Mommiedom

Twenty days of digging in our freezer pantry to see what I had. This meal was some frozen tilapia that I had in there from a few weeks back that was part of a meal package from the grocery store. I paired it with some shrimp we had and used the scampi blend I had gotten from Wildtree. We also had some seasoned Orzo pasta and veggies. Miss O ate her weight in shrimp and rolls. It was a light meal but filling which is always a favorite to have. 

I am going to take the Charlie Sheen approach today and say I am winning but I might be delusional. Today was a hectic day. I shoved so much in and well we had some wins and fails. First I did grocery shopping and even though I don't feel I am buying lots, it still was like 150 bucks. Milk, eggs, bread and all that jazz isn't cheap. I did get Mr. L's Halloween costume which came under my ten buck budget for it. I told everyone they had ten bucks for their costumes. Mr. L wanted to be a pirate but I am guessing that will turn into a cowboy pirate.

I than trekked to the toy store and bought most of their Xmas gifts today because they had good sales going on. I will only need to buy a few small things now. Than my hubby and I ventured over to a store and bought for 60 bucks a couch and for 25o a huge tv stand (both used but in good condition). They were from a hotel that was upgrading so we need to pick that up on Saturday and let's hope it works out.

Finally at home I had the fore sight to defrost the homemade tomato sauce I had int here. I threw in some meatballs I found in the freezer and we had a great dinner. I do admit to buying some additional freezer and pantry items at the store today because I had some of the items for a dish and I also needed to stock up on things I had run out- I was surprised I had no more cans of tomato sauce.

I really hope to make it through this weekend using what we have. I have Wildtree stuff that I am dying to try so I hope to make that one night. I also have stuff for homemade pizzas. I even think I have stuff to make desserts to1

Yes I have a good excuse well why we failed at making a meal at home because we went to go se Endeavor at Ellington Field and it was after 6 when we got out of there so we went to grab something. In reality that should of worked nicely but the place we picked was in utter disaster ad we ended up waiting a long time so I would have been better off cooking at home. Back on track tomororw.

Today was the day that I just pulled something already made frozen from the freezer. I thought it was mushroom chicken but it ended up being a roasted in gravy I made awhile ago. So I heated it up and added a can of cream of mushroom soup to give it more gravy and put it on some slices of bread (mashed potatoes would work too). We had open face chopped beef sandwiches or as my hubby likes to say sh*t on a shingle!

We have Girl Scouts so the crock pot is a must every other Monday so that when we are done at 6, the meal is pretty much ready to go. So I dug around the freezer and found a pound of ground beef and a pound of ground chicken. I took that a threw it in the crock pot with about three cans of beans I found in the pantry along with a can of diced tomatoes, and a can of tomato sauce.  I took about a tablespoon of chili powder and garlic powder and mixed it all together. I did not brown the meat before sticking it in because I figured it will cook down nicely in the crock pot.

About a month ago I made two racks of ribs because Miss O asked for them and my father in law was in town but we only ate on of them I knew if I put it in the fridge it would go to waste so I wrapped it up and froze it. So I thawed it out for dinner and just stuck it back in the oven at 350 for about an hour and resauced it up.

I also made some roasted potatoes using my new grapeseed oil and rub I ordered from Wildtree (a friend had a party and I had tried the stuff before). Plus Miss O found some green beans out in the fridge from veggie co-op so I made some green bean casserole. For some reason with the fresh crisp green beans, I love it and I am weird about my green beans (I detest canned ones with a passion along with stewed tomatoes- it is all about the texture with me on both of those).

I think Sunday dinner should be special. Take some time to prepare a family meal, sit down and talk about  the past week and what is coming. or us we have all gotten busy between my hubby's work and now Miss O's outside activities- soccer two days a week and girl scouts. Families who eat meals together at the dinner table tend to communicate better and overall are doing better.

Tomorrow we have girls scouts so I have to throw something in the crock pot or defrost something we already have so I will be going on a hunt in the freezer to see what I can find!

Yes I did cook tonight and quickly. I had mostly prepared food for us because well it was a weird night. No one was starving and the hubby had to run into work (yes I know it is Saturday) so I had some cheese brats (precooked) and than made one of those quick pasta salads that come in a box. The kids didn't mind and tomorrow night I plan on making something better for us but sometimes quick has to happen with out going out to eat. Yes it would have been easier to run out to grab a bite but at the same time the amount of time and effort it took to make this was likely the same amount of time as running out.

I did find some caramel dip in the fridge so we had that with some apple slices which was another quick but light sweet treat item. Tomorrow is another day and i I hope to be more creative than I was tonight. It was an overall crazy day and I think most Saturdays from now till November are going to be this way.

Yes we failed again and ordered pizza, not because I didn't want to cook but we had a bunch of people over and it was way easier to order pizzas for us all. We will be back on track tomorrow. I guess only two days out of two weeks ordering food isn't horrible but I am trying to be good with cooking during the week at least. Tomorrow night, I plan on pulling out the already cooked ribs I made a few weeks back and adding other stuff in. Freezer is coming down which is nice because my goal is to get it nearly empty and than go get 30lbs of meat from the meat market and start all over again. I got my coupons already for that as well.

All this week I have been working again at cleaning out the freezer and pantry to make dinner. Tonight was inspired from Taste of Home magazine which I just started getting again because I got it for like 5 bucks for the whole year. It is one my favorite magazines with all the great and simple guys. The recipe I found was Chicken Gnocchi Pesto Soup. I made some minor adjustments like instead of water I used chicken stock and I didn't have any spinach (used all of that yesterday) so I had a zucchini so I chopped that up.

I also had some chicken tenders I thawed out and poached in the broth. It was quick and simple plus full of flavor. It also was a good meal on a day like this when we are running around to soccer practice and life in general!

Well I had to go to the grocery store to buy things like milk, eggs, butter and well about 45 minutes and 150 bucks later the cart was full. To my admittance I bought beer, lime ritas (oh my these are sooo good) and the grocery store had a special where if you bought certain products you got a free book plus the books were a buck a piece with a coupon making them 90 cents. They had great books for both Halloween and Christmas so that was why I bought about 20 of them all together. The two people working there also helped me pick out a bunch too.

I also bought other things were low on that were on sale like the pasta salad you make and I admit to some meats as well like a package of queso poblano chicken sausage which is my favorite. When I got home, I went through the freezer again and organized it some plus I notice the outside one is slowly going down but I still have like a good two weeks of food in there so I hope I won't have to go until than again.

It got me thinking as to what I could make for dinner tonight and I decided after seeing it on Pinterest Spanakopita  which sounded so good. I had most everything int he freezer to make this like filo dough, spinach, ricotta cheese, eggs, and butter. The only thing I didn't have was some feta which I bought but honestly if I hadn't gone to the store, I could have made do with the ricotta cheese.

I took the bag of frozen spinach and thawed it out as well as the filo dough. I than squeezed all of the excess water out of the spinach and put that, two beaten eggs, 1/2 cup of ricotta, and whole container of feta into the bowl as well. I mixed it all up. I than melted about a stick of butter as well but don't add that in.

I sprayed my dish with cooking spray ad began layering the filo dough, some butter, spinach mix and kept doing that like a lasagna (I used a few sheets of filo each time because of how thin it is). I would say I did about three layers and topped it with filo and some butter. I than backed it in the oven at 350 about 40 minutes or until it was crispy and lightly browned on the top. I served it with a nice greek inspired salad which was some chopped greens, homemade greek dressing (took olive oil and greek seasoning mixed together). and some sliced tomatoes. It was a good and light meal for the day!!!

There are so many things in the freezer but I am in need of some basics like milk and eggs so I will be heading to the grocery store tomorrow.  Today I pulled the crock pot out which is an appliance I just love. It is so useful all throughout the year to have a good meal ready with little to no prep time. Today was no different as I was cleaning the kitchen up, I threw together my favorite meatloaf recipe .  the prep on this is minutes and it cooks all day in the slow cooker  and comes out as one good meatloaf. I mentioned it to my hubby I was going to make it as he was leaving and he told me he would try to be home on time.

I served it with some instant mashed potatoes and of course a veggie that was int he freezer. I am not ashamed of using instant potatoes because they are quick and add a ton to a meal that really takes minutes to prep but is worth all the slow cooking time!

I know that I have missed the last few days okay like five days but I have a good reason- we were out of town at a wedding. It was such a nice wedding. The bride was beautiful and the reception as held at the same location as mine was ten years prior (the bride was my maid of honor).

Here is a picture of my dear friend Lisa (hope she doesn't mind making the blog) and me all done up for the special day!


So we left on a Thursday morning (hence the total fail on the night before where I ordered pizza) so I figured I needed to redeem myself today when we got home from our trip. So after about 7 hours of travel with two planes, a long lay over, and a cranky two year old, we made it back home at a decent hour. I honestly was sick of eating out or grazing while we were in Wisconsin. So I thought what could I make that was hearty and fast using what I had.

So I made tuna noodle casserole and it was so good. When your kid tells you it is one of the best things you made, it has to be a winner.

I took about three cups of dry egg noodles and boiled them according to directions. I have started buying these more in bulk because of all the things you can do with them.

Once the noodles were done, I took a pack of tuna fish which was a freebie item when I bought other stuff at the grocery store a few weeks back. I took the tuna, one can of cream of celery, one can of cream of mushroom, about a 1/2 cup of milk and about a cup of frozen peas (oh my the things I found in the freezer when looking for these).

I mixed it all together and baked it for thirty minutes at 350 to get that crispy crust which I love when the noodles get crispy on top.

I just served it up and well there was not much left when we were done which is a good sign that it was a good meal. Tomorrow I actually had the foresight to pull out 2lbs of ground beef that was in there to make my crock pot meatloaf. Once my daughter realizes I made it, I will be a rock star because it is her favorite thing in the whole world (glad the kid likes to eat!).

I have to say we had some good food while away. My dad and brother made us a homemade fish fry which was heaven.  Plus my brother made a good chili and I did a five minute taco salad (see the post later this week) for the Packer game- the food was better than the game was!

I failed today because I ran out of time to make dinner with all the things I have to plus we are headed out for a few days but I will be back next week and I will start with Day 8 in cleaning out the fridge/freezer/pantry. I am going to need to buy some staples like milk because that is going to spoil over the weekend plus some eggs because well that is one of the few things Miss O eats like crazy!

See you later!

Seven days and seven different things. I have noticed some reduction in the pantry but the freezer seems to be an endless pit of frozen stuff. I need to be better about labeling things because I pulled something out and couldn't figure out what it was- I think it is the pork carnets but I was not 100 percent sure.

Today was nothing from the freezer but it was something working on the pantry. I made basic ham and scallop potatoes I had a box of the scallop potatoes and a ham which I used some for the potato soup. Even though I used potatoes and ham again for a second day they were totally tasting meals.

So tomorrow I have to venture into the freezer and figure out what i could pull out to make. I really just want to order something because we are headed north for a wedding but I will really try hard to stay on track.

We already made it to day 6 which I find hard to believe because I never eat in this much (okay we ate out on Day 5 but I did cook in the morning).  Today was a informal meal but it was good. I made Potato soup and grilled Turkey Panini sandwiches.

The soup is one I have made many times. I take red potatoes and dice up small. I than take some olive oil and brown the potatoes. Than I add in about 1/4 cup of flour and brown that. I add in one container of vegetable or chicken broth (the veggie broth will make it reddish in color). I than added in some diced ham (we will see the ham again very soon). I let that come to a boil and than add in some milk (about a cup). I eyeball everything and don't really measure much. I than let that simmer until the potatoes are fork tender. I added in some instant potatoes (about 1/4 cup) at the end to thicken it up a tad more. This is optional depending on the consistency you like your soup- we tend to like it thicker. I served it with some shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream. If I had bacon, I would have crumbled some over it as well.

The paninis were so simple as well. I took some nice ciabatta rolls and layered some pesto, co-jack cheese, and turkey. I coated the outside of the roll with some butter and grilled it much like a grilled cheese.  My daughter told me it was better than the sandwich she had at Panera the other day which she raved about all day.

Tomorrow will be a week of finding things to eat in the freezer/fridge/pantry. I think we will be making Ham and scallop potatoes. Stay tuned!

This is the breakfast edition. I had hash browns in the freezer actually I think there are a few packs in there. I admit to loving potatoes and buying them often in shredded or cubed form so I have them always in the freezer. There is something about them that are so  good and you can do so many things with them.

For breakfast, I was simple but simple sometimes can be so good. I just made some hash browns, fried eggs, and turkey sausage which was floating around in there as well. I think it is always a win when my kids eat it all and I was told that my eggs were goo by the six year old (that is rare because she usually eats eggs in one form- hard boiled).

Dinner well we went out for dinner. We went to the baseball game and was right down the block from this unique Greek Market and Deli so we headed into see all of the unique items. I did buy some groceries but stuff that is hard to find like bulgar (yes the kids might gripe but it is good made the right way) and a Pomegranate  wine which we are excited to try!

At the Greek Grocer they also have a hot bar when you can get food. We all got Greek wraps. The hubby and I had lamb while the kids have chicken. Both were good and how can you argue when it is served with hummus.

I will be back on track for Day 6 though I don't know what I will decide to make. I have ribs I could thaw out which just need to be reheated or even some mushroom chicken might be in there that could be defrosted and put on egg noodles. I might even have some ground beef which means I might have to make the crock pot meatloaf which my daughter has been asking for so we will see!

Chicken is on the menu. I bought a huge pack of chicken breasts a few weeks back (enough for two meals for us) and I pulled it out. I also bought like quite a while a go these Kraft Sizzling Salad kits from the dollar store. They have four kinds and at a buck a piece, I though why not have it on hand for dinner. I coated the chicken in the sauce and baked it (you can also cook it in a pan). At the last five minutes I threw some shredded mozzarella on. I also had some ranch potatoes I had in the freezer and made a salad with the lettuce I got from co-op. We had pineapple which was also from co-op for dessert (it was so sweet!). So we had a nice healthy summer meal.

This was really good for our third day. It is a french bread pizza. I was inspired by a recipe off of Relish relish that I saw. I was looking in the freezer and remembered that I had some italian sausage in there so I thawed that I out. I than cut it out of its castings and browned the meat, I than added some mushrooms, and spinach into the mix. I had some french bread loaves that were prebaked some just needed to be finished in the oven.

Once the sausage, mushrooms, and spinach were cooked, I added in a small can of tomato sauce. After letting the oven preheat to 400, I sliced the bread the long way and topped with the italian sausage mix on each half. I had two small loaves so I had four slices. I than topped it with some shredded mozzarella and than some Italian seasoning. I baked for about 10 minutes or until the cheese was nice and melted and starting to brown.

This was so good and it had some spinach sneaked into the mix. You could also add onions to but my kids aren't big fans so I don't push them on them to much. The bread crisped up nice. I also think for the future this would make a good appetizer for a party. You could slice it up in bite size pieces.

We made it through day 1 and I know we will do well for the next few days but I worry about the weekend when I admit I hate to cook and I enjoy going out but we are going to did it especially since we are not going to be around much the following weekend so no cooking will be happening.

Day 2 led me to think what we have in there. I thought about making some panini's and tomato soup though I can't seem to remember where I stuck my panini maker in the house. I think it is in the one cabinet but I have been to lazy to actually look.

As I started working on the tomato soup, I thought I really don't feel like this and those panini's would make a nice lunch on Saturday for us, so I than decided on some homemade spaghetti sauce. I am so the person to just buy a jar and maybe add somethings to wow it up but today, I had everything.

I took one large of pureed tomatoes, one small can of tomato paste left over from my hubby who likes it with his mac and cheese (yeah I know how it sounds). I also diced some onions, tomatoes, zucchini and green peppers up as well. I had diced carrots as well and minced garlic.

I took some olive oil and sautéed the onions and than added in the peppers. As that was cooking, I realized I had thawed out a pound of ground beef, so I added that in and browned the meat. After the meat was browned I added in everything else as well as about 1 cup of vegetable stock and a can of mushrooms. I let this simmer on low for about two hours. I did add also some italian seasoning and garlic salt. I added a lot of garlic because I liked it. I also added some pepper as well but that is up to you. I served it over some thin spaghetti because that was what i had on hand but i thought that those big noodles would be good with it because this was more of a Bolognese sauce. If my cream wasn't bad, I would have added that in to to add some richness to the sauce.

It was really good. My daughter had to servings of it. Now I will need to come pack to this post in the future to remember what I did. The other good thing was that it was cheap. I used all store brands in making it which I find as good as the name brands but way cheaper.

My freezer and pantry are so full right now and I need to downsize so much. I have been finding it hard to put new stuff in or even find stuff in there to make. I do have my freezer list on the outside telling me but I admit I haven't been that good in updating it as needed.

So i was reading a story the other day about a woman who hasn't bought anything new in five years. I was impressed by how she worked the thrift stores, barters, and finds things. I honestly can't do that myself but I do want to use less, waste less, and stretch things more. So I am setting  a challenge for the next few weeks to empty to the freezer and use the food we have. I am only going to buy staples like milk, and butter as needed. I will still be getting fresh veggies from my co-op every other week which will help with that as well.

So here I am starting out on Day 1 making a pork tenderloin, crockpot cheesy potatoes and some carrots. I like to have the basics with dinner a meat, starch and veggie so this meal had it all. I had  basic pork tenderloin that I seasoned with garlic salt and italian seasoning. These are a stable I use all the time and I buy in the larger containers.

The cheesy potatoes were another super easy thing to make with minimal effort and they turned out great. I used one bag of frozen souther style potatoes which I let thaw for about an hour. I than took one can of cheese soup, mushroom soup, half a can of milk, and about 1/2 cup of shredded cheese. I mixed it all together in the crock pot and topped it off with another 1/2 cup of shredded cheese. I set it on low for about six hours. They were awesome and actually better than if I had stuck them in the oven.

I also had a can of carrots in the pantry which my daughter hated. She told me they tasted like olives and that wasn't a taste she wanted with her carrots. I thought they tasted fine and were a name brand but to each their own with preferred tastes.

So let's see how this go and se how long we last on it. I was also hoping to maybe go a month without buying craft items and use what I have on hand. I have lots of projects so I might fidge a little and buy a few things so I can finish some of them but than no buying. We will see how that goes as well.