Preparing to become more prepared.

That was the overall lesson and moral of the story Friday. I asked my MIL to help me because after cooking for myself for so long (and nothing healthy, mind you...) I lost ALL of my cooking skills that I developed when I was a kid. I'm having a hard time making bread which was my specialty! Sigh.

So, being the energetic, can-do, will-do type, she happily agreed. I wish I had that type of energy... haha Anyways... we went through several cook books and she pulled out recipes that she knew Brian would like and ones she thought we both might like. I'm not AS picky of an eater as I used to be, but I still have issues with anything I can associate with Hamburger Helper (ie: Beef Stroganoff or the likes...) But, Brian likes it - so that can be his take-to-work lunch. Win-Win!

So here's the freezable recipes I acquired... as soon as I get them prepared and feel confident that I'll do them again, I'll post them so I have something to refer back to... I seriously doubt I'll throw away any of the recipes though, so if there's one you want, just let me know and I can post it (I'll tag it so I know it doesn't work for me).

Chicken n Dumplings... basically - don't prepare the dumplings until you are ready to prepare the dish.

Beef Stroganoff... this will be a "Brian" dish, as I won't touch the stuff... :-D

Pork Tenderloin... the stuffed recipe that I posted on the Food/Recipe page is AMAZING. She's made it for us a few times.. so now I'm trying my hand at it. She also gave me a bag of seasoning to try out - the sample she gave me was pretty good, so I foresee that going well too.

Potato Casserole... another "hit" that she's sent home.

Smothered Burger Patties... haven't tried this yet, but it sounds good. Will report back later.

Chicken Tetrazzini... another "Brian" dish.

Brian also came up with one of his own... Stuffed Bell Peppers. The trick is - just freeze the stuffing... let it thaw THEN stuff the peppers and bake. Otherwise you either still have frozen stuffing or mushy peppers.. neither is pleasant.

MIL also shared a few helpful preparation tips... freeze everything you plan to actually cook. Cooked bacon... raw veggies (you don't have to blanch beforehand! Interwebs, you failed me.. this is why sooo many of my veggies have gone to waste.)... raw fruits... cheese... bread... shredded chicken... I'm also starting to make extra pancakes and waffles to freeze to give us a little variety. MIL is making us some breakfast tacos, but that is also on my list of "things to freeze." My dad got me a food saver for my birthday last year (well, kinda... I meant to go shopping with him and then life got away from us, so I got it at Christmas.. haha). But, I'm embarrassed to say, that I have yet to use it. That's all about to change. :) Thank goodness we have a huge deep freeze, but it is filling up fast... :p

Now this whole chicken thing will be a new thing for me. We went ahead and got 2 from Sam's for about $8/pair. I'm hoping to cook them tomorrow... I ***HATE*** chicken on a bone. I'm also not a fan of dark meat. Hahah it just grosses me out. But, it's a heck of a lot cheaper than buying it already cut up... so I guess I need to get over that and deal.

Next on my cost cutting agenda - start making menus... apparently, from what some of my virtual friends on a lovely community I belong to say this is the ultimate in saving time, money and energy. All of which I desperately need. How far will my OCD take me? God only knows.....

Until next time... :)