Freezer Meals...A Productive Day

Yesterday I had a very productive day in the kitchen. And, it was a lot of fun. I get a lot of satisfaction out of having tasty, healthy, prepared foods in the freezer. It's easy to put something yummy in the crock pot in the mornings to cook while I am at work, or I can choose a meal from the freezer when I get home to simply heat up for a quick dinner. I'm usually so worn out by the end of the workday, if I don't have something planned and easy to cook, I find myself relying on take-out or fast foods way too often. I really prefer having a healthier and less expensive alternative...

One of my all time faves to keep in the freezer are smoothies. They are so easy to put together, and they're nutritious and delish all at the same time! I always have frozen fruit in large bags in the freezer to have available when I can't get tasty in-season fruit. Here's a pic of what I had on hand this time around.

They are so easy to grab out of the freezer and eat on the way to school.

I put them in Styrofoam cups and then cover the tops with a piece of foil.

It's so easy to switch up the flavors by using different combos of fruit.

Here they are ready for the freezer. They don't last long around my house, either.

A recipe I'm trying for the first time is "Delicious Salmon" from the All Recipes App I have on my phone. We bought both salmon and tilapia the last time we went to Sam's. I'm not crazy about fish, but since it is so healthy to eat, I decided to try a couple of new recipes.

The salmon has a teriyaki sauce that it marinates in and I can't wait to try it. 

I used the tilapia in a "Cilantro Fish Tilapia" recipe I got from a friend. It's used for fish tacos, that's something I haven't tried before either, but it sure looks good...

The burritos I put together were a combination of 3 different recipes I have used before. I actually didn't even use a recipe for this go-round...I just started throwing ingredients together.

I used ground beef, brown rice, black beans, and some taco seasoning...mixed it all together and spooned it on a flour tortilla...

...added some grated cheese, rolled it up...

...wrapped each one in wax paper, and placed them in a freezer baggie. Since they are wrapped separately, we can take however many we want at a time out of the freezer. They warm up nicely in the microwave, unless you want it a bit crispier--then you can heat it up in the oven.

Next on the menu are Italian Meatballs. This is another recipe I just throw together...

I used ground beef, egg, milk, onion, parsley, oregano, salt, pepper, and Italian bread crumbs. I've used these in spaghetti and also cooked them with a mushroom gravy...both are scrumptious!

I use my cookie scoop to form the meatballs and freeze them on a tray for a couple of hours before placing them in a freezer bag. That way I can take out how ever many I want at a time. I never know how many will be eating dinner at my house on any given night, so that allows me to take out 4 or 12, easily.

The last item I put in the freezer was bacon. That may sound fairly simple, and it is...but, I don't like the mess of frying bacon, so I cook it in the oven. I bought a 3 pound package of thick slice bacon, and I like to have it ready to eat so I don't have to mess with the cooking/clean up each time I want it. I just layered the cooked bacon on sheets of wax paper, and then slide them into a freezer bag...again---I can take out exactly what I want without having to thaw the entire package.

And... that's where I stopped for the day. 

I took my hubby out to dinner for his birthday at Red Lobster (his choice). We stopped for ice cream at Sonic, then we came home and watched a movie. I know, you can tell we aren't big party animals! Happy Birthday to Roger! Now I'm off to scrap a bit before going to bed.

...and then he was FOUR!

I'm still behind on posting pictures, but these were so cute I couldn't resist. M turned 4 in December-my, oh, my....where has the time gone? I think they enjoyed playing with the balloons as much as anything. Having the large open space in the new house gave them a lot of room to toss and chase...

...they stayed busy corralling the balloons while mommy and daddy set up for the cookie decorating party...

I think my fave pics from the party were of G waiting for M to blow out his candles. You can see the excitement and anticipation on his face, watching his little brother...

G gets beyond excited and can hardly wait for surprises & celebrations. While M is all about having fun, he is a lot more relaxed-just chillin' and taking it all in... 

I think M is concentrating on making his wish here, he looks so serious as we sing "Happy Birthday" to him...                     

 ...and he blows out the candles!

Not too sure why such a serious face here, but fun was had by all! Happy Birthday to sweet M!

...still celebrating

Here are a few more pics of the birthday "weekend" for sweet little M....he adores Spider-Man, so of course we didn't want to disappoint this cute little fellow...This next picture really cracks me up, it shows his reaction to mommy and daddy's big present for him as they came around the corner with it...he was beyond excitement!

...Happy Boy! He couldn't wait to get his hands on it. It's the cutest Fire House Station you've ever seen, complete with a workout room and potty:)

It's as close to a doll house as Jamie is going to get...but, seriously it was the coolest thing, full of furniture, exercise equipment, emergency vehicles, ect. They will play with it for hours.

I think the entire family will have fun...

Daddy even helped arrange some of the furniture:)

His favorite piece out of the entire set up was this cute little dalmation puppy! He started carrying it everywhere with him. He opened so many gifts I'm not sure where we're going to put all of the Christmas presents! I'll finish up in a couple of days with more pics from the gymnatics party!

Birthday Boy!

Isn't this the cutest birthday boy ever? We had so much fun helping him celebrate this weekend! I won't take you through all 142 pics that I took, but trust me, they're all good ones.

He's "showing" me his 3...

Now, he's counting for me. He is growing up so quickly, and he is so sweet and polite.

Just look at those hams....

We played and played and played...why do they have endless energy and Nienie always has to stop and have a "rest" time? The birthday party was where he takes his gymnastic lessons. It was wonderful, the gym coaches did all the work and kept the kids busy the entire time. Everyone had fun, and there was no mess to clean up afterwards!

Happy Birthday, little man!!!

...a scarf and a birthday

Another fun Pinterest project...A scarf made out of an old t-shirt...I may have to quit my day job to find more hours to play....

And....one of my favorite little guys is getting ready to turn 3 years old. We had to make birthday hats while they were here for Thanksgiving, I guess we were practicing for the big day.

Happy Birthday to sweet Morgan!

...Ahoy, Matey!!!

I know...I'm a couple of weeks late, but it's been crazy, busy around my house. I still want to share some of the fun times we celebrated on Grayson's 5th birthday! Jamie and Kelsey created the cute sign for the front yard, it's a Pirate Party!!!
They even had a treasure map that led them to some awesome treasures! They had fun filling up their treasure chests with all kinds of surprises!

And, every pirate needs an eye patch, right?

And the search continues...

The bounce house is always a hit. The kids just couldn't get enough! I sat inside taking pictures-the lighting isn't the best, but I love some of the expressions I captured! I'm amazed at their seemingly endless energy.

Grayson looks like he's getting ready to go down a ski slope! Ha! Ha! They tried all kinds of tricks.

And, "WATCH THIS, Nienie!"

Climbing back up was one of their favorite things to do...

"How about sliding down on my back, Nienie? Can you do that?"

Morgan had tons of fun, too.

He liked to climb back up, too!

The table was fixed up so cute, with treasure chests, buckets of snacks, and rope.

The cake......

Mommy lighting the big "5" candle.

Making a wish and blowing out the candle.....Enjoying a piece of the yummy cake.....

A birthday picture with mommy and daddy.....A brand new bike!.....

Practicing in the garage with his new, cool bike helmet.....

Happy "5th" Birthday, my sweet boy, Grayson!

And, Grayson was too busy to pose in front of his birthday sign, so Morgan willingly took his place!!! What a sweetie.