Let's Fill Our Freezers!

I LOVE J.A.M. weekend! What? You don't know what a J.A.M. is? Well, I'll be happy to tell you.

I've mentioned in other posts that I like to use the zippered freezer bag method to get meals in my freezer for ease of preparation on days that I have too much to do (in other words, every day!) So here's how we do things at my house (and how I share that with others).

First of all, I definitely stock up when things are on sale - that seems fairly simple, right? Well, as long as you pay attention I guess. I find that meat is sometimes hard to find at a good price - and I guess when I say meat I'm talking about "protein" in general....so chicken, pork, beef, etc. We have a freezer full of venison, so that helps (except if you take into consideration the ACTUAL price per pound of that deer having to factor in all the hunting expenses... yikes... yet again, I digress!) But we can't, or rather, I don't want to, serve venison every single night. So I do have to keep my eyes open for other deals on chicken and pork especially. Another way to do it is try to buy in bulk from discount clubs, etc. Or maybe you are lucky enough to get in on purchasing a whole cow or something like that. Whatever the case, get your meat at the best deal possible.

Then, for me it's a matter of implementing the 4 Meals in 4 Minutes system that I found when I started using Homemade Gourmet products. I used the products for quite a few years first, and then just over a year ago became a consultant. That story is likely a post for another day. Today I want to focus on the freezer meal part of this.

So here's the deal-i-o. You need freezer storage bags, meat, seasoning, and other canned goods, etc. to get started. For me, it's sort of like getting your pantry and your freezer to work nicely together, rather than get on your nerves by arguing all day like a 2 year old and 5 year old. Oh wait... I think I'm getting sidetracked - maybe because I'm getting climbed all over.

FOCUS....
Start with your zippered freezer bag - make sure it's one that won't leak! I always test mine before my J.A.M.ers come over with my own meal. Can you imagine if I sent everyone home with a slew of leaky meat juice and condensed soup bags? Yuck. No more J.A.M. attendees either I bet! My personal favorite is definitely Ziploc brand freezer bags.

The great part is, it's SO EASY to get a bunch of meals quickly, efficiently, and (most important) cheaply into your freezer.

1. Label your bag with the name of your meal, date, and cooking options. A Sharpie black permanent marker works great for the labeling. When my J.A.M. attendees come over, I have pre-printed on 2x4 inch the meal options for them to just slap onto their bag. But when I do my own personal meals at home, I use a Sharpie.
2. Into your bag goes whatever the recipe calls for - for example, if you're doing Hawaiian Chicken (or pork if you prefer)...3-4 Tbsp of BLT Dip Seasoning, a 15 oz can of pineapple tidbits (or chunks, since I can only see BARELY a difference between the two), a Tbsp of low-sodium soy sauce, 2 Tbsp of honey, and 3 pounds of your choice of boneless, skinless chicken breast or pork chops
3. (The Minis' favorite part) SMOOSH it all together.
4. Throw (or gently set, your choice) it in the freezer. VOILA!

When you're ready to use your meal, you can thaw and bake, thaw and grill, or thaw just enough to slide it out of the bag (or if you're me, you simply cut the meal out of the bag) and put it into your crock pot. LOVE that. LOVE to stick one of my meals in the crock pot in the morning, head off to work, and come home to dinner. Done. Ready. Smellin' nummy.

Back to where we started, what is J.A.M.? Just. Add. Meat. Come on over, pick your meals, put them together in your Ziploc Gallon-size freezer bag. Then go home, and just add meat. Get it?

That's kinda the gist of it. Get to work!

I'd love to hear what YOU do to make life easier in the kitchen. And as always, if you have questions because (gasp) I didn't explain this in a way that makes sense to you, please feel free to ask away!

What's for Dinner, Mamma?

Well, nothing too exciting for dinner over here tonight. Bizy Pappa is working late at the store, so the Minis 'n Mamma just did some fridge/freezer emptying...leftover Flatbread Pizza from Uno's for me (lobster, goat cheese, spinach, plum tomatoes - yum!) and the last of a bag of chicken nuggets along with some SCRUMPTIOUS black grapes for the girls.

Why is it these simple (and not to Mamma's taste) dinners get gobbled right down? At any rate, the clean plate club called for some yummy treats as a reward. Can you say comfort/naughty/yummy/sweetness goodies?

I pulled out my tried, true, and HEARTILY tested old family stand-by... Chocolate Chip Blonde Brownies. Otherwise known as blondies to most of the world. But for my fam the long name has always served well. I've tweaked it a bit from the original I'm sure. I don't really even know if I have it written down anywhere else, but am going to try scribble it down for you to sample in your family.

1/3 cup (5 'n 1/3 Tbsp) butter... no substitutes work as well for this one... melted
add 1 cup packed dark brown sugar (can use light I'm sure, I just like the flavor better when I use dark; the light stuff to me is just a little thicker version of white sugar that doesn't have that full bodied, caramel-y taste - but I digress)

Take it off the heat and let it cool a little so as not to cook the egg.
Oh, that's what's next -
Add one egg. I'm betting once upon a time the recipe said to first whisk the egg and then add it. But I don't bother with those extra steps.
And one Tsp vanilla (I really just mostly splash mine in, so it may end up being a bit more than a teaspoon - but when I use good vanilla extract I don't need anymore than a teaspoon for really good flavor)

Once that's mixed well, add one cup of flour.
I am certain my recipe once upon a time said to do the "right" thing by first mixing the flour with the salt, baking powder and baking soda (1 tsp each) and then gradually adding the dry ingredients. However, I've long since given up such proper niceties and just toss in the flour all at once, top it with the salt, powder, soda and then mix it all up. Believe me, my blondies are none the worse for it and disappear just as quickly.

At any rate, my way or yours, get those dry ingredients in there and mixed in and then sprinkle (liberally if you're at my house - but to your own taste) semi-sweet (or your favorite) chocolate chips over the whole thing. Well, I suppose you have to put it in a baking dish first. Mine almost always goes in my small round stoneware baker. You can do a double batch (and I have) and land it in something like a 9x13 dish or the larger round stoneware baker, but you're better off doing it times two in separate pans. It just doesn't bake as nicely in such a large quantity. You can put it in an 8x8 square or even 9x9 (just thinner bars).

Then bake at about 375 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. Yummo!

Also works great (and especially when warm!) as the bottom of a (wishfully calorie free of course) Sundae... just top with some ice cream and chocolate sauce or hot fudge... or butterscotch or caramel. You see the possibilities.

Hmmm, I REALLY need to consider weight watchers...

I'd LOVE to hear from you and your ancient family (not so) secrets.