I just finally sat down to take a blogging break after going strong for 4 hours. So far I have made 2 dozen waffles plus I have 12 meals ready to go in the freezer. Here's a little peek at what I've been up to:
After grinding the flour, I mixed up a batch of Whole Wheat Waffles times five. I used our family's favorite recipe here but this time I used turbinado instead of regular sugar as our family is working on moving away from white refined sugar.
While the waffles were cooking, I boiled the noodles for Chicken Tetrazinni and peeled the potatoes to stick in the crockpot for Freezer Mashed Potatoes (see the recipe here).
By then, I had a nice big stack of waffles finished.
I kept baking more while I mixed up a triple batch of homemade Cream of Chicken Soup (recipe is here) to use in the Chicken Tetrazinni and Chicken Broccoli Rice.
In the timeframe that I put all of that together, my kitchen went from looking like this, to this:
And believe me, it will likely get worse than that before this Freezer Cooking Marathon is over. But if I only have to do one huge pile of dishes once a month, it's every bit worth it to me. Just remind me of that when I tackling them in a few hours, okay? 🙂
Up next: Chicken Tetrazinni, Chicken Broccoli Rice
I don’t know where you get your wheat kernels from, but I remember reading a post on this site that said you were having a hard time finding cheap wheat. Please check out LDS canneries, if you haven’t already. The LDS church promotes home food storage, and if there’s a cannery close to you, you can buy wheat kernels pretty cheap; I just got 25# for $5.90 (the bulk price). You do not need to be a member of the church to buy wheat from the canneries; contact info. and locations can be found here:
http://www.providentliving.org/location/display/1,12568,2026-1-4-39315,00.html
and prices for various products (including wheat) are here:
http://www.providentliving.org/pfw/multimedia/files/pfw/pdf/121874_Fall2009WE_HomeStoragePriceSheet_pdf.pdf
Does the cream of chicken freeze ok? Just wondering about making a big batch and splitting out into can-sized bags to freeze
The waffle recipe I received from my folks and use doesn’t include sugar:
2c flour
2t baking powder
1t baking soda
1/2 t salt
2 c buttermilk (I usually use milk+vinegar)
2 eggs
6 T oil
i see in the condensed chicken soup recipe, it calls form 1-1/2 cups chicken broth. but when i read the comments below it sounds like she uses the drippings from a baked chicken.
which do you use?
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Money Saving Mom here: I just used chicken broth from the chicken I cooked.
That after kitchen picture looks like our ‘normal’ kitchen…sort of kidding 🙂 You accomplished much. I think I might look for a waffle maker & start freezing waffles. My children readily fix their own breakfasts in the morning so this would give them something different to eat rather than toast or cereal. You obviously use yours quite often (I’ve seen it on other posts too)…would you recommend your brand?
We do this with a group of us and each of us making a recipe times the number of individuals participating. I love having meals in the freezer! It has so saved us on costs of food. Do you have a recipe for cream of mushroom soup? I would love to not have to buy that!
I love following your blog! Thanks for all the tips! One question – do you ever experiment with gluten-free flour? I would love to make that homemade cream of chicken soup, but it calls for flour, and I was wondering about the results if substituted all-purpose gluten-free flour.
For those of you who want to try this but can’t fathom so many hours in the kitchen (comments on the OAMC post yesterday), this is what I have started doing somewhat but need to get better at. I work full-time (teacher) and have a 2 1/2 year old. On Saturdays and at least two weeknights per week, I try to make a one pot crock-pot meal or a casserole that I can throw together the night before (or during nap Saturday). That way when we walk in from Sat. night church service, dinner is ready and when I walk in after my 2 gym afternoons, dinner is ready.
Here is what I started doing sometimes that I need to do more of – doubling the recipe and freezing one portion! It may not be as efficient as OAMC, but it works with my current schedule and still gives me some freezer-ready meals to pull from! What MSM is inspiring me to do is to try to cook and freeze 3 or 4 meals (maybe in double portions) over each school break!
I have also started freezing some of my meat with marinades and then throwing it completely frozen into the crock-pot in the AM when I leave for work with some potatoes–all that is left in the PM is to make a salad or quickly prepare green beans or broccoli to go with it! (got that idea on a guest post here too–it works great!)–And Lawry’s Marinades are often free or almost free at Publix as are salad dressings (can be great marinades, too)!
I am definetly inspired! I would like to cook 1 day a month & have more time 2 spend with my kids. I will check out your recipes & try to get motivated!!!
We heat our frozen waffles in the toaster – quick and easy. No need to heat the oven up.
I put vanilla extract in my pancakes and we can tell a difference. Never tried it in the waffles! Good job, keep up the good work!
I just checked out the recipe for cream of chicken soup. It seems surprisingly simple. I don’t have any poultry seasoning and I’m not familiar with it, is there a substitute for it?
you’re amazing! Can’t say I have that in me….
I saw a comment about vanilla in the waffles. We like to put a little lemon or almond extract in ours…smells and tastes great!
-Heather N.
when the waffles are microwaved later, do they get squishy and not crispie anymore from when you originally cooked them?
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Money Saving Mom here: If you stick them on a cookie sheet and heat them in the oven, they crisp right back up!
this is fun. YUM
Do you have a Vita-Mix? I’m just wondering what you use to grind your flour.
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Money Saving Mom here: I use a grain mill that my dad bought me for Christmas last year. Love it!
What is turbinado? I’m all for getting away from white refined sugar.
wow! this is soooo exciting..:)
Those waffles look like the kind you get in Belgium! Delicious!
Did you use vanilla this time in the waffles? 🙂
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Money Saving Mom here: Yes, I did, but I didn’t notice a whiff of difference!
So far looks WONDERFUL! These Post are sooo EXCITING! I LOVE THEM!!! Can’t wait to see more! 😉
Awesome job 🙂