A Simple Start

I was inspired to re-enter the world of blogging after my recent foray into Crockpot freezer meals. At first, I resisted because I know it's been done—over and over and over again. However, I've found that there are a lot of people who are interested in doing it, but they never get around to it. It seems that, sometimes, we just need to hear it from a friend or a friend of a friend, or we just need to stumble on the right collection of recipes. So, here I am. Perhaps my little blog and venture will inspire someone else and allow them to spend more time with their families or just make their lives a little easier.

Getting Started

I've been interested in trying this whole cook-one-day-eat-for-weeks concept for awhile, but the thought of locating recipes, making shopping lists, shopping, chopping, bagging and freezing seemed overwhelming. Not only that, but I am currently lacking in freezer space. So, I wasn't sure if now was the best time to start. However, I decided that I would give it a shot this weekend. I tend to do that. I get what people would refer to as a "wild hair" and decide to go for something. Sometimes, I regret it later. My husband regrets it when it involves him, like the time I brought home new flooring from Costco. . . but that's another story for another day.

A Quest for Recipes

To get started, I combed Pinterest and the Internet at large, looking for recipes. I tried to identify recipes that were simple, used similar ingredients and had little to no broth, cream of something soup or the like. In the end, I found eight recipes that I wanted to try. I'll admit, one contained those ingredients that I avoided. I actually may regret that decision now because the more I think about it, the more unhealthy I realize it is. Oh well. C'est la vie. I just won't use that recipe next time.

These are the recipes I identified:

1. Cilantro-lime chicken
2. Pork and veggies
3. Beef tips and gravy
4. Greek-style roast
5. Orange chicken
6. General Tsao's chicken
7. Mongolian beef
8. Adobo chicken

In retrospect, I should have been better about keeping track of where my recipes came from. I copied and pasted them from webpages into a Word file, not paying much attention to the source. Of course, at that point, I hadn't intended to blog either. So, tracking down the sources will be a trick. I apologize in advance if I don't give credit where credit is due on this first set of recipes, but I will definitely do better in the future!

I've decided to provide recipes when we try them, rather than all at once. I may change my mind later though. Right now, I just want to explain the process.

A Shopping We Will Go

After I had pasted them all, I printed the recipes and then used Excel to make my shopping list. I planned to double all of the recipes, except the roast and the cilantro-lime chicken (it was already doubled). I divided my list into sections: meat, fresh produce, frozen produce, canned goods, spices and other. Then I alphabetized the items under each section (a little OCD, I know) and updated quantities as I went through each recipe. For example, if I entered 'chicken breasts - 3 lbs' for recipe #1, I changed it to 'chicken breasts - 5 lbs' when I got to recipe #6.

After I completed my list, I printed it off and checked my kitchen for the things I had on hand. I had oranges, canned tomatoes and a few basics (olive oil, salt, pepper).

Next, my husband and I went shopping. He, for the record, was all for this Crockpot adventure because he recently restarted school and anything that would save us time on weeknights is a good idea. We did our shopping at Winco. You have to bag your own groceries, but the prices make it worth it.

During our trip, we had a few issues with meat quantities, but adjusted as we went. For example, I needed 2 pounds of pork roast, but could only find 3-pound packages. So, I decided to triple the recipe instead of double it. This also meant I needed another pepper and onion. I also decided to add zucchini to that recipe so that we would get more delicious, oh-so-good-for-you veggies. I also bought what was on sale. Instead of buying boneless, skinless chicken thighs, I bought the bone-in, skin-on thigs because they were only about $1 a pound. How do you beat that? I figured that I would just make it work.

In the end, I had what I thought would make 16 bags, and it cost us just under $100. I thought that was pretty good!

As my 10-month-old daughter is now fussing, I will continue later. Next up: The set up!