OAMC

Sometimes I hear myself giving another plug for freezer cooking, and I laugh at myself... but it honestly has been such a great discovery for us, so I just want to share it in hopes that I can help someone else out!   (Note to self:  why do I not hesitate to share something as trivial as cooking tips when I think it could benefit someone, and I yet when I have this life-changing relationship with God, I hold back sharing about it for fear that someone might not want to hear about it?)  Wow - something to think on.  But I'll keep it light for now... back to cooking.

We are gearing up for our next big cooking day this Saturday.  My good friends Danielle & Stephanie and I all cook together about every 7-8 weeks).    Danielle posted our menu on her blog (and so I'm totally stealing it here to share) :) 

-Here's what we're making on Saturday for OAMC (a.k.a.  Once A Month Cooking):

• Pizza Hot Pockets
• Pesto Chicken Hot Pockets (with homemade pesto sauce)
• Black Bean & Chicken Burritos
• Pasta e Fagoli Soup
• Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
• Poppy seed Chicken Casserole with broccoli
• Shepherd's Pie
• Black Bean Soup with Chicken
• Turkey Meatloaf (with feta & sun dried tomatoes)
• Teriyaki Chicken
• Carnitas (Mexican Pulled Pork)
• Herbed Fish Cakes
• Spinach Quiche
• Creole Chicken

We each get 2 of most of these dinners, so after a full day of cooking, we'll stock our freezers with 27 dinners, 16 hot pockets and 16 lunch burritos!   I can't tell you how nice it is to have all of these meals planned, shopped for, prepared, and cleaned up!

I've also started doing a few mini freezer cooking sessions in between.  Like this week I found a crazy good deal on some ground beef at Target:

So we seasoned and made hamburger patties, and I browned the rest, mixed 1 lb with taco seasoning and kept 2 lbs. plain to add in to spaghetti or anything else.  That's the beginning of 4 dinners in less than 30 minutes. 

I also made these delicious (& nutritious) No Bake Energy Balls that I can't stop eating.   Seriously... they are addicting.  It's like eating cookie dough, except that they are pretty good for you!

I'd like to do some breakfast burritos soon for Mike to grab in the mornings.   IF ONLY I HAD SPACE FOR A DEEP FREEZER!!!!  :) 

Even Josiah likes to help out in the kitchen these days!  :)  Here he is whipping up some French Toast - he's actually a pretty good little helper (as long as I don't turn my back for too long!) :)