Let me just set the stage here.
We're moving in one week.
We had a going-away party/birthday party last night. I thought we'd combine that with a sleepover with a few friends of the girls. All went well last night until one of the girls decided she wanted to go home. She wasn't upset--she just wanted to sleep in her own bed.
The kids watched movies, made tents, did each others' hair, and played with stickers. Chris and I visited our friends until about midnight. We finally sent the kids to bed at 1:00, and the last girl fell asleep by 1:30 (as did the super-cool but not super-smart mom).
Imagine my surprise at 6:30 when I heard screaming from the playroom.
I had asked the girls to shower when they woke up because they had hairspray in their hair, so I was not surprised to hear the bath running at 6:30am. I was, however, surprised at 9am when I stepped in the shower to find that the hot water did not come on.... because the 6:30 bath was STILL RUNNING. Marisa said innocently, "Well, the drain is open." No big deal!
Five kids. Five hours of sleep. LOTS of whining.
Where's my coffee???!
I'm about the business of raising godly children. So far, God has blessed us with six of them! My husband owns his own business, and I'm fortunate enough to stay at home with the kiddos. If you're looking for deep philosophy on this blog, you're out of luck. If you'd prefer random tales of childhood tomfoolery, stick around!
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Eighteen meals at a time
I just took 6 casserole recipes from About.com, tripled them, and cooked 18 meals for the freezer.
I thought I'd share the links in case any of you care to do the same. The recipes share many ingredients, making it easier to cook, and I chose to buy frozen, chopped vegetables in many cases instead of doing it myself to save time. I had a lot of fun, and I can't wait to enjoy our meals!
Here are the links to the 6 freezer meals I made this time around. Except for the chicken rococco, it was REALLY simple. I think I'd leave off the chicken rococco for a group once-a-month-cooking adventure. I actually had to save it for another day, because it takes about 1.5 hours preparation time, plus 40 minutes baking time. And you have to beat the snot out of the chicken to flatten it (which actually was kind of therapeutic.)
Freezer Chili:
http://busycooks.about.com/od/hotsouprecipes/r/freezerchili.htm
Sicilian Dinner:
http://busycooks.about.com/od/groundbeefrecipes/r/siciliansupper.htm
Chicken, Veggies, and Parmesan Noodles
http://busycooks.about.com/od/precookedpoultryrecipes/r/vegchickencasse.htm
Chicken Potato Casserole:
http://busycooks.about.com/od/precookedpoultryrecipes/r/chickenpotcasse.htm
Chicken Rococco*:
http://busycooks.about.com/od/chickenrecipe1/r/chickenrococco.htm
Turkey Delight:
http://busycooks.about.com/od/precookedpoultryrecipes/r/wildriceturkey.htm
(This calls for 3 c. wild rice, but I substituted a wild/brown/red mixture I found at Kroger, because I wasn't sure how straight wild rice would taste... and it was less expensive.)
All in all, I probably spent 10 hours from start to clean-up (which Chris helped with!)... but that sure beats the 16 hours I spent first time I did this! The cooking part took less than 4 hours because all the recipes share so many ingredients. I think it would have taken less time if I had more stove space and bigger pots. =)
Good luck!
I thought I'd share the links in case any of you care to do the same. The recipes share many ingredients, making it easier to cook, and I chose to buy frozen, chopped vegetables in many cases instead of doing it myself to save time. I had a lot of fun, and I can't wait to enjoy our meals!
Here are the links to the 6 freezer meals I made this time around. Except for the chicken rococco, it was REALLY simple. I think I'd leave off the chicken rococco for a group once-a-month-cooking adventure. I actually had to save it for another day, because it takes about 1.5 hours preparation time, plus 40 minutes baking time. And you have to beat the snot out of the chicken to flatten it (which actually was kind of therapeutic.)
Freezer Chili:
http://busycooks.about.com/od/hotsouprecipes/r/freezerchili.htm
Sicilian Dinner:
http://busycooks.about.com/od/groundbeefrecipes/r/siciliansupper.htm
Chicken, Veggies, and Parmesan Noodles
http://busycooks.about.com/od/precookedpoultryrecipes/r/vegchickencasse.htm
Chicken Potato Casserole:
http://busycooks.about.com/od/precookedpoultryrecipes/r/chickenpotcasse.htm
Chicken Rococco*:
http://busycooks.about.com/od/chickenrecipe1/r/chickenrococco.htm
Turkey Delight:
http://busycooks.about.com/od/precookedpoultryrecipes/r/wildriceturkey.htm
(This calls for 3 c. wild rice, but I substituted a wild/brown/red mixture I found at Kroger, because I wasn't sure how straight wild rice would taste... and it was less expensive.)
All in all, I probably spent 10 hours from start to clean-up (which Chris helped with!)... but that sure beats the 16 hours I spent first time I did this! The cooking part took less than 4 hours because all the recipes share so many ingredients. I think it would have taken less time if I had more stove space and bigger pots. =)
Good luck!
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