Kathi Lipp's Blog, page 114

Getting Out the Door Busy Morning Breakfast Guide

Do you have breakfast on the go, or do you go without breakfast?  I am guessing most of us, or if you do not skip breakfast than you might fall into the “eat the granola bar with your coffee as you walk into work or drive the kiddos around” category. Let’s face it our mornings are rushed and tackling the day’s tasks can seem  more important to us than sitting down to eat breakfast.

All this week we are going to be focusing on getting out the door in the morning and one of the best ways to do that is to have some Busy Morning Breakfast Ideas.

But,whether it’s sitting around the table, or  breakfast on the go  it’s so important! It provides the energy we need to start the day, it gets our metabolism going and we all want that to work right?  So how do we start the day off on the right foot, make it quick, easy and healthy and stay on time?

Below are a few links to give you some ideas about breakfast on the go. Many can be made ahead or take little to no time at all to prepare.

If you have kids there is plenty you can do to set up the night before.

Before bed set the table with the bowls, spoons, napkins and cereal choices. Add any fruit or bread items needed…anything that does not live in the fridge.
Have a list in the kitchen of your current breakfast choices so you do not waste time hunting for food. I have a friend who types up breakfast choices for her kids and before she sends them to bed the kids initial what they want the next day. The list changes as her food choices change. This save several minutes each morning for everyone in the house.
Set your coffee pot at night so by the time you wake up you have hot, fresh coffee.
Use your Crock Pot for breakfast; it’s not just for dinner. Crock Pot Oatmeal ROCKS.
Go ahead and chop the fruit or peel it and place it in a Ziploc bag. If you are prepping apples toss with lemon juice to prevent browning.
Have  breakfast on the go choices ready: cheese sticks, yogurts, nuts and homemade breads sliced and in a container as well so you can grab it on your way out the door.

Below are a few sites you can visit to get great crock pot breakfast on the go recipes.

Crock Pot Breakfast ideas

10 Easy Breakfast Crock Pot Recipes

Here are a few places that list great, quick and easy breakfast options.

Top 10 easy breakfast recipes

9 Fast and Healthy Breakfast Ideas

You have to love this next list of breakfast ideas, if only the website address… “Dumb little man” But it is also good to get a man’s perspective as well as a lot of us are taking care of his needs too!

5 Quick & Simple Breakfast-On-the-Run Ideas

 

And be sure to head over to my Facebook Author Page to download our list of 30 On the Go Breakfast Ideas!

 

So let’s help each other out. I want to hear what tips and tricks you have to make breakfast simple and healthy and getting out the door on time with little stress. What is your favorite Busy Morning Breakfast Idea?

 

Tell me all your great ideas in the comments below one commenter this week will win n a $10 Starbucks gift card and a copy of The Get Yourself Organized Project

One winner will be chosen from all comments posted for the entire week.

Please, be sure to link to your blog or provide an email address so we can get in touch with you!

Getting Out the Door Busy Morning Breakfast Guide

Getting Out the Door: It’s All About the Night Before

I am not what you would call a “morning person”.

I don’t function well first thing, but also don’t have a ton of time to become fully alert.

That’s why I think the most important thing about getting out the door is getting ready the night before, (or in the early evening, if you’re not a night owl.) For me, it’s so important that I’m able to go on autopilot in the morning and not have to make any crucial decisions, (like what to wear or feed myself…)

Here are a few simple and elementary tips. I am sure a lot of you might remember your parents telling you some of these.

1. Have a night before checklist

Charge everything you need for the next day (phone, laptop, iPad, iPod etc.)
Defrost something for tomorrow night’s dinner in the fridge (so you don’t have to think about it in the morning.)
Lay out your clothes for the next day (including shoes)
Set your coffee maker up and prep as much of your breakfast as you can the night before

2. Create a morning Launch Pad

For me, this is the table right by the front door. This is where I keep everything I need for the next day:

 your purse, backpack, laptop bag
Keys
Reusable shopping bags
Sports equipment
Kid’s backpacks (with homework safely tucked inside)

3. Go to bed at a decent time. (Sleep is not just for princesses who have servants, our bodies need sleep time to heal and stay healthy.)

4. Stay consistent with your waking time each day. This will train your body to naturally wake up on time. Even on days you don’t have to get up early, do it. This will give you a wonderful break from your morning routine. You can spend time in the Word, sip your coffee, watch the news or just enjoy the quietness of the house while the natives sleep.

5. Keep everything in the same place. For example: your dog’s leash should hang on the same hook every time you get home, so it’s easy to find in the morning.

So what have I missed that you may do that will help another girlfriend out? I want to hear it all. My mornings get by me way too fast!

Tell me in the comments below what your tried and true strategies are for getting up and out the door in a snap. What makes your mornings easier? One commenter this week will win a copy of The Get Yourself Organized Project and a $10 Starbucks Gift Card

 

Getting Out the Door: It’s All About the Night Before

Why I Write this Blog for all My Friends with a Secret Idetity

 

One of the big reasons I started this blog, (or write books, or speak at events,) is because we all struggle, and I find in sharing our struggle, and working beyond it, we grow in strength. The best sentence a friend can say to another friend is “Me too!” When I share my struggles with you, and you share them right back, it’s easy to feel a little less crazy than we did going into the day – and I find that very valuable indeed.

In addition to sharing our struggles, I want to share hope. I’d always wanted to be one of those “Big Idea” people: “Hey, let’s all get together and raise money for wells in Africa!” “Here’s how to start a women’s ministry in your church!” simply “Hey, you can do great big things in your life!”

I look at other writers and speakers and see how they are changing the world – or at least their corner of it. And I so want to be like them. But I realize I have a different role.

It came to me one night when I was speaking at an event. I was presenting a “Big Idea” and got the group really motivated. I was all excited. “Big Idea” Things were going to happen!

And then a woman came up to me looking a little crestfallen. We started to chat, and she let me know that while she loved the whole “Big Idea” it was frustrating to her. She expected something else from me. Her exact words? “Kathi, it’s hard to change the world when you can’t find your car keys on a regular basis.”

And that’s when it hit me: I’m the car key lady.

God sees fit that my role is to help all of you (and you all help me sometimes,) find our car keys on a regular basis, so that we can go do “Big Idea” Things. But our “Big Idea” things often come in some pretty plain packaging.

It’s a sneaky plan – discovering God in the midst of organizing and meal planning. But that’s where God lives – in the midst of everyday real life. God is in the “Big Ideas” but he is also in the small, intentional acts that to the world look like homemaking, working and raising a family:

When I talk about cleaning out your purse, what I’m really talking about is getting your life organized so you have time to volunteer for your daughter’s class and make an impact on her and her little friends.
When I talk about freezer meals, what I’m really talking about is creating a family time where you can have a house that is enveloped in peace.
When I talk about flirting with your husband, what I’m really talking about is showing the world how two broken people can be madly in love with each other when Christ is in the midst of it.
When I talk about saving money at the grocery store, what I’m really talking about is having extra money in the bank so when your heart is moved to adopt a child through Compassion, you have a way to do it.

To me – you are each super heroes with a secret identity: To the average bystander you look like moms and wives, employees and students, friends and volunteers. But I know your secret identity: you are world changers. You are the ones who are changing your family’s life and everyone they come in contact with. With your “everyday” actions you are quietly, almost undetected in many circumstances, doing huge and brave work.

What I’m really talking about on this blog, in the midst of the money-saving-house-organizing-man-loving post is one word: Peace. With every tiny little improvement you make, you are bringing peace to a world that desperately needs it. Your cape may not be ironed, and no reporter is following you around reporting on your great deeds. But I see you. I know the truth.

And I love you. Rock on secret super hero.

Why I Write this Blog for all My Friends with a Secret Idetity

The Retro Art of Freezer Cooking – All Your Questions Answered

In this, The Retro Art of Freezer Cooking – All Your Questions Answered I wrap up (pun totally intended…) some of your questions about the whole process:

How do you fit all those meals in your freezer?

One thing is important for you to keep in mind:When you are shopping for things like foil pans to prepare your meals, squares and rectangles pack better than round pans.

The other key is to freeze thing like soups, stews and marinades as “flatly” as possible. When I’m freezing those liquid-y items, I freeze them as flat as possible (lay them down on a cookie sheet in your freezer,) so I can stack as many as I can in my space.

How long can you keep meals in the freezer?

Some people would say longer, but I feel that three months is a good rule of thumb. (Plus, it gets me to clean out my freezer at least a few times a year and not waste meals.)

Where did you get all the recipes for all the meals?

A while ago I bought a “Freezer Cookbook” (Without naming names, if you were cooking in the 90?s and going to church, you probably owned – or own – that book,) and tried out all of the recipes. While I loved the technique and learned how to do freezer cooking from that little book, there were a couple of problems:

Making 30 entirely different meals was a pain in the rear.
My family hated most of the meals.

That is when I tried some of our family favorites Freezer Cooking Style. As I learned more and more about what froze well (and what didn’t) I got a collection of recipes that worked for us. I have those in my book The What’s for Dinner Solution.

My freezer doesn’t look anything like yours – mine is full of Mystery…

Trust me – if I don’t keep on top of it, my hubby and I have conversations like, “So what do you think that grey lump of meat it?” Roger’s response? “Garbage.” That is why I have to be so vigilant at labeling everything with dates and contents. Trust me – it is better for everyone involved.

How long does it take to make all those meals? Is your grocery bill astronomical?

Pretty much a full weekend. We figure that each meal averages up between $5-7.50. We could make it cheaper (cook our own chickens for casserole meat instead of buying Costco roasted chickens, making our own pesto, etc.) but we choose convenience over cost on some things.

Does shopping at Costco really save you money? How about for a smaller family?

Here is my very uneducated opinion about Costco: If you are super organized, use coupons wisely, follow loss-leader sales, and can shop on a frequent basis to take advantage of those sales, you can probably save as much money shopping more traditional stores and outlets as you can at Costco.

I admit that we make some trade-offs re: money/convince. If I can get it at Costco, I usually do – especially when it comes to Freezer Cooking. (Although, we tend to buy our fruits and veggies at Safeway or Farmer’s Markets, and do grow a few things – tomatoes, peppers, and some herbs – on our tiny back patio. We have not always been over the moon with the quality of all  the Costco fruit and vegetables. )

I think if you get your stuff home and have a plan for dividing up your big Costco-sized items, you can save money. Money is lost when you forget that you bought that bag of frozen chicken and discover it 18 months later.

 

What about Low-Fat versions of the recipes – where can I find those?

Most recipes – low fat or not – can be frozen in some state. You can always use low fat substitution for the ingredients that are stated in a recipe as well.

Obviously you are not going to freeze a salad, but, low-fat soups, chili’s, marinades, stews, (that are not cream based) work great.

I have some recipes in my book that are great for low-fat cooking. And then there are others. There will never be a low-fat version of “Poppy Seed Chicken” or “Dreamy Spaghetti”. Maybe lower-fat, but they are just not healthy. In those cases, we serve a lot of veggies, and treat those casseroles as more of a side dish (and I have a bowl of chili instead of the casserole.) These are the recipes that my kids LOVE so it is OK to slip them in every once in a while. (Trust me, the meal I am serving them is better than what they would order at McDonalds.)

 

Here is a family favorite for low fat cooking. If I could only freeze one recipe – this would hands down be it. You can spice it up and add chicken sausage to make a great Jambalaya – serve it over pasta, or if you are looking for lower-fat versions, over steamed white or brown rice.

Chicken Cacciatore

1 lb    Boneless, skinless, chicken breasts

1 Tbs    Vegetable oil

1 1/4

cup    Onion

2 cups    Mushrooms

1 tsp    Minced garlic

1-28 oz     Can of crushed tomatoes in puree

2 Tbs    Parsley

1/4 tsp    Pepper

2 tsp    Italian Seasoning

1 tsp    Basil

Parmesan cheese

1. Prepare: Cut chicken into cubes. Slice onions and mushrooms. Chop garlic.

2. Cooking: In a large skillet, sauté chicken in vegetable oil until no longer pink in the center. Remove chicken from skillet and sauté onions, mushrooms, and garlic until the onions are transparent. Add chicken and remaining ingredients except for Parmesan cheese. Simmer for 15 minutes. Allow sauce to cool.

3.  Freeze: Freeze in a 13×9 pan.

4. Serve: Thaw sauce in the refrigerator overnight. Place the foil-covered pan in a 350° oven for 30 minutes to warm. Serve over pasta or mashed potatoes.

Servings: 4

 

Can I store my freezer meals in glass – I am worried about the health reports re: plastic bags.

If you are likewise concerned about plastic bags, I would encourage you to take a look at This Article. Basically my philosophy (this is just for me and my family, you need to make your own decision,) is that I store and freeze in plastic, but I don’t reheat in plastic anymore.

 

How do you cook the black and white meat under the table?

Just like chicken.

The Retro Art of Freezer Cooking – All Your Questions Answered

The Retro Art of Freezer Cooking Day 4 Getting Your Cook On

 

***Giv e Away Alert! I will be giving away four copies of my freezer cooking cookbooks The What’s for Dinner Solution A winner everyday Tuesday through Friday. PLUS – a Freezer Cooking P rize Pack including The What’s for Dinner Solution and $25 Amazon Gift Card to buy all the Ziploc bags and 8×8 pans you need to get started! Just leave a comment on the blog sometime this week and I will pick four book winners and one grand prize winner – the more comments, the more chances to win! (One comment per person, per day, please!) ***

All this week, I will be giving you step by step instructions on how to have great, tasty meals for you and your family, every night. To make sure you don’t miss a post, subscribe to the blog!

 

OK – Now we get down to the nitty gritty. I know you all know how to cook, so I am going to just put down some of my Best Practices when it come to Freezer Cooking and preparing all those meals.

Think Assembly Line When you have four recipes that called for chopped onions, get your food processor (or the food processor that you borrowed from your friend at church) and chop all those bad boys at once. (Another little trick that works well with onions: Light a wooden match and then blow it out. Hold the wooden part in your teeth while chopping onions to keep from crying. I don’t know why it works, but it does.)

Here is another tip on onions from Kelly www.bittybowsboutique.com :

“I despise chopping onions. I use my food processor on “Pulse”, to chop onions to keep in my freezer, freezing them flat in 1 gallon freezer bags. Whether I need 1 Tablespoon or 2 Cups, I can break off just enough to add to my recipes. It is also a great way to use up a large bag of Costco onions…which is about the same price as a tiny bag from Safeway.”

Play mix and match – marinade style. When it comes to my marinades, I don’t discriminate on the types of meats I use – If I buy a ½ gallon of Yoshida Sauce (and you all should – it is YUMMY) I will line up my Ziploc bags each filled with a different meat (Chicken Breasts, Flank Steaks, Pork Roast, Pork Chops) and just pour the marinades over the meats. Instantly, I have four different kinds of meals – now all I have to do is come up with side dishes, and that is where I will get a little creative. (For example, with the chicken, I might chop it up after cooking and make rice and mixed Asian veggies for rice bowls. For the pork, I could serve it with veggie kabobs and grilled pineapple.)

Pictured here – Giant Pork Loins that I chop into thirds and get six family-sized meals out of each. For smaller families, your could get up to 12 meals out of these two pork loins.

Pasta Preparation When I am doing a pasta casserole, I just use up any small pasta I have around – I don’t care if it is penne, macaroni or egg noodle. All of it works. Also, when preparing pasta for freezing, make sure it is al dente so that it doesn’t get mushy in the freezing/cooking process.
Beg or Borrow Things that will Make Your Life Easier There is no need to chop peppers by hand when your neighbor has a Food Processor that she uses 4x a year. Ask if you can borrow it – and when you bring it back, present her with one of your home cooked meals as a thank you. For years we were frying ground beef and turkey in a stove top pan until I finally invested in a Presto 16” Electric Skillet. Any step that saves me time (and keeps me encouraged to keep on Freezer Cooking) is worth weighing the costs on!
Play Lots of Loud, Upbeat Music While Cooking
Do Categories at Once I usually shop and prepare the marinades on Friday, and then leave the rest of the assembly (casseroles, chilis, soups, etc.) for Saturday.

Label EVERYTHING as it Goes into the Freezer No mysteries allowed. That defeats the whole purpose.

 

For today’s free download, go to my Facebook Page this week (through September 1. 2013) and get our our 50 Dinner Ideas.

Tell me below – What is you favorite thing to freeze? You could win a copy of The What’s for Dinner Solution or the grand prize of The What’s for Dinner Solution and a $25 Amazon Gift Card.

Want more freezer recipes? Did you know you can get a free ecopy of Six Chicks Freeze and Fix: How to Start a Freezer Meal Co-op just by liking my Facebook Page. Once you hit “Like” just go to the tabs and download the booklet. It’s that easy. Over 20 great family-pleasing recipes!

We’ll have a free freezer download every day this week. Stay tuned!

The Retro Art of Freezer Cooking Day 4 Getting Your Cook On

The Retro Art of Freezer Cooking Day 3 Shopping

 

***Giv e Away Alert! I will be giving away four copies of my freezer cooking cookbooks The What’s for Dinner Solution A winner everyday Tuesday through Friday. PLUS – a Freezer Cooking P rize Pack including The What’s for Dinner Solution and $25 Amazon Gift Card to buy all the Ziploc bags and 8×8 pans you need to get started! Just leave a comment on the blog sometime this week and I will pick four book winners and one grand prize winner – the more comments, the more chances to win! (One comment per person, per day, please!) ***

All this week, I will be giving you step by step instructions on how to have great, tasty meals for you and your family, every night. To make sure you don’t miss a post, subscribe to the blog!

 

Shopping for Your Cooking Day

My shopping system is pretty easy. I triple my recipes, make a list of ingredients and quantities needed, and buy the biggest containers I can to satisfy those need. If I am doing marinades (and I am always doing marinades) I will buy the big Costco-sized bags of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, divide those into Ziploc gallon bags with five breasts each (because that is usually how many people I am feeding – less breasts for smaller kids who will share,)and then pour marinade in the bags with the frozen breasts. Super, super easy. I also do this with those giant pork roasts at Costco – just cut them down into your family-sized portions and you are good to go.

When I got to advanced freezer cooking, I did an Excel spread sheet with my basic menu already tripled – that way I just had to see what I was out of and buy that at Costco and Safeway. My kids are never bored with my cooking and it makes my life SO much easier.

A couple of shopping tips that make things easier:

Shop at Costco first. I love Costco, but the marinade that was there last month may no longer exist. I tend to buy most of what I can at Costco, and then the remainders at Safeway.
Know what you have. There is nothing more frustrating than picking up 10 pounds of brow rice, only to discover you had another 10 pound bag hanging out in your pantry. Take an inventory of everything you already have, and then shop from there. (Plus, if you are inventorying everything far enough in advance, you might be able to shape some of your menu around the items you already have.)
Have a system for “saving” your food. If you live with a pack of hungry teenage boys, those two Costco roasted chickens might prove too great a temptation.  I put blue painter’s tape on any food I’m “saving” for cooking that they might want. (The dried egg noodles are safe.)
Bring the kids. (OK – if they’re old enough to help.) By the time my kids were 12, they were Costco experts. I would send them on “runs” together to go get items we needed. I would say it cut our shopping time by 1/3. The trick is to have a good list and raise your kids on Costco.
Leave smaller kids with a friend. The trade off? Pick up her food at Costco for her. Just put everything you are buying for her on the conveyer belt first, have them subtotal it, and then add in your stuff.
Have a spice inventory in addition to your pantry and freezer inventory. You will thank me later!
Bring a clipboard and pen with you when you are shopping. You may even want to have one of your kids be in charge of the list.

Things you will need besides ingredients

Here are some basic supplies that will make your Freezer Cooking Adventure easier:

Ziploc gallon bags
Sharpie Markers
Clear packing take
White labels
Pam or some other non-stick cooking spray
8×8 foil pans (if you will be doing casseroles)
Aluminum foil
Plenty of kitchen towels to clean up as you go
Dish washing liquid to clean posts and pans as you go

Tomorrow, we will get cooking!

 

For today’s free download, go to my Facebook Page this week (through September 1. 2013) and get our new Pantry Inventory Sheet.

Tell me below – do you have a favorite freezer trick? You could win a copy of The What’s for Dinner Solution or the grand prize of The What’s for Dinner Solution and a $25 Amazon Gift Card.

Want more freezer recipes? Did you know you can get a free ecopy of Six Chicks Freeze and Fix: How to Start a Freezer Meal Co-op just by liking my Facebook Page. Once you hit “Like” just go to the tabs and download the booklet. It’s that easy. Over 20 great family-pleasing recipes!

We’ll have a free freezer download every day this week. Stay tuned!

The Retro Art of Freezer Cooking Day 3 Shopping

The Retro Art of Freezer Cooking Day 2 How to Package Your Meals

 

***Giv e Away Alert! I will be giving away four copies of my freezer cooking cookbooks The What’s for Dinner Solution A winner everyday Tuesday through Friday. PLUS – a Freezer Cooking P rize Pack including The What’s for Dinner Solution and $25 Amazon Gift Card to buy all the Ziploc bags and 8×8 pans you need to get started! Just leave a comment on the blog sometime this week and I will pick four book winners and one grand prize winner – the more comments, the more chances to win! (One comment per person, per day, please!) ***

Over the next four days, I will be giving you step by step instructions on how to have great, tasty meals for you and your family, every night. To make sure you don’t miss a post, subscribe to the blog!

 

Wrapping it Up – Everything You Need to Know About Freezing Your Food

First – here is a quick list of things that could have problems freezing:

Cake icing made with egg whites
Cream filling and soft frostings
Pies made with custard or cream fillings
Cooked egg whites
Fried foods
Fruit jelly
Soft cheese (unless mixed into a recipe)
Mayonnaise (unless mixed into a recipe)
Sour cream (unless mixed into a recipe)
Potatoes (you can do potatoes, but it is a bit complicated for the blog and they can sometimes turn a weird color…)

Freezing your food falls into three different categories:

  Soups, Stews, Chilli

Let the soup, stew or chili cool for a bit before pouring your portion into a labeled Ziploc bag and get out as much air as you can before speaking.. Bag again with the zipper part going the opposite way of the first bag.. Freeze lying down so it will lie as flat as possible. For soups, stews and chili, I put my bags on a large cookie sheet before freezing so that the bags will not sink down between the grates of the freezer, therefore making them hard to pry off once frozen.If you are making soups, stews or chili and want to freeze them in single serve portions, you can pour them into small plastic containers (Rubbermaid, Ziploc, etc.) leaving some room at the top for when the liquid freezes and expands. Let them cool down, cover with lids and freeze.

Marinades

Just put the meat and the marinade in a Ziploc bag and then put that Ziploc bag in another Ziploc bag with the zipper part going the opposite way. Label your inner bag so the otter bag can be reused.

 

Casseroles

For casserole freezing, I have used the foil pans pictured below for years.

I think my addiction to foil cake pans started when I was doing our freezer cooking swap with a bunch of other girls (to find out more about our group, Six Chicks Freeze and Fix, check out the booklet on my Facebook Page.) We would each make our dinners at home, and then bring them to a predetermined location, and swap. We didn’t want the hassle of returning dishes, so the cake pans worked for our needs.

But it was a little silly that I was still doing it once I was only cooking for my family. Besides the cost, all I could picture was trees dying in the rain forest because of my wastefulness. (I don’t know why it would be trees dying, but I’m sure the trees would somehow be affected.)

So I finally broke down and bought a dozen of these inexpensive (OK, cheap,) steel pans from Target. Love ‘em.

 

 

Here are my instructions for packaging the casseroles:

Spray the bottom of the serving pan with Pam or some other non-fat cooking spray
Put your casserole in the pan
Cover the casserole with foil
Label the foil with the name and date of the casserole (I’ll tell you why this is bold in a second.)
Slip into a Ziploc bag with the printing on the bag on the bottom

OK – so here is the money/environment tip of the day: If you label the foil instead of the Ziploc (which is just keeping your f ood from freezer burn and is not actually touching any food) you can reuse your Ziploc bag for protecting other meals. If you bag your food with a label on the foil, and you put the Ziploc imprint on the bottom of the casserole, you will clearly be able to see what is in your meal.

 

You see, those baggies are expensive, and it is my goal to make them last as long as possible!

If you don’t have all the pans that you need, here is a great suggestion from one of my commenters Deanna:

To save more $ may I suggest lining a casserole dish in aluminum foil and then preparing the meal in it. Freeze it, lift the meal out, wrap it again in foil, label and stick it in the freezer! When you go to cook it just unwrap the outer layer of foil, pop back in the original dish and cook. Makes clean up a breeze too!

For today’s free download, go to my Facebook Page this week (through September 1. 2013) and get our new Freezer Inventory Sheet.

Tell me below – do you have a favorite freezer trick? You could win a copy of The What’s for Dinner Solution or the grand prize of The What’s for Dinner Solution and a $25 Amazon Gift Card.

Want more freezer recipes? Did you know you can get a free ecopy of Six Chicks Freeze and Fix: How to Start a Freezer Meal Co-op just by liking my Facebook Page. Once you hit “Like” just go to the tabs and download the booklet. It’s that easy. Over 20 great family-pleasing recipes!

We’ll have a free freezer download every day this week. Stay tuned!

The Retro Art of Freezer Cooking Day 2 How to Package Your Meals

The Retro Art of Freezer Cooking

 

***Giv e Away Alert! I will be giving away four copies of my freezer cooking cookbooks The What’s for Dinner Solution A winner everyday Tuesday through Friday. PLUS – a Freezer Cooking P rize Pack including The What’s for Dinner Solution and $25 Amazon Gift Card to buy all the Ziploc bags and 8×8 pans you need to get started! Just leave a comment on the blog sometime this week and I will pick four book winners and one grand prize winner – the more comments, the more chances to win! (One comment per person, per day, please!) ***

Over the next four days, I will be giving you step by step instructions on how to have great, tasty meals for you and your family, every night. To make sure you don’t miss a post, subscribe to the blog!

I want your kitchen to go from empty to bountiful.

 

 

 

 

Everyone I know is looking for solutions to making dinner easier and cheaper and this is the plan that works for me. I feed five adult-sized people seven nights a week and winging it is so not an option.

Especially since my freezer looked like this. (Ben and Jerry’s wasn’t even mine. No fair!)

I just want to warn you right now – I am a Freezer-Stuffing Master. I am super advanced when it comes to meal prep. I did 51 plus meals this week. Do not try this at home. Start small with a dozen or so after reading through this week’s posts.

Bulk cooking to get yourself ahead a few nights a week is a great idea. Tripling recipes that you already love will help you get ahead and take some stress out of your evenings.

After you have success with your first attempt at freezing and get comfortable with the procedure, then you can pull out multiple recipes stock your freezer for a month or more.

 

Day 1 – Pick Your Recipe

Today all you need to do is pick your recipe!!

The absolute easiest type of dinner to prepare ahead is a marinade. We do several chicken and pork marinades each time we freezer cook –they are super-easy and everyone in my house will eat them – a double bonus.

So go through your recipes and find the one that your family will love and will be easy to prepare. When you find it – please share it here. I will read through them all and let you know if they will freeze well – I am here to serve.

Tomorrow – I will share the shopping strategy.

Let me get you started with a Lipp family favorite:

Pesto Chicken

1/2 cup    Prepared pesto sauce

6    Boneless, skinless, chicken breasts

6 slices    Mozzarella cheese

1. Prepare: Pour pesto over chicken breasts in a one-gallon bag.

2. Freeze: Double bag the chicken. Place the Mozzarella cheese in a separate freezer bag and attach to the chicken bag. Freeze lying flat.

3. Serve: Thaw chicken overnight in the refrigerator. Drain marinade. Place chicken breasts in a pan sprayed with light cooking oil. Place one slice of Mozzarella cheese on each chicken breast. Bake at 350° for 30-40 minutes.

And here are a couple of recent blog posts about great marinades for chicken and pork.

Tell me below – what is your favorite marinade recipe? You could win a copy of The What’s for Dinner Solution or the grand prize of The What’s for Dinner Solution and a $25 Amazon Gift Card.

Want more freezer recipes? Did you know you can get a free ecopy of Six Chicks Freeze and Fix: How to Start a Freezer Meal Co-op just by liking my Facebook Page. Once you hit “Like” just go to the tabs and download the booklet. It’s that easy. Over 20 great family-pleasing recipes!

We’ll have a free freezer download every day this week. Stay tuned!

The Retro Art of Freezer Cooking

Reader’s Favorite Pork Chop Recipes

Chicken marinades were a big hit so let’s talk pork recipes, sauces and marinades.

Raspberry Chipolte BBQ Pulled Pork

Suggested by Heather Smith

I put a pork roast or tenderloin in the crockpot with a bottle of Sweet Baby Ray’s raspberry chipotle BBQ sauce. Cook on low 6-8 hrs until it falls apart.

 

 

Pork Chops Alabama

Suggested by Shari Steel

Pork Chops Alabama, my then 13 year old son had to make this for a home economics class and I have been making it since.

6 large pork center loin chops

1 medium onion

2 cloves garlic

1 can (28 ounce size) crushed tomatoes, drained

1 1/2 cup chicken broth

1 tablespoon thyme

salt and pepper, to taste

Brown the pork chops on both sides. Drain off any rendered fat.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the skillet or Dutch oven, cover and cook over medium heat for 1 hour or until very tender. Can be done ahead and reheated later.

 

Onion Pork Chop Bake

Suggested by Jennifer Edwards

Dip your pork chops in bread crumbs, then dip in egg, then dip in Lipton Onion soup mix and bake 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160degrees.

 

Two Way Pork Chops

Suggested by Jay Nevitt Geiger

Thin and boneless pork chops marinated in with Vidalia Onion BBQ sauce and grill.

Dip pork chops in olive oil and then seasoned panko crumbs and bake for 350 for 30-35 minutes. These are easy to do as a freezer meal- just coat, wrap individually in saran wrap and store in a freezer Ziploc.

 

Grilled Pork Chops & Peaches

Suggested by Tami Mixon Slipher

Grill pork chops and peaches and then top with sprigs of mint.

 

Captain Crunch Breaded Chops

Suggested by Lauren Meyer Plain

Crumble Captain Crunch to use as your fry batter and season with garlic salt and pepper  in a cast iron skillet.

 

Baked Mushroom Chops

Suggested by Jenn Stanaway

Sprinkle pork with garlic powder, seasoning salt and rosemary and cover with the following mixture;  1 can golden mushroom soup, 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 tsp sage. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.

 

 

 

Reader’s Favorite Pork Chop Recipes

Why I’m Giving Duck Dynasty Another Chance

So as some of you may know, I’m not the biggest Duck Dynasty fan.

I watched the first few episodes, and loved the family (especially loved me some Uncle Sy…) but the production of the show drove me crazy: the producers seem to put these very smart family members into some really dumb situations (making wine in a week!?!) It’s just not my Tupperware cup of sweet tea. And that’s OK -some of my best friends LOVE Duck Dynasty.

But I just read an article that is the reason why I’m giving Duck Dynasty another chance. (Like they need me as a viewer…)

In this story Jase, one of the bearded brothers on the show, is staying at the Trump Tower Hotel in New York. When he asked a staff member to point out where the restroom was, the bushy-bearded cast member was escorted to the front door, directed to the park, and told “Good luck.”

My immediate thought was “Oh wow. I bet Donald Trump is going to have to issue an apology to the entire family in order to avoid a national uproar of Duck Dynasty fans!”

But the family, talking about the employee who escorted Jase from the building calmed the potential fury:

The Robertsons said they were “absolutely not offended” by the incident and said they love staying at Trump Hotel.

“We were laughing — wait until the Donald hears about this,” he said.

And for what it’s worth, they hope the staff member doesn’t get in trouble.

Amazing. For many, many people, (including many Christians, which it’s well know that the Robertsons are,) would have threatened lawsuits, or at the very least demanded a public apology.

But instead, they acted about as Christ-like as any celebrity, Christian or non, I’ve ever heard of.

“I think it was a facial profiling deal,” Jase said.

Humor, and grace. Our churches would be overflowing if we had that kind of response all the time.

Yep – I’ll be tuning in to A&E.

 

 

Why I’m Giving Duck Dynasty Another Chance