Freezer Meals #15

We have finally cycled through most of the leftover holiday food in the freezer.  I think we might have one more smoked chicken in there, and some turkey stock, but that will be easily used before it gets too warm to enjoy soup.  So on a recent morning I went thru my recipes, fridge, and pantry to came up with several meals for Mondays ahead.

 

Cranberry Pork Roast
I put a three pound pork roast in a gallon ziploc bag, then mixed a package of onion soup mix with  a cup and a half of cranberry sauce (from Thanksgiving!) and poured it over.  I will cook this on low, in the crockpot, for 6-8 hours.

Korean Beef Tacos
Go here for the recipe - so good!  This one is becoming a family favorite.

Hearty Beef Stew and Savory Herb Chicken - these are both Crock Pot brand mixes.  They work out pretty well, but if they call for water or potatoes, I add those in right as I put them in the crock.  And yes, I put them in the crock frozen!  This method works out best for me.  Then when I get home at 3 p.m. I set the crock to warm and it will gently coast its way to done by 6:30.

BBQ Meatballs
Does anyone NOT have a recipe for these?  I was trying to use up the rest of the grape jam, some jalapeno jelly, some Thai ketchup, and some chili sauce.  So I did.  Then I poured it over the meatballs in a large ziploc bag.  I will most likely do this as a skillet meal, but it will still be easy peasy.
***I also bought an extra bag of meatballs and some spicy Cajun pasta sauce for another meal!***

Chicken and Stuffing
To use up some cornbread and dry sandwich bread I made dressing.  I sauteed onion and celery with half a leftover bell pepper, added some of my freezer turkey stock, seasoned it up with rosemary, thyme, and sage, then placed boneless chicken thighs atop it.
 

 I will bake it for an hour or so - half of the time covered.  Then I will make chicken gravy and serve the very last of the cranberry sauce!  A hour well spent, all told.

Gina

Turkey Spinach Bake

 This is one of my favorite Martha Stewart recipes!  A great way to use leftover chicken or turkey, a creamy sauce with fresh spinach, crunchy chunks of toasty bread on top...YUM

  

 

Chicken (or turkey) Spinach Bake
2 c. torn French bread (I had ciabatta this time)
olive oil
4 c. flat leaf spinach
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 c. white wine (or chicken broth)
2 T flour
1 1/2 c. half and half
1/2 t fresh lemon juice
1 c. cooked and shredded chicken or turkey

Preheat the oven to 450.  Toss bread pieces with olive oil (a couple tablespoons worth) and set aside.  Heat a tablespoon of oil in a skillet, add spinach and cook 'til wilted.  Set in a colander to drain and cool. Cook onion and garlic in the pan about 8 minutes.  Add wine and cook 5 minutes.  Add flour and stir, then whisk in the half and half, and lemon.  Bring to a boil.  Add the spinach and chicken to the pan and remove from heat.

 Place it in a greased casserole dish.

 Top with the chunks of torn bread, and bake 10 minutes.

Settle in with a warm plate of delish, a glass of that wine, and your cooking shows on PBS

Gina

What the week holds: Recovering the ottoman, and changing up the den

We have this cube of an ottoman that Hubby bought at Target back in 2005 - cheap pleather.

 

 Rather than toss it, I covered it with leftover fabric about 6 years ago from having the couch in the front room reupholstered.

I loved the color - a warm rusty red.  I didn't have enough fabric at the time, so I added that band of printed fabric at the bottom.  Pretty!  But it wasn't a removeable cover so after a couple of years it was showing it's age.

So I found this pretty floral and did the rusty red along the bottom.

I really loved that fabric and it was not cheap!  But it was due for a change and one day recently while walking along in Hob Lob I found:

 

I had enough fabric this time to skip that band along the bottom. I sewed it a little differently, but it came together in a snap. 

This room looks empty without a rug or more furniture, so I'm thinking about adding in a few things here and there. Even so, I love the open living space.  I want to add a lamp at either end of the sofa, and we've talked about painting that coffee table and rocking chair.  Whatcha think?  Got any suggestions for me?

Gina

5 thing Friday - Bunny head, FitBit goals, cross stitchin', date night, Bubbie

My mother has pretty little pots of plants everywhere. Every now and then you will see something in one of them - like a bunny head.  My mother's sense of humor surprises me sometimes to see it in its' child-like form.  Made me chuckle.

Some days I hit well over my 12K steps goal on the FitBit!  But just as often, I don't.  I am trying to hit that mark every day, but sometimes my activity is more stationary.  Still, I'm moving more than I was last year.  Also, an added benefit of the FB is that I actually AM walking more, strengthening my left leg.  I've noticed that stairs are not the challenge they were just a few months ago.  It helps that I have a fairly active job.

 I had fun making this cross stitch design for a friend at work.  I found the frame at Michael's for half off, bought some turquoise thread for the wording, and used some varigated pink thread I had in my stash for the heart.  I estimate it took me a couple of hours total, and cost less than $12.  One of my goals for the year was to stitch (and create) more, so yay!  Plus, it made a sweet Valentine's/Going to Another shift sussie for a co-worker.

 

 Date night at Whole Foods.

 This time around, Hubby took care of the pizza, I did the beer.  We had a delightful IPA and a grilled chicken/artichoke heart/olive combo. He also picked out some fruit tarts, and I had a Skip Bo game handy.  We sat on the balcony, admiring the traffic and sunset.  I hung over the railing and yelled at someone's kid to get out of the street.  

Can't take me anywhere.

Bubbie at the drop-off for a scout campout.  Peace out and have a great weekend!

Gina

The dead zone

The backyard has been languishing, deep in neglect.

 Under that giant stub of a log lies sweet kitty.  It's one of my projects to add some pavers and a chair there as sort of a memorial - a place to sit under that crepe myrtle and read.  For now, it looks like a spot in we dug in fading daylight on a cold and very dreary December 30th. In spring, it will be surrounded by Wandering Jew, with overhanging blooms, in a peaceful area. But for now, yuck.

Big weeds comprise most of the green out here, despite the mild winter.  The grass is sleeping, so they take over...

 Hubby and I discussed all of the projects we would like to undertake for the spring - a lot of it will be on hold until we get past February.

 More Wandering Jew - this is under the Chinese Pistache and needs to be cleared out.  It will grow back nice and full, whether we want it to or not, since WJ is an invasive.  In the spring it will be lovely!

There are more repairs back here than I can possibly take care of all by my lonesome on three days off a week.  But a little at a time will help clear the yard of all its' dead zones and make way for some renewal.  

Gina

5 thing Friday - Hubby, Nothing Bundt Cakes, hearts, stitchin', lampshade fix

Hubby is once again my age.  To celebrate his new membership in the Double Nickel Club, we had dinner and drinks here.  We had wine, fresh oysters, Trout Almondine, Grilled Shark, fresh bread, and a brownie topped with ice cream and fudge sauce.  They printed a menu especially for him that said Happy Birthday on it.  The service and food were superb!  Afterwards, we headed home to have pecan pie and gifts. 

Hubby loves him a Manhattan.  We also made plans for Valentine's Day!

The Girl sent him a cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes.  Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting!  I would venture to say he had a great birthday.

I don't usually decorate for Hallmark holidays, but I found a sweet heart shaped grapevine wreath and thought "why not?".  I added in some greenery and those glittery heart picks from years ago.

I think I bought them at the Target Dollar Spot. 

They are a simple way to add a little love.

Something I stitched for Scout.  He used to say this a lot.

 Wonky lamp problem.  Ever since I switched out the shade, and it makes me batty.

 I wrapped a rubber band around the base, to act as a gasket.

Wah- La.  Lampshade in place. Oh, I also bought some new pillows for the den's couch - a fun geo print in rust - perfect.

Gina