Yesterday and today, I spent some time in the kitchen cooking and baking some things to put in the freezer for future use. I plan to have my freezer good and stocked before "Baby Sister" arrives. I did not mean for my cooking to coincide with Crystal's Freezer Cooking Day; it just happened that way. But I am glad to add my link to her list. There is no way I could spend as much time in the kitchen as she does. It would wear me out, and I just don't want to.
Yesterday, I cooked some chicken to use in a casserole. When I was done, I realized that I had enough for two casseroles. Thankfully, I had the necessary ingredients for the second casserole. (When I make one casserole, I am able to divide it into two parts because my family is still small enough to need only half a standard casserole.) Last night, the urge hit me to do some baking, so I made that my goal for this morning. What did I accomplish?
- Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole (If you don't know what this is, you are missing out!)
- Wild Rice and Turkey Casserole (I used chicken instead of turkey.)
- Chocolate Nut Bread (I leave out the nuts.)
- Chocolate Chip Muffins (which I adapted from this recipe.)
Yesterday, I cooked the chicken for both casseroles, and I put together the Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole. Today, I baked the muffins and the bread, and I put together the Wild Rice and Chicken Casserole. In the picture above, the Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole is missing; I just forgot it. But doesn't the bread look delicious? I hope it tastes as good as it looks. (It should, since it has chocolate chunks in it!)
In my defense about all of the chocolate, I am pregnant! And I healthified both recipes by using half whole wheat flour and adding some flax seed. It makes me feel better anyway.
Oh, and I learned something important: don't bake four dozen muffins at the same time. The ones on the top shelf didn't cook quite right, and some of the ones on the bottom shelf burned. Oh, well. I still have a bunch in the freezer!
I bet the casseroles are frozen enough now to take out of the 8x8 pans, stick in a plastic bag, and label. I'll have to check. I always write directions on the casserole so I don't have to look it up later.
10 comments:
That's great, Nikki! I honestly don't know how you can eat chocolate chip muffins and chocolate bread and that sort of thing without gaining a ton of weight. I'm afraid I would be like a whale if I made those things! So I only let myself make them very occasionally. You must have higher metabolism than I do!
I'm going to try the Wild Rice and Turkey casserole this month with the leftover Thanksgiving turkey that I froze. Thanks for the recipe!
Laura, it does take some willpower. But I figure that I'm supposed to be gaining weight right now anyway, and at least, it's not cookies, cake, and ice cream.
That is really cool! Poppy seed chicken casserole sounds really good!
Yum! We love casseroles around here! I also make a chocolate nut bread without the nuts and no chunks either......just baking cocoa. Hope all is going well and youa re awesome to be able to get all of that done!
Blessings!!!
Nikki, I really hope that I can be a mom/wife like you some day. I am not even kidding -- you are amazing. Also, I love poppy-seed chicken casserole!
Thanks, Angela! I have to say that it did not happen overnight; it has taken years of little, teeny baby steps to get where I am. And I have lots and lots more work to do to get where I want to be. My only advice is to pick one little thing (like wiping the counter), do it until it becomes a habit, and then pick another one.
It ALL looks and sounds delicious to me! Isn't it a nice feeling to know you can just pull something out in a pinch, and have a wonderful homemade meal ready to go?
You got the urge to bake? I thought that was a PERMANENT urge with you muffin lady, lol. Seriously though, your family is lucky to have such nurturing, and I bet one day Sarah Beth will be making home baked goods for her own little family:)
I did recently buy the little chore calendar thing that you told me about a while back. I think I got like the last 4 months of the year for like $2, and I'm definitely going to buy it again in 2010. I really like using that! It helps me to feel more organized with my cleaning.
It helped me out so much when I started using it. I really like how it breaks chores down into small sections. Cleaning the whole refrigerator seems like a daunting task, but I can do one shelf a day.
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