The First Week

You would think that the first week of my New Year's resolution would be the easiest...it wasn't. I had a few curve balls that tempted me to break it, but I stood firm.

My little guy, David, got sick. High fever, waking me up at night and a bad cough. This alone is enough to make you crave your comfort foods, but I stood my ground. If that wasn't bad enough, I grabbed one of my meals that I had frozen in a FoodSaver bag and decided to make that. It was my home made Chicken and Dumplings. It happens to be one of Sarah and Davids favorite meals. The first time I made it, I gave David a taste while it was cooking. I turned around to stir the pot and when I turned back , David had picked up his plate and was literally licking it clean. That's how much they like it.
Back to my story. I put the bag in water and bring it to a boil. When the bag was done, I lifted it out of the pot and the bottom seam ripped open, sending our dinner sliding down into the boiling water.
The day before I had made Bread bowls, so I took the two remaining bowls, made a large batch of Tuna..and....that was dinner.
My husband loved it. You should know that my husband is the most appreciative, happy man i've ever met. He NEVER complains about what I make and always thanks me and has the kids thank me for making dinner. That is really sweet.

What did I learn this week?
1. Having pre-made or quick dinners is a MUST.
2. Don't boil your FoodSaver bags, or they open up on you.
3. Take a deep breath if unexpected events happen.
4. Perfection isn't needed. If you make it, they WILL eat it.

My plan, is to make 1 or 2 crock pot meals in bulk a week and freeze the left overs for other quick meals.

Sometimes a simple thing like taking the time to make bread in the shape of bowls, can turn an ordinary meal into something special.

I made some bread bowls for some BBQ pulled chicken I made. I had the pulled chicken made so making the bread bowls was simple. I used my bread machine, milled the wheat and put it on the "Dough only" cycle. When it was done, I took put the dough, pulled down some ramikens and used those to form my dough and bake in.

When it was done, I had a cute ramiken filled with a delicious, healthy circle of bread. I carved out he center and filled it with BBQ Pulled Chicken.

Crock Pot or Dutch Oven  Recipe:
Crock pot liners ( I love these. I just recently discovered them)
Large Package of chicken breast
BBQ

Put chicken in your crock pot or Dutch oven, pour some bbq sauce over it and let it cook on low for 4 hours..or more.
Once it's done the chicken should easily shred with a fork.
Serve on bread for sandwiches, or if you want, spoon into bread bowls.

You can't mess up this recipe.


Pulled BBQ Chicken in my home made bread bowl. 

 

 



On Saturday morning my husband said to me, "I love this not eating out. We're saving alot of money.".

When you think about it, we would order Chinese food every other week...sometimes every week. That's a minimum of $45.00. So if we stop that...we save over $200.00 a month on that alone!!

It's so nice when your spouse is on the same page. My husband and I believe in being debt free, so that means cutting back when we've spent too much money for the holidays.

My husband asked if i'd pick up some snacks for the football game. That's when I dropped the bomb that i'm trying to make snacks to save money. He quickly agreed and I told him that Sarah and I would make him Oatmeal Raisin cookies. His favorite!!

Later that day, Rob and David were napping, so Sarah and I started Baking. She loves helping me in the kitchen. She and I watch cooking shows and will often ask me if she can be my "Helper Chef" or "Sous chef".

I love cooking with Sarah and using these opportunities to teach her. She loves cooking and is so enthusiastic.

 

We made our cookie dough and I decided to add in some Chia Seeds to sneak in some extra nutrition. I grinded them up a bit and put them in. They were a HIT!! Everyone loved them.



We went a full week with out ordering in and we made our snacks. I can't complain. Let see how it goes next week.

  God Bless,
Laura

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Eating In...The Beginning

This may not seem like the normal New Year's resolution but I decided that mine would be to NOT order in or eat out for 3 months (Trying to go for 6 months).

I want to do this for both health and financial reasons.

We spent way too much money visiting our son in Texas, ( I LOVE Texas), for his basic training graduation from the Air Force. The plane ride, hotel, eating out and the attractions we went to was a small fortune. Sea World in San Antonio is very supportive of their military men and families and actually allowed Bobby , my son, and 3 people to go for free. That was really a blessing because it's very expensive. The only one we had to pay for was my youngest daughter, who is 4 years old. We got a discounted rate for her of $40.00. It was a great deal. We also went to a local TGIFriday's and was pleasantly surprised that the manager gave us a $20.00 discount because he saw Bobby in his "Blues". Texas is really supportive of military men and families. Did I mention that I LOVE Texas?

This is my son, Robert Jr, 20 years old with his younger brother, David, 22 months.

Health reasons are pretty obvious. You really have no idea what they serve you and the MSG, sodium and preservatives are extremely high in restaurant food. Chinese food, which is one of my favorites, is the worst.

I would of liked to of been better prepared for this but right after New Year's day, we left for Texas, ( I really loved that state..did I mention that?) The only thing I had prepared was some meals, which is really half the battle.

We got home on Sunday night, so bright and early Monday morning, I started getting the house back in order and laundry. Lots of laundry...Piles of laundry. This would've been a great night to order in but I went to my freezer and took out an air-sealed bag of delicious, home-made chili that I had made. I like to cook these types of meals in bulk and put them in the bags. They lay flat when frozen , which makes them much easier to defrost. I just soak the whole bag in hot water in my sink. I use the Food Saver and their bags. 
I love having meals made for these types of nights. Another thing that I love is making large crock pot meals and freezing those left overs for busy days. I use Crockin Girls for most of my crock pot recipes.

Monday was here and I made tuna for lunch with some fresh bread that I had made that morning...and chili for dinner. I had enough left over for lunch for the kids on Tues. and for my husband to bring some lunch to work too.

Today is Tuesday and I made pork chops , cauliflower and corn for dinner. I have enough left over for my husband to bring a big lunch to work tomorrow. Not bad.

I really want to eat more whole foods,and doing this will ensure that. I do think I need to be reasonable and I do have some fast foods like frozen pizza, fish sticks and chicken nuggest for those lunches and dinners that I just don't have time for but over the whole month, we will be eating more whole foods and less pre-packaged foods.

It's better to be realistic than to go crazy and put too much on myself, fail and stop trying. I'm hoping that after the 3 months we consider this a way of life and not eat out too much.

Another way I am planning on saving money is making our snacks. I love The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drumand and I get alot of my dessert and snack recipes from her. I can't believe the prices of snacks these days and it's healthier to make your own...even if you're using white flour and white sugar.

Tomorrow is Wednesday:
I've got some friends coming over for lunch. So i'm planning on making frozen pizza and home made strawberry bars. It's a fun snack that the kids will love to help make.

God Bless,
Laura