Before I started my Freezer Cooking in an Hour session last week, I spent some time working on the stubborn grease stains in my dress (read about the crazy escalator incident here, if you missed it!)
By the way, after Shout, Dawn, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, more Shout, more Dawn, and Norwex detergent, the dress is saved, the stain is almost invisible, and I wore it to the Florida Homeschool Convention this weekend. Thanks for ALL your help with grease-removal ideas!
And then I had to have a little sustenance for the freezer cooking… of course! 😉 So I ate one of these ultra delicious cookies from my neighbor and fast-becoming-my-dear-friend, Tammy. I’m going to have to bribe her for this amazing recipe!
I threw all the ingredients in the bread machine for some Cinnamon Swirl Bread.
And I ended up getting a little messy and spilling all this yeast! 🙁
Next, I mixed up some Homemade Pizza Dough for the Twisted Pizza Breadsticks.
I don’t know about you, but a lump of kneaded dough just makes me happy. There’s something so cathartic about kneading dough and turning it into something yummy to bake in the oven.
After making the Twisted Pizza Breadsticks, I decided it would have been a lot more efficient to just make Pepperoni Pizza.
However, if you’re going to try making these, I’d recommend using mini pepperoni like the recipe calls for. I only had regular pepperoni on hand and it had trouble staying in the twists when I went to twist them.
Once the twists were finished, I put together the ingredients for the Brown Sugar Meatloaf.
And then the bread dough was finished, so I rolled it out, put the honey and cinnamon on it, rolled it up, and baked it.
This Cinnamon Swirl Bread is just SO good. My favorite part about it is that it’s incredibly easy to make and yet it turns out tasting and looking like you slaved in the kitchen over it!
I sliced it up, froze it, and then we just pull out as many slices as we need at a time!
The verdict on the Brown Sugar Meatloaf is that it is really delicious and easy to make. I used half ground turkey and half ground beef to save money and my family still raved about it.
Links to Recipes I Made:
Brown Sugar Meatloaf
Twisted Pizza Breadsticks
Cinnamon Swirl Bread
For the meat loaf, I may have missed it, do you cook first then freeze?
I cooked first and then froze it. But you can do it either way.
Thank you! : )
I’m going to have to try these!! All three look so yummy!! I noticed your glass canisters, do they stay airtight? If so where did you find them? I’m trying to save space and thinking going square vs round might be the way but finding the right square storage is not as easy as I thought it would be!
Yes! They definitely are airtight. I think you should be able to find them at Walmart or Target.
Thank You!!
My husband says he will start baking bread if we get a bread machine!! What is the bread machine you use? Thank you so much for all you give to everyone.
Here’s a post I did on my bread machine: https://moneysavingmom.com/2014/02/qa-kind-bread-machine.html
Thank you!!
I make my meatloaf in well sprayed muffin tins…they take very little time to cook and it is really easy to serve…we call them Meat Muffins for those that tell me they don’t like meatloaf.
That cinnamon bread looks amazing! Soaking your dress in OxiClean & hot water for 4-6 hours might get the remaining stain out.
I think those cookies are molasses crinkles. They are amazing. Here is a recipe that I use.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/molasses-crinkles/
Yum! Thanks so much for sharing that recipe link!
It’s fun to see someone else making my recipe! You are probably right that just making pizza is easier than the twisted breadsticks, but the pizza stick form factor adds a little fun 😉 I hope you enjoyed the recipe, and thanks so much again for including me in your meal plan!
When I make meatloaf I use half ground turkey and half black beans. It is so much cheaper and healthier and everyone here loves it!
Wow! Thanks so much for sharing that idea!
Ok Crystal…..the post was worth the wait ! I will be making everything from the menu this week (most of it tomorrow if I can fit it in!!) Everything looks sooooo good!!
Yay! And thanks so much for your patience!
Wow, you had a productive hour! I’m going to try the brown sugar meatloaf. Meatloaf is one of my husband’s favorite meals but I’ve never had one turn out well.
The 3/4 cup oatmeal that the recipe link for the Brown Sugar meatloaf requires…did you just use the quick-cooking oats from the canister?
I used oats that I bought in bulk, but quick oats should work, too.
Hello,
You threw me with the word cathartic. Off to the trusty dictionary I went to look up the word. I may be missing something. Does it have more than one definition? 😉
Sincerely,
Mary.
It comes from the word “catharsis” and, in this context, is referring to some form of art that provides emotional release or renewal. It might be a deep word for kneading dough, but it’s true. For me, creative expression, such as creating in the kitchen, handwork, or writing, all provide this same sort of renewed energy.
See more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catharsis
I have been trying to use ground turkey for recipes. It really is sooo much cheaper and supposedly healthier, but I can’t stand the taste! Never thought of trying to use half beef with it though….worth a shot! Thanks for the tip!
Make sure you are getting the leaner ground turkey or even breast. The fattier kinds taste awful 🙁 Yes the lean is more expensive but it’s still cheaper than beef, there are coupons out frequently and I watch for it to be marked down. We always do a mix of either venison (can’t stand the taste plain, but it’s free!) turkey and beef depending on the dish. Last night I made meatloaf with a pound of each, we had dinner guests, and it was fabulous!
Our local grocery store actually sells this combination. I’ve never purchased it though 😉
Store your yeast in plastic container or glass jar after you open it, and it’s much easier to use, and less likely to spill.
Thanks for suggestion!
Thank you so much! These recipes sound delicious and I know my family will enjoy them.
I am working on trying to cook ahead like this. I am in college and have a husband and teenagers, so planning ahead and cooking would be a great deal better than eating out a lot (which I don’t like to do). I was wondering, can the pizza twists be frozen after they have been baked up, or should they be put together and frozen, only to be baked as they’re needed? I’m just learning the ropes on this. I love getting these recipes & look forward to trying this out!
I’d recommend baking them ahead of time and then freezing. That way, you can re-heat only the amount you need and it will make it much quicker.
I love the cinnamon bread and have been making it at least once a week since you first posted it 🙂 My kids thank you!
LOVE it! So glad your family enjoys this recipe, too!
I have a question about the cinnamon swirl bread. I’ve made it several times. It tastes amazing, but for some reason I always have a hollow spot in the middle of each piece. Any thoughts?
Hmm, maybe try rolling it up tighter, putting less honey on it, or letting it rise longer?
Hi! I can’t get the cinnamon swirl bread recipe link to work and I would love to make it this afternoon! Thanks for all your posts.
Try this link and let me know if it doesn’t work: https://moneysavingmom.com/2011/02/cinnamon-swirl-bread-recipe.html
Crystal,
I really like seeing your freezer cooking in an hour posts. How do you have time to do these posts again? Do you have more help in TN?
Truth be told: I have a lot *less* help now that we moved since we lost our wonderful local full-time assistant/babysitter, Erika. However, one of the things we decided to do as part of our move was to streamline my business responsibilities and scale back on my business commitments. This way, I could focus on the blogging that I really wanted to do instead of spending my computer time on a lot of things that weren’t where my heart was (as I wrote about here: https://moneysavingmom.com/2014/04/headed-nashville-changes-coming-blog.html)
I wasn’t sure how it was all going to work out, but so far, we’re really loving the slower pace of life here and I’m loving getting back to my roots when it comes to blogging!
Those pizza sticks look so good!!!
It all looks good!
So, when you’re traveling, does your husband feed the family from the freezer, or cook (or go out!)? I am getting ready for a quick trip, and bought a bunch of frozen food that I know isn’t great for everyone, but it’s quick and easy and will save our budget from four days of take-out! :-p
It’s usually a mix of freezer food, leftovers, him cooking (he’s been having fun experimenting in the kitchen recently!), and them going out to eat.