Monday, February 14, 2011

February Freezer Cooking Results

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Spaghetti Noodles prepped for Chicken Spaghetti

Last week I conducted a smaller scale freezer cooking day. Since my hubby was in class (and thus unable to watch the little one), I did a big chunk of my cooking during Squishy's two hour nap.

Here's how the day went down:

Pre-naptime: Baked 8 lbs of chicken, fried bacon for 2 Crustless Quiches.

Naptime: Assembled 2 quiches, deboned chicken.

In spurts throughout the late afternoon: Made Cream of Mushroom Soup (for Chicken Spaghetti) and finished deboning the chicken. Did I mention that deboning chicken is true love? I dream of one day buying boneless skinless chicken thighs! :D

After Squishy's bedtime: Boiled noodles for Chicken Spaghetti. Assembled Chicken Spaghetti.

Note to self for next time: Stop while you are ahead! Assembling the Chicken Spaghetti so late at night did me in. I was too tired to think clearly after making it. Here's hoping I didn't add too much cayenne pepper in my stupor...!

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Quick Crustless Quiche
The quiche turned out to be fabulous. I added spinach (around 4 oz per quiche) and "lower sodium" bacon, and it was divine. Lovely for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. So curious to see how the frozen quiche tastes after we bake it!

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Cheddar Cheese Soup With Veggies
The next day, I made FishMama's Cheddar Cheese Soup With Vegetables and doubled it for freezing. This soup is creamy and comforting. This will be my first time freezing it.

The finished results of my cooking day(s)?

4 8x8 pans of Chicken Spaghetti
4 cups of cooked chicken (for future Chicken Pot Pie)
2 batches Cheddar Cheese Soup With Veggies
2 Quick Crustless Quiches

The makings of 10 meals. I normally do more, but my freezer is STUFFED. 

Based off of my freezer cooking and my monthly menu plan, our menu this week should look something like this:

Breakfasts: Oatmeal, Cold Cereal, Banana Bread

Lunches: Leftovers, Salads

Dinners by Weeknight:
Monday--Valentine's Day Dinner~Homemade Sushi
Tuesday--Thai Coconut Soup with Butterhorn Rolls
Wednesday--Burritos or leftovers
Thursday--Chicken Pot Pie and roasted asparagus (thanks facebook followers for all of your veggie suggestions!)
Friday--Pizza Night
Saturday--Parmesan Tilapia and Broccoli
Sunday--Stuffed Pasta Shells and green beans

I've loved reading the comments and emails from those of you who have recently attempted freezer cooking for the 1st time! Awesome. I hope you enjoy the fruits of your labor. :)

I'm curious...what's on the menu for dinner at your house this Valentine's Day? 



P.S. Here's how we started Valentine's Day--fresh, hot donuts from Krispy Kreme at 6:30 am!

Sweet Way To Start The Day


Linked to Menu Plan Monday.
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Posted by Alicia at 7:00 AM
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21 comments:

  1. Kathy@House of HillsFebruary 14, 2011 at 7:08 AM

    LOOK at your pictures! They are so awesome. You and that new camera are really developing a lovely relationship!

    I'm curious about the crustless quiche. Might have to try it. The crust is usually my favorite part - I know that's terribly unhealthy right.

    Vday dinner - well, we were going to go out to eat. But, since it looks like my Princess will be with us we'll have to do something at home. It might just be takeout. LOL!

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  2. CindyCFebruary 14, 2011 at 9:14 AM

    mmm.... Krispy Kreme... You should have seen my eyes glaze over just now. (get it, glaze?)

    We already did V'day dinner a couple nights ago. Retail work makes for an erratic dinner schedule. We had roast eye of round. Oh, it was amazing. We're still chipping away at it for snacks and sandwiches.

    I am so impressed at your freezer cooking. I haven't bitten the bullet and done much other than the occasional double recipe. I need to get serious!

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  3. ChrisFebruary 14, 2011 at 9:15 AM

    I bet your glad when you are all done that work. Deboning chickens also one of my favorites. The quiche looks so good. I love your mugs Mr. and Mrs. too cute....made me hungry looking at those donuts, glad we don't have a Crispy creme in Canada or I'd be in trouble.

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  4. chrisFebruary 14, 2011 at 9:17 AM

    I just realized I spelled it wrong...proog we don't have any here. Krispy Kremes....LOL

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  5. Char @ Raising a Healthy FamilyFebruary 14, 2011 at 9:29 AM

    Thanks for the link to the homemade sushi. My youngest daughter and I love it and I think we might be able to convince the others to eat it too if they helped make it.

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  6. CandiFebruary 14, 2011 at 9:34 AM

    Yum! You did great and I have to tell you that your pictures look so great too!

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  7. AmelieFebruary 14, 2011 at 10:05 AM

    Valetines dinner for us: African chicken wings, potatoegratin (in heartshape ;-) ) and salad, chocolatfondant with icecream for dessert. Happy v'day for you and your two men!
    Love Amelie

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  8. Jane @ The Borrowed AbodeFebruary 14, 2011 at 11:14 AM

    Hi Alicia! I completely have to try your quiche recipe. I adore quiche, and don't know why I never, ever make it! Now, after seeing your photos, I am starving. :)

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  9. KatharineFebruary 14, 2011 at 11:53 AM

    Yum...things look amazing over at your house, and I love the pics. What a sweet way to start your day!
    Happy Valentines day!

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  10. domesticallyobsessed.comFebruary 14, 2011 at 11:59 AM

    This looks awesome, alicia! I am really tempted to try it out.

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  11. LisaFebruary 14, 2011 at 12:28 PM

    Looks like you did some good work on your freezer cooking!! I'm loving your morning photo of the coffee and Krispy Kreme's... Oh my gosh, it's been sooooo long since I've had one of those! For Valentines, we're going out to dinner tonight with our baby girls, but last Friday night, we had chocolate fondue with strawberries, marshmallows and bananas after the girls went to bed. It was so romantic!!!!

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  12. AliciaFebruary 14, 2011 at 1:48 PM

    Thanks for all the photo encouragement, ya'll! I'm learning new stuff about my camera almost daily and having so much fun with it.

    We had never bought donuts in our entire married life (~4 yrs) until this morning! So it was a great treat. We're thinking about making it a Valentine's tradition.

    Andrew and I already had a "date night" on Friday, which was awesome. Tonight it will be a family dinner, but we always love when sushi is on the menu. :)

    Kathy--my "crustless" quiche has bacon for a crust! So don't worry, it's not all healthified. ;)

    Cindy, you really should give freezer cooking a try! I bet it would help so much when the baby comes. :)

    Lisa, fondue sounds AWESOME.

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  13. Marissa @ MultitaskingmarissaFebruary 14, 2011 at 2:14 PM

    Yummy! Sounds wonderful!!!

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  14. Marissa @ MultitaskingmarissaFebruary 14, 2011 at 2:15 PM

    Oooo, and the donut picture with matching mugs is adorable!!! I had a great start to the week, too, at our monthly MOPS Meeting! Ready-set-GO Monday!!
    xo!

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  15. Aiming4SimpleFebruary 14, 2011 at 3:16 PM

    Bravo on the freezer cooking, Alicia! It's on my "some day" list to do. Meanwhile, frozen pizza and taquitos suffice. =)

    Tonight we're having fish, but I still have to go buy it. My husband requested that I stay home today until a mystery item was delivered. Some beautiful flowers arrived this afternoon, which means I must be off soon!

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  16. AnonymousFebruary 14, 2011 at 5:05 PM

    That quiche looks super yummy! Will have to try it soon! Happy Valentine's Day! We've never actually bought donuts since we've been married either.

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  17. Theresa JFebruary 14, 2011 at 7:44 PM

    Wow, that's a lot of chicken to cook and debone! I'm stopping by from MPM. Your menu sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing.

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  18. KelleyAnnie @ Over the ThresholdFebruary 14, 2011 at 9:37 PM

    Inspired by your post today, I made chicken spaghetti myself for tomorrow. It sure looks yummy!

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  19. Sarah @ Loved Like the ChurchFebruary 15, 2011 at 9:19 AM

    Girl, you are working that new camera! Loving all your photos!

    I experimented with a rice and chicken dish for VDay. I was surprised and thrilled that it turned out so yummy.

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  20. micheleFebruary 16, 2011 at 2:18 PM

    Beautiful pictures! We are a challenging family with a vegetarian and dairy and gluten free (just me). Coming up with new recipes isn't always easy. We could use some new ones. I tried quiche with soy milk but wasn't fond of it...any ideas?
    Mini freezer cooking day: http://michellan-michele.blogspot.com/2011/02/freezer-cooking-some-vegetarian-and.html

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  21. AliciaFebruary 16, 2011 at 5:57 PM

    Michele, have you tried almond milk? I've heard it works great for baking, although I've never tried it myself, since no one has a dairy allergy here.

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