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Recipes that Freeze Well

I mentioned in yesterday's post a few recipes for new mommies that freeze well!  It's always nice when friends bring dinner after the new baby comes, but after a while you're back to cooking again, so I thought it'd be nice to share a few of my favorite recipes that also freeze well.  These would all be great to half or double and take for the new mommy and daddy to eat at the time and then an extra to freeze for later.

Before I get to the recipes, please know that I do not follow recipes well, and most of these were handed down from my Memaw, so the measurements are not precise.  Specifics of what I use:
- 98% fat free cream soups
- Mexican blend shredded cheese (unless otherwise specified)
- 2% milk Velvetta and original Rotel
- 93/7 ground beef and I don't drain it
- yellow onion (it's sweeter, IMO)
- I season all meat w/ salt, pepper and garlic (SPG), to taste

Stuffed Bell Peppers

4 bell peppers, cut in half from top to bottom to make a bowl (color doesn't matter)

1 lb ground beef

1 diced onion

3 ribs diced celery

8oz can tomato sauce

1 boil in bag white rice, cooked according to package

handful shredded cheese

large can crushed tomatoes

photo credit: foodphotoblog.com

Directions

- preheat oven to 350*

- Boil peppers in salted water until tender, about 10 minutes, drain

- Brown meat, onion and celery, season with SPG

- once meat is cooked, add rice, cheese and tomato sauce, mix well

- put peppers in baking dish, stuff with meat mixture, top with crushed tomatoes

- bake for 20-30 minutes

Tips

 - to freeze, do not add crushed tomatoes until you are ready to bake. 

- goes straight from freezer to oven (don't forget to add tomatoes), bake at 350 about 1 hour, or until hot

- I always make the full recipe and put it in 2 pans, one to cook now, one to freeze for later.  The 8" square tin pans are perfect for this!  Could also double and use 9x13 pans.

- Serve with mashed potatoes

Chicken Spaghetti

1 lb chicken breast, cooked and chopped, I boil the chicken in chicken broth

(or one rotisserie chicken shredded)

1 can cream of mushroom

1 can cream of chicken

4 oz velvetta

1 can rotel

12 oz spaghetti, cooked in chicken broth according to package with celery & onion, drain

(I use the same water I boil my chicken in - cook the chicken first, then the pasta)

1 diced onion

3 ribs diced celery

shredded cheese

photo credit: myrecipes.com

Directions

- preheat oven to 350

- Once you drain your pasta, throw it back in the same pot and add all ingredients, except shredded cheese

- Mix well and keep heat on low so velveeta will melt

- Once mixed put it in a baking dish and cover with cheese.

- Bake until bubbly, about 20 minutes

Tips

- to freeze, do not add cheese until you are ready to bake.

- goes straight from freezer to oven (don't forget the cheese), bake at 350 for an hour, or until hot

- I always make the full recipe and put it in 2 pans, one to cook now, one to freeze for later. The 8" square tin pans are perfect for this! Could also double and use 9x13 pans.
- Serve with caesar salad and garlic bread - we love the salad in the bag w/ all the fixin's and Texas Toast Garlic Bread w/ Cheese.  So GOOD!

I'll be back with more freezer friendly recipes next week!

 

Random Tuesday Ramblings

{one} 

My weekend started at 4:15 on Friday afternoon with a call from Jack's school saying I needed to pick him up because he was running 101.4 fever.  At the time, I was pulling into the Wal-Mart parking lot about to get a long overdue spur-of-the-moment haircut at the Wal-Mart salon - I already know this is NOT a good idea, so THANKS daycare for saving me from an awful haircut! 

Entertaining himself at the doctor's office.

{two}

The rest of our weekend was spent taking care of a sick Jack.  He ran fever most of the weekend, wouldn't eat, fought sleep and had some yucky stuff in his eyes, so I knew it must be an ear infection.  A trip to the Dr yesterday confirmed my suspecions and he started antibiotics last night.  I'm hoping for a quick recovery, because this waking up in the middle of the night, on top of daylight savings time, has made me one TIRED mama! 

{three}

Thanks for all the sweet comments and suggestions on my last post!  I think I am going to go with the barnyard theme for Jack's party and luckily I think I've found the perfect little petting zoo place to have the party.  Details coming soon!

{four}

I've been busy, busy, busy sewing the past week or so!  Here are a few new things I've made recently.  I love receiving custom requests and am so excited for a few new shirts and a tutu I get to make in the next few weeks for some very sweet first birthday parties! 

Cookie Monster Gift Set

Dinosaur Gift Set

Lovey Blankie w/ Paci Clip

Lovey blankies might be my new favorite thing to make!

Especially this one!  It's so bright and cheery!

Easter Egg Truck

Easter Bunny Shirt

Personalized Name Shirt


{FIVE}
My sister, Sarah, is going to have sweet baby Brady pretty soon and my mom and I were talking about good foods to make for new moms and dishes that freeze well, so I thought I'd make a little list.  I'll post recipes for all of these tomorrow.

- Chicken Spaghetti
- Stuffed Bell Peppers
- Italian Shells
- Chicken Enchiladas
- King Ranch Chicken

What are your favorite "new mommy" meals?

A Day in the Life - Jack's 2nd Birthday

 I can hardly believe it, but my dear friends, it's true...

In 4 short months my little man will turn 2!

Time is flying and I know his birthday will be here in the blink of an eye!  I swore, after months of planning his first birthday party, that his 2nd would be something low-key with just family and a few friends.  Now that his birthday is getting closer, I'm having a hard time doing only a small party!  Especially with all the party inspiration I find in the bloggy world!  Plus, my friend, Ashley, had a "petting zoo" themed party for her daughter and I've loved the idea ever since!  Although, I'm really hoping to hold the party at a petting zoo and not have one come to my house, but we'll see!  I'm loving these ideas I found on Parties and Pretties!

Sweet tea, lemonade and a wheelbarrow full of drinks?  Yes, please!

I LOVE these gingham table cloths!  And the wicker baskets for snacks!  So cute!

A hayride on neighborhood streets?  What a fantastic idea and I'm pretty certain we could make this happen!

Love the treat boxes - I did similar boxes last year for Jack's Beach Monkey Party.

I love this little craft idea, too. Cheap and easy and the kids get to take something home with them and watch it grow.  Perfect!

And this cake!  Need I say more?  I'm a sucker for an AMAZING cake and this one is just adorable!

Inspiration pictures via Parties and Pretties

I still have a few months before I have to decide for sure what route we'll go with Jack's party, but I'm loving the barnyard theme! 

What do yall think?

What have you done for your kids' 2nd birthday parties?  I'm looking for suggestions!

Yay for FRIDAY!!!

I think I've said it a million times this week - but I have been BUSY!!!  Between real work, Jack and Etsy this has been one doozy of a week for me!  So, HELLO Friday!  I'm so happy you're here!!

Jack's class made cute little hats for their Dr Seuss parade on Wednesday and I forgot to grab his to take home until yesterday. He INSISTED on wearing the hat out of school and threw a fit when I had to take it off of him to get him in the car. As soon as he was all buckled up, he grabbed that hat and put it on again! He held it on his head most of the way home and would say "Uh Ohhhh" everytime it fell off. He's a character!!

Back in December we took Jack to the ENT to have his ears tested and make sure he was hearing ok since he'd had so many ear infections and wasn't talking too much.  Everything checked out fine, but I've still been a little worried about his speech development.  I talked to the Director of his school last week about maybe having a speech therapist work with him, but she recommended we wait until he is two, since he is saying a few words. 

Grammy & Jack - Longview Feb 2011

Well, this week Jack has come alive in the speech department!  He is by no means speaking in sentences, but he is saying a lot of new words and recognizing things without me having to say what it is first.  He now points to the giraffe at his school and says "giraffe" and he says "bug" when he sees something flying.  He's also saying "airplane," "juice," "gone gone," and I know there are many more new words I'm forgetting.  So let's just say, this new mama isn't quite so worried about him anymore!  I just have to remember that he will talk in his own time and not to compare him to other kids.

I forgot to thank Heather for the beautiful flowers she sent for my birthday last weekend!  Wish you could have been here to celebrate with me!  I can't believe we're in the Dirty Thirty club already!  It seems like just yesterday we turned 21!! 

And, today I'm LOVING this little lovey blankie I made last night for Baby Reid!  I love the bright colors of the guitars and the turqouise minky!  Have I mentioned I'm addicted to fabric??  HA!  I have a growing list of fabrics I want, but I have decided I'm no longer going to buy fabric unless I need it!  So anytime I get a request for a custom item I pick a variety of fabrics from both my collection at home and my little list of wants to send as possible options, just praying my clients will choose something I don't already have!  sneaky, sneaky!

The Sunfire Creative discount code for this month is:  MARCHSAVE10 which will save you 10% off your entire order! 

Yay for FRIDAY! 

Enjoy the beautiful weather and have a GREAT weekend!!

My Birthday Weekend

This recap is a few days late, but o'well!  My parents came up on Friday, so the 5 of us headed to Four Winds Steakhouse for dinner. The restaurant is located in the ranch house of former Dallas Cowboy Lee Roy Jordan, and sits amongst 1,100 acres of old oaks and looks onto a small pond. It's beautiful out there and has me dreaming of my next 30 years being on a ranch! Ok, back to reality! HA!

Saturday, my mom and I went shopping while Ran and Jeff entertained Jack!  I'm sure Jack loved getting to hang out with the boys all day and it's good to know Daddy is perfectly capable of taking Jack out and about with him!  (not that I ever doubted he could handle it)  It really is getting easier as he's getting older and luckily, Jack is usually really good in public.  Very seldom does he cry or act crazy at a restaurant.  He loves people watching!  Saturday night, Mama and Jeff watched Jack so Ran and I went out and celebrate my birthday again!  We went to a little hibachi grill and it was SOOOO good!  I could eat hibachi and mexican everyday ha!  (Obviously, I haven't lost the 15 lbs I was hoping to by the time I turned 30 - o'well, at least I'm well fed and happy!)  The place we went doesn't take reservations and there was a long wait, so we had a good time sitting at the bar - we even took a birthday shot!  HA!  I hate that we didn't get any pictures from our night out - I even got a new outfit for the occasion!  :)  All in all, I had a wonderful birthday and I think the thirties and I will get along just fine! 

We didn't do much Sunday.  I sewed most of the day, Jack slept and Randy piddled around the house.  We grilled filet mignon for dinner and I made homemade scalloped potatoes (so good) and just hung out.  While Mama and I were shopping on Saturday we saw a pair of camo shorts for Jack and just had to get them so he can look just like his daddy!  They looked like two peas in a pod on Sunday!  Jack loves to help Ran get the grill ready.  He knows how to move the little thing back and forth to get out the ashes, then knows to brush out the grill, etc.  It's too funny!  He never ceases to amaze me with all the little things he picks up! 

cell phone pic

After cleaning the grill, the boys needed a little break!  Randy was just sitting in the chair watching TV and Jack climbed up right beside him and assumed the same position!  He is just.like.his.daddy!  And, I couldn't be a happier mama!  I'm so thankful Jack seems to have gotten Randy's silly, happy-go-lucky spirit, his mechanical inclinations and hopefully his figure-anything-out brain! 

I am SO GLAD tomorrow is FRIDAY!  This has been one BUSY week for me.  I can't wait to share with  you on Monday all of the new things I've made recently!  My favorite has to be the tag loveys!  So, so cute! 

Happy Birthday Dr Seuss

First of all, THANK YOU for all the sweet birthday wishes!  I had a great day!  I'll recap our weekend tomorrow.  It's been a CRAZY, BUSY week!

Happy Birthday, Dr Seuss!  Today is Dr Seuss day at Jack's school and they're having a parade and celebration in honor of the Great Dr Seuss, so of course I had to whip up a cute little shirt for Jack to wear today!

You can read more about Dr Seuss here.  This site has fun, interactive games for kids, a store and Dr Seuss' biography.

 

Jack was "Thing 6" at last year's celebration! 

Look how little he was!

March 2nd is also Read Across American Day.  Read Across American was thought up by the National Education Association and was launched on March 2, 1998.   It's the country's largest "pep rally" for reading and offers activities to keep kids reading all year.

Jack has carried this coloring sheet and marker around since last night and was not happy that I wouldn't let him take it to bed with him!  HA!

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” ~ Dr. Seuss

Have a great Wednesday, Friends!