This has been a big week of catching up and getting ahead. I’ve hardly left the house all week, which has made for some very productive days at home. We got all of our laundry caught up from our time at camp, have been working to get our school books organized (we start our new school year on Monday!), and have been working very hard in the kitchen.
Allow me to emphasize the word WE in the above sentences. I’ve not done all of this by myself. Our boys have been a huge help – with laundry, dishes, grating cheese, stirring and measuring, deboning chickens, taking food to freezers, and the list goes on.
Why are we making so much food? Well, it’s August. That means that college soccer (which Matt coaches) and our boys’ soccer seasons are about to begin. School work will keep our days full, soccer practices and games will keep our evenings full, and getting all this food prepared ahead of time will keep our bellies full. My sanity depends on having a full freezer of prepared food as we head into some very busy months.
At the beginning of the week, I made a list of the foods I was hoping to prepare for our fridge and freezers:
- Homemade Peanut Butter
- Chicken Broth
- Chicken Salad
- Pita Bread
- Tomato Sauce
- Cheesy Salsa Enchiladas
- Cheesy Chicken and Rice (recipe in Oh, For Real)
- Meat and Cheese Burritos
- Whole Wheat Pizza Crust
- Banana Bread
- Banana Cake
- Sloppy Joes
I took some pictures along the way. Here’s how it all went down this week:
On Monday, I made three jars of Homemade Peanut Butter. Malachi helped me make two Loaves of Banana Bread and a big Banana Cake. The cake didn’t make it into the freezer, but it sure was tasty, and the freezer won’t know what it was missing, so don’t tell.
I like making several jars of peanut butter at one time because we go through quite a bit of it. Plus, I’ve found that making several batches at once means that I can get away with cleaning my food processor less. Making one big mess instead of several little messes saves lots of time!
Tuesday was a big beef and tortilla day. I made a triple batch of Whole Wheat Tortillas (recipe found in Totally Tortillas eBook and/or Oh, For Real Cookbook). In the meantime, I browned several pounds of hamburger meat. Once finished, I made two meals worth of Sloppy Joes, two pans of Cheesy Salsa Enchiladas, and two meals worth of Meat and Cheese Burritos. (The boys spent the morning folding and putting away clean laundry. Yay!)
Oh yes, and somewhere in there, Asa helped me crack eggs and make two Easy Breakfast Casseroles.
Wednesday was a chicken day. I cooked three big chickens in my stock pot. With the broth, I cooked an enormous amount of rice. Then, Matt deboned the chickens for me (he’s always great to tackle that job) while I put together three big Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casseroles. The remaining chicken is now frozen and ready to thaw for Chicken Salad the next couple of weeks. That will make for some super quick lunches on school days!
The boys should have counted the number of times I sent them to the freezer with prepared food.
I am hoping to get around to making Pita Bread and Whole Wheat Pizza Crust this weekend. We’ve got to have pitas with our chicken salad, after all! (With fresh tomatoes from our garden.)
Also, I’ve got to make my way out to the garden to pick tomatoes and make Tomato Sauce. I’ll be sure and post once I get that done. Why? Because it gives me a chance to take a picture of jars filled with homegrown goodness, of course. :)
