More recipes!!

A few days before I started cooking, I had to get my grocery list together which was LONG.

A few suggestions:

1) Buy in bulk. We have a Costco membership and they have 10lb bags of chicken (Purdue chicken that's frozen individually...it goes from freezer to oven and is VERY good). This goes for beef, too. You might have to buy 4 or 5 lbs depending on what you're making.

2) Cook and chop the chicken and veggies the day before. It saved so much time to cook the chicken the day before. I just did a couple rounds in the oven. I seriously cooked about 10 chicken breasts and chopped them!

3) Make sure you have enough freezer containers, freezer Zip Lock bags and the disposable casserole dishes work the best...

4) Make labels for your dinners ahead of time. I wrote what the dinner was, the date, how many servings, and how to get it ready for serving. I think next time I cook, I'll type them. So I can just print and stick it on the dinner.

ok...enough about preparation...here are a couple more recipes!

Wild Rice Chicken Serves: 6

1 6 1/4-ounce package of quick cooking long grain and wild rice (I used brown rice)

1 cup cooked chopped chicken (I used 2 cups b/c I wanted more chicken)

1 8-ounce can sliced water chestnuts, drained

1 cup finely chopped celery

1 1/4 cups finely chopped onion

1 cup light mayo

1 10 3/4-ounce can condensed cream of mushroom soup (standard can size)

Cook rice according to package directions. Combine rice with chopped chicken, water chestnuts, celery and onion; put mixture in a 1-gallon freezer bag.

To prepare for serving, thaw rice mixture, remove from bag, and place in a 2 1/2 quart baking dish. Stir mayo and cream of mushroom soup together, and spread over top of chicken mixture. Bake covered in a 325 degree oven for 1 hour. Enjoy!

This is an example of a meal that does take a little work the day of eating, but not near what it would be if you made the whole thing the day of!

Chili Hamburgers Serves: 4

1 lb lean ground beef

2 tbsp finely chopped green bells pappers

1 tbsp minced onion

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp chili sauce (I couldn't find chili sauce, so I just left it out. But they were really good!)

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

4 hamburger buns

Thoroughly mix all ingredients except buns. Shape into 4 patties. Freeze in a large freezer bag with wax paper between each one. If freezing for more than a couple weeks, you can freeze the buns too. Bread freezes well.

To prepare, thaw patties and buns. Grill or fry to desired pinkness in center. Serve on warm hamburger buns.

This is a recipe that you can modify to your hearts desire! Next time I cook in bulk, I plan on making several varieties of burgers to have on hand for hosting company!

ok...enough for today!

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