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Greetings!

Deborah Wuehler and family

Here in sunny California, we are finally saying goodbye to the sun. Just today we had overcast weather with rain on and off, and we were able to stay warm and snug in our house. These are great days to start cooking up some freezer meals for those super busy homeschooling days. 

It's not really that hard! The easiest way for me to do this has been to just double or triple one of the meals I make each week. Then I put one in the freezer for another time. Some ladies get together with a friend and have a fun cooking day where they make enough for both families.

Being prepared with at least a few meals in the freezer is very helpful for many reasons. You may need to pull one out if you are sick, or if a neighbor is sick and you want to bless them. You might have one on hand for a mom with a new baby in your homeschool group or that friend who is having a difficult time.

Whatever the reason, it's always nice to be prepared. In our September issue, Malia Russell of Homemaking 9-1-1, offers a look at freezer cooking here:

http://www.thehomeschoolmagazine-digital.com/thehomeschoolmagazine/201209/#pg139

Malia Russell spoke recently at our monthly Schoolhouse Expo on the benefits and how-to's of freezer cooking. If you missed it, and you are an ST.com member, you will be able to log in and listen again to that particular Expo. Whether you are a member or not, you may log in freely to the live Expo's we hold nearly every month--FREE! More info here:

http://schoolhouseexpo.com/

As you cozy in together this fall, pull out all those read-alouds you've been waiting to read, and spend some time enjoying each other's company while today's dinner (and maybe tomorrow's) is cooking.

It's a blessing to be able to teach our children these important life skills like cooking, and it's an incredible blessing to have our children Home Where They Belong.

~Deborah

TOS Senior Editor

SeniorEditor@TheHomeschoolMagazine.com  

Diana Waring

Dear Friends,

You know, it's just possible that I've been cooking longer than some of you have been alive! And, it's probable that I have more cookbooks than the average American--a friend counted recently and told me that I have over 150. But all of that experience and all of those cookbooks do me absolutely no good when I'm exhausted, hungry, and it's dinner time.

Sound familiar? With all that you do, all your various responsibilities, and all the people you serve, it's more than likely that you often find yourself exhausted, hungry, and overwhelmed. So, rather than list all of the ways energetic people make mega-dinners and freeze them (there are plenty of cookbooks to tell you how to do that if you are interested), I'd like to share a couple of tricks that have made my life a lot easier when it comes to dinner.

First, if I'm going to cook a main dish, I usually plan to make twice as much as we need. After it cools, I freeze it.  Voila!  Instant homemade dinner whenever the chef is out of time or energy. (Thawing will be recommended.) 

Something I've discovered recently is that pumpkins (which take nearly an hour to bake) are actually quite easy to deal with. Once you've baked them until they are soft, you can puree that pumpkin and then freeze bags of it. Pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pie, pumpkin soup--all easily created from those marvelous squashes. And once you've done the work, that frozen squash is ready for anything.

Obviously, when something takes a bit of time to prepare or bake, if we can make enough to freeze an extra batch (or two), then we have just saved ourselves time and energy.

My second life saver is not a freezer. It's a crockpot. That is one of my absolute favorite appliances. When the afternoon is going to be busy, or if I'm feeling particularly overwhelmed, the trusty crockpot comes into service. Years ago, I heard about throwing frozen chicken breasts into the crockpot with salsa, letting it cook all day on low, and enjoying a savory Mexican-style chicken (rolled up as burritos, used for tacos, etc.). But that's just the start! Chicken and barbecue sauce make for a fantastic meal of Sloppy Joe-Chickens. Chicken and masala sauce from Trader Joe's is my personal favorite, served on a bed of rice--an incredible East Indian dinner. Chicken, canned pineapple, and teriyaki sauce will transport you to Hawaii.  (Not really, but it's awfully good!) Any kind of meat will work with most any kind of sauce. 

Use your freezer and that crockpot--you'll find it's like having a servant in the house!  And with all of that free time you just saved, just imagine what you might do . . . My top suggestions are take a nap, take a walk, or hug your kids!

Remember, stay relational,

Diana

Raising Real Men

www.RaisingRealMen.com  

Hal & Melanie Young

Mmmmmm . . . how nice to think of just waltzing over to the freezer and back to the oven to produce a lovely dinner in the midst of the holiday rush.

We were forced to learn freezer cooking. Melanie has always had train-wreck pregnancies with  lots of bedrest time. We quickly figured out that we'd have to do some heavy duty preparation if we didn't want to live on fish sticks and frozen pizza! Freezer cooking to the rescue!

Cooking in bulk can be intimidating, though. Visions of counters full of freezer-burned mystery meals and pictures of a completely wrecked kitchen give us the collywobbles! Melanie does a workshop session on freezer cooking and it's always packed with families who want the payoff of easy dinners, but it's never worked well for them in the past. We always suggest starting with something easy.

One of the easiest ways to simplify meal times is to get a stock of pre-cooked meats in the freezer. Next time chicken breasts go on sale, buy 20 pounds of them and a big bag of charcoal. Seriously. You can cook about 20 pounds on that bag of charcoal on a good-sized grill--and this is wonderful grilling weather!

Once you get home, Mom should divide the chicken into four or so big bowls or pots and put a different marinade in each one. We usually do Italian, Greek, fajita, and Cajun. Meanwhile, Dad should get the charcoal started. Chicken marinades quickly, so it'll be ready by the time the coals are. Mom should take Dad one bowl at a time as he has room, and he should keep the flavors segregated on the grill. Bring out a fresh platter (or cookie sheet) for each flavor as it comes off the grill.

Once it's cooled a bit, put each breast in its own sandwich size Ziploc bag and all the little bags of each flavor in one gallon size Ziploc bag, labeled. Oh, and choose some to eat hot that night!

What then? Say you're craving chicken fajitas. Pull out the right number of breasts and nuke them in the microwave for about 1-2 minutes each, leaving them in the baggy used for freezing or placing them out of the baggy in a tightly covered bowl. Making sure it's covered tightly lets the steam go through and through it and makes it taste hot off the grill. While it's cooking, saut� some onions and peppers, heat up some tortillas and refried beans, pull out some grated cheese, salsa, and sour cream and you've got a wonderful meal of grilled chicken fajitas in about 15 minutes flat. You can use your chicken to make gyros, Greek salads, fajita salads, chicken tostadas, grilled chicken sandwiches, chicken spaghetti, chicken fettuccine alfredo, and lots more. Imagine how much time that will save you this winter! Just try it!

Enjoy!

Hal & Melanie Young

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