Final Freezer Cooking Day- A Success!

Freezer Cooking day 2 (yesterday) was a success!!  I was so tired last night, I just couldn't finish the pita bread and corn tortillas.. not a biggie.  I was really happy with the things I did get finished though.  Its hard to get an exact read on the costs, but I estimated that everything I made below cost me a total of about $15 with my biggest expense being white and whole wheat flour... What an example of coupons and sales coming through for me!

I thought I'd post my final list and some pictures for fun.  Next time I'll do more of a cooking day that focused on really stocking my freezer with complete meals.

• Pancake, Waffle and Cornbread Mixes
• Pumpkin Bread- slice and freeze
• 60 Flour Tortillas (these are amaaaazing!  I use oil instead of shortening and added a little baking powder)
• 25 Corn Tortillas
• 25 Bagels
• Pizza Dough
• Pita Bread
• BBQ Chicken Calzones- I don't have any bacon, so won't be adding that
• Chili- 3 meals This is an AWESOME recipe! 
• Spaghetti Sauce- 3 meals
• Chicken Tetrazzini
• Baked Ziti (for meals for new moms)

I am always overloading my poor Kitchenaid.. I could definitely use a bigger one! (Saving those Swagbucks baby!)

That is some pretty bagel dough right there (in a HUGE bowl!)

Can you tell which bagel my children helped with?

Boiling bagels!

And now baked.. YUM.  My hubby said they are the best bagels he's ever had!

Putting my little baby tortillas down for a long nap...

Final count: 58.. my hubby was stationed at the 2 pans to help me get it done faster!

Free Download- Chris McClarney's "Your Love Never Fails" & Donation to Haiti Relief!

Since we're all about deals here... If you haven't already heard my husband's music, you can get a free download right now of one of his songs, "Your Love Never Fails".  By doing that, a donation will be given to David C Cook's Haiti relief effort!!

Kingsway Music recently released an EP of his called "Introducing Chris McClarney".  Not only did it hold in the top 10 in Christian and Gospel on iTunes for over a week, over a month later, it is rockin' the top 100.  This is so great because literally no marketing dollars have gone into this project!  I am so proud of my husband- his heart and passion for Jesus is contagious.

Go to the CCM online magazine HERE and go to page 26.  You'll see the free download on the bottom of the page!

Baking Day Fun- What I Accomplished

Today was a great day although I forgot about an oil change and hair appointment at 2 different points of the day that took me away from home for a bit.  Combine those with breakfast, lunch, dinner for the family, and the fact that I ran out of flour- (what a HUGE oversight on my part!) my freezer baking day sort of went down the drain :)  

On a happy note, the calzones turned out delicious!  Next time I might add a little more sauce and cheese than I did on these.  Here are some step-by-step pics for a great freezer dinner on a night you don't want to cook! (the link to the recipe is below)

Next cover with the (thinly) rolled pizza dough.

Press in between with your fingers to help give a temporary seal, cut them apart with a sharp knife, press with a fork and trim edges.

Freeze on a baking sheet and then transfer to freezer bag!

Here is the final list of what I accomplished today- definitely pushing to finish the rest tomorrow while the kids are in school from 9am-1pm!

• Pancake, Waffle and Cornbread Mixes
• Pumpkin Bread- slice and freeze
• 60 Flour Tortillas (these are amaaaazing!  I use oil instead of shortening and added a little baking powder)
• 25 Corn Tortillas
• 25 Bagels
• Pizza Dough
• Pita Bread
• BBQ Chicken Calzones- I don't have any bacon, so won't be adding that
• Chili- This is an AWESOME recipe! 
• Spaghetti Sauce
• Chicken Tetrazzini
• Baked Ziti (for meals for new moms)

Monday's Meal Plan- Big Cooking Day for Freezer

I spent a large portion of last week caring for my sick babies which equals soup pretty much everyday, so I'm glad to move into some different food categories this week!  I'm going to do a big cooking day today and stock back up on things I am low on.  I actually got a head start last night by using up the last of the fresh pumpkin I had in my freezer (since November) to make pumpkin bread.  I also was able to make 3 each of waffle and pancake mixes and 2 cornbread mixes.

Mixes save so much time for me- AND my hope is that they will greatly increase my chances for my husband to bring me breakfast in bed!

Here is my ultimate game plan- this time around I'm not focusing as much on main courses as I am on the time consuming parts of meals.  I don't have an official meal plan in place yet, but it will consist of things that come out of my cooking day.  We are heading out of town on Friday so I only have a few days of dinners I'm responsible for (yay!)

• Pancake, Waffle and Cornbread Mixes
• Pumpkin Bread- slice and freeze
• 60 Flour Tortillas (these are amaaaazing!  I use oil instead of shortening and added a little baking powder)
• 25 Corn Tortillas
• 25 Bagels
• Pizza Dough
• Pita Bread
• BBQ Chicken Calzones- I don't have any bacon, so won't be adding that
• Chili- This is an AWESOME recipe! 
• Spaghetti Sauce
• Chicken Tetrazzini
• Baked Ziti (for meals for new moms)

What are things you like to bake ahead and freeze?  Is there a baking day in your near future?

$.75/1 Gold Medal Flour Printable!

Coupons have been restocked over at Coupons.com, and I just came across a $.75/1 Gold Medal Flour coupon!  I saw this on sale at Kroger last night which will equal a great deal on flour.  Be sure to hit the back button after printing to grab 2 of these great coupons!

Harris Teeter Super Doubles- 91% Savings!

I'm so much like a little kid in a candy store with coupons- especially when Super Doubles are happening :)  Today I spent $4.90 and saved $51.60 (91%).  I would have had to spend that on the organic soup alone!!  

Go HERE for a great list, but I wanted to include a few things I found that weren't on the list for you that would be FREE!

Johnson's Safety Swabs- $1.99

$1/1 J&J Baby Product in 1/3 or 12/13 RP inserts

Final Price: FREE

Polaner's All Fruit- $2

$1/1 Polaner in February All You or 1/10 SS insert

Final Price: FREE

Bertolli's Pasta Sauce- B1G1

$.75/1 Bertolli's Sauce in 2/14 RP

Final Price: FREE

Even though I'm not blogging like I was due to time constraints, many of you have asked if I am still teaching coupon classes.  The answer is YES!  I make time for 3 a month- feel free to contact me if you are interested!

Monday's Meal Plan

Ahhh Monday :)  I sort of skipped last week because Chris was gone all week.  Never went to the store once, but the girls' and I survived though thanks to my stocked freezer.  We ended up having a fabulous Valentine's dinner at home last night including heart-shaped pasta with chicken, artichoke, and spinach and lobster tail (on sale at Publix this week!).  My hubby and I will definitely go out sometime soon- we're just not big on fighting crowds when we could just pick a night thats semi-close to V-day and it be more peaceful :)

I'm forever trying to get outside the meals I make all the time- we'll see how it goes this week.  What are you cooking up?

Monday: Seared Steak w/ Roasted Mushrooms and Spinach Salad
Tuesday: Steak Tostadas w/ Cilantro Sour Cream
Wednesday: Lasagna- I'm going to try homemade noodles
Thursday: Chicken and Dumplins
Friday: Pizza

Winner of $25 Kroger Gift Card Giveaway!

Big congrats to Cheryl F. for winning the Kroger gift card giveaway!  She had comment #7 which was in response to writing their favorite money or time saving tip:


I save time by recording things on the computer that I used to write by hand. I never lose anything this way and it's so much easier to find what I'm looking for :)

I appreciate all of you so much- thanks for entering!