Summer Treats

The weather is warming up, this is the last week of school in our area.  I know - they go so late up here! I thought I'd put up a few of my favorite summer goodies that are pushing their way onto our menu and into the cooking line-up in the coming weeks.

Reduced Sugar Strawberry Jam - Strawberries are in peak season right now and we've already picked about 15 pounds worth that have been put in the freezer.  I'm planning on going back on Saturday to get some more for jam.

Fajitas - This wonderful grill meal has already made it on the menu in June and will be making an encore appearance in July.  It is such an easy meal that can keep everyone happy!

Dozen Layer Finger Jello - When I asked HandyMan back in May what he wanted to see more of on the menu, he said "jello".  Go figure. I guess it's time to make finger jello again!

Peanut Butter Cup Freezer Pie - This is a go-to easy recipe for a quick, easy, cold summer dessert.  I just have to figure out what occasion to make it for.

What fun summer recipes are you dusting off as the weather warms up?

Freezer Friday & Batch Cooking

When I laid out my freezer cooking and batch cooking Plan for the month, I knew it was just a plan.  Due to varying schedules and things that come up, I knew things would be shuffled and changed.

Such is the story of this weeks menu.  I had intended to make Chicken and Dumplings.  Then I realized I had potatoes that I needed to use and hadn't made Chicken Pot Pie yet this winter.  So on Monday I made the freezer version of this recipe.  The ingredients remain the same, the order of cooking is what changes.

I cooked up the broth, chicken and all the veggies in the crock pot.  Then I divided out the veggies into three containers.  One for the oven and two for the freezer.  I added the cream of chicken and a can of water to the dish headed for the oven and dropped biscuits on top once the base got bubbly.  I sent the other two containers to the freezer.  When it's time to cook them, they'll get matched up with cream of chicken, a bit of water and biscuit dough.  I cut the potatoes a little on the big side since they tend to break down in the freezer, but the rest of the mixture will hold up well.

I also mixed up an amazing batch of Cranberry Orange Bread.  Two loaves, one to MOPs, one here at home.  They barely lasted three days.  All that remain are crumbs!  I think I have another bag of cranberries in the freezer.  If I can find them, I'll be making this again!  I left the nuts out, used half white whole wheat and put a glaze on the top.  It was absolutely delicious!

Up on the Batch Cooking Menu for next week: Chicken Stuffing Casserole, Minestrone and since our temperatures are back in the single digits, probably some baked goods!

February Menu Plan Makeover

I'm really not quite sure what happened to January, or who authorized it to be February tomorrow, and so help me if that darn groundhog sees his shadow!  Ok, I digress.  Tomorrow is February- that means a new menu for the month.

This month I'm taking a different approach to our menu.  I'm spreading out my freezer cooking throughout the month (more on that later) and  have broken down the meal type by day of the week to see how it works.   My week scheme looks like this:

Monday: Crock-Pot Soup/Stew/Chili

Tuesday: Freezer Meal

Wednesday: Batch Cooking

Thursday: Planned Leftovers (enough of a meal from earlier in the week that we all have the same meal again)

Friday: Homemade Pizza

Saturday: Grab-Bag Meal (either leftovers, or meals like grilled cheese, mac & cheese or scrambled eggs that we always have on hand)

Sunday: Restaurant day (aka: pick your own leftovers)

Meals on the batch cooking list this month include Chicken and Dumplings, Burritos, Chicken Stuffing Casserole, Minestrone, Spaghetti Bake, White Bean Chili, Beef and Vegetable Soup and Spaghetti Bake.

From the freezer this month: Tortilla Soup, Ravioli Alfredo, Beef Stroganoff, Cowboy Beans, and BBQ Pulled Pork.

I'm hoping to write up some of my batch recipes after I make them.  We'll see how that works out!

Happy New Year! - January Menu

Since I've been posting so much this week about my freezer stash and my January meals being done - I thought I'd give you all a peek at what's going to be on our dinner table in the coming weeks.  Usually I'll pull out 4-5 meals a week and that covers our lunches and dinners.  Because our schedule is a little erratic, sometimes our cooked meal will be lunch with leftovers for dinner.  I am blessed that HandyMan and GBaby have no problem with leftovers!  Meals that are coming up this week are marked.

BBQ Pulled Pork & Hard Polenta Cakes (leftovers from Saturday)

Butternut Squash Soup & Ham and Cheese Rolls (Tuesday)

Lasagna

White Pizza & Regular Pizza

Beef & Barley Soup w/fresh Artisan Bread (Wednesday)

Apple Sausages, Butternut Mashed Potatoes & Veg.

Ravioli Alfredo Bake

Taco Bake (a couple of times starting Thursday)

Beef Soup w/ Grilled Cheese

Chicken Stuffing Casserole (Friday)

Cowboy Beans

Pizza

Sloppy Lasagna

Beef Stroganof

Linked up at OrgJunkie's Menu Plan Monday.

Freezer Friday!

Remember my last post on Tuesday about my Freezer Cooking ambitions for the week?  Here's the breakdown of what's back in my freezer so that I can defrost & heat for the next five weeks, instead of cooking.

- 24 Ham & Cheese Rolls (The recipe is coming!)

-2 Pans of Ravioli Alfredo with Broccoli & Grilled Chicken

- 2 Pans of Chicken Stuffing Casserole

- 2 containers of Chili (for Chili Dogs later)

- 4 containers of Butternut Mashed Potatoes

The added bonus is that the only grocery shopping I have to do this month will be for produce, milk and eggs.  What a great way to start off the new year!

Menu Planning Madness!

When I made my December menu, I had only planned through Christmas and then New Year's Day with a big honkin' gap in between.  As much as I would like to go on kitchen strike for the next five days, that's not realistic.  Then I looked at the calendar and realized that I needed to top out the freezer with ready to cook meals for January since my time will be dedicated to ventures other than cooking.  So, there went my delusion dream of a kitchen break.

So instead I will be combining my freezer cooking with a "clean out the freezer/pantry" challenge, similar to last year's challenge.  I worked to find dishes that will freeze well and use up stuff I already have on hand.  I was given  Taste of Home: Freezer Pleasers for Christmas which was very helpful with some new meal ideas to mix things up a bit (great index by ingredient!).

Christmas Ham remainders were repurposed to soup and Ham & Cheese Rolls that made it to the freezer.  I'm really looking forward to the rolls  as they are similar to a hot pocket and will go great with soups!

I will be cooking up a chicken which we will have for dinner and then will be used to make double batches of Chicken Stuffing Casserole and Chicken Potato Casserole and broth.   I also plan to pull some grilled chicken from the freezer and make Ravioli Alfredo with grilled chicken and broccoli to go to the freezer.

Also on the planning board is Beef Stroganoff and Chili.  Check in for Freezer Friday to see how far I get! (Oh, and for New Years Day on Saturday, there's a large pork roast who's travel plans include a stay in my slowcooker, a meet-up with homemade rolls & homemade BBQ sauce and then the freezer)

I'm hoping with a little extra work this week, my freezer will be stocked with meals, instead of ingredients, and I'll be done cooking for the next month!

A Simple Christmas Menu

I love the week(s) surrounding Christmas and New Years because usually they are filled with family and friends and a break from the normal routines.  This year, I keeping the menus simple so that I can enjoy GBaby's Christmas adventure and the friends and family who will be crossing our threshold.

We're joining friends for an early dinner on Christmas Eve before the service at church.  When we get home, I'll have cheese and crackers, fruit and goodies to snack on with a glass of wine (probably while I finish wrapping gifts!)

Christmas morning will bring a "normal" breakfast for us: scrambled eggs and biscuits or some other such meal of ease.

At our house this year, Christmas Dinner will be a mid-afternoon affair: a small gathering. I picked mid afternoon for a couple reasons.  First, I really enjoy having a large meal midday instead of in the evening.  Second, I can cook in peace while GBaby naps!

Up on the dinner menu: Honey Baked Ham (ordered by Mom-In-Law and delivered to my door- Thanks!), a variation on these Acorn Squash Bowls , homemade Parker House Rolls and asparagus.  A friend who's coming is bringing a pineapple-jello type salad.  For dessert: more goodies from the never ending Sweet Stash hiding on my freezer!

I'm getting hungry and can't wait!  I'm also percolating my New Year's Menu - check in next week for that yummy-ness!

Linked up at Life As Mom's Ultimate Recipe Swap: Christmas Dinner

The Best Made Plans: December Freezer Cooking

I made a great freezer cooking plan last week.  I was going to go shopping on Friday and then be off and cooking for the weekend.  It was a great plan, and then life happened.  Very early morning, grumpy toddler, and a lost grocery list started Friday off.  Finding that someone had hit my car and the following paper work finished out Friday in the late hours of Friday evening.

Motivation on Saturday was slim, but I did manage to get some of my list done. Easy Sugar Cookies and Molasses Cookies are in the freezer.  I got my three batches of beans cooked up, measured and to the freezer yesterday.  I also got two taco-bakes to the freezer.  The rest of the list will wait until another day.  There's always later.

I'm with LifeAsMom: January will be a Pantry/Freezer challenge month.

Freezer Friday: Stashing Christmas Goodies

Between now and Christmas, most households will bake more than they do at any other point in the year.  I'm sure none of this comes as a surprise as images of fudge, cookies, candy and family favorites dance in your heads!

Baking really can be a lot of work: mixing, baking, clean-up, repeat.  If you bake smart and store safely, you can take a lot of the chore out of baking, and just enjoy the results.  Here are a few tips to take the stress out of baking this Christmas.

Smart Storage

The best way to keep your goodies fresh is to bake them as freshly as possible.  Air and moisture are the enemy of most baked goods.  Air tight containers, plastic wrap and zip-top bags are your best defense against stale goodies.  In some cases, you may want to double your defenses.

Cookies

Cookies can be a real pain in the neck and keep you tied to the oven for hours on end.  However, if you scoop and freeze your favorite cookie dough, you can have fresh cookies on hand in about five minutes longer than your baking time, whenever you need them.   Sugar cookies can be made, rolled and frozen on a quiet evening, and then baked and decorated with half the mess later.  Slice-type cookies, like my Coconut Fudge Cookies, can also be a wonderful time saver as the "logs" of cookie dough can be frozen ahead of time.  Thaw, slice, bake and you're ready to go.  Just remember to wrap cookie dough logs in plastic wrap tightly and then store in a freezer zip-top bag to keep them fresh.  Cookie dough balls can be frozen on a cookie sheet and then placed in an airtight container or zip-top bag once they're hard.  I layer my cut-out sugar cookies between wax paper in an air-tight container.  Your darling child forgot to tell you that they need a dozen cookies for a party on Saturday, no problem.  An impromptu gathering and you need to bring something to share, no problem.  Sugar craving after a day of shopping, no problem!

Fudge

Fudge is also a great prep-ahead goody.  Prepare it as you normally would, but do not cut it.  Remove it from the pan in as large of pieces as you can and wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and then in a freezer zip top bag.  Fudge can be refrigerated happily for about three weeks.  For longer storage, put it in the freezer but allow it to thaw as slowly as possible before cutting.

Candies

Many candies can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator or in air tight containers.  Brittles and Peanut Butter Balls are two that come to mind that our family loves.  Most can be made weeks in advance, and stay very fresh with the proper protection.

With a little planning, you can bake in peace and fully enjoy your Christmas!

December Batch Cooking

December is here and around here, that means baking and stashing.  This Christmas I'm bringing back some of the candies my grandparents made and some goodies that bring back so many memories!  Here are a few of the things on my batch cooking list for the beginning of this month.  Stay tuned for more recipes as the month goes on!

-Grandpa George's Peanut Brittle

-Grandma Foy's Fudge

-Grandma Jean's Molasses Cookies

-Easy Sugar Cookies

-Reduced Sugar Strawberry Spread

-Cranberry Orange Scones

It's also time to restock the freezer of beans so I will be cooking up white, pinto and black beans.  The Cowboy Beans from September's batch cooking were a hit so I'll be making up more of those and Burrito Bakes (everything you like in a burrito, layered between tortillas lasagna style and topped with lettuce, salsa and sour cream).

On the breakfast front it's time to make up more Drop Biscuit Mixes and oatmeal packets.

Friday will be grocery day (while one batch of beans are in the crock pot!) and then I have my work cut out for me on Saturday and Sunday, but hopefully it will lend itself to a bit of ease later this month!

November Freezer Cooking

It's hard to believe that it is November already!  Since this is a full month and my freezer and pantry are pretty stocked, I'm just replenishing things that I've run out of and replenishing my soup supply.  I will be putting

away our garden potatoes to make side dishes easier later on.  I'm experimenting with a couple bread recipes that I'm hoping will freeze well enough to batch them up later.  Here are a few of the things that I'm working on that I know will go to the pantry and freezer:

:: Biscuit Mixes

:: Chicken Broth

:: Mashed Potatoes

:: Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (just separated club pack & bagged)

:: Ground Beef  (just separated club pack & bagged)

Also on the menu this month to be prepared in batch freezing quantities HV Marinara, Beef & Barley Soup, Black & Pinto Beans and White Chili.   What are you cooking this month?

Linked up at Life As Mom's November Freezer Cooking Party

Freezer Baking Wrap Up

After about three bags of flour, a bunch of butter and margarine and a good bit of sugar.  My freezer baking is caught up for this month.  Here's the low-down:

Pie Crusts: Handyman has made a bunch of pie crust to get ready for a dinner at church. He's the the go-to guy for pastry in my house so from best I can tell, he mixes it up, rolls it out, layers it in wax paper and wraps the stack in foil.  I've had pie crust in residence in my freezer for up to three months and couldn't tell the difference when the final pies were done.  This is a great time saver if you're one of those families that has multiple pies on the  menu for the upcoming holidays!

Pumpkin Bread: This week I cleaned out five of my little pie pumpkins from the garden and cooked them up.  The yield was ten cups of pumpkin  puree.  Four cups of that have already ended up in Pumpkin Bread.  I made four loaves and one 9x9 pan. The loaves went to the freezer, the pan went to our tummies!

HV Zucchini Bread: A friend needed zucchini bread made for the same dinner HandyMan is making pies for.  She said she'd bring me zucchini if I'd make bread.  So after some baking: four loaves for her, two loaves for me-all residing in my freezer right now.

Cookie Dough: This is the time of year when ready to go cookie dough is a "must-have" in my freezer.  My supply was completely depleted so it was time to restock.  I put some great Double Chocolate Pecan drop cookies and Sugar Cookie dough into the freezer.  I rolled and cut out the pumpkin sugar cookies to use for the few trick-or-treater's we'll get on Halloween.

Butterhorns: Ack!  These didn't get done.  I really need to move them to the top of the list.  Any list! But I think if I have time to play in the kitchen this afternoon they're at the top of the list

Sloppy Lasagna: This turned out pretty good.  Using the basic idea from this recipe - my own marinara, no hamburger, and making up my own white sauce - I ended up with a pretty decent pasta dish.  I put it in my square non-stick pans, flash freeze and then pop out the whole block-o-pasta from the pan and put it in a Food Saver bag to freeze.  I love this method because it's so easy to see what's in the freezer and they stack great!  When it's time to eat, take the pasta out, remove from bag while still frozen and put it back in the square pan to thaw and cook.



Hope everyone's freezer cooking nets them an easier week this week!

October Freezer Baking

This month I planned most of my menu around meals that were already hanging out in the freezer from my September Freezer Cooking, so the bulk of my freezer cooking for October is baking.  I love fresh baked goods, I hate cleaning up the mess.  I've found that by batch baking, I can get the best of both worlds.  Some things go into the freezer already baked, others head for the freezer flash frozen so they can be pulled out, baked and eaten fresh and warm.

This is more than I would normally be baking, but we have quite a few engagements this month that we're signed up to bring baked goods for.  The prep work now, will save me a lot of time and dishes later!  Here's the list of what I'm working on:

Pumpkin Applesauce Bread -recipe to follow, baked and frozen

HV Zucchini Bread -baked and frozen

Double Chocolate Pecan Cookies -Scooped & Frozen

Sugar Cookies -cut & frozen-directions to follow

Pie Crusts -I take no credit - it's HandyMan's Department!

And I've been dying to try the Chocolate Butterhorns so I'm hoping to get them in the freezer this time around too!

Sloppy Lasagna -Pasta is on the menu. I'm trying a variation of this recipe and will make three pans instead of large quantities of leftovers.

Happy cooking!

This post is linked up at Life As Mom's October Freezer Cooking post.  Check it out for lots of great ideas.

Freezer Friday: September Batch Cooking

I'm not sure about where everyone else lives, but it has been hot here this week!  I love batch cooking: it saves me time and money in the long run.  I had laid out my September batch cooking plan on Monday and got to work.

After shopping, getting elbow deep in food stuffs, and recognizing that it was hot, the plan got tweaked a little (soufflé can wait  until Monday when it's cooler!) and some things made it to the freezer that were bonus items (more cheap green and red peppers).  Here is what has made it to my freezer and the pantry for the coming month(s):

Freezer:

2 Ranch Bean Kits (modified Cowboy Beans)

1 Bean kit for 3 Bean Chili

1-9x13 and 2-8x8 pans of Grilled Chicken Enchiladas (Recipe to come)

4-8x8 Lasagnas

6 Grilled Chicken Breast Packets (thaw, heat & chop for salads, fajitas, pasta etc)

8 containers (2 & 4  cup) of Beans - Black, Pinto and Northern

2# Ground Beef to be used for Taco meat later

6  Pepper Bombs each of Red and Green peppers

I still have plans (and 10 pounds of potatoes) to make mashed potatos as well - just didn't get to it yet.

Pantry


Instant Oatmeal packets

3 Biscuit kits

3 Cornbread kits

After all that work, I even remembered to mark off my freezer list so I know what's actually in there!

Special thanks to my local grocery stores who had lean ground beef $1.99/lb and boneless/skinless chicken breasts at $1.69/lb this week!  Also due to some great sales, I've  got my pantry stocked on cereal and pasta as well.  The hope is that all I will have to buy for the rest of the month is milk, eggs and fresh produce.  I'm also hoping to spend a little less time on meal prep and squeeze in some more regular exercise.

September Batch Cooking

9/10/2010 Note: If you're visiting from MoneySavingMom, I posted this when I did my batch cooking last week.  The providence of this shone true this week when chaos hit our house this week!

Over the summer I've fallen off my batch cooking wagon and my meal planning habits. Now, it is time to get back into shape in the kitchen and get back into shape myself! In order to get myself in better shape and to keep HandyMan and Gbaby's hollow legs full, some meal planning is necessary so that we don't break the bank.

I've added more proteins in my diet and more vegetables to all of our plates. The biggest change in our meals is to have the carbohydrate component as a side to the veggies and proteins, so that we can all get what we need at the dinner table. My all in one type dishes, like lasagna and enchiladas, will carry more veggies and minimal carbohydrates per serving.

Since I'm batch cooking around the whims of a toddler, the days of getting the once a month cooking done in one day, are not a reality.  I've broken my plan down into projects per day:

Monday: Baking Kits (Biscuits, Cornbread), Instant Oatmeal Kits, Veggie Quiches

Tuesday: Batch cook Black Beans & Pintos, Coconut Beans & Rice Kit, portion Beans for freezer

Wendesday: Ground Beef Meals (Lasagna, Taco Packets, Cowboy Beans kit, Chili Kit, Beef & Barley Soup Kit)

Thursday: Cook Chicken, Chicken Enchiladas, chicken kits for salads, Soufflés, Macaroni & Cheese sides

Friday: Finish whatever wasn't done and clean up the mess!

I've linked up my recipes and the recipes I've found elsewhere on the net.  The other's I'll share next week.  Stay tuned, I will post later in the week to let you know how things are going.

Party Planning: Prep List

On Friday, I mentioned The Weekend I have coming up.  I am a planner by nature, added to time spent hanging around in the kitchen at a summer camp, I’ve come to rely on detailed lists.  In the camp kitchen, the whiteboard was THE plan for the day for every detail that needed to be done (down to things that needed to be pulled from the freezer to defrost for future meals in the week).

This week, there is a lot going on, but I *plan* on prepping 15 minutes to an hour each day so that I can fully enjoy the time visiting with family and friends.  I can also plan the baking at the same time to minimize the oven heating up the house.  So I've broken the tasks down for each dish I am preparing and spread the steps out over the week.  Since I took the time to sort it out step by step before the chaos of the week began, I don't have to think about it later and make sure I've got it all.  I can just do it!

Saturday Dinner: Fajitas (#beef & #chicken) with grilled onions and peppers, black beans, grated cheese, sour cream, salsa, Cookie Icecream Sandwiches

Sunday Breakfast: Quick Breads and Fresh Fruit

Sunday Lunch: BBQ Beef Sandwiches, #Baked beans, #Pasta Salad, Potato Salad, Cheesecake Bars with Strawberry & Blueberry Spread/Sauce

(#Items others are contributing to the festivities)

The Prep Plan

Tuesday:

*Prep Freezer Cookie Dough

*Defrost Brisket



Wednesday:

*Prep Fajita Marinade

*Grate Cheese,

*Make ice & lemonade cubes to the freezer

Thursday:

*Cook Brisket overnight,

*Make ice & lemonade cubes to the freezer

Friday:

*Shred meat,

*Make BBQ Sauce,

*Chop Peppers & Onions for Fajitas

*Defrost Black Beans & Sandwich Roll Dough

*Make ice & lemonade cubes to the freezer

Saturday AM:

*Defrost Tortillas, Quick Breads

*Fill fruit basket, cut melon

*Bake Cookies

*Marinade Fajita Meat

*Cheesecake Bars

*Potato Salad

*Fajita condiments to serving dishes.

*Make Lemonade to Fridge

Saturday Evening & Sunday: Enjoy the friends, visit, catch up, laugh, love!

May Cooking Weekend

This was my weekend to cook after joining up with the Freezer Cooking day efforts over at MoneySavingMom.com.  I generally do a big grocery run once a month and freezer cooking works in very well for my cooking habits.

I think I did pretty well this month. My plans to get marinated meat to the freezer didn't come to fruition, but we are ready for a lot of summer weather meals. See:



I prepped the ground beef to serve as burgers or to be added to other meals and I roasted two chickens.  We had some for dinner on Saturday and it was so good!  Made me wonder why I don't cook whole chickens more often.  Anyway, after dinner, the remaining chicken was separated out to go on salads  this week and to the freezer for meals later this month.  I also went the extra step to make the broth - well worth it!  Since I was cooking around the mood of a 15 month old, my cooking projects spanned the weekend.

The end of the weekend tally looks like this:
>20 & 1/2 hamburgers formed and frozen in meal packets
>2-1lb packets of hamburger to the freezer for later use
>2 HV Blueberry Bread Loaves: I took one to party on Saturday, one to the freezer. (recipe coming)
>3 Rhubarb coffee cakes (one for breakfast, 2 for the freezer)
>3  packs of Shredded Chicken for sandwiches or salads
>4-3cup containers of condensed chicken stock for later use.

Not pictured and prepped for the next week or so:

>2 quarts of homemade yogurt (smoothie season is in full swing here!)

>5 dinner sized salads for meals on the go this week

Added to meals that are already on ice, ready to be cooked or put on the grill, meal prep should be minimal this month.  I do plan to make one more round of the HV Blueberry Bread today for breakfast along with souffles.  It will be my one Monday Brunch I go all out for this month.

P.S.  I also made an amazing roasted potato salad to go with the chicken on Saturday. I'll be sharing that recipe this week too!

Freezer Friday: Rhubarb

That's right folks, Freezer Friday is back!  I've been on hiatus from this discipline the last couple months as I've been working on using up the stockpiled meals and produce that is in the freezer.  I've done pretty well.  Now, the garden is producing and summer menus are right around the corner!

First up - we have our first harvest of the season from our garden: Rhubarb.  You have to understand that HandyMan is the pie baker in the family and the rhubarb plant has kind of become his baby in the garden.  So, he started harvesting last night and we have two vacuumed packs (my new baby in the kitchen!) of measured out rhubarb waiting for pie.

Additionally, in order to prepare the freezer for the harvest to come and get ready for spring grilling, I am joining up with the Freezer Cooking Day going on this weekend over at MoneySavingMom.com.  I have plans to bulk buy and marinade meat for the grill, make hamburger patties and do some baking with some of the zucchini, squash and carrots that are still hanging out in the freezer.

We're still 6-8 weeks out from our summer crops so we don't need to use up everything in the freezer, but weeding it out will definitely be beneficial.

Menu Planning Tools

Just as I sat down to put some recipes together to post, GBaby woke up from her nap. So that will have to wait. For now though, I want to share a great link for menu planning tools. Money Saving Mom has put up a set of eleven different menu planning templates.  They look great and I'm excited to give them a try!

Click Here to check them out.

February Wrap Up & March Madness!

As I wrapped up February with a family vacation I took a little bit of time to go back to my 2010 Goals and found that I'm actually doing quite well!  I did well with my February Kitchen Goals as well. Watch for an upcoming blog on how to incorporate whole grain flours in your every day baking!

Now by some warp-speed of my calendar, it is March already!  How did that happen?  This month things are going to be very goal focused for me.  Here's what will be going on in my house this month:

De-cluttering through my the Forty Bags in Forty Days project.  We started this on February 17th and so far 12 bags have left our house.   Since we were gone last week we have a little bit of catching up to do this week.

In the kitchen this month, we are working on a freezer challenge to try to empty down our chest freezer before spring and summer bring a new wave of fresh produce.  Most of our main dishes will be meals that are already prepared and in the freezer, or from ingredients that are in the freezer.   My Freezer Friday posts this month will not be what went into the freezer, but link-backs to recipes that have gone into the freezer over the previous months.

I will also be working diligently on baby food to keep GBaby in a healthy balanced diet that is full of iron (as we were informed of a deficiency last month).  I also plan to do a bit of baking and experimenting with a new technique of bread-making.

From the time that I'm not spending cooking this month, I will be sewing - stay tuned for updates from the sewing table too!

There is a lot in store for March - make sure to subscribe to ThrivingMama for your favorite blog reader or follow us on FaceBook so you don't miss out!