Tried and Tested: Crockpot Freezer Meals Part 1

I went to a church activity in August where we were taught how to do freezer meals for quick, easy, delicious meals to make dinner time easier and healthier. Since then, I have been notorious about making freezer meals.

I spend 2-3 hours prepping and bagging the meals then when it comes time to cook it, I drop it in the Crockpot and let it cook.  Since having my little in October our family has continued to have delicious dinners and I have been able to maintain my stress levels because it's so easy.

My hubby will even help entertain the little while I put on a movie or binge watch a Netflix show and chop away!!

Since I also like to save money, I'm happy to say I spend less than $200 each month to make about 40 freezer meals.  Since it's just Superman and I right now, that can actually last us almost two months. The first time I made them in September, I didn't have to make more until the third week of October. Take that grocery budget!!

8 Quick Tips for Assembling Crockpot Freezer Meals:

1. Before placing any food in the gallon bags, label the bag with the dish name, date of assembly, cooking time and any additional instructions such as, shred chicken and cook additional time or add cream cheese and cook 20 more mins or serve over rice/noodles.

2. Place meat and produce in the bag first and liquids such as sauces, canned beans or vegetables last.  This will help the bag not roll around as you are trying to fill it.

3. Prep like things all at the same time. For instance, if I have three recipes with bell peppers in them, I'll chop or dice all bell peppers before moving on to the next ingredient.

4. If you need to cut any meats, do it after the produce so you can use one knife (you're starting to see how lazy I am, aren't you??).

5. The girl I learned this from suggested having a bowl you can throw your trash straight into. I just bring my garbage can over to my working area (you call it lazy, I call it efficient).

6. When all ingredients are in the bag, seal the bag well and mix the ingredients around to mix flavors. 

7. Remove as much air as possible when you seal the bag.

8. Place in the freezer laying as flat as possible (when I did this for the first time I made the mistake of standing them up and as they froze, they got stuck in the gaps of the freezer shelf).

DISCLAIMER: These are recipes that I have actually TRIED, these aren't recipes I've found on Pinterest, pinned and forgotten about. I'll let you know of the ones I didn't like and why in case my taste is different than yours.

I usually double each recipe so I can buy more in bulk (hopefully things on sale) and it makes prepping easier.

In this post:
Chicken broccoli Alfredo
Chile Colorado Burritos
Chicken Taco Chili
Chicken Fajitas
Spicy Chicken over Rice

Chicken Broccoli Alfredo

-3 Chicken breasts, cut into strips (I left mine whole and then shredded them when cooked because I'm lazy)
-2 cups broccoli frozen or fresh
-1 large green bell pepper, chopped
-32 ounces Alfredo sauce

If using frozen broccoli, throw all ingredients into gallon bag and freeze.
Cook on low 6 hours, high 3 hours, serve over noodles.

The first time I made this I used frozen broccoli and felt it came out too soft/soggy so I opted to use fresh broccoli the next time and to steam it on my stove while I was making the noodles.  After steaming it, add it to the sauce in the crockpot and serve over noodles.

Thoughts: Just needed a little salt and pepper when we ate it so I just add that to my taste or I'm sure you can add it to the cooking process.

Chile Colorado Burritos

-1.5 pounds stew meat
-1 large can enchilada sauce (I use green sauce)
-1-2 cans refried beans
-Flour tortillas
-Cheese

Place beef and enchilada sauce into gallon bag and freeze.
Cook on low 7-8 hours, high 3-4 hours.
Shred beef (Usually just stirring it will shred it well) and warm up refried beans on stove top. Spoon beef from crockpot onto flour tortilla with refried beans (I like to use a slotted spoon for the beef so I cut out some of the enchilada sauce from the inside).
Roll into burrito and place on a cookie sheet or into a baking pan if you want more of an enchilada feel. Cover with enchilada sauce from crockpot and cheese. 
Place in broiler until bubbly and/or cheese melts.

Thoughts: I really like this one. I place them in a baking dish so they come out more like enchiladas. 

Chicken Taco Chili

-1 Onion, chopped (I like to use yellow, but any will work)
-16 ounces can black beans
-16 ounces can kidney beans
-8 ounces tomato sauce (I like making it with 16 ounces more)
-10 ounces frozen corn
-28 ounces diced tomatoes
-1 packet of taco seasoning
-1 T. Chili Powder
-1 T Cumin
-3 Boneless Chicken breasts

Cook on low 10 hours or high 6 hours.
30 mins before serving, shred chicken and return to crockpot.
Top with cilantro, cheese or sour cream if desired.

Thoughts: Another of my favorites, I've been making this for years, I just adapted it to be a freezer meal.

Chicken Fajitas

-2 Green Peppers, sliced
-1 Onion
-3 Chicken Breasts
-1/2 C. Chicken Broth
-1 Taco Seasoning packet
-1 t. Chili Powder
-1/2 t. Paprika
-1 t. Salt

Cook on low 5-6 hours.
Shred meat, serve on tortillas with cheese, sour cream and other toppings as desired.

Thoughts: This is a very simple yet delicious meal that continues to make it's appearance on our plates.

Spicy Chicken over Rice

-1.5 lbs Chicken (2-3 breasts)
-12 ounces Salsa
-2 T. Taco Seasoning
-1 T. Maple Syrup
-1 t. Lime Juice
-4 ounces cream cheese

Place all ingredients except cream cheese into gallon bag and freeze.
Cook all ingredients 6-7 hours low, 4-5 hours high.
Shred chicken and add cubed cream cheese.
Cook 20 more minutes allowing cheese to melt.
Stir and serve over rice.

Thoughts: This IS my favorite! I could eat this seven times a month.  It's name is spicy chicken but depending on the spice of the salsa you use will determine the spiciness of the dish (I hope everyone else likes it as much as I do).

After you try them, come back and let me know what you thought of them and what some of your favorites are.

Turning a Profit: The Ebay Project Week 2

One of my goals for this year is to find a way to bring in money for our family just for fun; no real need behind it.

After last week I'm hoping this week is just as good...

Let's see what's on the block! (click on each one to go to the listing):

Creative Memories Cutting Tools

Subway Art Stamps

Lexicon of Love Stamps 

Three Ink Pads

Girls Size 10 Pants

Girls Size 8 Pants

Boys Size 10 Shawn White Pants

Women's Size 2 Gap Jean Pants

Nike Crop Pants

Old Navy Sweats

Juicy Couture Crop Pants

Come back next week for an update on how the auctions ended!!

Show me the Money--Turning a Profit: The E-bay Project

It was a pretty productive week. This week after shipping costs plus PayPal/EBay fees my profit was near $120!! Not bad considering what I spent on everything.

Lot of Junior clothing

Cost: Who knows, I've had a lot of these clothes for a few years, just wanted to get them out of my house!
Sold: $51 + Shipping

Victoria Secret PINK Yoga pants

Cost: $3.99
Sold: $15 + Shipping

Express Yoga Pants

Cost: $3.99
Sold: $5.50 + Shipping

Under Armour Shirts

Cost: $16 total $4 ea. (I bought them a few years ago when they were on crazy sale!!)
Sold: $40 + Shipping

H&M Little Black Dress

Cost: ?? I've had it for a few years also
Sold: $5.00 + Shipping

Old Navy Flats

Cost: $5 (Also bought them a couple years ago)
Sold: $2.80 + Shipping

UNSOLD:

-Nikes and Reeboks
-Wedges (Bought for $1, will list them on Craigslist)

Not a bad week of sales if I can say so myself.

Later today I'll post what's on the auction block this week!

Weighing-In: Week 2

After a rocky-start last week on my path back to pre-baby weight a question occurred to me that I used to ask my clients when I was working as a Health and Wellness coach. 

It's a very simple question that I had to answer "no" for last week. 

When there are sweets in my house, I justify that I have to eat it in order to get it out of my house so it's not a distraction.  This logic generally leads me to eating a pack of Oreos in a matter of two days and a whole batch of brownies in 24 hours. 

This week I started a 30 day challenge put on by my SIL who is a beach body coach.  With this starting, I was determined to be better and these were the results:

BEGINNING WEIGHT: 157.6 LBS
WEIGHT AFTER WEEK 2: 156.0
GOAL WEIGHT: 144.0 LBS

BEGINNING WAIST: 39 IN
WAIST AFTER WEEK 2: 38.5 IN
GOAL WAIST: 35 IN

MONDAY:

-30 second plank, 10 pushups, 10 mountain climbers (3 sets)

TUESDAY:

-20 jumping jacks, 10 burpees, 10 high knees (1 set)

WEDNESDAY:

-20 squats, 20 lunges, 20 bridges (1 set)
-1.5 mile walk

THURSDAY:

-Zumba 60 mins

FRIDAY:

-40 second plank, 20 triceps dips, 20 mountain climbers (1 set)

SATURDAY:

-25 jumping jacks, 20 burpees, 20 high knees (1 set)

SUNDAY:

-25 bridges, 30 squats, 30 lunges (1 set)

I obviously feel like I did so much better this week actually seeing some change in weight and more importantly in my waist. 

Breakfasts have started to be eggs and grapefruit (yay for friends with citrus trees) and desserts have been staved off (except for Sunday when we went to my in-laws for dinner)!

I live really close to a major shopping center which has a Wal-mart, Party City, Dollar Tree, Office Max, etc.  So when my husband needed me to pick up some things for him on Wednesday for a church activity instead of getting in my car to drive half a mile and lug my little in and out of the car I just loaded up the stroller and off we went getting in a good walk and some much needed Vitamin D! Win-Win!

Looking and feeling good! Here goes to keeping up the momentum!

Turning a Profit: The E-bay Project

One of my goals for this year is to find a way to bring in money for our family just for fun; no real need behind it.

I had heard from my sister-in-law about buying things from a thrift store and selling on EBay to bring in some extra cash.  So with the holidays finally over, I'm giving it a shot.

Here's what's on the auction block this week (click on each one to go to the listing):

Huge Lot of Junior Clothing

Pink by Victoria Secret Yoga Crop Pants

Express Sexy Stretch Yoga Pants

Lot of Under Armour Heat Gear Shirts

H&M Little Black Dress

White House Black Market Wedges

Two Pairs of Nikes

Two Pairs of Reeboks

Old Navy Flats

Come back next week for an update on how the auctions ended!!

Weighing-In: Week 1

Of course one of the goals for every new mother is to get rid of all that baby-weight.  If you're one of the lucky ones who magically appears the hour after giving child birth to have never been pregnant, can I please speak for the rest of us and say we don't want to hear about how you still have so much to get rid of.  Take the compliment that you look good and move on.

So, this is my effort to document my path back to pre-Emmy-Sara.

BEGINNING WEIGHT: 156.6 LBS
WEIGHT AFTER WEEK 1: 157.6
GOAL WEIGHT: 144.0 LBS

BEGINNING WAIST: 39 IN
WAIST AFTER WEEK 1: 39 IN
GOAL WAIST: 35 IN

Review of the week: the exercise was good, the nutrition is where I failed. You can't eat dessert almost every night and expect to drop the weight and inches.  I have noticed in the past, however, that I go through a week or two of gaining a pound right after I start strength-training again. After that the weight falls off.

MONDAY:

-30 minutes Zumba, 3-mile run
                If you are like me and have no rhythm going to a Zumba class may not be the most ideal for you. But if you like dancing and moving to good music and are able to call it exercise, Zumba is perfect... what a dilemma.  The solution, online Zumba videos! I found a good library of videos at Tone and Tighten or even on YouTube. I'm in the process of compiling a Zumba channel and will post a link when I do.

TUESDAY:

-Arm Workout

WEDNESDAY:

-60 minutes stroller walk

THURSDAY:

-60 minutes Zumba

FRIDAY:

-Abs Workout

SATURDAY:

-Yard Work (Our leaves finally fell off the tree, yay for living in Arizona)

SUNDAY:

-30 minute walk with family


I'm starting a 30 day challenge today.  My sister-in-law is a beach body coach and is helping others get a start on being healthy so I'm partaking in order to be held more accountable to my own goals. Accountability is a HUGE part of being successful in any goal but especially health goals. 

Let's see what this next week brings. 

Come back next Monday for an update and more exercise ideas.

Why I'm glad I waited to get married but why I wouldn't do it again

Growing up I often heard about how I needed to be preparing to get married and when I would have a family.  It ended up having a negative effect on me--instead of being excited to get married, I didn't think I ever would get married and I didn't like the term "home-maker" ever being attached to my name. 

I married my husband just before my 25th birthday and it was the most amazing day! I love my husband and my family.  My husband and I had the chance to meet so many times when we were both younger but we never did (my fault, not his) and I'm glad we didn't.  If I was given it to do all over again, I would do things differently and start our lives together sooner.

Things I learned because I waited to get married
1. How to think for myself
Growing up, I just did what I wanted.  I never gave much thought to it or had any reason for doing what I wanted, I just did what I did mainly because it was easy.  I never really started thinking for myself or feeling confident in my choices until after I graduated college and had to make a choice that wasn't expected of me or was a long-term commitment like college was.
Now that I'm married it helps our relationship that I have had experiences in researching and judging choices then dealing with the consequences. When it came time to decide about what to do with finances or when to start our family, I had the confidence that I could add value to the decision making process and I could think differently than my husband and that was OK.

2. How to handle disagreements with a calm demeanor
Ask anyone in my family, I was the instigator growing up.  I was notorious for tormenting my older brother until he would hit or chase me and then complaining to my mother so that he would get in trouble--my mother caught on and I had to learn to be sneakier.  Going through college with frustrating classmates and hit-or-miss roommates will force you to stay cool.  You can't yell at your roommates like you can your family and them not think you are totally bonkers or want to throw you out.
My husband and I have been married for just over 2 1/2 years now.  Since then we have had conversations about how to handle finances, politics, career paths and more. It's a no-brained that no couple is going to agree on everything through their marriage and we are no different.  The way we handle our disagreements have been greatly blessed because my husband just has a calm demeanor about himself and I was given extra years to learn that skill.

3. How to stick to my guns but still be willing to look at things with a different set of eyes
"Argue your point, even after you learn it's wrong--then just change the way you're arguing it so it's right" was my slogan.  I never wanted anyone to be right when I was wrong. Being wrong or admitting defeat was a failure. There wasn't really an a-ha moment about this until after I was married and really had to take someone else's perspective with more than a grain of salt.
My husband and I have had times when we've had discussions and I started out thinking one way was the right direction to head in but talked and listened to the other point of view until WE, TOGHETHER, made a decision.  Sometimes I would change my stance and we would go the way my husband presented and sometimes we would go my way.  The key to this is that we both agree about the final decision and don't look back or say, "I told you we should have...".

My marriage is no better than yours and no couple is perfect.  Our marriage has been blessed because we both have opinions and are able to think for ourselves, we keep a calm head as we discuss the things that come up in our life, and we both stand where we feel we should on our positions but keep an open mind until the decision is made.

I've heard from my in-laws that my husband was born this way, that he has always been calm, wise and acting rational.  I, on the other hand, needed a few more years to learn how to be the best wife and companion to him.  I'm learning that I want to raise my daughter (and future children) to be better than I was. To not be a stubborn child that gave her parents so much heartache and pain.  I want to raise my children to be ready to be a great spouse and companion without needing to wander aimlessly for years as their mother did.

A chore a day keeps this mommy willing to play

I knew when I was pregnant with Emmy I would end up being a stay-at-home mom (SAHM) at some point and I dreamt of all the time I would have on my hands.

I think the other SAHMs are rolling on the floor laughing at me right now.  I've been doing the job of SAHM for just under three months now and I had to finally admit to myself and husband last month how surprised I am at how little time I actually have.  OK, OK, I have just as much time as everyone else but being a first time mom to a newborn keeps you hopping!!

I spent the first month or two in my pajamas when I was at home because I decided if I was going to get spat-up on seven times a day why even get dressed.  The house began to look like a bachelor's pad with clean clothes unfolded and dishes constantly in the sink because we unloaded the dishwasher as we needed the dishes that were in there.

I knew something needed to change but what? I was feeding my little for at least 30 minutes every 2-3 hours but it took so much more out of me because after she ate, I had to hold her upright for at least another 30 minutes to keep her from turning into a milk geyser and regurgitating everything she just ate and needing yet another bath.


Luckily though, she does love baths!!

I decided I could spare 30 minutes a day to cleaning (I'm sure I could do more but I needed a slow start).  I timed myself when doing a chore and found that I can dust and clean all the windows and mirrors in 30 minutes.  I can even do a good cleaning of the bathrooms in 30 minutes if I did it once a week.  So, I committed!

Every day, I do one chore, some are easier and quicker than others so on the easier days I run other errands or plan appointments or plan my groceries for the month (that post later) or those are the days I really need to get laundry done.  So here's what I do; maybe it'll work for you too!

On top of the one chore I do each day, I make sure the dishwasher is unloaded (most of the time my husband does it for me, he's so good to me) so when dishes are used they go straight into the dishwasher and when it's full, it gets ran. Is this as mind-blowing for you as it was for me??

When I clean the windows it's the inside of the windows.  I plan on cleaning the outside of the windows during spring and fall cleaning.  I also clean the mirrors in my bedroom and in the bathroom to make cleaning the bathrooms a little easier the next day.  Since I do the dishes as they come up, the kitchen consists of making sure the counters are clean, the table is cleared and clean and the recycling is taken out (yes, I need to be reminded of that sometimes).

After the first couple weeks of completing all my chores during the week so I had nothing to do on Saturday I decided I could add in one of the more difficult chores that needed to be done monthly but could be done easier if my hubby was home to help with Emmy if needed.  That's where the Saturday chores came into play.  This way each month my fridge was cleared of the left-overs that were never going to get eaten and my husband's work clothes that have to be ironed wouldn't wait around forcing him to wear the same five shirts week after week because I stopped once he had enough shirts to get him through a week. When I clean the doors, it's to wipe down any finger or handprints around the knobs and any shoeprints from where we use our feet to close the doors.

It's not perfect and occasionally I still have to remind myself to get up and do my 30 minutes but I feel more accomplished at the end of the day and that gives me more energy and time to play and help Emmy grow and develop.

New Year, New Resolutions

Every year, on January first, my husband and I sit down to discuss our goals for the new year.  A lot of times the goals from last year need to be repeated because we failed or we forgot about them.  This year, one of my goals is to NOT forget about my goals. 

 

Throughout the year I'll do checks on myself and see how I'm doing; you can check in and help keep me accountable also.

I always break my goals into different categories of Financial, Physical, Intellectual/Knowledge, Spiritual, etc.

Intellectual--
1. Read one book each month (should be easy since I joined a book club through my church). 
Purpose of this goal is to continue to use my mind and spend less time binge watching Netflix--especially since they just added FRIENDS to their collection.
2. Practice the Piano daily.
One of my goals last year was to get back into playing the piano and to learn how to play the left hand.  When I was younger I taught myself to play the right hand but struggled to have the determination to play the left.  I did well with my goal last year, I had to hire a piano teacher but it helped tremendously. This year my goal is to continue that skill and be able to play Christmas Hymns by next December for our family tradition of singing a Christmas song each night in December leading up to Christmas.

Financial--
1. Stay in budget for groceries every month.
This has been a recurring goal each year; I do pretty well with it but it's become a game and more and more fun each month.  With our little family growing, I'm needing to find new ways to save money and a challenge I willingly accept.
2. Look for ways to bring income to our family.
This goal truly is just for fun.  There have been so many opportunities mentioned to me since leaving my work in October I just want to try a couple and see what I can do. Plus, with some of my other goals, it may be nice to have some extra cash and help keep me from binge watching Netflix.

Physical--
1. Return to pre-pregnancy weight by October.
I don't know if this is too easy of a goal or if it's right on track.  I weighed in this morning at 155 lbs and my goal weight is 145 lbs. I know healthy weight loss is 1 pound/week but is that the same if you are nursing?? Something I'll need to look into and update my goal as necessary. I'm going to start running with some ladies from my church tonight and it's a weekly group.  On top of that I'm going to be walking with my daughter, doing a strength circuit twice a week and riding my bike on Saturdays when my husband is home. Once it gets warm enough, I'll start back in the pool.  I've put reminders in my phone for all of these things as that has helped me in the past. Nutrition will also come into play so maybe I'll share some good recipes as I find them.

Spiritual--
1. Daily prayer and scripture study.
As this one is more personal you won't hear much about it but it's something we as a family are working on also.

Personal--
1. Journal every Sunday.
When I was single I was really good about journaling.  I believe it's such an important part of my life but when I got married it was easy to just talk to my husband instead of writing things down.  But how will my posterity know of the things in my life if I do not record them?? Hence my journal. Right now I keep a hard copy but a friend suggested just using Google Docs which may be wise also.
2. Blog every Monday.
This one is more just to commit to something and stay committed.  I've started and stopped so many times at blogging that I just want to keep up with it once. Nobody may read this blog, and that is ok but I need to keep at it.

What are your New Year's resolutions?