The Sad Truth

I woke up yesterday morning sore.  I mean very sore.  I am talking every muscle and joint in my body hurt.  I felt like I had been punched in the shoulder, my wrists and hands had been run over by a car, and my legs and feet had been hit by bricks. I really want to lie and say that I had gotten back on track with my T25 but that wouldn't be at all believable.  The sad truth is that I spent too many hours the day before freezer cooking... I am pathetic.

Once again I decided to be a follower.  I had several friends post on FB about their adventures in freezer cooking.  One website, The Shabby Creek Cottage, made it sound extra easy, plus it provided a shopping list so I didn't have to think about what I needed.  I woke up Saturday morning, the day before THE BIG SNOW STORM, and decided to head to Walmart to load my cart up with enough groceries to make 28 meals. Plus I also got the prestorm essentials; bread and milk. The shopping trip itself wasn't so bad and A1 went with me for some added entertainment.  We were only at the store for about an hour and a half.  I made it out only spending $200.  Most of it was actually stuff on the list but some wasn't.  After careful examination of my receipt, I actually spent $162 on the food and storage for this adventure.  That wasn't too bad but I know I could have done better if I would have taken the time to price shop, wait for stuff to be on sale, or had any coupons, but since this was one of my spur of the moment adventures I spent more than I had to. 

My loot. Not pictured is all the cold stuff and the storage containers.

 I got home from the store and Mac was little shocked by the amount of groceries I hauled in from the car.  He was very skeptical when I told him my plan for making 28 meals.  He simple said, "That is good." I know he didn't think it would actually happen, I may or may not have a reputation for not finishing what I start.

Well, I did finish and my day was basically successful but I have learned a few things that I will do different next time.

1. Make sure Mac is either home or the girls are no where near me.  I didn't know when I started this adventure Mac would be building a set but that is what happened so I was left alone with all three girls.  A1 and A2 were somewhat helpful.  I created jobs for them to do.  A1 wrote all the labels and directions. A2 added cheese to all the finished dishes.

A3 was... well... no help at all.  She decided she didn't need a nap so she spent most of the afternoon crying and begging to be held.














2. Actually read what the recipes are for before starting.  I made a couple meals of Chili without realizing that was on the menu.  My girls hate chili and will only tolerate my own recipe for chili, there is no way they will eat this...

3. I am not sure what size bowls this lady has but they must be gigantic!  I used the largest bowls I had and they still weren't big enough.  If I use her recipes again I will have to cut them in half and just prepare them twice. This would save me a lot of clean up time.

4. I would double check the grocery list.  I didn't have enough storage containers had to be creative on the fly.

5. Take what ever time they say it will take and multiply it by 2.  I read that it took her 4 hours and it took me 8. Although I am sure my little helpers added a few hours.

6. Study the recipes before starting.  I wasted a lot of time waiting for rice and noodle prep.  If I would have been a better planner those could have been cooking while I was chopping or shredding. 

7. Separate shopping and cooking... DON'T do it on the same day. Ever.  I was already worn out by the time I got home from shopping so I got crabby faster than I would have if I started cooking fresh.

8.  Clean out the refrigerator before starting.  I had enough forethought to clean out the freezers but it didn't occur to me to clean out the refrigerator as well.  Luckily it was rather cool out so I was able to store all the cold foods outside.

9. Plan what I will be having for dinner THAT night ahead of time.  I wasn't hungry at all when it was dinner time but the girls sure were! I got got a little grumpy at the thought of having to come up with dinner.  Luckily Mac came home about that time a took over.

10. Find a friend that I wouldn't mind being with while I am trapped in the kitchen.  It would have been nice to have an extra set of hands for dish duty or just someone to motivate me while washing dishes.  Don't get me started on all the dishes! I washed and rewashed all my bowls, pots, pans, spoons countless times. Thankfully when Mac got home he jumped right in the kitchen and helped out.  He was washing dishes while I was making meals.  It really went faster once he was there.

My raw over washed hands.  Poor, poor me!

 

 

 

Tonight we tried one of the meals, Tex Mex Chicken, and it was GOOD! The girls all loved it and it was nice having a hot meal 40 minutes after I popped it in the oven.  I will definitely do more freezer cooking but I will plan out my adventure a little better next time!