February Freezer Cooking

Here is the starting point of my fun February freezer cooking: a huge pile of groceries.  It was sooooooo exciting to go couponing again! 

I was able to make four different freezer casseroles, and by I, I mean we!  Yep, my wonderful husband helped me out and we actually had a blast!

This is a picture of the beginnings of my pie crust.  Can you believe it?  I made a pie crust.  This happened because I forgot to buy extra pie crusts.  I called my mom and asked for the absolute easiest pie crust recipe that she knew of and she sent me this.

Note:  This is only strong enough to be used as the "bottom" crust.

Pat-in-pan pie crust

1 1/2 cups plus 3 T flour
1 1/2 t sugar
1/2 t salt (I probably don't put this in)
1/2 cup veg. oil, canola etc.
3 T cold milk

Mix dry ingredients in the pie pan with your fingers until blended.
Mix oil and milk in a cup with a fork til creamy
Pour at once over flour mixture
Mix with fork til completely moistened
Pat dough with your fingers up the sides of the pie pan and across the bottom
Flute the edges.

Ta da!  There it is!  I'm not up to Julia's standards, but it came out wonderful as my first pie crust!

My husband helped make the filling for the chicken pot pies.  Go here for the recipe.  He did such a great job with the little direction I gave him.

 

I am definitely not a food photographer, but the filling was absolutely delicious.  Here's a picture of one of the final products (we already had one of the two pies for dinner!).

We also made a breakfast casserole (that we'll eat for dinner), and a sausage and mixed veggies casserole and even had some leftover chopped chicken that we used in sandwiches and wraps over the weekend.

There's the fruits of our 2 or so hours of work!

January Goal Check-up

It's the start of another month, so it means it's time to do a goal check up.  Go here to see my yearly goals.  Here's the run down:

Spiritual

• Keep up with the one-year Bible reading plan.  I am amazed at how much I am learning.  I have to admit that I would slip a day or two, but I am currently caught up. 
• My husband and I have started taking a class at our church and it is definitely pushing me to think about a lot of things differently. 

Personal

• I just barely squeeked in visiting all four sets of grandparents.  This has been such a great experience, but it is still seems a bit unnatural.  I would really push all of you out there to try it.
• I haven't yet attempted dinner for family yet.
• Haven't read The Millionaire Next Door.
• I have exercised twice a week!  I feel so much better!  However, I can still say that it takes so much effort to rip my body off of the couch and get up and move.  It really helps having accountability.

Education

• The only goal that I have kept this month in this category is creating hands on lessons.

Financial

• At the beginning of the month we were at 48% of the small goal and now we are at 52.33%.  We were at 32% of the big goal and now we are at 34.89% of the big goal.  By the end of the year we hope to be at 89% of the small goal and 59.3% of the big goal.

Menu Plan Monday: 2/1-2/7 Hamburger Pie

It's Monday again, which means time to lay out my menu plan for the week.  I have to say that I actually have a tentative plan for the entire month of February!  In January I participated in the Eat from the Pantry Challenge, so I created a month long menu plan to ensure that I would have enough ingredients to last the month.  I ended up really enjoying having most everything already planned.  Therefore, this month I sat down and tried to create a tentative plan for the month and for my freezer cooking (I'll tell you more about that later).  Here is what I came up with for this week:

Monday:  Hamburger Pie (my husband's favorite and something he can make)-recipe below

Tuesday:  Crockpot beef and vegetables

Wednesday:  Frozen Chicken Pot Pie

Thursday: Leftovers

Sides include: lots of fresh fruits and veggies, salads, bread

Here's the Hamburger Pie Recipe.  It is about the simplest thing ever; my husband loves it and will make it.  It's not exactly gourmet, but I have to admit, it tastes pretty good!

Hamburger Pie Recipe

1 lb ground beef

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

2 eggs-beaten

1-1/2 c. milk

3/4 c. bisquit mix

Directions:  In a skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink, drain.  Press into an ungreased 9" pie plate.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and cheese. 

In a bowl, combine the eggs, milk, and bisquit mix just until combined.  Pour over cheese.

Bake at 400 F for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

For more menu plan ideas, visit Organizing Junkie.