Mission: freezer-type meals without a freezer

I have a major problem as summer progresses.  My deep freeze is full of breast milk which is great for baby when I return to work in the fall, but not so good for my sanity.  For the last four years I have done a major cooking spree in the weeks leading up to going back to work, but this year I just plain do not have space.  I don't know that I even have space to freeze the vegetables I normally store for the winter!

This year my plan needs to be different.  I found a bunch of really good pasta dishes on clearance at Target and decided perhaps they would be a good place to start.  We tried a few of these this summer while we camped because you only need to add water.  Plus, they are made with whole wheat pasta so they are high in fiber!

Right now I have four different varieties: red pepper penne, lemon pepper fusilli, garlic herb penne, butternut squash fusilli.  Each of them has meal suggestions on the back of the box so I will need to stock up on a few more pantry staples to jazz them up.

red pepper penne - italian sausage or chicken breasts
lemon pepper fusilli - black olives, shrimp, salmon or chicken breasts
garlic herb penne - cannellini beans, spinach
butternut squash fusilli - chicken breasts, turkey, fresh basil and parsley

Any of these can be served with salad & steamed vegetables.  8 meals, solved.

Other easy meals:
(meal) - (required ingredients to stock in pantry)
*spaghetti with italian sausage and salad - spaghetti pasta, sauce, italian sausage
*tuna casserole - elbow pasta, cream of mushroom soup, tuna, peas
*cranberry chicken over rice - whole cranberries, french dressing, onion soup mix, ketchup
*hamburgers or hot dogs - buns and meat
*chicken or tuna salad - fusilli or elbow noodles, mayo, various veggies which I always have
*pork roast (tacos, pulled pork, slices with a side) - broth, various spices depending on my goal, but I usually cook it with onions and garlic and add bbq sauce, cumin or peppers later depending on what I am making so we don't have the same thing for a week!
*beef roast - onion soup mix, cream of mushroom soup (skip this if I want shredded beef sandwiches)
*pork chops - cream of mushroom soup

Easy sides:
*stuffing
*brown rice - freeze in 2 cup measures
*black beans - freeze in 2 cup measures
*corn cake - need cans of cream corn to go with this one if we are going to do this, but it's a favorite with tacos or enchiladas!

Well this sure got complicated quickly!  Now that my brain is buzzing with ideas, perhaps I will sort them out into some sort of meal plan and then share that next.  Now it's time to make a grocery list of staple foods I am currently missing.

Excuses and Direction

I took a long break from my blog during the school year, but I am back!  Hopefully I can find a way to manage working, mothering and blogging all at the same time.  I enjoy writing and this is a great outlet.  My lack of posts, is not for lack of ideas.  Rather my ideas are all swimming around in my head with such vigor that I can't select just one to write about and so I end up not writing at all. 

Bad. 
I know.

Quick recap on the last 11 months...
  *finished my last Master's class
  *wrote and submitted my capstone for my Master's
  *graduated
  *gave birth to a BEAUTIFUL baby girl
  *found out I have yet another new position in the fall, so much for trying to keep the same job two years in a row...
  *moved into a terrific house, with an amazing yard
  *became a landlord, blah!

So, it's been busy.  Excuses done. 

When I think about the various directions I could take this blog I have moments when I find it very overwhelming.  I mean really, who decided to give me an open forum to discuss whatever I want at a given moment? 

Anyone who really knows me, knows this is a bad idea.
I can talk for hours.                     Seriously. 

Except, I am the one who thought it would be a great idea.  I even started with a focus.  I was going to write about food.  About my CSA specifically. 

I have been mystified about how so many people can't seem to get a healthy, quick meal on the table without the assistance of a box or takeout.  I still am actually, but at the same time, I am increasingly interested in writing about daily life, the silly things my daughter does, and pondering how to better manage my own time.  Improving as a wife, mother and child of God have also been on my mind.  I want to see growth and not just from vegetables!

As you can see, I do not have a shortage of ideas and so I am warning you that in the future "My Kitchen Cooks?!" may not have only to do with cooking food, but perhaps a more figurative pot of ideas on life.  Perhaps this is a new period of reflection for me as I consider what I want for my daughter.  Maybe it's a refocusing point for me. 
Maybe it's just growing up a little more. 

Either way, I hope to continue writing and sharing my thoughts, but I am releasing myself of the expectations to keep this blog exclusively about food.

In the future I envision writing about many things here and look forward to the evolution of this blog and myself as a writer.