Cooking for 2 weeks!

Hello everyone! I have proved to myself that cooking for 2 weeks can be done, and can be done without breaking the bank!

I will be the first to admit that I am not the best house keeper, but I am a pretty good cook (when I have a recipe to follow), so I decided to put my skills to work! It was so gratifying that I did this for me and my husband and to ensure that 1) I am not stressed about what's for dinner 2) we have good quality meals and 3) they don't take too long to prepare or clean up! Also, this can greatly cut down on your grocery bill b/c your using the fresh veggies/meats right away therefore not wasting money and food.

Let me clarify, when I say cooking for 2 weeks, I do not meal breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I just mean dinners. However, many of the dinners have more than 2 servings so the leftovers make great lunches!

You can either do it all in one day or you can break it up into a day and a half or 2 days. I found it easier to break up b/c of the baby. Below, you'll find the recipes that I made, how many they serve, how to store/freeze them, and what to do to prepare them when the time comes to eat them.

Here are the recipes:

Corn Chowder (my mom's recipe is SOOOOO good)

Spaghetti sauce with meatballs (Cory's family recipe, again SOOOOO good)

Cheesy Mexican Casserole

Chili Hamburgers

Sloppy Joes (my version)

Wild Rice Chicken

Chicken Packets

There are a couple more that I want to try, and I'll post those recipes when I do.

Corn Chowder: Serves: 8

1 roll of regular sausage (I suggest Bob Evans Original)

1 roll of frozen creamed corn (I suggest McKensie's)

4 medium russet potatoes peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes

4 cups chicken stock

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1 cup of milk

2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese (divided)

Brown and crumble sausage, drain well. Add corn, soup, stock and diced potatoes. Mixture will be fairly thick until corn thaws.

Let simmer on low, stirring often; corn will stick to bottom of pot; until potatoes are done, about 1 hour. Add milk, stir and heat through.

To freeze, remove from heat and let cool a bit and place corn chowder in gallon zip lock freezer bags. One batch will fit in one bag, but I suggest freezing half in one bag and half in another to make two meals. Place 1 cup of cheddar in a small freezer bag and attach to the chowder. Don't worry, cheese freezes well.

To serve, thaw chowder and heat in microwave or stove. Sprinkle with cheddar and enjoy! This is really good with cornbread or oyster crackers.

ok...the other recipes will have to be posted tomorrow! Gotta get to a crying baby!

Britt