So I survived my first month of cooking, freezing, and exchanging meals and I’m going at it again!

My long lost friend and her hubby (restaurant owners of  Broadway Pizzeria) took me with them to their little known secret: Restaurant Depot- where the restaurant owners go!  Think Smart and Final, but bigger and better prices.  Ground beef- $1.50 something; salsa in a #10 can- $5 something; shredded cheese- $2.00 a lb, #10 can of pears- $4 something; boneless chicken breast pieces- 88c a lb;  boneless pork loin- $1 something a lb; noodles of all shapes and sizes (except large shells) $1 a lb.  I was in heaven and found 99% of everything I needed for my recipes.  If you have a small biz then I recommend getting a free membership to this place.  It’s free, did I mention that?  They’ve processed our paperwork so we just need to go down and get our cards and then I’m good to go shopping!

Next to do was the cooking.  Got it done at night and during nap times.  The hard part was that my meals weren’t going in to a casserole dish, but rather ziplock bags.  I had to flash freeze each lasagna roll and shell and then put the in a bag.  I was fortunate enough to do all the cooking and bagging a week before the due date, thank goodness!  We all got sick the following week so I’m glad I followed that prompting to cook and get it done early.

Rather than repost all the names and meals we exchanged I’ll just post the link.  You can see the recipes we do each month, get the directions to make and freeze them, and read the reviews as we each try each other’s meals.  So go on over to Late Night Cooking Mamas and look around! 

I’ve committed for 2 more months and then I gotta take some maternity leave to have and recoup from this girl kiddo who’s on the way (dang c-section recovery!).  I think after that I might try and do a group in my own ward.  I love the idea and even more love all the food in my freezer that’s ready to go once it’s thawed out.

My recipes for next month:

Ham and cheese braid and Pork tenderloin with pears

Hannah!

Not my first choice or my second or even on my baby name list actually.  I’m following this prompting completely with faith. 

More info to come…

Mikey starts soccer this month and in a desperate attempt to get us all feeling better before his first practice I bought some Vicks last night (I even had a $1.50 off coupon).  We tried that rub Vicks on your feet and sleep with socks on theory.  It said consult a doc if you’re pregnant, so I’ll do that on Friday when I go in next- ask forgiveness rather than permission I guess.

The results:  Josh slept really well and woke up snot free.  His nose  started running later in the morning and he of course smeared it all over his face.  Mikey was coughing all through the night, but said he slept well.  He wasn’t coughing when he woke up however, and he too woke up runny nose free.  As for me- I’ve used Icy Hot cream and this stuff was like that on my feet.  I hated it and really was tempted to wash it off in the middle of the night.  The smell made it through all my congestion too, but that menthol smell didn’t bother me as much as the burning feet.  The baby is still moving inside so I’m not too worried about weird side effects or anything.  I did wake up decongested and feeling full of energy, thank goodness!  There’s a ton I need to do!

I did let Mikey participate in soccer today despite his cough and he had a wonderful time.  We seem to feel much better than yesterday or our long miserable weekend, but this Vicks thing isn’t a cure.  Maybe just a means to feel some temporary relief and get a break from the yucky sick feeling.  So here’s to the new container of Vicks now taking residence in our very empty medicine cabinet.  We are very fortunate to not get sick very often.

So I finally updated the header on my blog to include pictures of kiddo #2.  He’s almost 2 years old so I figured I better learn how to do that before kid #3 comes along and steals all the fame.  So hit f5 on the top row of the computer keyboard and enjoy some new pics.  And thanks to my geeky hubs for coming up with the idea to put a random picture generator on my blog AND for making it really easy for me to now add pictures to.  He had to go into the coding and work some magic for the pics to all be the same size.  I don’t get it all or really care how it works, I’m just thankful for smart people who share their talents with me.

So my latest adventure has been joining a freezer meal group.  There are 6 gals total and we each pick 2 main dinner recipes we want to make that can freeze easily.  Sometime between now and next mtg. we each will make 6 batches of each of those 2 recipes then get together to exchange our meals.   So I will get 12 different meals when we meet next that can store in the freezer and will have minimal work required when it comes time to assemble and cook them.  Most usually require thawing overnight then baking for 30min.  

My recipes are:  Mexican Stuffed Shells (think taco meets pasta) which I found on the Once a Month Mom cooking website.  I’m also making the only vegetarian meal my family has ever tried: Lasagna Rolls (go check out the special healthy ingredient that doesn’t scare me anymore!) which I found when someone challenged me a year ago to find a vegetarian meal and then try making it.

Oh I’m excited to tackle this since I’ve made these recipes before.  My biggest concern is finding the best deal on my ingredients and not freaking out when I have a grocery bill that’s above 50 bucks since I have a ton of stuff to buy.  I’m not used to shopping too much in bulk, but may need to head to Costco or Smart and Final to get a bigger better deal. 

So, wish me luck in my new adventure.  I’ve committed to 3 months so I’m already looking to see what’s on sale (especially from the meat department) to determine what my next recipes will be.  And hey, I really like the idea of having a stocked freezer of meals for when kid #3 arrives.

So guess what I did today?  I got a babysitter for my kids and went and got myself a massage.   And guess what?  The boys did just fine and I  feel great! 

Moral:  me time is much needed so just bite the bullet and get your kid(s) a sitter and go do something for yourself.  Seriously, a mommy who feels good is a happy mommy and happy mommies have energy to play on the ground with kiddos all day long.

I have my camera out, found that cable thingy to hook from camera to computer to upload pics and I can’t find the laptop!  I’m already to get caught up on my blog and no laptop. 

No blame.  I shall not place any blame today, but sure puts a damper on this already dreary wet day.

In other news, we went to the Lied Children’s Discovery Museum with a bunch of friends from church and even a friend whom I haven’t seen since Junior High.  Such a cool place that thrifty ole me is seriously considering a season pass to the place.   Oh we had so much fun. 

Well, stomping off is disgust!

(On Sunday morning while getting ready for church)

Daddy: Mikey, look up at the ceiling and pretend to look at a cute girl while I put your necktie on.

Mikey: Ok

Daddy: So which cute girl were you thinking about?

Mikey: Mommy!  She’s the cutest girl I know.

—

Mommy: Will you please go check in my closet and bring me my bras so I can wash clothes today?

Mikey: Mommy, what’s a bra?

Mommy: Good question.  I’ll go look for them.

—

(later that night)

Mikey: Oh mommy, those pajama pants are just so adorable on you!  I like those colors so much.

He’s obviously picked up on my vocabulary.

Christmas

Mikey’s 4th birthday

Mikey’s Old Testament song

Target diaper sale

Britax carseat search