Freezer Meals: Take 1 {reviewed}

I'm here to report on my freezer meal experience.  You can read back HERE where I detailed the process.  All of the recipes I used during Take 1 were recipes we had never made before, so I wanted to make notes, etc for when I try Take 2.  I'm going to grade each recipe on a scale of 1-5 (5 being the best) on taste, give my general impressions, note any changes I'd make, and also report how many meals it lasted.  (Unless otherwise noted, each discussion is for one bag of the recipe, as several of the recipes made two bags)

Cilantro Lime Chicken: 
Grade: 5
Will I make it again: Yes 
Serving Count: 3 adult, 2 kid

This was very yummy.  During the prep portion I cut the chicken into smaller pieces so once it cooked it was more like a filling than a stand alone meal.  You would either have to put it in some tortillas, over rice, or in a bowl.  If you left the chicken breasts intact it would still work, with the corn, beans, etc making a sauce of sorts for the chicken.  I heated corn tortillas and we made tacos.  For toppings we only used shredded cheese and sour cream.  The chicken wasn't overly lime-y or cilantro-y...they were more or less just taste after thoughts.    The only thing I would change with this recipe is to add a few more veggies...like some peppers and maybe an onion.  

It was enough for Nathan, Miles & I for dinner and then Miles and I for lunch the following day. 

Cumin/Cinnamon Beef Stew: 
Grade: 1.5
Will I make it again: This recipe? No.  Beef Stew? Yes
Serving Count: 6 adult, 4 kid 

This was a major disappointment.  It smelled AMAZING while it cooked, but the taste was just....eh.  It was bland and the cinnamon and cumin almost seemed to just be left over spices that happened to be in the crock pot when I cooked the stew.  After we ate it the first night I added an onion soup mix packet, some dehydrated onions, salt & pepper, Old Bay Seasoning, more garlic...and the reheat the following day wasn't as bad.  But it was still not good.  I am not a fan of the cumin/cinnamon duel going on in the background of my stew.  Next time I'll add more carrots, sliced onions, an onion soup mix packet, salt & pepper, and add a can of beef broth when I cook it. 

The stew fed Nathan, Miles and I for two dinners plus Miles & I for two lunches.  


Teriyaki Chicken
Grade: 3.5
Will I make it again:  Yes...but leave the pineapple out (see edit below)
Serving Count: 4 adult, 2 kid 

The night I made this I hadn't planned well enough in advance to use the slow cooker so I ended up cooking it in a large pot for 15-20 mins.  I steamed some rice to go with it.  It was good...simple, but good.  We'll definitely do it again mostly because it was so easy!  
**EDIT** Ok - we made the second bag a different way.  I thawed it and cooked it in the crock pot and it cooked great EXCEPT the pineapple.  By the time the meat was cooked the pineapple had turned VERY bitter.  So if I do this again I'd leave the pineapple out until the last 20 mins, add it and then serve.  


Chicken Curry
Grade: 2
Will I make it again:   Yes, but not without modifications
Serving Count: 3 adult, 2 kid 

We love curry at our house so I had high expectations...that may be why this recipe gets only a 2.  It was just ok.  But not curry-enough and not spicy enough...and definitely not enough veggies.  I added another Tbs of curry powder, some minced dried red peppers, a good squirt of rooster sauce, and 1/2C peanut butter...and that made it a little better, but not good enough.  When I make it again I'll add snow peas, bean sprouts, I'll julienne my carrots instead of slice them, and add more veggies in general.  I'll also use a curry paste instead of curry powder.  

Chicken Chili
Grade: 4
Will I make it again:  Yes
Serving Count: 3 adult (6 adult when using both bags)

I made this one night when we had friends over.  I cooked up BOTH of my bags of this chili.  It served four adults dinner and then 2 adults lunch the following day.  And we had heaping bowlfuls.  The chili was VERY yummy...BUT I did add in another tsp of cumin, 1/2 tsp of chipotle, 1 tsp of chili powder, and a Tbs of dried onion.  It had been cooking in the crock pot for a couple hours and I decided to try it and check the flavor...it was mild.  (I'm sensing this to be a theme for these recipes)  We like full, bold, flavorful meals at our house...hence the additional seasonings.  But it was delicious.  I served it with fresh bread and topped it with shredded cheese and a dollup of sour cream.   The only thing I'd change for next time is adding in the spices at first instead of after.  

Veggie Soup
Grade: 5
Will I make it again:  Yes!!
Serving Count: 5 adult, 2 child

When I made this soup, I didn't use the crock pot.  I didn't want the veggies to get all soggy.  I just pulled it out of the freezer, put it in a large stock pot and added a carton of beef stock, one of these Knorr Beef Stock Pots, some salt & pepper and another 1/2C quinoa.  I let it cook until the veggies were done (about 20 minutes) and paired it with fresh baked bread.  Oh my...this soup is simple but OH. SO. GOOD.  Mmmmmm.  The quinoa gave it some protein, stay-full power and the little bit of beef flavor kept it from being bland.  It was delicious and will definitely be on the freezer meal list EVERY time!
**EDIT**  I made the second bag of this almost exactly the same, but I added one pound of browned ground turkey...and it was delicious.  This recipe is great!! 

Ginger Cranberry Pork Roast
Grade: 4
Will I make it again:  Yes
Serving Count: 4 adult, 2 child

I cooked this pork roast just as the directions said, paired it with some steamed broccoli and it was quite delicious.  The cranberry and ginger were a very nice compliment to the pork. 
 

Perspective

Yesterday was our anniversary...in case you didn't already guess that by reading THIS post.  We had originally planned to make this year wicked awesome.  Our tenth anniversary was spent in simple fashion - going out to dinner somewhere local.  It had to be simple - we had just moved 4800 miles to another country and were living out of suitcases in our friends' spare room...plus we had a eight month old.  So we vowed to make our 11th amazing - we figured we never do anything according to tradition anyway.  Case in point?  I had my wedding dress purchased before Nathan even proposed.  And we had our full nursery bought and paid for (crib, dresser, coordinating bedding, rugs, lamps, etc) YEARS before we got Miles.  Ya, we are just weird that way I guess.  So last October when we were in Paris to take Miles to Disney Paris we decided we would celebrate our eleventh anniversary in Paris, sans Miles.  But as it got closer we realized we wouldn't have the money to do that (with Christmas, and my parents' two week visit) so we relegated ourselves to somewhere local...like Rome, Florence or the Amalfi Coast.  (do you hate me yet?!)  I searched and found a great hotel for a pretty good price and waited to hear back on Nathan's request to take a day off work.  But in that time Miles decided to catch the snot machine, congested lungs and head, horrible diarrhea bug.  Nice.  I didn't want to leave him with anyone in that condition so plans were scrapped.  

Yesterday as I sat on the floor playing trucks with our feverish, snot machine who would ONLY allow me to touch cars he WASN'T playing with while my husband was at work...I had a momentary pang of sadness and guilt.  This was our eleventh anniversary afterall!  But then I thought about how great my life is.  In the last year I have stood atop the Eiffel Tower, swam in the Mediterranean, sunbathed on beautiful beaches in southern Italy, eaten wiener schnitzel IN Germany, walked the streets of Innsbruck, Austria, driven the windy panoramic Amalfi Coast...that's pretty awesome.  So in reality I've had the most epic tenth anniversary celebration ever.  I guess I just needed to change my perspective.  

So yesterday as we ended our hugely unromantic day sitting on the couch in our freezing cold house, wearing matching sweatpants, watching Netflix, eating pizza straight out of the box...I couldn't help but feel just how lucky I really am to be attached to this guy for the rest of forever.     

Love you sweetie - and let the most epic tenth (and eleventh, and twelfth) anniversary celebration continue!

:eleven:

Eleven years ago at noon on a Friday we were wed in Logan, Utah.

The week prior saw freezing temps and lots of snow. 

This year our anniversary falls on a Friday,

and Logan, Utah has been cold and getting buried in snow. 

Glad we're in Italy!

Happy Anniversary sweetie -

here's to many more!

Found

I have caught something.

It's all consuming and makes my heart race.

I find myself nervously bouncing my knees even as I write,

thinking of this thing that has captured me.

It feels like I have {finally} found myself amidst this fever.

Found the self that was hidden for so many years under painful scabs

of infertility and childlessness; under grief and pain.

That self who has finally broken free from the shadows

and let me know of her existence.

This fever that has now encapsulated me was brought by this new self.

This new self that I love;

for she found me.

Roots or Wings

It doesn't happen much.  In fact, the opposite happens more frequently...but every once in a while I itch for stability.  It is usually triggered by a friend's post about a new house or a photo of a group of friends who have been friends and lived near each other for more years than you can count on both hands.  I can't tell you what sparked this most current longing, but it is sparked none the less.  I find myself longing for a house with a leaky faucet that needs fixing and a basement to fill with holiday decorations.  A lawn that needs mowed and a tub that needs caulked.  A yard with a large oak tree perfect for building a tree house.  I find myself wanting that secure feeling of roots.  Knowing that you can buy that table or couch or whatever and not have to figure out what piece of furniture you'll throw out to compensate for the increase in the weight of your household goods. (we are given a limit and have to stay under it for our moves or we pay the extra out of pocket)  Knowing that we could buy that expensive rug or piece of furniture and not have to worry if it would fit in our next house.  Knowing that the fine china I want to collect won't be broken in our next move.  Hoping to be able to do all those cute little home improvement projects I see on Pinterest.  I wish we had a neighbor who had a son also Miles' ago who he could be friends with from now until high school graduation.  I wish we had a neighborhood that held a traditional 4th of July block party, and had trick-or-treaters for Halloween, and streets lined with houses covered with Christmas lights. 

Nathan echoed some of these same sentiments today while we were cleaning up dinner.  We know that we are blessed beyond measure to live this Navy lifestyle.  It affords us the great opportunity to see many things we never dreamed of seeing, and the chance to live where others go on vacation.  BUT, you can't have both roots and wings (name that movie).  Ours is a winged lifestyle, it always has been and always will be (at least until retirement in 12 years) and I wouldn't change it for the world. But still I find myself longing for a porch swing where I can sit and watch Miles play in the yard with his best friend and an attic in which to store the memories. 

Resolutions: edited

So I've had a bit more time to ponder my resolutions and I want to (in typical Holly fashion) add some.  Hopefully I'm not biting off more than I can chew.  I am also editing a couple.  

Here is what I resolved:

- Be able to sing Oh Holy Night in church for Christmas...in Italian
- Have my photography studio up and running
- Keep going with Isagenix and get to my goal weight
- Be able to carry on a conversation with someone in Italian - without Google Translate
- Mail my Christmas cards by December 1st
- De-clutter every room in our house
- Catch up Nathan's Navy scrapbook

Here's what I'd like to add/edit:

- 20 pages in Nathan's Navy scrapbook (edit)
I realized that completely catching up his book may not happen...so I'd at least like to get a big chunk done.
-  20 pages in Miles' scrapbook (new)
I want to try and catch up how far behind I am...before he leaves on his mission or goes to college.
- Read the entire Book of Mormon  (new)
Shouldn't be too hard. :)
- Read one book a month - of my choice. (new)
I want to keep my brain lucid...and lately all I do is read kids books to Miles and recite nursery rhymes.  All of which are AWESOME...but I just want to make sure I have words other than "Old MacDonald had a farm" in my brain. 
- Keep up with the Sunday School lessons (new)
Working in the Primary keeps me pretty out of the loop as far as Sunday School goes.  Well let's be honest...that and the fact that Gospel Doctrine class is taught in another language.  I want to keep up so I'm going to study on my own. 

Here goes nothing!

Buon anniversario Italia!!

A year ago today our little family of three plus one cat and a whole lot of luggage stepped off a plane to begin the next chapter of our lives...in Italy.  A lot has happened in that year: we've added another kitty to the family, traveled a lot, had many adventures, made new friends, and grown to love Italy. 

The night we landed in Italy

I can't believe one year is already gone and we only have two left.  Here's hoping the next two go as great as the first one.

Buon anniversario Italia!!

Resolved: 2013

**EDIT** I have updated my resolutions...you can find that post HERE.

I feel great with how much I did with my 2012 resolutions.  I hope 2013 is also a great year...with that in mind, here it goes:

- Be able to sing Oh Holy Night in church for Christmas...in Italian
This one will take some work.  Oh Holy Night is a tough song to begin with, and doing it in another language will make it that much more difficult...but it is something I want to do.  I want to sound good, and also not butcher the pronunciations...so practice, practice, practice is what I'll have to do. 

- Have my photography studio up and running
It is well on its way...just need to give it a little push and keep it going. 

- Keep going with Isagenix and get to my goal weight
Once my parents head back home Nathan and I are hitting it hard again.  I want to be able to pick out a cute swimsuit for summer and not worry that it needs to tuck my tummy and cover my thighs.

- Be able to carry on a conversation with someone in Italian - without Google Translate
I can communicate just fine now...between my language skills, hand gestures, and Google Translate.  But I want to be able to sit and chat with some of the women at church, and my landlord's family...without having to use a translator and excessive amounts of pantomiming.  

- Mail my Christmas cards by December 1st
This is kind of a nerdy New Year's Resolution...but I had all the best intentions this year and our Christmas cards are going in the mail tomorrow.  Next year I'd rather people get them before Christmas than after.  

- De-clutter every room in our house
I would ideally like to do this in January and then KEEP it de-cluttered.  We shall see...I have intense hoarding genes on both sides of my family.  Poor Nathan is the opposite...and I think sometimes he wants to wack me over the head with bags of the stuff that I hoard. 

- Catch up Nathan's Navy scrapbook
I know I will never be 100% caught up with scrapbooking...especially at the rate that I take pictures.  BUT I would really like to have Nathan's Navy stuff all caught up so I have less of a mountain to scrapbook when he retires (which isn't for another 12 years but I'd hate to have 12 years of pictures to scrapbook at the last minute)

What about you...any resolutions?