Not Your Mother's Make-Ahead and Freeze Cookbook: Review and Giveaway!

I am a big fan of streamlining my time in the kitchen, and I do that primarily by prepping meals ahead of time and freezing them. Since my husband is working slightly crazy hours with his new job, I have taken freezer cooking on with a new zeal in these past few months.

So it was a happy mail day when my sneak-preview copy of Not Your Mother's Make-Ahead and Freeze Cookbook arrived last month!

This cookbook is written by one of my favorite bloggers--Jessica Fisher of Life As Mom and Good Cheap Eats. I already use many of Jessica's recipes in my regular meal rotations, so I knew that her cookbook would be a wealth of information! Jessica is a mom of six, so her recipes are family-friendly and cost effective while also incorporating fresh ingredients (no canned soups here!).

What I love about this cookbook:

--She covers the freezer cooking basics. If you've never tried out freezer cooking, Jessica will take care of your questions. This includes everything from what to freeze, how to package the meals, how to thaw meals, and how to get it all to fit into your freezer.

--The freezer cooking plans. These plans are customized to the amount and type of cooking that you want to do. Complete with planning worksheets.

--The gluten-free list. Our family is not gluten-free, but we have many friends that are. This list is a wonderful reference for gluten-free meals that do not require a host of expensive wheat alternatives.

--Reliably delicious food. Honestly, some cookbooks are hit and miss. But I've tried enough of Jessica's recipes to feel confident that my family and I are going to quickly devour anything that I make from her cookbook!

I am constantly trying to tweak recipes that I find in order to successfully freeze them. So having an entire cookbook of make-ahead friendly recipes that we consistently enjoy is such a time-saver. Not Your Mother's Make-Ahead and Freeze Cookbook has quickly become the first cookbook I turn to when I am menu planning.

Some of our favorite recipes from the cookbook so far: 

Easy Slow Cooker Red Sauce -- My go-to sauce for spaghetti, pizza sauce, and more.
Cheddar Soup with Zucchini, Broccoli, and Carrots
Soy-Balsamic Burgers -- Burgers with soy sauce and balsamic vinegar mixed into the meat! Yum.
Mix-and-Match Muffins

And we can't wait to try the recipe for ice cream sandwiches!!

This cookbook releases on October 9th and is available for pre-order now. I think it would be the perfect gift for any number of moms on your list (or for you...*wink*).

Want to win a copy of Not Your Mother's Make-Ahead and Freeze Cookbook?
Simply leave a comment on this post (with your email address)!

You may also share about this giveaway on facebook, twitter, or your blog for additional entries (leave a comment for each).

 

Full Disclosure: I was provided with a copy of Not Your Mother's Make-Ahead & Freeze Cookbook for review. This post contains affiliate links. All opinions are 100% my own.

P.S. Family update post coming soon!

Not Your Mother's Make-Ahead and Freeze Cookbook: Review and Giveaway!

Why I Don't Blog Much Lately

It's funny how we can't get used to the fact that life has seasons. By the time you have one "figured out," you are ushered into a new one. So incredibly good for us, but bittersweet and unsettling at the same time. And yet perfectly crafted by God's genius.

I am in the motherhood-is-God's-bootcamp season. My flabby attitudes and self-dependencies are showing up like unwelcome pounds on the scale.

The everyday looks something like this:

Weekdays start (hopefully) an hour and a half before the boys are up. That time is filled with working out, showering, time with the Lord....and often one of the three somehow gets crowded out. A work in progress.

At 7:30--it's on, baby! Both boys are up, the toddler has an attitude about what's being served for breakfast and the baby is trying to ingest that small foreign body on the floor. Since Edmund's birth, I have dealt on and off with irrational anxiety (though isn't all fear irrational?), and the battle can biggest in the mornings. In those times, I'm holding onto God's truth, reminding myself of what His word says, His whispered love. Sometimes I text or call a friend and we pray. God is moving mountains in my heart as I've realized how afraid I have been of being broken or vulnerable. It's sweet to know that I am free to fail. God's world is not rocked.

The mornings FLY by. Sometimes we get out, or maybe I do housework and we play inside. Edmund is SO HAPPY and occupied now that he can crawl. He and Peter are entertaining each other more than ever...I love spotting Peter putting his big legoes together ("look, it's a rwocket, mommy!") with Edmund right next to him, chewing on his own lego (the big ones, of course!).

Before we know it it's lunchtime (two boys eating at the table now! so fun) followed by naptime. Currently, there is only one hour in the afternoon when both boys are napping. In that time, I'll take a nap, catch up with a friend on the phone, or do housework that's difficult to accomplish when the boys are up. Maybe I'll take some "me" time and blog or edit pictures. Which typically translates to about one paragraph of a blog post written or 2 pictures edited by the time something else comes up. Sometimes one of my single girlfriends will come over for coffee while the boys sleep...which is a breath of fresh air!

Which brings me to another part of this season of life which I LOVE. Our lives are full of people. Sometimes folks drop by in the afternoon. Often there's a friend at the dinner table. One of the neighbors rings the doorbell. And then there are the close friends I keep in touch with over the telephone...not to mention our large families. This constant-flow-of-people aspect of our lives is an answered prayer, something we've hoped for in different seasons but haven't had. I'm really grateful for it. And it is such an awesome thing to have a house to host people in now!

The evenings are full of dinner, catching up as a family, clean-up, working in the (future) garden, walks, baths, books. If we don't have company, then there is approximately 1 hour of time after the boys are in bed/kitchen cleaned before Andrew and I start heading in the direction of our bed. Starting next week, Andrew will have to leave the house by 5:30 am for work, so we aim for a early bedtime.

And that's a pretty accurate picture of "why I don't blog much lately." And I'm ok with it. I really enjoy the creative expression of blogging, IF flows with our life and can be put on the back-burner when needed. Which is why I am going to bring Try New Adventures Thursday to a sweet finish (or pause, or whatever) for now. Lately, if I have time to write a blog post, I've been desiring the freedom to write whatever and whenever I want. Too often I am pounding out a TNAT post on Wednesday night past bedtime, or on Thursday morning while the boys try to climb all over me or eat the ethernet cord.

And as long as I can keep the baby from drooling on the modem, this blog isn't going anywhere. I hope you won't, either...even if I pop in and out a bit unpredictably!

P.S. I am quieter on social media these days, but Instagram is the exception. If you want a daily dose of our adventures, follow me...I'm AliciasHomemaking. :) There are lots of chubby-cheeked-boy pictures to be had.

 P.S. again: The WINNER of the year-subscription to ListPlanIt was comment #26...Miriam!! Look for an email in your inbox soon, girl!

Why I Don't Blog Much Lately

Cruising The Sea {Try New Adventures Thursday!}

So, I may have mentioned the small fact that my hubby and I were going on a CRUISE at the end of July.

That is, a real vacation. One where my husband wouldn't have to study. One where I wouldn't have to do dishes. A vacation where we wouldn't even have to make the bed for goodness sake! And to top it all off, we left our sweet Peter-boy with his grandparents and only took the baby.

('cause said baby refuses a bottle and we didn't want to leave Memaw to deal with that. He's a milk snob, what can I say...)

 

Oh, and did I mention that this cruise was a gift from Andrew's parents? Best graduation present ever!

We sailed on the Disney Dream for a 5 night cruise in the Bahamas. It was our first time on a cruise....and the vacation was a breath of fresh air to us.

Our stateroom was apparently HUGE by cruise standards. They provided us with a pack 'n play for Edmund, so that worked out well. And the bed was incredibly comfortable!

Obligatory animal towel picture...with a twist!

 Hanging out on Castaway Cay, Disney's own island. 

 

The ship had a wonderful nursery, so Andrew and I got out TWICE to snorkel!

 

The food was delicious...my favorite dinner was the French-themed one! Thanks to my godfather, who introduced me to escargot (snails!) when I was a girl, I didn't miss out on ordering that delicacy as my appetizer! They were soaked in garlic butter. I die. Oh, and there was a killer steak as the main course.

While we're on the topic of food...there was soft serve ice cream available on the pool deck at all hours of the day. Talk about heaven for kids! Or me...

And speaking of kids, Edmund was such a doll for us. Some days he missed a nap or two, but he was good-natured and went with the flow. And he elicited smiles everywhere we went.

We swam, snorkeled, read, talked, ate, kissed the baby, explored Nassau a little (enough to buy a t-shirt and find a Starbucks!), watched The Avengers and Brave in 3-D on the ship, and sat on our stateroom veranda admiring the sky and the water. Such gorgeous water! A deep, just-lighter-than-sapphire blue when we were at sea. You could see the sun rays shining down into the water like liquid glitter. We also made a point to be on deck for sunsets (and woke early enough for two sunrises).

And by day 4 of our cruise, we were starting to really miss our oldest little man. At one point we laughed at ourselves, because we were on the beach in the bahamas...and what were we doing? Watching videos of our toddler on Andrew's phone. Haha. We were so happy to pick him up after the cruise and hear all about his fabulous time at Memaw and Papa's house. And apparently he didn't ask about us a single time while we were gone! Too busy having fun...

Now it's back to "real life." Andrew started his new job on Monday, so the boys and I are re-acclimating to our home routine. Having Andrew home for the last month was an amazing break...I almost forgot how full a day by myself with the boys is! The word "routine" makes it sound all smooth and predictable--not quite an accurate picture of reality!

When is the last time you went on a real vacation?
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Link up your adventures below! It's quite simple...just link up your adventure-ful blog post, link back to Alicia's Homemaking, and leave a few comments on other participant's posts if you can. :)

 

Cruising The Sea {Try New Adventures Thursday!}

A Pause For Family Time

I'm putting Try New Adventures Thursday on hold for the next 3 weeks while my husband is off of work and school. Our typical routine has gone by the wayside for a bit, and we're enjoying each other's company and spending long-hoped-for time with friends. We're having a staycation of sorts (until we leave for our CRUISE in 8 days!).

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a year-long membership to List Plan It! I'll be drawing a winner for this giveaway soon.

Have you ever taken a staycation? What did you do (besides lounge around in your pjs!)?

A Pause For Family Time

Canning Fig Jam + A Canning Cheat Sheet {Try New Adventures Thursday!}

Our new home has two lovely fig trees in the front yard. They are fairly large, and mid-June they began producing figs at an alarming rate.

And even though tropical storm Debby rolled through and ruined about half of the fig crop (the rain caused the figs to swell up and rot), we still had large quantities to eat and cook with. I made fig cake and fig newtons (the newtons were good but too much work in my opinion), but the best thing I made by far was fig jam. Prior to canning it, my husband kept saying, "Honey, fig jam would be amazing." "I would really love some fig jam." "If you made fig jam I'd be such a happy man."

So jam-making had to happen.

This was the third time I canned jam this year (we did strawberry and blueberry jam when those fruits were in season here), and I'm getting more familiar with the process. 



PickYourOwn.org is a wonderful resource for canning food...she has so many tutorials! I used her fig jam instructions, and made up a little cheat sheet for myself (so I wasn't constantly scanning up and down the webpage for instructions).

Here's the down and dirty for making fig jam: 

-You'll need 5 heaping cups of whole, fresh figs to make one batch of jam (approx 7 half-pint jars worth).
-You'll also need 1 box no-sugar pectin, 1/2 cup water, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 4 1/2 cups of sugar, and cinnamon (optional). Along with your canning supplies: a water bath canner, tongs, funnel, jars and lids. 

1) Sterilize your jars (I do this in the dishwasher).
2) Heat your lids in a pot on the stove in water that is just under boiling.
3) Wash your figs, removing the stems and any yucky skin. I cut mine in half.
4) Crush the figs (5 heaping cups whole figs equals 4-5 cups crushed figs).
5) Mix your box of no-sugar pectin with 1/4 cup of your sugar.
6) In a large pot, mix the crushed figs, pectin and sugar mixture, 1/2 cup water, 1/4 cup lemon juice, and cinnamon and bring to a boil.
7) Once the mixture is at a full boil, add the remaining 4 1/4 cups sugar.
8) Bring back to a rolling boil, boil hard for 1 minute.
9) Remove from heat, skim the foam off the the top of the jam.
10) Fill your hot jars with jam, leaving 1/4 inch headspace at the top. Place the lids and rings on top.
11) Process the jars in boiling water in your canner (covered 2 inches) for 5-10 minutes (5 minutes for small jars, longer for bigger jars).
12) Carefully remove from the canner and allow to cool undisturbed. The lids should seal (any unsealed jars can be refridgerated or placed back in the canner and reprocessed).




I love the sight of the pretty jars lined up on the counter. :) And my husband is a happy fig-jam-consuming man.

Printable Fig Jam Cheat Sheet 

For detailed instructions and pictures, visit Pick Your Own's Tutorial.
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Link your Thursday adventures up below!!!


 

Canning Fig Jam + A Canning Cheat Sheet {Try New Adventures Thursday!}