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  • Preserving Zucchini #FoodieFriday

    Preserving Zucchini #FoodieFriday

    I don’t have a recipe for you today, because I have been busy busy busy in the garden trying to preserve everything I grew this year.  What you see in the above picture, that’s just the first crop of Zucchini. Since those were picked, I have twice more picked around the same amount. It’s safe to say, we’ll be eating A LOT of zucchini for the next little while.

    It was a bit ironic last night I was cooking up some Rice-A-Roni for dinner. My plan was to saute some zucchini on the side and fry up some chicken with it as well. When I started reading the directions to cook the rice, I noticed it had a chicken and rice recipe on the box – and under that recipe the add in option of zucchini. So instead of 3 separate pan, I used 1 and cooked everything together. It was pretty good too.

    Back on topic here – did you grow a garden this year?  Did you plant Zucchini?  If you did, and it was like me, your first time growing zucchini, you are probably also swimming in zucchini. My first two crops I took to my moms house.  Our last crop, picked yesterday, I took care of all on my own.

    Preserving Zucchini
    If you’d like to preserve your zucchini the best way to do that, is in the freezer. 
    What you’ll need
    Zucchini
    quart sized freezer bags
    food processor with grating attachment OR a cheese grater
    a spoon
    Process
    Begin by washing all the zucchini. Cut off the ends, and throw them away. 
    If you are using a food processor (and I strongly urge you to, even if it means borrowing one from a neighbor), you’ll want to slice the zucchini in half lengthwise, and scoop out all the seeds. Then use the food processor to shred the zucchini.
    Fill each qt bag with 3-4 cups of shredded zucchini. Most recipes call for at most 4 cups, so you will now have the perfect portion in each bag for baking. 
    If you choose to use a cheese grater (not my ideal, but I did it last night and it does work), cut your zucchini into spears, like you would a cucumber. Don’t worry about the seeds. Then go to town grating. This method does take much longer. 
    I did not shred all my zucchini, because it isn’t just for baking. Here are some other ways and meal ideas you can use that zucchini for.
    sliced and quartered – perfect for stir fry, and sauteing. 
    Sliced into rounds – these could be breaded and fried
    Cut into spears – also great for stir fry
    Sliced in half lengthwise, and hollowed – great for stuffing. Similar to this Bacon Stuffed Squash
    Check out my freezer – I HAD to eat all the rest of our ice cream so I could fit in the zucchini. Can you believe Mark said I didn’t have to eat the ice cream..he thought I could just throw it away. shaking my head in unbelief!
    Preserve zucchini in qt bags for the perfect portion
    The top shelf is filled to the back with zucchini, with only one bag of chicken taking up some space. The door is also stuffed with bags of zucchini and rhubarb.
    ~FEATURES~
    Check out all these different ways you could use Zucchini!
    zucchini tart from callmepmc.com #callmepmc #tart #vegetables
    Fresh Zucchini Tart
    from Call Me PMc
    If you like quiche, you’ll probably enjoy this tart. Just try it!

    Carrot Zucchini Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
    from The Pin Junkie
    zucchini is the perfect healthy ingredient to add to baked goods! This recipe doubles the nutrition with the carrots.

    Trim Healthy Tuesday: Summer Stir Fry (E)
    Summer Stir-fry
    from Stacey Makes Cents
    by far my favorite way to eat zucchini. 
    Head on over to Diane at Simple Living and Eating for another great recipe and more features!

  • Epic Birthday Cake {Menu Plan}

    Mark had a birthday, shout Hooray!  We left Friday afternoon to spend the weekend at my parents. They are kind enough to watch our kids for extended periods of time, while Mark and I go on dates. All he wanted for his birthday was a date with me…awe!  It’s funny because that’s what I’m always telling him I want. 
    We left the kids a little before lunch to go pick up his specially ordered cake. Marks’ cousins wife has made some beautiful cakes (like his sisters Wedding Cake), so Mark decided he wanted to get a nice one this year. I didn’t really mind, since it meant I wouldn’t have to bake, and could focus more on him, and cleaning the house before we left. 

    Mark took inspiration from this Pig in a Mud bath Cake…
    Pigs having a bath in a chocolate cake
     
    and asked her to create a Lochness Monster in a pool of Pepsi Cake.  I think she did a pretty brilliant job, don’t you?
     
    Not only did it look good, it tasted great too!  She made Mark’s favorite, Carrot Cake with cream cheese frosting. Normally I’ll leave the raisins and nuts out when I make it, but she didn’t, and wow! Best carrot cake I’ve ever eaten.
     
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    We’re back home now, and ready for a new month. I’m off to the store today to restock our food.  My sister in law sent me a Freezer Meal cookbook for Christmas, so I’ve decided to pull 4-5 recipes from there per month, but make them all up at the beginning of the month. That way I should have at least 1 set meal each week.
     
    Monday – Pizza Night
    Wednesday – Biscuits and Gravy
    Thursday – Pita Pockets
    Friday – Ham Potato Scallop
    Saturday – Leftovers
    Sunday – Roast, Potatoes, and Asparagus
     
    Breakfasts – Cereal, Pancakes, Spinach Deviled Eggs
     
    Beefy Enchiladas
    Beef Stew
    Phyllo Chicken Rolls
    Tex Mex Pork Casserole
    Wild Rice Ham Rolls
     
    
    I’m linking up to OrgJunkie.com
     
  • Menu Plan Monday – 4/9

    Menu Plan Monday – 4/9

    Well, it’s another crazy meal week here. Planning meals for some is hard enough, but planning when you don’t know how your week is going to turn out is even harder!  If you haven’t been able to tell, we have not had Baby Prince yet. He was due last Wednesday on the 4th, but he’s still hanging out in my ever growing belly.  However, today I believe will be the day! I have an appointment to go see my OB this morning, and we should be scheduling the hospital for later this afternoon, when Mark is off work.  My mom picked up the Princesses last Saturday and will have them until this coming Friday, so I don’t have to worry about food for them – just Mark and I. 
    Here’s a somewhat Meal Schedule for us this week.
    Monday – hospital food
    Tuesday – hospital food (Nice romantic dinner provided by the hospital!)
    Wednesday – posisbly hospital food, or a Freezer Chicken Pot Pie
    Thursday – Frozen Pot Stickers (store bought)
    Friday – Freezer Bean Burritos from Martha Stewart
    Sunday – ?
    I have no energy to think a full week ahead right now.  I may try and put up a chicken enchilada today before going to the hospital, and that will give us one more freezer meal.
    I also have a wonderful Visiting Teacher (sisters from my church that visit me monthly) that has promised to bring me dinner one night when we’re home as well. 
    So what’s on your menu this week?  What do you do for meals when you have no idea where you’ll be during the week?
  • Foodie Friday – Freezer Meals and a Giveaway!

    Foodie Friday – Freezer Meals and a Giveaway!

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    Have you ever put together some Freezer Meals?  For years I’ve heard of freezer meals, and I always wanted to try them out, but I had no idea where to start. I had questions like “At what point in the cooking do I freeze it?” and “Do I cook it longer or let it thaw before cooking?”. 
    Back when I had just Princess V and Princess C, I decided I wanted to try my hand at this freezing idea. So I started with dinner rolls. I actually completely figured them out on my own, and was very successful with my first try.
    And then I stopped. Actual dinners just sounded too difficult to put together, and I really didn’t mind being in the kitchen (I still don’t!).  Jump to today though, and I’ve now got Princess R running around my feet, and Baby Prince getting ready to make his appearance. I decided it was time to stop slacking, and get some food put together so we wouldn’t rely on pizza every night that I don’t have the energy or desire to cook.
    Let me tell you, it has been fun!!  I have been putting stuff in the freezer all week, and I’m running out of room.  A deep freezer would be so nice, except trying to figure out where to put it. So I make do with my little above the refrigerator freezer.  I started with cinnamon rolls, because really, cereal gets old, and warm cinnamon rolls are OH so good!  Then I jumped to some Chicken Tortilla Soup and Chicken Pot Pie. Tonight I made a double batch of lasagna and froze one. Tomorrow I plan on getting some bean burritos in there (they should fit!).
    Freezing Dinner Rolls
    (cinnamon rolls and any other bread will be the same process)
    Choose your favorite dinner roll recipe. Follow the instructions up to shaping the rolls. Normally you will shape your rolls and let them rise before cooking. DO NOT LET THEM RISE! Once you shape the rolls place them on a baking sheet and put them in the freezer.  After they’ve frozen sufficiently (2-3 hours), remove them from the baking sheet and put in gallon freezer bags. By freezing separately before the bags, the rolls should not stick together.
    When you’re ready to bake the rolls remove from the freezer. Let them thaw and rise until double in size. Bake according to original direction.
    Freezing Soup
    Make your desired soup according to directions. Leave off any garnishes, or items that could go soggy (in my case, the tortilla chips).  Cool it down in the freezer and then pour into freezer containers – gallon bags work, or air tight Tupperware.
    When ready to eat, remove from freezer, dump into a pan and reheat.
    Freezing Casseroles
    This is similar to the soups. Mix up your casserole according to directions, but do not bake! Once the casserole is assembled, cover with foil, or lid if you have one for your dish (ha, I just realized I put foil on my lasagna, but I have a lid for that pan!).  Place in freezer.
    When ready to cook, heat through. I would use the same temperature the recipe calls for, but it will need extra time to heat all the way through.
    Now you know the secrets to Freezer Meals! It all seems pretty straight forward, but if you’re anything like me, it seems pretty daunting that first time going at it.  Don’t be afraid, and ask questions! There’s a lot of info online too!
    Giveaway Time!
    Link up your recipes on the linky and you will have the chance to win a $25 Walmart gift card. Please make sure to use a valid email when adding your link so we can contact you!  The winner will be announced next Friday!
    *Gift card provided by General Mills and Walmart through My Blog Spark

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