Freezer-->Crock Pot/ Pasta Sauce & Lasagna

Italian Pasta Sauce (My famous!)

Ingredients:

·         Ground beef or turkey

o   precooked

·         1 chopped onion

·         1 chopped green pepper

·         Handful chopped mushroom

·         1 sliced/ diced zuchini

·         2 cans tomato sauce

·         1 can diced tomatoes

·         2 tbs. Italian seasoning

Directions:Put in freezer bag: meat, onion, pepper, mushrooms and zucchini.

When you are ready to cook:Place contents of freezer bag in crock pot with 2 cans tomato sauce and 1 can diced tomatoes with the seasonings. Cook on low 7-8 hours or high for 4.

Serve with pasta alone.

OR used as layering sauce for ravioli or lasagna.

Crock Pot Lasagna Ingredients:
·         Pasta Sauce Mix
·         Uncooked lasagna noodles
·         Cottage cheese
·         Shredded mozzarella

Directions:Put in freezer bag: Cook sauce.

 

When you are ready to cook:Starting with a layer of sauce. Then layer noodles, cheese, sauce, noodles, cheese, sauce, until you have filled to max fill line of crock pot. Cook on low 7-8 hours or high for 4.

Freezer-->Crock Pot/ Cheesy Chicken

Cheesy Chicken
Ingredients:
·         3 chicken breasts
·         1 chopped onion
·         Crm of Chicken Soup
·         1 can corn drained
·         1 c. shredded cheddar
·         rice

Directions:Put in freezer bag: chicken and onion.

When you are ready to cook:Place contents of freezer bag in crock pot with cream of chicken soup. Cook on low 7-8 hours or high for 4.

At the end, add corn, rice and cheesy and let warm through.

Picture from southern plate.com

Freezer-->Crock Pot/ Chicken Pot Pie or Dumplings

Chicken Pot Pie/ Chicken Dumplings

Ingredients:
·         Cubed Chicken
·         1 diced onion
·         1 sm. bag frozen
carrots and peas
·         1 c. celery
·        2 cans Crm of Chick Soupe

Directions:Put in freezer bag: chicken, peas and carrots, onion and celery.

When you are ready to cook:Place contents of freezer bag in crock pot with 2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup. Add water to cover.. Cook on low 7-8 hours or high for 4.

Serve with pasta or in pie crust. OR, to make with dumplings, cut store bought biscuits into small pieces and put in the mix with 1 hour left of cooking.

picture from taste of home.com

Freezer-->Crock Pot/ Beef & Broccoli

Beef & Broccoli
Ingredients:
·        Cubed beef
·        2 c. broccoli florets
·        1 chopped onion
·        ½ c. teriyaki sauce
·        ½ c. water
Drizzle of honey

Directions:Put in freezer bag: beef, broccoli, and onion.

When you are ready to cook:Place contents of freezer bag in crock pot with ½ c. water and ½ c. teriyaki sauce and honey. Cook on low 7-8 hours or high for 4.

Serve over rice or yakisoba type noodles.

Freezer-->Crock Pot/ Teriyaki Chicken

Teriyaki and Cashew Chicken

Ingredients:
·         3 chicken breasts
·         3 large carrots (chunked)
·         1 red onion (sliced)
·         Handful of cashews
·         ½ c. teriyaki sauce
·         1 c. orange juice

Directions:Put in freezer bag: chicken, carrots, onion and cashews.

When you are ready to cook:Place contents of freezer bag in crock pot with 1 c. orange juice and ½ c. teriyaki sauce. Cook on low 6-7 hours or high for 3-4.

Serve over a bed of rice.

Freezer-->Crock Pot/ Beef Stew

Beef Stew
Ingredients:
·         Cubed beef
·         2 c. potatoes
·         2 c. carrots
·         1 chopped onion
·         1 c. celery
·         1 c. water
·         Packet of Stew Seasoning

Directions:Put in freezer bag: beef, potatoes, carrots, onion and celery

When you are ready to cook:Place contents of freezer bag in crock pot with 1 c. water mixed with the seasonings. Cook on low 7-8 hours or high for 4.

Freezer-->Crock Pot/ Cilantro Lime Chicken

Cilantro Lime Chicken with Black Beans and Corn

Ingredients:
·         3 chicken breasts
·         1 c. chopped cilantro
·         2 c. frozen corn
·         1 c. chopped onion
·         1 tsp. minced garlic
·         1 can stewed tomatoes
·         1 can drained black beans

·         ½ c. lime juice

·         ½ c. water
·         1 tsp. cumin
·         1 tsp. chili powder

Directions:Put in freezer bag: chicken, cilantro, corn, onion, garlic

When you are ready to cook:Place contents of freezer bag in crock pot with can of stewed tomatoes, black beans, lime juice, water, and seasonings. Cook on low 8 hours or high for 4.

Serve with Rice or on Tortillas

[This recipe turned out really dry. We served with tortillas and sr. cream and salsa, but with the leftovers, I added to a pot of chicken stock and it made a delicious soup.]

Also not my pic.

 

Freezer-->Crock Pot/ Sausage and Peppers

Freezer to Crock Pot Meals!

I needed a way to cook meals for our family but still get home later in the evening, so over the holidays I started researching options for meals that can be prepped, frozen and then plopped in the crock pot! 

I did most of my research on Pinterest. I am horrible because I didn't copy the sites and now I can't find them, but I usually alter recipes I find to make them my own anyway!

Here's what I have so far:

Sausage and Peppers
Ingredients:
·        Italian link sausages [I used chicken sausage without nitrates!]
·        1 green pepper
·        1 yellow pepper
·        1 onion
·        1 tsp. minced garlic
·        1 can stewed tomatoes
·        1 tbs. Italian seasoning
·        Drizzle of evoo

Directions:Put in freezer bag: sausages, peppers, onion and garlic.

When you are ready to cook:place contents of freezer bag in crock pot with can of stewed tomatoes, seasoning and evoo. Cook on low 6 hours or high for 3-4.

Serve with Pasta or Bread.

 

Yum!!

Saben is 2!

Bills organized!

I started putting all my bills in a binder this year. I've been notorious for letting them all pile up and then having to go through them when i need to find something. Big pain!

Here's my method. I feel better (more at peace) already!

Each bill gets opened and put on the calendar on it's due date. When I pay it, I write the check # or payment method and the total paid. Then I put each bill in the binder behind each months' tab. That way, next year at tax time I can just pull out the stuff relevant to taxes and put the rest in a permanent file and start again.

I also keep all the stuff I need in a pouch...calculator, stamps, address labels, pens, etc.

I like visuals and I like to be able to see where my $$ is going. This way we can track it and see how we can save $$ in other places!

Peace!!!

First 12: Amish quilters make mistakes on purpose!

Here are the first twelve quilt blocks from my Saturday Sampler class! I goofed up a bit, but I am content with the outcome! The little diamond doohickey is supposed to he a star but I accidentally inverted all the points and by that time I was ready for those blocks to be done so I just left them. That would have been a lot of seam ripping.

Two lessons learned:
1. Be content in every situation.
2. In a class full of 60 women...it's good to make mine a little individualized!

St. Paddy's Day

I've been working on this one for a year!

I started sewing a couple years ago and I am not very good at it. I get these ideas in my head and instead of following patterns or the experts...I have just been winging it. And, my machine is uber finicky, so I get stuck along the way sometimes.

Anyway, I have been trying to make wall hangings for different holidays. This one is St. Paddy's Day...four leaf clovers!

I just cut out hearts, appliquéd them on, sewed all the pieces up and quilted it along the seams!

What took me so long?

Wall of Serving Trays!

Per my new collection post before...here's an update on my progress.

I'm hoping they don't fall since our whole house shakes during the spin cycle on the washer! :)

Calendar

Thank you Pinterest! Saw this idea and one of my resolutions this year is to try to stay more organized which in turn will ring peace! I like visuals as well. So, I created a family calendar for the hallway. We have to walk past it so there will be no excuses in forgetting deadlines or birthdays!

Here's what you need:
-picture frame. 11x14 or larger.
-paint sample cards (free from your local paint store)
-double sided tape
-dry erase markers

Here's what you do:
1. Cut paint cards into chunks. Mine were 1 1/2"x1 7/8". You will need at least 6 chucks of each color variation. Some people may choose to do each row in the same color and make the columns varied. I have a lot of color around so I wanted to make it especially colorful!
2. Flip the picture frame liner over and begin carefully adhering each chunk in vertical and horizontal lines making sure to leave a bit of space between each chunk. (I put a background behind mine with scrapbook paper, but you wouldn't have to!)
3. Once you have all the chunks lined up and tape down, flip it over and put the frame together.
4. Lastly, write in the dates for the month and, vuaalah you have a calendar!!!!

Saturday Sampler Amish Quilt

I have been a very, very amateur quilter for a few years now. This year I decided I needed to step up my game. However, I don't think I could do it without support or accountability. So, I signed up for a monthly class where I have to finish the tasks for each month in order to get the instructions for the next month. I'm fairly certain that I am getting in WAY above my ability level but the ladies at the store seemed really open and available to help whenever I need it. I am excited to finally join the tanks of the amazing quilters in my family. I'll keep you apprised of my progress. Wish me luck.

The CUTEST PUPPY ever!

We are a little biased, but seriously...look at that face.

We love her so much. She creates laughter, encourages us to exercise and gives us so much love. Although, she is a bit borderline as she can tell when we are getting ready to leave and won't give us the time of day!

But she is more excited than children on Christmas morning as soon as we are home.

Love!