Tomorrow is Freezer Cooking Day

Well, I should say HOPEFULLY tomorrow is going to START the freezer cooking marathon.

I've been super duper busy this last year and well...freezer cooking just took a back seat to everything else that was going on.  And boy, oh boy, between that and the dietary changes we ended up facing around here, did my wallet EVER feel the impact.

But, now that a new year has rolled around, I'm determined to get back in the old freezer cooking saddle.  So, it's going to be a busy week for me around here.  My plans?

1.  To fill up my small block freezer (that is now empty) with all kinds of baked goodies. 

I'm planning on making loads of bread (remembering, like a smart person, to label my gluten free loaves so my husband doesn't pull one out by accident and have a coronary fit), waffles, pancakes, muffins, cinnamon rolls, etc, put them through the old food saver and freezing them.  This way I will hopefully save myself from spending out the yin yang for things on the fly (and since I don't trust anything from the bakery at the store for cross contamination with peanuts...well baked goods are even more of a luxury around here).  I'm even thinking of trying my hand at making my own tortillas.  But, we'll see how far I get and how little SLEEP I get this week.

2.  To make marinades and putting some meat in the freezer with them.  On my list to do here is...

• Teriyaki Sauce (sans garlic of course).  After I make a big batch of this I'm going to put it in thin cut steaks for beef teriyaki and some cut up chicken pieces for chicken teriyaki nights.
• Italian Dressing (sans garlic and just using onion powder instead):  To make a marinade for chicken and veggies.
• Asian Dressing (sans...yeah you get the idea) to marinade chicken in for a quick dinner later on.
• Balsamic Vinaigrette to use as a marinade for pork chops and chicken (home made recipe...I'll share it after I make it :).

3.  Season some meat.  Basically this is going to consist of making some taco meat ahead of time for easy dinners later.

4.  Make some make ahead meals/stuff for quick dinners later.  On that list is...

• Pizzas.  I keep hoping my son will at least TRY the new "garlic-less" pizza.  It'd at least get some more nutrition in his diet.
• Easy to Stuff Manicotti
• Chicken Lo Mein kits
• Twice Baked Potatoes (so looking forward to trying this one out :).
• Farmhouse Chicken Casserole with left over Thanksgiving stuffing from freezer.

And other stuff as I come up with it.  I am really looking forward to the mass of produce sales at Fred Meyer this week (so, so excited!) so that I can stock up and use those to my advantage toward the freezer cooking too!  I was HOPING to get to Carrs last Friday for the 5.00 chicken tenderloins, but it just didn't happen, so I'm thinking of maybe picking up a few whole chickens as the .99 lb at Fred Meyer this week.  I'll just have to see what happens when I get there :).

So, yeah, if you don't see a "lot" of me the next little bit, I'm just super busy and will try to remember to take pictures *laugh*.