Category Archives: freezer cooking

Monday and it’s raining.

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, cooking, freezer cooking, home stuff, meal planning by

Menus for the week will mostly be stuff from the freezer/pantry.

Last night I used up the frozen shrimp and sauteed some tilapia. We had a salad pack that was almost past use by date.

For lunch, I had a Souper Cube mac and cheese. That’s used up one more frozen item. My son was still here, so he shared it with me. He brought some chili he had made, so that’s in the freezer now, too.

Monday- I defrosted some chicken, so I plan on using that. I’m not sure what side I’ll have since there’s no salad, maybe potatoes?

Tuesday- I think I’ll have the turkey chili my son brought up with corn muffins.

Wednesday- With all this rain, I think I’ll do a soup of some sort.

Thursday- Breakfast for dinner with bacon, eggs, and hash browns. The hash browns in the freezer need to be used up.

Friday- I may order a pizza, the veggie from Round Table is our favorite.

Things in the freezer that I’d like to use up now through March:

pot stickers

veggie burgers

ravioli

a frozen pizza

????

Today is a home day with all this rain. It’s raining pretty hard out there this morning. I didn’t get to the Goodwill to drop things off, so that’s on hold till there is a non-rainy morning. My son did take a big load to the dump, so he’s really getting things around the barn cleaned up. All this crap around the barn should have been dealt with long ago, but it is what it is, and I’m thankful he’s taken it on. Of course, my daughter does the bulk of the stuff around here as she’s here and he’s not. I’m so lucky to have both of them here to help.

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, cooking, freezer cooking, simple foods, swimming, Walking by

A nice walk this morning, although a few people showed up. Still, nice enough, and it was not really cold. The rain is expected this afternoon and looks like it’ll be all week. It’s supposed to get quite cold, too.

I’m not going to the gym this morning either. I’m pretty stiff from my swim, so I’ll rest up. The pool is open on Monday, but I don’t think I’ll go down. I’ll have to see how it goes.

My son is coming up to deal with a garbage run and work on the barn some. Most everything in the barn now is his tools and stuff. I think he’s been getting rid of things, too. Yay for that!

Last night we watched the season finale of Stranger Things ( season 4). Geez, that show is intense. I may need a break for a few days. We had fondue with veggies and some bread. The fondue was an extra that I bought for New Year’s Eve. We also had some rosé prosecco. Yumm.

I’m not sure what I’m going to do today. I have the bathroom zone to do and maybe water my plants and ?? I do need to go drop stuff off at the thrift store, so I may do that because they don’t take donations if it’s raining. It’s not a lot of stuff, but I’d rather get it out of the house and back of the car.

I do want to freezer dive and see what I’m using this week. That’s a priority since it’s jammed packed. I might need to toss some things like bananas that I froze, as they’ve been in there a while. I had been doing that so B could have smoothies, but that’s now 8 months ago, probably time to toss. I could make some banana bread, but my daughter doesn’t really eat that kind of thing, so then I would, and I don’t need the extra calories. 😦

Here’s a view from my bedroom window.

Menu Monday

Posted in bread, California, camping, freezer cooking, Lake tahoe by

Last night, I made chicken/orzo soup from Rotesserie Chicken that I had frozen. There’s quite a bit left, so either that’s lunch or dinner.

I have the Costco dumplings, so I’ll do that with TJ’s orange chicken.

I plan on making a homemade pizza sometime this week. I found my 00 flour in the cabinet so I want to use that.

New Year’s Eve, we’ll do sub sandwiches of some sort. Either from the market or homemade, and I’ll get the ingredients.

One night, we’ll do tacos with ground beef, and I’ll also add pintos. I have at least 2 jars of pressure-canned beans left.

I’m still contemplating getting the electric pressure canner, as it would be much easier to use. However, it’s pricey, so I need to consider it. I do enjoy canning, so there’s that.

I used the Zojirushi bread maker yesterday for a whole wheat bread. It came out good, although I didn’t have the non-fat bakers’ milk, so the crumb was off some. I need to go to the store this morning, so I’ll pick some up and try another loaf. I always just use the dough setting and bake in the oven.

Absolutely no luck with camping reservations. I tried again this morning and didn’t get nada, zilch, zero. It makes you wonder who is getting these reservations, and whether they are using high-speed computers or multiple computers. Sigh…. oh well, all I can do now is check for cancellations since we are into 4th of July week.

This is the beautiful clock my son got me for Christmas. Lake Tahoe.

Simple Sunday and how things are going.

Posted in Blood test, budgets, California, camping, cancer, Death, freezer cooking, Walking by

Well, it’s been 2 months since Barclay died. Most stuff is handled, but there are still outliers. We need to sell the motorcycle and the trailer. We’re going to try for the motorcycle in September when it cools off. It may or may not sell. It’s a specific niche of a bike, so we’ll see. The trailer is another story, and I’m emptying it out slowly. Most of the camping stuff I’ll store so we can use it if we get the tent trailer.

Some things that need official death certificates, like the bank, I still need to do. Other things like PGE, and I’m just leaving alone for now. The water bill I got changed to my name alone. He had one cc in his name, and I’m leaving that too, as they will close that if it’s not used. I’ve put a lock on it, so that should be ok.

I’ve cleaned out some clothes, etc, and I have a few more things to do. Some favorite T-shirts I’m saving.

It’s definitely a strange place to be.

This coming week, I have my labs, and I’m getting another steroid shot in my knee. We also have PGE coming to take the big tree with a crane. They figured out the other big tree wasn’t in their system, although Barclay tried to get them to add it. Well, maybe another time. The one they’re taking is a huge tree with a lot of lean, and that’s why they need a crane. I’m concerned for our water line, but I will tell them to be careful how they drop tree parts. The other tree I suspect we’ll have to pay for at some point, but I can’t think about that now. So that’s going to be a very anxious day for me, as my anxiety goes way up with stuff like that. Usually, if B were here, he would handle it, and I would leave, but he’s not.

The rest of the week looks fine. Although I don’t know what day PGE is coming until Tuesday, when he’ll call me.

Right now, our weather has cooled and is quite nice. I’ve enjoyed sitting outside. Today is also nice, and then it looks like it heats up again later in the week.

My motivation to do things is very low. I’m pretty much forcing myself to go to the pool or the gym. I’m sure this will pass with more time, but for now, it’s weird for me to feel unmotivated. I did have a nice walk this morning, though. It’s been busy at the park during the week, so I’m not fond of passing 6 people walking, but today was empty, except for two guys fishing in the pond. In the past, when it got busy, I’d just go earlier and then no one’s there, but right now I’m not motivated to get there any earlier. 6:00 a.m. is about my limit, considering I get up at 5:30.

I’ve baked a few things in the Souper Cubes, and it’s loads of fun. I did banana bread and then zucchini bread. They are food-grade silicon, so you can bake right in them. Very cool. I froze most of it as my daughter and I can only get through so much.

Well, that’s it for the most part. just day by day.

A surprise!

Posted in California, freezer cooking, home stuff, library by

My daughter surprised me with this the other day. I was a bit shocked as my older AirMac still worked.

Still it’s lovely, although some stuff didnt quite migrate because of how old my other computer was but she figured out most ‘of it for me.

It’s still quite hot here,mid 90’s. I supposed it’s better than 100 degrees,sort of.

I went to the gym yesterday and then dropped off my library books. I didnt need any groceries so I came straight home.

We had a huge bag of power greens from Costco so I made our favorite ‘green’ soup. I’ve done different recipes in the past but used the one in Tassajara Recipes yesterday. It used nutritional yeast and it did give a depth of flavor. I froze the left overs in the nifty souper saver container.

Today is undecided. I was up around 5:15am and haven’t decided if I’m going down to Roseville or not. Traffic on I-80 will only get heavier as the week goes on with the 4th. I’ll see how I feel in an hour or so. I do have some house chores to do so that may decide it.

Saturday

Posted in California, camping, cancer, canning tomato salsa, freezer cooking, peritoneal mesothelomia by

Frugal Friday got sidestepped by other things.

But I did go to Winco once after swimming and spent $58, although $15 of that was a bottle of wine. So $43 for food. I also got gas at Costco, which is always a savings. Other than that, nothing was spent.

Today, I have to take Barclay down to Infusion in Rocklin. I was going to do a Trader Joe’s stop, but nothing is urgent, so I think I’ll wait. This will take about 4 1/2 hours, so my daughter will go down to get him at 2:30 or so.

The video visit with Dr. Neal was a waste of time. He really didn’t say anything of importance except that the one spot on his spleen was concerning. But I’ve read on the Facebook group that people will have their spleen removed during the surgery if it’s impacted. So now we wait again till we hear from Lee. Honestly, at this point, I think it should be our call. He’s the one taking the risk, and if this can remove tumors, then that’s what we want. So I think I’m going to be hopeful that it will go forward.

After I get home, I plan on processing the rest of the tomatoes from last summer I froze. So I have 3 bags to do. I think I’ll cook them down, then run them through the food mill and can them tomorrow. I also am planning to make chicken broth but will pressure can that. Does anyone use the Presto pressure canner that’s automated? Lots of people swear by it because there’s no waiting for the All-American to come up to pressure, then juggle at the right time, etc. I’ve looked at them on Amazon, and they run around $350, so a big investment.

We’ve booked a spot in Tahoe for September, so that’s exciting. Belived me that’s like winning the lottery to get a spot. It took us 6 tries to get a spot, so if you’re trying to do anything in Tahoe, beware of how long it can take and plan accordingly.

Frugal Friday

Posted in books, bread, budgeting, budgets, California, decluttering, freezer cooking, frugalism, simple foods, velcade by

The week was overall frugal. I didn’t need gas yet in Santa Fe. I’ll fill up at Costco next week.

I went to the gym and library before my Velcade shot. Gettting books at the library always saves me from buying some random cookbook( a weakness(. I looked at two already, and there’s nothing I’d cook from them. They’re pretty books, but not how I cook. For instance, last night, we shared a steamed artichoke, and I made an us omelet to share with sprouts, cheese, salsa, and sour cream. We eat fairly simply.

I went to Costco after swimming on Wednesday and spent $250 or so. Some of that was snack/foodstuff for my daughter to take to work. She doesn’t get a full lunch break because of her hours, so I bought some beef sticks, egg bites (Kirkland brand), and something else I can’t remember. The two kinds of beef sticks were expensive, grass feed. I’ve actually never had one, so I can’t tell you if they’re any good, but as a high-protein snack, I could see it working. Organic eggs were 7.99 for 2 dozen.

Today is a home day because of Dex, but I feel pretty good this morning. I plan on vacuuming, dusting some, and doing a bit of decluttering odds and ends. I also have a pack of Kirkland I need to use, so I’m thinking of some meatballs I can freeze. We( my daughter and I have decided to mostly cut beef out of our diets. We don’t eat it often, so it shouldn’t be hard at all. But I have this to use and one other in the freezer, and I don’t want to waste it. If we go out together, we definitely would think about an In an-Out burger, but that’s pretty rare for us to do.

The rain is supposed to come by noon today, and it looks nonstop for days. I think I’ll plan on some soup dinners with homemade sourdough.

Frugal Friday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, cooking, freezer cooking, frugalism by

It seems this week has been Frugal probably because New Year’s Day was Wednesday. So that meant most stores closed. We didn’t go anywhere on Wednesday. Oh wait, I did go to Safeway on Tuesday with my daughter for the fondue veggies. That ended up $54 I think. After that, we went over to Target and needed dental picks, mouth wash and I picked up a $10 candle. So that was $25.

Wednesday, I made up the freezer double-stuffed potatoes. I had 12 potatoes in there and after they were cut in half and stuffed with potato, butter, cheese, and a little sour cream, I ended up with 15 halves. We definitely eat these and they don’t languish in the freezer.

Yesterday was Velcade and afterward, I stopped at Noah’s for a dozen bagels. I was going to do Trader Joe’s but wasn’t into it so I came home. That saved money, I’m sure.

Noah’s with schmears $21.00.

I took some frozen meals out of the freezer to use. One is lentil soup and it looks ok. The other is greek lemon chicken and I’ll have some of that for lunch. The other was a pulled pork from the fall and that didn’t look too appetizing:( I’m not sure that will get used.

I used the tamales from Costco last night with beans and salad. Tonight might be pizza but it depends on what we all feel like.

Today is a home day for me. I’ll take Dex around 12 or so. I want to vacuum and do some overall tidying. We gave away the Ikea fold-out couch that I used to have in the sunroom. it was a nice little couch but we weren’t using it and it ended up out in the studio and it definitely wasn’t getting used, so I put it on for free in the Facebook marketplace. A nice young couple came and got it. The studio, where my son had his bedroom, is now a catch-all for STUFF and I’m threatening, suggesting we go out there and do a reorganize. We’ll see if I’m up to it today.

Tomorrow, I’m not sure if I’ll go out. I have 3 bags of books to go to the Pet bookstore so that could be a trip out. Most of the books are my daughter’s that she is getting rid of but I have a bag too.

Other than that, I won’t go to the store till next week. Maybe do Trader Joe’s for some fill-in-the-blank stuff. I like their hash browns as they have only potatoes in them. Plus, they have WW tortillas I like too.

I plan on the pool on Monday, but I’ll look at the week and see what else is on the schedule.

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, cooking, decluttering, Flylady, freezer cooking, simplicity, swimming, Walking by

I was able to walk the .5 mile today again. So that’s some improvement. I’m taking it slow but still, I am thrilled just to be out there. I hope to get to 3/4 mile this week.

I went and did the Auburn gym this morning for the upper body. I’d like to get to the Roseville gym once this week as the weights are much nicer and there is more variety.

Last night we had a pressure canned vegetable soup with canned kidney beans and some sourdough garlic toast. Quite delicious. I’m planning on pressure canning lentil soup this week as that was one of our favorites. I might try canning French onion soup but not sure yet how much we would use that.

I pulled some random food items from the freezer to use in the next couple of days. There’s 1 ready meal of mushroom crepes, 1 chicken enchiladas, 1 pulled pork, and one rice casserole. So there are some choices for everyone.

We had quite a bit of rain overnight but today is mostly dry till this evening. It’s not that cold though so that’s a plus.

With Monday a holiday, I have PT on Tuesday. I need to figure out how I want to plan the rest of the week. I definitely want 1 swim day, 1 gym day and ? I also need to get to Trader Joe’s for a few things or Winco. I think one of us is going to have to hit Costco because we will need coffee.

My friend suggested watching the Longmire series on Netflix. But we don’t have Netflix so I checked the library and they had all the seasons. So far we really like the characters and the storyline. It’s certainly not a new series but in the same line as Dark Winds ( Hillerman series).

The Flylady zone is the bedroom if you’re keeping track. I just have some dusting to do and that’s about it. I may go through a bin under the bed and see what can be consolidated. Ideally, I’d like just one bin of things to save for the kids if they ever want them down the road. Neither of my children are sentimental about stuff like that but there are a few things I’d like to keep just in case. (haha, just in case).

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, cooking, freezer cooking, Pantry, simple foods by

It’s raining this morning and is supposed to keep going till tomorrow. There’s also a wind forecast. Let’s hope it’s not too bad. Southern California especially Santa Barbara is really in for huge amounts of rain.

Everyone is hanging out today so I probably won’t get the kitchen zone done. Everyone’s in and out of the kitchen cooking or making coffee/tea. It can wait till Monday or Tuesday.

I don’t feel very motivated this morning anyway. I plan on cooking the turkey breast a little later and then heating up the frozen potatoes. I have the leftover nut loaf for B defrosting as well. That should make an easy dinner. We’re not big leftover eaters except for lunch the next day.

I’m trying to refine how we’re eating and what works right now. We generally eat very simple meals and I want to simplify that even a little more. I do love cooking but I’m definitely not into complicated meals. We’ve been making brown rice once a week and using that in things.

Also, I don’t think I’ll do too much pressure canning of meat meals. The beans have been a huge success and we use them weekly. Also, salsas and tomato sauces are used a lot. I guess it’s a bit of a learning curve and trying to decide what works and what doesn’t. Some frozen prepped meals work brilliantly like lasagna. Others like pulled pork not so much. That’s okay. I’m working through what I have and taking notes.

Tomorrow I have the very early PT at 6:45. yikes! Then I have the annual well care appt with my PC. I was going to cancel but then thought I should keep it and go over what happened with my knee etc.

My big question this week is will I go to the pool ? If I do I’ll go around 8:45 and do 20 minutes or so. The pool closes at 9:25 so that’s why I’m shooting for 8:45 and hoping all the regulars are gone and it’s only a few stragglers left. Since I’ve never gone that late it may be a whole other group of swimmers.

The rest of the week is open and I will go to the gym at least once. I don’t need any groceries except if we need milk or eggs or some misc item. I’m feeding my sourdough and it should be ready tomorrow. It does take a while after it’s been in the fridge.