*Update: I wrote this post before the baby arrived, but never posted it. Melody Renee was born April 5 at 6:36 am. She weighed 6 lbs 7 oz. We are home and doing well. The recovery has been a little harder than previously, but I'm making it. Hopefully, I'll do a post soon with some pics of our 6 lb bag of sugar!!!
Eddie and I are expecting Chambers baby #5 on April 5th. My sister, Joy, graciously agreed to come and help me with a big freezer cooking day. I have learned so much from Jessica at lifeasmom.com regarding freezer cooking. You can check out her tips here. Three of our kiddies stayed with my parents and 1 with a close friend so that we could cook without pulling our hair out undistracted. My sister got to Montgomery from Alpharetta, GA about 10:30 and we started cooking at 11. By 11 pm (yes this was a long day) we had the following completed:
Chicken Divan (frozen uncooked. I did not add the parmesan/bread crumb topping. I'll do that when I cook it.)
Poppyseed Chicken (frozen uncooked. Once again, I did not add the cracker topping.)
Chicken Chili
Jambalaya
Shrimp Creole
Cheeseburger Meatloaf (frozen uncooked)
Shepherd's Pie (frozen uncooked)
Baked Ziti (frozen uncooked)
Barbecue Meatballs (I browned these about 1/2 way done then froze them)
Cooked and Seasoned Ground Beef for Spaghetti
Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Joes
Breakfast Sausage (frozen uncooked)
When we're ready to eat these things, I'll just have to pull them out the freezer to thaw in the fridge the night before. If it's still frozen at dinner time, I'll just add to the cooking time. What I love about freezer cooking aside from the ready made food is that I won't have many dishes to wash during the month. The cooking and the clean up will be a breeze!
We doubled all of the recipes except for the poppyseed chicken (I didn't have enough chicken to double the recipe). This was A LOT of work but will certainly pay off next month. We stayed on top of washing the dishes, worked together, and took a much needed break.
Around 2 pm I headed to my car to get us some lunch only to find that my car battery was dead. I asked my sister for her keys, went out to her car but couldn't figure out how to turn it on. I came back inside to inquire of her. "Oh no, Tay! I think I left the lights on!" Indeed she had. We were stranded at the house for about 4 hours until a friend came to the rescue. At least we had food to eat. Both of us ate a Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Joe sandwich.
We planned to do all of this over 2 days, but got it all done in 1.
This week, I've continued to stock the freezer. I made lasagna (I bagged up the extra cooked ground turkey and italian sausage for another spaghetti meal) cinnamon rolls (freezer instructions found here), granola, pumpkin muffins, turkey burgers, and pizza dough.
So yea, we've got a lot of good food to eat. I guess tomorrow I better put away the apron and get out the cleaning supplies! Our house could really use some tlc in the cleaning area. If anyone loves to clean as much as I love to cook and eat, please call me!!
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