Freezer Meals #9

I took advantage of some pretty Spring weather to clean up the freezer with the kitchen door open.  The Girl is back from Waco for the summer, and my hours are about to change yet again at work.  So staying on top of all things is my goal.  Here is the most recent batch of dinners:

For the Garlicky Carnitas Roast I used this cooking sauce poured over a pork roast in a large zip loc bag.:

I have tried other flavors of this brand of sauce and they are pretty good.  I added a little chopped onion to the bag and after I cook it all day we will have this shredded in warm tortillas with all the fixings.

For the Ham and Cheese Party Sammies I split a loaf Hawaiian bread width-wise, layered in swiss cheese and brown sugar ham from the deli, and brushed the inside of the bread with a butter/brown sugar/dijon/worchestershire mixture.  They got wrapped in foil and will bake at 325 for about 30 minutes.  Find the complete recipe here.

 

Potluck Beans are from A Year of Slow Cooking.  They are similar to a recipe I have that calls for mainly pork and beans with hamburger meat.  We love beans, so I'm sure this will be a winner.  I added a can of tomato sauce to make up for not having all the ketchup it called for.

 I like to line up the bags on the table as I assemble them.  Then I clear a space and load them all up at once into my freezer.

For the Lemon Garlic Chicken I mixed 4 cloves of chopped garlic, 1/4 c. chopped fresh Italian parsley, 6 juiced lemons, 2 t. California style lemon pepper, salt and pepper and poured it over a package of boneless skinless chicken thighs, all in a large ziploc.  This will cook 6-8 hours on low in the crock pot.

For the Swiss Steak I cut 2 pounds of round steak and put in a large ziploc, then added 1 envelope of onion soup mix, 1 chopped fresh onion, 2 chopped fresh tomatoes, and a can of crushed tomatoes.  This will cook 6-8 hours on low in the crock pot and I will serve over brown rice.

For BBQ Pork Chops I put 8 thick chops in the gallon ziploc and added a sauce made with: 2/3 c. water, 1/2 c. ketchup, 1/3 c. vinegar, 1 t. salt, 1 t. celery salt, 1 bay leaf.  This cooks 6-8 hours on low in the crock pot and I will serve with mashed potatoes.

 The Buttermilk Baked Chicken is for the oven, so I will have to thaw it first.  But it is such a good dinner!  I can't remember where I got the recipe from, but it got great reviews.

1/4 c. olive oil
1/4 c. buttermilk (make your own, I do)
1/2 t. lemon pepper
2 T lemon juice
a few shakes hot pepper sauce
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. minced onion
1/2 t dried rosemary
1 t. dried parsley
4-6 chicken breasts (I cut mine in half cause they were huge)
Mix all ingredients except for chicken and pour over the chicken in a casserole dish.  Bake uncovered about an hour - depending on your oven and the size of the breasts it could be less time.  This I will serve with a salad and maybe scalloped potatoes.

As Jacques would say, "Happy cooking!"

Gina

Mealplan Monday #110 and pizza out

Scout and I ate at Double Dave's a couple Fridays ago while Bubbie and Hubby were camping.  It's one of our favorite places to go.

Apparently, Scout thinks it's finger lickin' good.  I have to agree.

Monday - Hash Brown Taco Casserole, salad
Tuesday - Dr. Martin's Mix (with brown rice), rolls
Wednesday - Freezer Clean out - need to clear it out so I can make a new batch of freezer meals
Thursday - Chicken and Dumplings Casserole, green beans
Friday - Crock Pot Beef BBQwiches, chips
Saturday - YOYO
Sunday - Healthier Tater Tot Casserole
(Lots of casserole-type dishes this week...)
Dessert this week will be ice cream

It's a cozy little pizza joint and surprisingly empty on a Friday night.

 Scout and I split two entrees:

 Street taco pizza with tomatillo salsa, grilled sliced steak, mozzarella, and queso fresco,

and garlic spinach stromboli, with a cold beer for the mama. 

Gina

5 thing Friday - keeping track of: mom's cholesterol, work, Bubbie, breakfast, and totebag

I read the lab results for my blood donations in reverse order.  Turns out my cholesterol is going UP, not DOWN.  Apparently, delish lunches like this need to be less common:

Turkey and gouda on Hawaiian roll with mayo and avocado.  I skipped the chips.  I'm thinking I could have skipped the mayo and chosen a whole grain bread, too.  

 I moved my office into the kitchen for a few days so I could leave the backdoor open and use natural light.  It doesn't mean I have less to work on but my surroundings are more pleasant.  Especially since mornings have been cool and beautiful.

Bubbie ordered a knife sharpener kit and a special stand to use it with.  Here he is sharpening his scout knife.   Should I be concerned about this?  My gut feeling tells me No.  

A hot breakfast beats poptarts or cold cereal any day.  Even on days I leave before they do I  can get up a few minutes early to make it happen.  They can re-heat it in the microwave if they want to.  And they don't eat lunch before 2 p.m, at school, so a good breakfast for teenagers is kinda necessary. 

My tote bag last week looked like it was carrying more than it's fair share of the workload.  I had forms to copy and mail, scrubs to return, and the annual ladder notebook to work on.  How can moms get anything done without a good, sturdy tote bag?

Happy Mother's Day Weekend!

Gina

Mealplan Monday #109 and Spring Cleaning outside

I'm doing a bit of Spring cleaning outside of the house.  

My plants have been living outside of the garage for about a month, waiting for me to move them to shadier places when I get the back patio cleaned up.  

Monday - (freezer) Mediterranean Pork Chops, green beans, garlic toast
Tuesday - (freezer) Indian Meatballs, rice, carrots
Wednesday - Turkey and Spinach Bake, corn*
Thursday - L.O.Easter, rolls
Friday - Chicken Lazone, masheds, zucchini
Saturday - Dad grills
Sunday - Lasagna, peas (we never ate this week before last)
Dessert this week is Chocolate Chip Brownies
*I'm subbing turkey breast that I will cook in my mini crock pot

Last week I troweled the Lantana beds to remove leaves and aerate the soil, removed excess old mulch, pulled weeds, then re-mulched lightly and watered.  They are going gangbusters and this week they are in bloom! 

I'm so glad we replaced the grass here with Lantana.  It's drought-resistant and is beautiful for most of the year.  Every time I admire it, I think of The Girl helping me with this big project - wonder if she remembers, too?

Gina

Project fail: painted doorknobs

Back in the Fall, I got inspired to spruce up the front door by removing the hardware and giving it a coat of Rustoleum in oil-rubbed bronze.  The project, as a whole, turned out to be a giant fail - even though I used a primer combo spray paint and I thought I had prepped the metal.. I even let it dry a long, long time. 

The hardware was so pretty against both sides of the door, and I really thought it would work.  After all, I had spray painted a couple of brass lamps and that worked out just fine.

So it was with sadness that a few months later I realized that spray-painting brass knobs on a well-used door does not work. 

Before I admitted total defeat I had gone back and cleaned paint off the knob, so it just needed some CLR to be shiny again.  But the handle down below?  I wasn't going to re-spray paint it once a week to cover the chipped paint.  So, last week I removed all of the hardware that gets wear and tear and cleaned it up.  Some mineral spirits and a multi-purpose sanding block helped me remove all of the paint.

Like I said, the original coating that keeps the brass pretty is long gone - this house is 17 years old after all.  So I will have to do some cleaning on this brass every 6 months or so.  But it looks better than chipped spray paint.  Lesson learned.  You have to do a little more research and use your own experience and common sense.  And you can't give up until you have it looking like it should!

  Maybe when my DIY psyche is all healed up, I will tackle putting the kickplate and the lock collars back to their original brass.  Then again, maybe not.  I like the duo tone of the hardware.  And removing that kickplate is a pain.   I spiffed up the entire front entrance, cleaning off the bricks and the mat, and set my plants back outside. 

 It's neat, it's clean.  I'm gonna leave it alone now.

Gina

Mealplan Monday #108 and window cleaning

 I've been on a mission lately to stick to my To To lists and get some things done that have been flat out ignored. Some of the things have been on my list for a long time - like cleaning windows and putting up curtains.

Monday - Boy Scout dinner - we take pie
Tuesday - (freezer) Crock Pot Pear, Apple, and Pork, rice
Wednesday - Pizza from take-out, salad
Thursday - Double Crunch Honey Garlic Chicken, peas, roasted red potatoes
Friday - Mom and Scout out
Saturday - YOYO
Sunday - Santa Fe Chicken Salad on lettuce with tortilla chips and guacamole
Dessert this week is Maple Walnut Blondies

Gina

5 thing Friday - new beginnings, good and bad, sussies, and intentions

A couple of weeks ago, my half-sister's daughter got married.  I didn't make the wedding, but from the looks of it, it was lovely.  They are a sweet couple and I wish them all the best things in life.  

My heart to you is given,
oh do give yours to me;
We'll lock them up together
And throw away the key.
-F. Saunders

 Does buying and eating kale on a regular basis

 ...make up for all the desserts I've been making? (the above is a Boston Cream Pie Poke cake)

 Everyone loves E. Bunny.  Even co-workers. 
And how thankful I am that I had a day with my dear ones. 

It used to be that keeping a clean house on a regular basis was so important to me that I could not let myself relax at the end of a long day unless the dishes were loaded in the dishwasher, the bathrooms and living areas straightened, and the laundry put up.  I have discovered that it can wait, and all will still be well.  Always learning.

Gina