In the Kitchen

It's great to have Freezer Meal Days (as I had recently with 3 daughters and 1 son, who all live nearby), and it's also good to have some shorter sessions In the Kitchen. Taking a portion of a day to focus on preparing some baked goods, some mixes, and even a few freezer meals.

It just makes sense. Especially when there are so many other things that call our attention each day, making it difficult to spend much time cooking on a daily basis. Having some prepared dishes and mixes makes life so much easier.

Last Thursday I spent about four hours In the Kitchen. And this is what I prepared in that time:

5 mixes of Cinnamon Date Oatmeal 

stored in the refrigerator, they are great to have on hand for breakfasts

6 loaves of Honey Whole Wheat Bread 

prepared with my Bosch machine; and stored in the freezer for the month ahead

2 batches of this Pizza Dough recipe

  my first time to make this (dividing the dough into small rounds for eight 12-inch pizzas); 

I mixed up the dough with my KitchenAid, and let it rise 30 minutes before freezing
I'll store these in the freezer for Friday nights when we often have pizza

4 meals of Slow Cooker Saucy Pork Chops 

 one for supper that day, and three meals (for the two of us) in the freezer for future days

 (I also have some bags of cooked rice in the freezer - I pulled one out for our meal last Thursday)

Whether one is in "empty nest" years (where there are many others things to focus on besides cooking), or one has a houseful of children (where we are busy with our kids from morning till night) - it's always a good idea to have some prepared-ahead meals to be able to pull out when needed. I am finding that I prefer to have periodic sessions In the Kitchen, rather than spending a lot of time cooking each day.

Linking up with:
Tasty Tuesday
Time to Sparkle
Live Laugh Linky
Saturday Show and Tell

Spring is Here!

We've waited awhile for spring weather here in our part of the world, and it finally has come!

So thankful for: spring, warm weather, daffodils, purchasing some veggie seeds, planting a row of potatoes in our garden, helping a son start up his own veggie garden, watching two four-year-old grandsons play soccer, making summer vacation plans, eating outdoors on the patio with my hubby, and a walk together in our little town.

Thanking God for

beautiful, refreshing, wonderful spring - 

my favorite!

(Credits for digital scrapbook page: Frame Template: Scrap Girls - MRE_Windowpane; Paper & Embellishment: Sweet Shoppe Design - You Are My Happy; Fonts: DJB Jenna and DJB Tara)

My Weekly Findings #2

My second post of sharing a few online findings from the past week! I am having fun with this - and hope you enjoy it, as well! And hope you enjoy a refreshing, relaxing weekend - warmer weather has finally come to our little corner of the world! It has been feeling like spring the past few days - so thankful!

A Place of Your Own

I loved reading this post by Melissa on the (in)courage blog. We are so blessed to be able to connect with God wherever we are and whatever time of day. And also, it's a blessing to have a place for extended, quiet meetings with our Creator - whether it be a special, comfy corner of our home, or outdoors in His beautiful creation, or sometimes even as we are driving in our car. A place where we can quiet ourselves, really listen, and share our hearts.

How to Add a Signature to Blogger Posts

Angela's blog is filled with good tips, and I also love her recommendations of fonts to download. This particular post caught up my attention, as I've been wondering about adding a signature to my blog posts. Am considering trying this out.

Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus

Once in awhile I visit Janelle's blog, and really, I should go there more often. She has some great recipes, and also lots of good ideas of serving others through providing meals for them. This recent recipe caught my attention, as I have been wishing to try some asparagus recipes. I admit that early in our marriage I tried a recipe with asparagus that was definitely not the best, and all these years, I have avoided asparagus. I think that I have been missing out ...

Garlic Beef Enchiladas

We love this recipe! It takes a bit of time to prepare, but it is so very delicious. My favorite beef enchilada recipe ...

I am also trying out a new feature which will enable printing directly from Plan to Eat, which is the menu planning site that I use. Hopefully, the "print" tab will work for you (if you choose to print this recipe). (Also, if you change the font size to "10 pt" on the next screen after you select PRINT, it should print out on one full page.)

Garlic Beef Enchiladas

Source: www.tasteofhome.com

Course: Main Course

Serves: 5

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon chili powder (or use 2 teaspoons)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder (or use 3/4 teaspoon)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon rubbed sage
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) stewed tomatoes
• SAUCE:
• 1/3 cup butter
• 4-6 garlic cloves minced
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 can beef broth 14 1/2 ounces
• 1 can tomato sauce 15 ounces
• 1-2 tablespoons chili powder (used 1 tablespoon)
• 1-2 teaspoons ground cumin (used 1 teaspoon)
• 1-2 teaspoons rubbed sage (used 1 teaspoon)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 10 flour tortillas (6 inches) warmed
• 2 cups Colby-Monterey Jack cheese (8 ounces) divided, shredded

Directions

1. In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat 6-8 minutes or until beef is no longer pink, breaking up beef into crumbles; drain. Stir in flour and seasonings. Stir in tomatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, 15 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350°.
3. In small saucepan, heat butter over medium-high heat. Add garlic; cook and stir 1 minute or until tender. Stir in flour until blended; gradually whisk in broth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in tomato sauce and seasonings; heat through.
4. Pour 1-1/2 cups sauce into an ungreased 13x9-in. baking dish. Place about 1/4 cup beef mixture down the center of each tortilla; top with 1-2 tablespoons cheese. Roll up and place over sauce, seam side down. Top with remaining sauce.
5. Bake, covered, 30-35 minutes or until heated through.
6. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, 10-15 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.
7. Yield: 5 servings.

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Using the Plan to Eat PRINT feature is new for me, and please let me know if it works okay for you (if you choose to print this recipe). I'm happy to have discovered this method of sharing my recipes, as I am in the process of importing all my recipes to Plan to Eat, and this will be an easy way to share them here on my blog.

Never Too Small {Heart Connect}

A little quote, with great wisdom ... take even the smallest concern, and turn it into a prayer.

"Don't worry about anything;

instead,

pray about everything."

(Philippians 4:6a)

Click here for previous posts in Heart Connect: Living a Life of Prayer.

Linking up with:
Faith Filled Friday

Freezer Meal Day

It's always a fun day when it's Freezer Meal Day at our house. A busy day - when we're exhausted at the end of the day - but a very fun, productive day. And sharing the day together as family is the best way to have a Freezer Meal Day. Usually I am blessed to have my three grown daughters who live nearby join me for the day (and we miss another who lives in TX), and this time we were so happy to have a son, who also lives nearby, join us as well! (And we missed our other son who is in CA.)

Saturday, April 20, was the day! We shared a lunch meal of Cheesy Chicken Subs together, followed by about five hours in the kitchen, and finished off with a pizza meal together! And in those five hours in the kitchen, three daughters and a son and I prepared 30+ dishes for the freezer! And my amazing hubby helped out with our grandkids - a five year-old girl, three four year-old boys, and a one year-old little girl! We all took our turns helping him out with the kids, especially our son who has a way of making life fun for the three little boys!

Here are the steps that we followed for our Freezer Meal Day:

STEP ONE

Each of my daughters picked a main dish recipe to use, including an additional side dish for one of them, and I provided two main dish recipes. We each provided all the ingredients for the recipes we picked, purchasing enough to make multiple dishes of each recipe. Enough for one of each recipe for five households.

Crescent Chicken Bundles
Hot Taco Pockets
Baked Ziti
Meat Loaf Miniatures
Freezer Mashed Potatoes
Cilantro Lime Chicken with Corn and Black Beans


STEP TWO

Using ideas from blogs and freezer meal cookbooks that I have used over the years, I then made a Prep List chart (chopping, mincing, etc.).

STEP THREE

Next, I prepared a Cooking Plan, to help us keep on track as we worked through all the various recipes together. We checked off each line as it was completed. I also typed up a little label for each dish for the freezer, with cooking instructions for the actual day of using the dish.

STEP FOUR

Our cooking marathon began right after we finished up our lunch together: first completing the items on the Prep List, and then proceeding through the Cooking Plan. A lot of fun - a lot of little breaks to put kiddos down for naps, get them back up, help them in their play - a lot of cleanup in the midst of the cooking - and such a good feeling to have meals for each of our freezers!

Eventually, especially as the little children grow a bit older, we will likely try to increase the number of dishes that we prepare on our Freezer Meal Days. We're learning of more possibilities of easy-to-prepare dishes, as well, such as the Cilantro Lime Chicken recipe (above), which simply involves putting all the ingredients together in a freezer bag, then using the slow cooker on the day you use the dish. Some of the recipes we used took a bit longer, as they also involved some steps of cooking to prepare them for the freezer.

Such a fun way to spend time together as family, and so great to have some homemade meals in our freezers. I am often on the lookout for new ideas for freezer meals - please feel free to contact me (through comments, by email, or on my Pursuing Heart facebook page) if you have ideas to share, or if you have a question about our day.

Linking up with:
Tasty Tuesday
Time to Sparkle
Your Creative Timeout
I'm Lovin' It
Saturday Show and Tell

Choose Joy

Unusual for April - snow, cold and cloudy days. Tomorrow - more snow in the forecast, and a high of 39. And the clouds across our nation and our world continue - people hurting, and in pain. Even in our own little corner - a granddaughter diagnosed with a serious eye disease, in addition to her diagnosis last month of a rare genetic kidney disease.

And, above the clouds and the cold - there is still JOY. 

"Trust in Me.

Do as I say each moment and all indeed shall be well ...

Have no fear, go forward.

Joy - radiant Joy must be yours.

Change all disappointment, even if only momentary, into Joy."

(God Calling)

Thanking God, for JOY, amidst the snow and the pain ...

Students responding to Jesus, choosing Him, needing Him

Our Cru High National Director here for assemblies at high schools

A young woman, mom of three at 21 years, finding the answer to her emptiness

The love of friends as we heard the difficult news of eye disease

Her trust and her response of surrender

Your love and Your grace holding our sweet granddaughter

Time spent with a son, home from a three-month job at sea

Dinner with my father, now 92 years

A fun and productive Freezer Meal Day with 3 daughters and 1 son

The fog, rain, and clouds viewed through the window

Joy and Peace secure within

"I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God!

For He has dressed me with the clothing of salvation

and draped me in a robe of righteousness."

(Isaiah 61:10a)