Kitchen Tip Tuesdays

For this week's Kitchen Tips, I am going to answer a question by one of my readers from last week's tip who left me with a question. I answered the question in the comments but I decided to bring it up to the top with more information....

Amanda said...
I've never done this before, but reading this is kinda getting me excited - I'm ready to go in my kitchen and start cooking up things to freeze. How long can you freeze a meal for?


I wrote...
Freezer meals should last in the freezer for 6-8 weeks and still have the "fresh" taste to them. As for baked goods, those can last longer in the freezer, like 3-4 months, and still have a good "fresh" taste to them.

After I wrote that I decided to go research things more to find out some specifics. Here is what I found at the USDA's site:

Freezer Storage Chart (0 °F)
Note: Freezer storage is for quality only. Frozen foods remain safe indefinitely.

Bacon and Sausage 1 to 2 months
Casseroles 2 to 3 months
Egg whites or egg substitutes 12 months
Frozen Dinners and Entrees 3 to 4 months
Gravy, meat or poultry 2 to 3 months
Ham, Hotdogs and Lunchmeats 1 to 2 months
Meat, uncooked roasts 4 to 12 months
Meat, uncooked steaks or chops 4 to 12 months
Meat, uncooked ground 3 to 4 months
Meat, cooked 2 to 3 months
Poultry, uncooked whole 12 months
Poultry, uncooked parts 9 months
Poultry, uncooked giblets 3 to 4 months
Poultry, cooked 4 months
Soups and Stews 2 to 3 months
Wild game, uncooked 8 to 12 months

I also found Robbyn's Friendly Freezer, where she has a freezing & thawing guide that talks about how to freeze and thaw items appropriately. She gives a guide on what freezes well and what doesn't. You can go to her main site and find links to guides on Once A Month Cooking and some tasty looking recipes for the freezer!

So Amanda, I hope that this helps you work at getting your kitchen and freezer ready for some yummy goodies for your family!

For other Kitchen Tips, head over to Tammy's Recipes!!

Menu Plan Monday

**This is just a plan and plans have the ability to change at the cook's discretion! Last week's plans seem to go well til the end of the week. Friday's meal of goulash didn't get made cause I wasn't feeling well and really didn't want to cook. So dh decided we would go out to Russ' and use our free kids' meals coupons. Saturday's meal we had the meat that was planned but everything else was leftovers from earlier in the week, which helped to empty the fridge some so no complaining here! I have inventoried my deep freeze totally! I am going to work today at doing a pantry inventory. Menus this week are totally out of the freezer and pantry! Dh doesn't like them getting to full! I keep telling him that having the freezer full is actually saving us energy costs. And having the pantry filled is helping us to be prepared should we be unable to get to the store, in the event of an ice or snow storm. You just never know what a Michigan winter is going to hold from one day to the next! LOL Also having the pantry filled helps have a variety of things to choose from to make menus!

Lunches listed are for the kids and I as dh usually takes dinner leftovers each day.

A special thanks to Laura-Organizing Junkie for hosting Menu Plan Monday! Need help with your menus, go check others out at Organizing Junkie's site!**

Sunday(1-13)
Breakfast: eggs, hashbrowns, mini chocolate donuts, sausage links or ham
Lunch: grilled cheese sandwiches and chips
Dinner: fish sticks, breaded chicken tenders, pan fries, and baby carrots
Snack: Chex Mix or goldfish or yogurt

Monday(1-14)
Breakfast: cereal and toast
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: Salisbury-Steak(no mushrooms & using stovetop), rice, corn, and rolls
Snack: mystery snack! (baking day so kids can have a sample for snack!)

Tuesday(1-15)
Breakfast: waffles, sausage links
Lunch: sandwiches and chips
Dinner: goulash(recipe below) and corn muffins
Snack: "snack basket"

Wednesday(1-16)
Breakfast: bagels and yogurt
Lunch: leftovers and macaroni and cheese
Dinner: Roasted Chicken(in crockpot), mashed taters & gravy, green beans, and biscuits
Snack: Chex Mix

Thursday(1-17)
Breakfast: french toast
Lunch: Totino's pizza rolls
Dinner: BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches(using leftover pork loin), fries, and baby carrots
Snack: "snack basket" or yogurt

Friday(1-18)
Breakfast: cereal and toast
Lunch: sandwiches and chips
Dinner: oven fried chicken, rice, peas and rolls
Snack: homemade chocolate shakes

Saturday(1-19)
Breakfast: "Cook's Choice"
Lunch: ????? it's the weekend anything goes!
Dinner: spaghetti and Garlic Toast(I use Texas toast and garlic powder)
Snack: popcorn

Goulash
1# ground beef
1-28oz can of tomato sauce plus 1/2 can of water
1-2 tsp. chili powder
1/8-1/4tsp. yellow mustard
salt and pepper to taste
elbow macaroni or rotini, dry
brown the ground beef and drain the fat off. Add the tomato sauce, water, spices, and macaroni. Cook on med to low temp til the noodles are al dente/tender. Serve.

Singing Sunday

How Great Thou Art
words & music by Carl G. Boberg and R.J. Hughes

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

Bargains! Bargains!

I just love Craigslist !!! I have been trying to find a decent bookshelves for my parents. So I was looking around my local list today to see if someone had some listed. Well instead of finding bookshelves, I found something for *me*! Here is what I found....

Subject: Stoneware-Pampered Chef $10

I have the following items for sale. They are all lightly used.

• New Traditions (1316) Small Oval Baker $8.00 (reg. $18) This item does have a chip off the handle.
• Stoneware Bar Pan I do not have the box for this one. $10.00 (reg. $29.50)
• Classics Collection Stoneware Muffin Pan (1465) $10.00 (reg. $32.50)
• Classics Collection Stoneware Rectangular Baker (1430) $10.00 (reg. $36)

The lady listed her number so I called her to ask if the items were still available. They were!!! Sooo I offered her $35 for ALL and I would pick them up today!! And she said yes! I went and picked them up. It is no joke that the items were lightly used! They actually look newer than my PC stoneware items!!

Which by the way I have all of these same pieces already BUT with my size family who can blame me for getting more of the same where I can actually put a whole batch of cupcakes in my oven at once rather than do half the batch and then have to wait to do the other batch. (which I have been doing for the last 10 years!)WAHHHHHOOOO!! I am sooo excited!

And what is even more exciting is that this lady was a PC consultant who is working at selling off some of her stuff that she doesn't use sooooo there is a chance that I will be able to get more of her stuff!

I strongly suggest that if you have items that you want to get rid of and do not want to worry about the shipping costs or fees of ebay or even listing in your local paper. Try Craigslist. Yes you will need to use some caution as there is scams around every corner on the internet. But so far my dh and I have had great success in selling items(like baby items, or computers). We have also have had great success with purchasing some items(other than the PC items that I got today) as well.

Freezer Inventory

After making my comments yesterday about liking a well stocked freezer and also having my own version of Once A Month Cooking(OAMC), I thought I would share what is in my freezer right now....

CHICKEN:

• 1 roaster(whole chicken)
• 2 packs 4 ct. bone in chicken breasts
• 2-4# bags quick frozen boneless/skinless chicken breasts
• 2 pkgs. 12 ct. fresh boneless/skinless chicken breast tenders
• 1 pkg 9 ct. fresh boneless/skinless chicken breast tenders
• 1 pkg 8 ct. fresh boneless/skinless chicken breast tenders
• 1 pkg 4ct. boneless/skinless chicken breast plus 4 ct. chicken breast tenders
• 1 pkg. 5ct. Chicken Kiev
• 1 pkg 5ct Chicken & Broccoli
• 1/2 bag breaded chicken tenders
• 2 boxes breaded chicken nuggets
• 2 boxes breaded chicken tenders

BEEF:

• 1 bag 30ct. homemade meatballs
• 4 containers(2-4 cups each) browned ground beef
• 1 pkg-3lbs raw ground beef--this ended up in there because there was no time before a vacation.
• 1 pkg 8ct. burger patties
• 1 pkg 4ct Meatloaf patties
• 1pkg breakfast steak
• 3 pkgs beef sausage smoky links
• 1.5lbs beef hot dogs

PORK:

• 1 6lb. whole pork loin
• 1 pkg 9ct pork loin chops
• 1 pkg 6ct sausage patties
• 1 pkg maple flavor brown n serve sausage links
• 2 pkgs 1# low sodium bacon

FISH:

• 1# quick frozen tilipia
• 1# quick frozen polluck
• 1# fresh catfish
• 1 pkg 10 ct. breaded fish fillets
• 1/2 bag(about 50 sticks) breaded fish sticks
• 1 bag cocktail shrimp(92 ct)

MISC:

• 4 bags 1 1/2lb pepperoni
• 1 pkg 2 lb mini sausage links
• 3/4 bag pizza rolls
• 8 boxes 15ct pizza rolls
• 3/4 bag(approx. 4lbs) Ore Ida shredded hash browns
• 1 bag(5lbs) Ore Ida french fries
• 1 tub Cool Whip
• 1 pkg. 1# butter
• 9 pkgs(1#) margarine sticks
• 2 tubs(3 lb) Country Crock margarine
• 4 bags butterscotch chips
• 4 bags chocolate chips
• 1 bag chocolate/peanut butter chips
• 1 1/2 bags white chips
• 1 bag(3lbs) ice cubes---emergency stock! during the winter months there is at least one day that we end up with no water and sometimes have power outages!
• 2 bags frozen corn
• 1 bag frozen peas

BREADS:

• 5 loaves of wheat sandwich bread
• 3 pkgs 6ct wheat english muffins
• 1 loaf Texas Toast
• 1 box Ding Dongs--got them for a $1 at the bakery thrift store!
• 2 boxes chocolate covered mini donuts--another deal at the bakery thrift store!
• 2 bags Eggo Homestyle Waffles
• 2 bags Cinnamon Raisin Bagels
• 2 boxes pie crust
• 1 bag pancakes--I keep a bag of leftover pancakes for a quickie breakfast for the kids!

FRUIT:

• 3lbs blueberries
• 3 bags mashed bananas--pre-measured for 2 double batches and 1 single batch of banana bread
• 1 container homemade applesauce
• 3 cans frozen orange juice
• 1 can frozen apple/cherry juice
• 3 cans frozen lemonade

I think that about covers it other than the almost 10 1/2lbs of ground chuck that I got yesterday at the local grocery store's three day sale for $1.69/lb! I am sure that I missing something but you get the jist of my "stash"! I keep open bags of bagels and english muffins in the freezer as well since we do not eat them everyday it helps to keep them fresh. My pantry is just about as full as my freezer right now! I still need to do my pantry inventory, so I'll save that for another post! Can you tell that I just finished doing my bi-weekly grocery shopping last Friday?? I keep telling myself that I need to get some baking done of quick breads and cookies BUT there really isn't room in my freezer for more.