Freezer Cooking: 2nd Edition~Chicken

It's September tomorrow and fall is coming. Did you hear me? FALL is coming! So I think its about time we stock up the ol' freezer with some good eats for cooler weather. Here's what my plan is for the coming week:

From Don't Panic, Dinner's in the Freezer
*Cheesy Chicken Bundles
*Chicken Enchiladas
*Orange Teriyaki Chicken

From Don't Panic, More Dinner's in the Freezer
*All-Seasons Sesame Chicken
*Spicy Peanut Chicken

From Fix, Freeze, Feast
*Chicken Parmigiana
*Peanut Satay
*Basic Red Sauce

From Fabulous Freezer Meals
*Chicken Marengo
*Chicken Alfredo
*Parmesan-crusted Chicken and Broccoli
And maybe:
*Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies
*Chocolate Chip Cookies
*Sugar Cookies

I know this looks like a lot (plus I have some beef and pork recipes I'll be doing in a few weeks), but these meals will last a few months in the freezer if properly packaged so I think I'm going to go for it. Plus, fresh chicken is on sale for $1.99 this week at Meijer so I'll be able to buy all my chicken this week.

I got all these books out of the library and I may buy some of them if it turns out I like the recipes. If you'd like to do freezer cooking, here's how I get started:
1) Borrow/buy some freezer cooking books. The ones I listed above are great. The first chapter is the how's and the why's of freezer cooking, plus I know these are tried and true freezer recipes.
2) Go through the books and pick out recipes that you think your family would enjoy and that don't look too pricy to make. I throw recipes out if they have more than 1 ingredient foreign to my kitchen.
3) Make a list of all the ingredients that you need and start watching sales so you can get your ingredients for great prices. Also, consider buying some things in bulk, like shredded cheese at Sam's Club. I bought a 5 lb bag for about 13 bucks which is less than $3/lb. Great price!

Have fun! I'll post some pics when I do my cooking.

Home Project: Pantry

I was in desperate need of a pantry so Chris and I decided to turn our coat closet into a pantry. Why didn't we do this sooner?? I love it!

Before pic~not quite sure where I'm going to store the vacuum cleaner. I guess it will have to go downstairs in the closet under the stairs.

Level shelves are a good thing. And mine are pretty level!

After~Lots of storage and now our food is right next to the kitchen instead of downstairs in the laundry room.

Ice-Blended Mocha

(image from goodCheapeats)

Ice-Blended Mocha (goodCHEAPeats)

serves one

1/2 cup strong coffee
1 cup crushed ice
1/2 cup half and half
2 – 3 Tablespoons chocolate syrup

In the bowl of a blender, combine all the ingredients. Blend until smooth and frothy. Serve immediately.