Cooking Day 1

I decided to show you my tips and tricks during cooking day. I am prepping for Week 1: Cheeseburger Soup, Burritos!, Breakfast Cassarole, and Chicken Yum Yum.

Step 1. FEED YOUR FAMILY! (you can't have them hungry while you're cooking all this food smelling up the house... they'll eat your work!)

Step 2. Get a trash bag in place near your chopping and prep area... my trash can is by the stove. The counter I chop on.. is NOT. So I hung a bag on a hook so I could keep the trash out of my way as I chopped and worked my veggies.


Step 3. Chop everything at the same time! I chopped nearly a whole bag of onions. I will freeze whatever I don't use in a rubbermaid container (**top the onion with plastic wrap to keep the smell down in the freezer!)and use the frozen chopped onion on my other cooking days. Here is how I chop an onion, simple and easy...

*click on the picture to view a larger image!
1. Cut the ends off of the onion.
2. Stand the onion on a cut end, and cut it in half.
3. Peel the halves, put trash in bag.
4. Peel all of your onions that you are going to chop.
5. Lay the cut side down. Make a bunch of slices across the onion. Do not SLICE all the way to the end... leave some room so the slices stay together.
6. Slice going the other direction to chop. Onion will naturally fall apart in small pieces because of the layers :)
7. Place in container. Use what you need and freeze the rest!

Step 4. Brown all of the hamburger that you purchased (I bought the biggest package... 3 or 5 lbs?). Season with your typical seasoning mix... This is mine:


If you like onions like we do... brown the hamburger with about a cup of onion (more or less to taste)



Allow the hamburger to brown while you're chopping more veggies. When it is done, drain it well, and allow it to cool.



Step 5. Chop green peppers. If you're like me, when I started cooking... I had no idea what to do with a green pepper. Thank heavens for Rachel Ray and the Food Network! Here is how I chop a green pepper...

*click on the picture to view a larger image!
1. Wash the peppers well.
2. Pat them dry (you want to try to keep your veggies as dry as possible. you are freezing them... water + freezer = ice... I'm guessing you don't want too many ice chunks in your food!)
3. Cut peppers in half long ways.
4. Pull out the seeds and stem over your trash bag. Try to remove most of the white ribbing and all of the seeds (that's what gives you heartburn...)
5. Lay the halves CUT SIDE UP (this will prevent ACCIDENTS!), slice into strips.
6. Gather the strips and chop.

Step 6. Saute 2 c. onions, 2 green peppers, and a tbs of minced garlic on medium heat until transparent. I use the jar of minced garlic (I'm not ashamed either!). A head of garlic in my house grows stems and leaves before I get it used! Of course, with this cooking plan maybe it wouldn't... but whatever you like. I like the jar because it lasts forever, it's already minced and waiting. Keep it in the fridge! Use a CLEAN spoon to get garlic out of jar.. you don't want to cross contaminate!




Step 6. Chop 5 potatoes, 1 c. carrots, and 3 stalks of celery.

I leave the peel on the potatoes (gasp!). I scrub them really well...

It's rustic, there's vitamins in the peel, I just know it.. haha and it's easy. Peel your potatoes if you're feeling frisky, or have an older child who's itching to help. Chop potatoes in equal sized pieces (not my strong suit).

Put chopped potatoes in baggie labeled (Cheeseburger Soup).
Rinse and dry your baby carrots (about a cup) and cut them in half short ways if they're chubby. Roughly chop celery. USE the middle of the stalk.. leaves and all! It's where all the flavor is! :) Save that other stuff for a peanut butter scooby snack later... Put carrots and celery in Cheeseburger Soup baggie.


Top with COOLED browned hamburger. Try to squeeze as much air out as you can, and seal the baggie. FREEZE. Cheeseburger soup.. CHECK!

Step 7. (If you're thinking ahead... feed your people bacon for breakfast and sneak 6 to 8 strips for this next step. If not, crisp some bacon.) Chop the cooled bacon.

Put in baggie labeled (Breakfast Casserole). Add cooled sauteed onion, green pepper, and garlic. Air out of baggie, seal, and FREEZE. Breakfast Casserole.. CHECK!


Step 8. To get liquids and other tricky things inside baggies without any help... put the baggie into a bowl and fold the sides over... press the baggie down. The bowl holds it for you! :) Place a baggie labeled (Chicken Yum Yum) over a bowl.

Add 2 cans of 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup, 1 pkg of Lipton Onion Soup Mix, 1 c. long grain rice, 1/2 c. of milk. As the bowl gets more full... pull up the sides of the bag. Stir with a spatula to mix. Air out of baggie, seal, and FREEZE. Check on your chicken plans. If you are thinking of doing a whole chicken and it's frozen.. PUT IT IN THE FRIDGE NOW! You can't get the neck and innards out of a frozen chicken.. it's too hard! lol literally.. If you're using breasts, get them out of the freezer the night before so they're easy to work with. Chicken Yum Yum... CHECK!


Step 9. The burritos take some extra prep on eating day. Not much, but a little prep. Here are the ingredients... freeze your stew meat (or leave it fresh if you're eating it soon..)You can chop the tomatoes and shred the lettuce now or wait till eating day (if you choose those toppings..)

Burritos... CHECK!

Step 10. Put the extra browned hamburger in a baggie! It is ready to add to future CPRs! Put the extra onion in the freezer!

And that's it. Have your husband clean off a shelf in the freezer (or do it yourself.. sigh) he did it for me :D LOL He also ate part of my browned hamburger.. ahem. haha If you're lucky... he'll load the dishwasher for you too :) I'm so lucky!

Step 11. Do the dishes! Remember... you'll only be loading and unloading the dishwasher and washing the croc pot during the week.. easy peasy! Use paper plates if you want. I may break out the real plates! lol With so much less prep time daily, I don't mind doing a little more dishwasher-ing.


Now.. you have a weeks worth of meals ready to go! See other great resources... detailed recipes (what to do on cooking day and eating day), menus, and grocery lists on the right sidebar! :)

Chicken Yum Yum

1 pkg Lipton Onion Soup Mix
1 c. long grain white rice
½ c. milk
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
6 chicken breasts (or whole chicken)
Butter

On cooking day: Combine soup mix, rice, milk, and mushroom soup and put it in a labeled baggie. FREEZE.

This doesn't look so yum yum, but it's raw... LOL


On eating day: All I have is a whole chicken. I am going to try it! If you have a whole chicken, place it in your fridge to thaw a couple days ahead of time. Take baggie out of freezer to taw for 30 minutes or microwave on defrost for a short time. GREASE your croc pot with cooking spray!! Back to the chicken… remove the neck and innards packet. Place whole chicken in croc pot. Top with 6 tbs of butter OR place 6 chicken breasts in the bottom of the croc pot and top with butter. Put baggie mixture on top. Cook for 8 to 10 hours on low, 4 to 6 hours on high.

From Family Favorite Recipes (a cookbook my Aunt Karen put together for my cousin, Amanda’s wedding)

Download PDF version of recipe here:

Breakfast Casserole

I can't spell.. ignore me! LOL



Breakfast Casserole (Great for breakfast or dinner!)
6 to 8 strips of crispy bacon, chopped
Small onion, chopped
2 green peppers, chopped
Clove of minced garlic or tsp of jar minced garlic
1 tbs of olive oil
2 lb bag of frozen shredded hash browns
1 ½ c. shredded cheese
12 eggs
1 c. milk
1 tsp dill
Salt and pepper to taste
butter

On cooking day: Feed your family bacon for breakfast and rescue 6 to 8 strips  Chop bacon. Sautee onion, peppers, and garlic in olive oil until translucent. Allow to cool. Place bacon and onion mixture in labeled baggie. FREEZE.



On eating day: Take bacon onion mix out of freezer to defrost for 30 minutes or microwave on defrost for a short time. Mix eggs, milk, dill, salt and pepper. Set aside. GREASE croc pot with butter. Layer 1/3 of the frozen hash browns, 1/3 bacon onion mix, and repeat 2 more times. Top with shredded cheese. Pour egg mixture over top. Cook on low 8 to 10 hours, high 4 – 6 hours.

From Blog: A Latte with OTT A, http://www.alattewithotta.com/2010/11/crock-pott-recipe-egg-brunch-casserole.html



Well.... results are in. This was the dish that was liked the least so far during CPR 4 Supper at my house! It was really easy to make... but it cooked a little strangely in the croc pot. It got a little over done on the top. There was not too much flavor.. and it oddly had a bread-like texture. The eggs I think created that strange texture. I liked it ok. I think I might seek out other breakfast recipes before trying this one again. Mom: 3 croc pots (it was easy to make, and I'd eat just about anything.. lol) Dad: 2 croc pots... he did not like it very well. Toddler: 1 croc pot! Ya, either it was the fact that he had lunch at grandma's at like 2 pm... or this was terrible! He didn't eat it hardly at all. Not even a bite. This was the worst yet, as far as toddler-ville goes! We will trudge on!

Mom:

Dad:

Toddler:

Download PDF version of recipe here:

Burritos!

2 lb beef roast (or 2 lb stew meat)
Large Onion, chopped
1 can of green chilies
15 oz can of tomato sauce
Salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, and cumin
Burrito sized tortillas
Aluminum foil
Shredded cheese
Fat-free refried beans (opt.) You may also use canned black beans, drained and rinsed.
Black olives, shredded lettuce, diced tomato, sour cream, salsa (opt.)

On cooking day: Chop onion, FREEZE.

On eating day: Season meat with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, and cumin. Cook roast on low all night in croc pot. If using stew meat, cook 2 hours on low in the morning. Add onion, chilies, and tomato sauce. Cook on low 8 – 10 hours, high 6 hours.

Preheat oven to 350. Warm tortillas in microwave for 30 seconds so they do not tear. Lay each tortilla on aluminum foil (2 shells per person). Spread beans on shell if desired. Top with meat filling and cheese. Roll by folding ends toward the middle and rolling. Wrap in foil. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Serve with veggies as desired. Top with salsa.

From Crockery Pot Cooking Index, http://www.sangotn.com/cookbook/crockpot/index-5b.html



REVIEW: Results are in! Burritos! were awesome!! They were super easy to make. They only required a little assembly at the end of the day and the meat was flavored perfectly and melted in our mouths! You can do it with all the veggie topping or melt cheese on top.. whichever you prefer! Aaron loves tacos, burritos, etc. so he rated this one highly! :) I had mine with a side of refried beans with melted ...cheese on top because I ♥ beans! Super recipe... I highly recommend it! If you are a vegetarian, I recommend making these with red beans and black beans instead of meat... I think it would be GREAT! Here are the ratings... Mom: 4 croc pots out of 5 Dad: 4 croc pots out of 5!! and Toddler: 2 croc pots out of 5... Drew just hasn't seemed hungry lately... I don't know what his deal is! The more I take him to preschool the pickier he gets! He did say... they weren't as good as "strawberries" (we asked him what his fave food was and had him compare the two.. LOL) but it was as good as "taco bell." And he loves taco bell.. so who knows! He's in rare form as usual! lol I guess that wouldn't be rare form then... it would be normal form. hah Try the Burrito! recipe! You'll love it! And if you did try it , comment here and let me know what your family thought! :)

Mom:
Dad:
Toddler:
Download PDF version of recipe here:

Cheeseburger Soup

1 to 1 ½ lbs of hamburger or ground turkey
1 small onion, chopped
Salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder
5 potatoes
1 ½ c. baby carrots, halved
3 stalks of celery, chopped

2 tbs dried basil
2 tbs dried parsley

*1 small block 2% Velveeta
*2 cups of milk
*1/2 c. Light Sour Cream

On cooking day: Brown hamburger with onion, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder (to taste). Wash potatoes thoroughly, medium dice. (peal them if desired, I didn’t peal mine) Wash baby carrots, pat dry. Halve them short ways if they are large. Wash and pat dry celery. Chop roughly. I like to use the inside of the celery because it has the most flavor, and another stalk or two from the outside. Place potatoes, carrots, celery, and cooled hamburger in labeled gallon sized baggie. FREEZE.

On eating Day: Set baggie of frozen contents on counter for 30 minutes to defrost OR microwave on defrost for a very short time. Place contents of baggie, basil, and parsley in Croc Pot. Cook on low for 8 – 10 hours, high for 4 – 6 hours.

*Turn the croc pot up to high if it isn’t already. Add two cups of milk and cubed Velveeta (more or less to taste) Stir occasionally and melt Velveeta. Stir in sour cream at the end. Serve hot.

Recipe from Lawanda Kress and Get Crafty Studios.

REVIEW:
Results are in! Note that I had to add water. It was actually burning in the croc pot! Fun stuff. lol Next time I would add 2 cups to begin with and let er go. I would also take the time (even tho I don't want to...) and peel the potatoes. I didn't care for the rustic texture or crummy color the peel gave off in the soup. It was weird after I froze it.. LOL Anyway... I am going to give you three r...atings: mom rating, dad rating, and toddler rating. Mom rating takes into account ease of cooking, prep time, flavor, and appearance. Dad rating takes into account flavor. I think that's pretty much it. LOL Toddler rating basically just says.. hey my 3 yr old scarffed this.. or he wouldn't touch it. :) 1 croc pot is the worst thing I've ever eaten, 5 croc pots is I would eat this every day and am going to marry it! Cheeseburger Soup... Mom rating: 3 croc pots. It was a little tricky with adding the cheese later, I thought I was going to ruin it. And the peel was not good. A little more tweaking this could be a 4 easily. Dad rating: 3 croc pots. He had to add more salt and pepper and said it was much better with crackers. He really doesn't dig soup all that much... and had two small bowls. If it is something he's really into.. he eats much more. LOL Toddler rating: 2 croc pots. He would barely touch it.. BUT keep in mind.. it's Halloween and I think the kid has eaten his weight in candy today. So there it is! Try it and enjoy! Remember, peel the potatoes and add a little bit of water while cooking. Especially if you're cooking it while you're at work. Luckily I was here to watch it or it would have been.. cinged soup!

Mom:
Dad:
Toddler:


Download PDF version HERE:

Food Art Journal: The Beginning

I'm starting over once again. I'm fighting a losing battle right now, and I've decided to take a stand... I'm done with "diets," a permenant change is due to combat my serious weight issue. I decided that the most important factor in my eating/exercise habits is my own mind. The fact that I have zero self-control or will to exercise plays a huge role in how I look and feel. If it's all about the mind, then why haven't I addressed my mind and feelings before? It was all about counting, measuring, hoping...

From Mixed Media Art Journal

I started doing mixed media art journaling about four months ago. I LOVE IT!! It's not just a hobby anymore, it truly is becoming one of my passions! Mixed media artwork is amazing to me. What is it? For those of you missing the craze... it's just basically taking several types of media: paint, ink, stamps, paper, stains, and whatever else you want to put in a book and creating beautiful artwork (no, it has nothing to do with DVDs or Reporters). I take this type of art and create a journal. I learned how to art journal through Christy Tomlinson's "She Had Three Hearts" workshop (http://www.christytomlinson.typepad.com/).

From Mixed Media Art Journal

I have decided to combine art journaling with food journaling in my latest crusade to change my body! I want to share my journey with you. I want to inspire people to make changes in their own lives. I think that this idea is cutting edge. It's not a diet at all... it's a journey documented in one of the most creative ways possible. Not every page has art on it, in fact most of it is old school journaling, pen to notebook paper. But every now and then I'm going to do a mixed media page to spice things up. I will not share all of my entries, because some of them are just too personal... but I will give you a glimpse into my journey in hopes that some of you will join me to change the way we eat and live.

From Mixed Media Art Journal

Also, know that I fully intend to put videos and things like that on here, it's just that I do not have a really good camera yet. One day!! One day!

Bible Study 1

As part of my food art journal, I am also including a Bible study to add in the spiritual element that is so important to me. As I get closer to God, through the study of his word, I will begin to fully understand the importance of taking care of my body. The following is taken from my journal:

August 9, 2011 at 1:30 pm
Bible Study 1: 1 Corinthians 3:16-17
"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are."

Those two verses say it all! Everytime I shove food excessively into my body I am destroying the temple of God! I never thought of my overeating to be sinning but it is. I've never asked for forgiveness after leaving a buffet or downing a gallon of ice cream! Today, I ask for God's forgiveness for treating His temple like garbage. I will strive to do God's will by eating only for nourishment, not pleasure.

My body is His temple! And it's time for a renovation!