! 

24 Bows completed

ALA Middle School Cheer Team