Crockpot Freezer Meals: More details

Yesterday, I gave my best friend, Kim, a tutorial on freezer cooking.  I had spent so much time thinking about freezer cooking before I ever attempted it that there were a few things that I knew in my mind and were automatic to me that I had to explain to her.  It made me think that maybe I did not do a thorough enough job explaining my process in writing my “I Can’t Cook” post.

When we did our process yesterday, we started at 10 am and worked until 5:30pm.  Yes, we had a couple of detours with lunch and trying to find a printer, but basically, we worked for at least five and half hours (including a shopping trip).  Plus, typing into the spreadsheet and chopping and sorting veggies was done by both of us at the same time, so things went faster as a result.

I probably do my freezer cooking prep once every two or three months.  Each time I make 18-22 meals at a time.  I cook two to three freezer meals per week (on the other days we eat leftovers, make quesadillas or have dinner with other people).  So, when I see that the freezer stash is getting low, I start planning and researching.

What You Need to Start

If you are just starting this process, there are some basics you need.  First, you need freezer or fridge space.  If you are doing many meals at at a time, you need freezer space to store the meals.  You may choose to just do a couple at a time - like prepping for the week ahead - and that’s really helpful if you don’t have freezer space, in that case, just make sure you have room in your fridge for a few gallon sized freezer bags. (If I didn’t have freezer space, I would at least prep a couple of meals in containers or gallon bags so that I could either cook them in the crock pot or on the stovetop by just putting it together.  I have WAY more time on weekends to do prep than I do on weekdays, so even if I did this on a small scale, I would do it.  Planning ahead makes the week go so much more smoothly!)  Second, you need gallon and quart sized freezer bags.  I use gallon bags for full meals and quart sized bags for excess veggies or portions of meals (like if I am putting in the meat later, but I want to assemble the other parts of the meal, like veggies, sauces, seasonings, etc.).  

I would strongly recommend using a big food processor for prepping your veggies.  First, I hate chopping onions, so I will buy a bunch of onions and process them all at once.  Some I slice and put directly into a quart-sized freezer bag (these are perfect for dropping into the crock along with sausages and bell peppers or with chicken breast topped with fajita seasoning).  Most of the onions will get roughly chopped and put into the food processor so that they end up diced.  I usually only do two onions at a time in the food processor.  Otherwise, you end up with onion slush.  Of these onions, I will drop some into freezer bags designated for recipes and whatever diced onions are left get put into a gallon freezer bag labeled “diced onions” and laid flat in the freezer.*  When I need to use onions for non-freezer meals (like quick soups, fried rice or stir fries), I break off whatever amount I think I need and put the rest back in the freezer.  (I learned this method from Jenni.  Thanks, Jenni!) This way, I always have diced onions on hand without having to do the work (and shed the tears) of chopping onions each time.

I also love to use the food processor for carrots.  Chopping carrots really hurts my wrist (and I am just weak), so I’ll throw the slicing disc into the processor and get a bunch of carrots sliced at the same time.  Like onions, I’ll process a bunch at the same time and freeze whatever I don’t need for a future meal (like a stew, soup, fried rice or stir fry).  You can also finely dice garlic using the processor.  However, for onions alone, I feel that I NEED a food processor.  With this kind of cooking, if you are prepping 10 or more meals,  you could be chopping twenty onions plus twenty carrots.  That is a lot of chopping.  Just thinking about it makes my arm ache!

Research and Organization

Yesterday, we did the whole shebang in one day.  Kim picked out her recipes ahead of time and together we made the spreadsheet, did the shopping and did the prepping and sorting.  This makes for a very busy day.  I generally do not have the luxury of devoting an entire day to doing this meal prep and I refuse to use a babysitter to get it done.  Instead, I spend several days getting this done.  I spend a few days of idle time (like after dinner or while kids are napping) flipping through the cookbook (this is the one I use and love,  but you can also find recipes on Pinterest by searching “crockpot freezer meals” or free recipes at Stephanie O’Dea’s website) and I figure out which recipes are easiest and most appealing.  If it requires pre-cooking something or adding dairy at the end of cooking, it’s too high maintenance for me and I will likely not use it.  In our current state, the most I can do is drop the meal into the crockpot in the morning and get home and make rice to go along with it.  The mental work of remembering to add something at the end of cooking and the extra time needed to cook something before adding it to the crockpot is just too much for me.  Maybe later in life.

So, after I have done the research and tabbed my recipes, I start a document or spreadsheet that lists each recipe and the ingredients that go with that recipe.  Here’s the spreadsheet I made with Kim.  When we printed it for shopping, I realized that I could have better organized the shopping list by listing each item by its name then quantity like this: “red bell pepper (2)” rather than “2 red bell peppers.”  That way, I could have sorted the spreadsheet by alphabetizing the column with the items needed rather than the area of the store.  I would have had to do less scanning of the list to make sure that we had the right number of items we were looking for.  

Once I have this master list, I modify it.  If I disliked a recipe, I remove it from the list.  If I want to try something new, I add it to the list.  I make the list so that the quantity reflects one meal’s worth of ingredients and when I actually go shopping, I decide if I’m going to double or triple my recipes and I change my quantities on that day.  (I hardly ever make just one meal of something.  I almost always double it and if we really like it, I triple it.)

Prepping Meals

Once you get all the groceries home, figure out what you need to do to your items.  For example, figure out how many onions need to be diced and how many need to be sliced.  Then start slicing and dicing!  

Yesterday, we used big bowls to sort ingredients. We sliced and chopped and when we were done slicing and chopping, we started sorting ingredients into bags.

On each bag, I write the name of the recipe, the date, the cooking time (usually low for 6 hrs).  If you need to add anything to the bag that you didn’t have at the time of prep (or if it requires adding dairy at the end) also note that on the bag.  For example, if I needed soy sauce but didn’t have any at prep time, I would make a note “add 2 T soy sauce” or if it needs heavy whipping cream at the end, I would write “add 1 c. heavy whipping cream in last 20 mins.”

Then we went to each recipe, set up a gallon freezer bag (or two if you’re doubling) for that recipe and started sorting ingredients based on the recipe.  If a recipe called for four chicken thighs, 1 diced onion, two sliced carrots, 1 tablespoon of cumin, we would grab each listed item and plop it into a gallon freezer bag.  (The only things you would NOT put in the bag are any ingredients that are supposed to be added at the end of cooking.  Sometimes dairy, pasta or fresh herbs are added at the end of cooking.  You just have to look at the recipe to figure that out before you start bagging up your meals.)  Once all of the ingredients are in the bag, seal it up and lay it flat in the freezer.  

Side note: I do not like raw meat.  When I can, I buy frozen meat - like frozen chicken breast or thighs and I put them into bags frozen.  We eat a lot of chicken mostly because it comes frozen in pieces and I prefer handling it like that.

Another side note: If you find that you have leftover chopped veggies, put them into labelled quart or gallon freezer bags and freeze them for use in future freezer meals or for a non-freezer dinner you make.  I often use these frozen veggies for soups.

Using Your Meals

When it’s time to use your meals, you can put them directly into your crockpot frozen and cook it all day.  I have an oddly shaped crockpot (my favorite one is this one because it’s programmable and it doesn’t lose too much moisture during cooking, but I also have traditional type crockpots for times when I cook something big or if I need multiple crockpots going at once - which I sometimes do).  Because of my oddly shaped crockpot, if I have a super full gallon bag meal, I might let it thaw overnight so I can easily break it up to fit into my crockpot.  Most of my meals go directly from freezer to crockpot with no issue.  

When I make a crockpot meal, if it’s a “meaty” meal, I’ll set up my rice cooker right next to it and add my grain (rice, quinoa or couscous) in the morning then when I get home I’ll add the water (or broth) and turn it. If it’s a soup or stew, we don’t prepare anything else to go with it other than breaking tortilla chips into it (if it’s a chili or tortilla soup) or maybe serve bread with it.

Doing This in Reality and Not Fantasy

As I mentioned in the beginning, it’s rare that I would actually spend an entire day devoted to prepping freezer meals.  Usually, what I’ll do is plan and organize one hour at a time - stealing time in the evenings.  Then, when I’m done with that step, I’ll do a big grocery trip.  On the day I do the grocery trip, I usually don’t have time to assemble meals, but I might just chop veggies. Sometimes I don’t have time to chop veggies.  If that’s the case, I prep them during nap time the next day.  Generally, on big shopping days, I leave right at the beginning of the babies’ nap time, I am gone for about an hour, then I immediately come home and chop veggies.  When I’m in this mode, Jeff and I have an agreement that he takes care of the kids so that I can get this part done.

If I have an item that will go bad quickly, like raw stew meat, I’ll try to assemble those meals right away so I don’t have to worry about it spoiling before I use it.  I prioritize my assembly by whatever is likely to spoil first.  So, if it will go bad, I process it and freeze it right away.  Then, I try to make sure that I have a few hours - like two or three - to assemble the rest of the meals.  I usually do this during afternoon nap time.  

So, here’s how it might look:

1. planning and organizing (Monday through Thursday 7-8pm)
2. shopping and chopping (Saturday from 1-3pm)
3. sorting and freezing meals (Sunday from 1-3pm)

So, there it is!  WAY more detail.  Hopefully it’s helpful!  Let me know if you have questions!  Even if the comments part of blogger is not working, you can send me an e-mail at susan.ludlum@gmail.com.  

P.S. These meals are also great to have on hand if you have a friend who is sick, overwhelmed, just had a baby or just lost a loved one.  On more than one occasion, I was able to reach into my stash and drop something off for someone to cook later.  As long as they have a crock pot, these meals work! 

*Freezing things flat is essential for freezing.  It makes it easier to break off portions of whatever it is or if you are thawing it, it makes it thaw faster.

You Are One Brave Mother

We have no women superhero action figures - yet!

Yesterday, I picked up my kids at daycare.  The first thing that Sweet A said once we were on the road was, “I want to be a mom when I grow up.”

    I said, “That’s great!  You would make a great mom.  What makes you think you want to be a mom?”

    She said, “Moms are not scared of anything.  I just don’t want to be scared of anything.”

    I was shocked into silence.

    Mom’s are not scared of anything?  Huh.  As far as I can tell, I’ve never been more scared in my life!  

    First, it’s pretty amazing that she has this perception that moms are not scared.  It seemed to kind of make sense.  At night, we’re not scared of the dark or of sleeping or of our dreams.  When something scary is on T.V. we unflinchingly change the channel or soothe their concerns.  For all of the things that scare her, it’s true, a mother is not generally afraid.

    But what she doesn’t recognize are all the things that do scare mothers.  They’re things that are so far out of her scope of understanding at this point, but they sure are scary.

    For starters, there’s the whole job of being a mother.  Each time I was pregnant and each time I come up against a difficult parenting situation, I wonder, “Who said I was qualified to do this? Why am I being entrusted with something so precious?”  I am the person that will cause my children to need therapy.  Every choice that I make about our family and what we should do and not do is shaping who each of these little people are.  If I think about it too much, the idea is crushing.  How am I supposed to do this without instructions specific to each of my kids?

    Then there’s the whole “unexpected circumstances” part of it all.  Our biggest one is Big L’s allergies.  When we first realized how much food he’s allergic to, I feared for the future.  I was afraid of him going to school, going to birthday parties, even going to Grandma’s house!  I wanted to follow him around with his Epi-pen at the ready just in case he encountered something that could threaten his life.  How was I going to teach him to stay away from peanut butter cups, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and the plethora of foods that contain bits of nuts?

    On top of that is the constant fear that something terrible will threaten the life of one of our babes.  One of my most vivid memories of Sweet A’s first day of daycare was watching J and Sweet A drive off and thinking, “That’s it.  There goes my life.  If anything were to happen to that little car…”  

    I have all of these concerns, but I think I’m generally pretty normal.  Having kids makes life downright scary for so many reasons.

    It’s in those moments of fear that I realize, this is scary, but I have people to coach me through it - just like I might do for Sweet A.  I have Jeff, family, friends, and God.  I have to trust that we will figure it out together.  That’s what life is!  It’s not going to be predictable or dull, but I can’t let myself get weighed down by the burden of my fear nor should I expect that I will lose my fear on my own.  I have to recognize that I will never be a perfect mother or parent and that’s ok.  We will deal with the psychological ramifications of my parenting as they arise. I have to do the best I can to inform Levi of his allergies and trust that he and his caregivers make choices that help him thrive.  I have to trust that although my heart leaves my chest in that little car each morning, they will all be fine.  None of these are guarantees.  They are hopes.  And that is the best part of what life is… knowing that in spite of the fear and worry, there is a reason to hope and that when things get scary, we can deal with it together.  

    One day I’ll remind Sweet A what she said about being a mom.  Maybe when she’s on the verge of her own motherhood, or maybe it will be when her illusions of mothers' bravery is laughable (like when she's a pre-teen).  One thing is for certain, though, mothering isn’t for wimps.  And actually, now that I think about it, life isn’t for wimps.  Mother or not, living is brave.  So go on - be brave!  You never know who you are inspiring!

Leaving the Baby Haze

Me and Little L.  More selfies = haze lifting

Little L is 11 months old and I’m finally emerging from the baby-haze.  I can tell that I’m emerging because I’m slowly returning to my old self.  I wear jewelry.  I put on makeup (sometimes).  I put together actual “outfits” - not just sweats.  I actually enjoy my husband’s company (sometimes). I am taking time to write and to read FOR FUN! Yikes!

I don’t think I’m the only one who has experienced this baby haze.  It’s not quite the same as baby brain, but I do believe they are related.  

When I’m in the haze, it’s like I’m enveloped in a thick fog.  In the fog, I’m working hard.  I’m trying to keep everything going and balanced.  I’m trying to care for the baby and give each kid the treatment or attention they need.  I’m making sure we have enough food and supplies to keep the house running.  I’m changing diapers, feeding baby, making food, making sure we have everyone’s medicine in stock...

I know J is in the fog too, and that he’s working hard beside me, but I can’t see him.  And I can’t see what he’s working on.  So I feel alone, and that I’m working hard, and that I can’t really see anything else.  And I certainly can’t appreciate the work that J’s doing because I can’t see it!  As a result of this loneliness and the never-ending tiredness, I pick fights, snap easily, lose patience and am overall NOT fun!

When the haze starts to lift, I see that J is beside me and that he is working hard.  I see him changing diapers, taking care of the house and doing things that help balance the workload between the two of us.  

When the haze fully lifts, I can see him clearly.  I can see the things that I love about him.  I can enjoy having a conversation or a hug.  I can remember why I fell in love with him in the first place and see how much fatherhood suits him.  

Now that I’m emerging from my last baby haze, it causes me to look back on the first two.  

With Sweet A, the haze began to lift around ten months.  As she became more independent, I began to bicker less with J.  I felt like our partnership grew and my monster-ness shrank.  From then on, I could feel our marriage and family-ness solidifying.  

I also recognize that with Big L, I may have never emerged from the haze.  I kept checking in with myself around the time he was 10 months old (when I was already six months pregnant with Little L) and asking myself if I felt happier.  I kept trying to convince myself that I was slowly emerging from it, but now that the haze is truly lifting, I realize that it never did lift with Big L.  

Because of Big L’s allergies and slow development (and my pregnancy), his dependence on me kept that haze from lifting.  The longer it took for him to become independent, the longer I was stuck in that limbo between baby and toddlerhood hoping that he would need me less.  The added bonus of being pregnant only added to the fatigue of the time.

For those of you without kids, or with older kids, this may not mean much to you.  However, there are some people living in the haze and thinking this is the way it will be forever; that THIS is how kids change you.  But it probably won’t last forever and this is NOT the way that kids change you. 

 As much as you love your darling baby, pretty soon, you will go back to doing things you enjoyed.  Believe it or not, you may actually enjoy cooking again, or having a date with your spouse, or even (gasp!) going out to dinner with friends!  

And kids do change you and your marriage, but it doesn’t have to  change you into people who fight all the time.  There are tough times when fighting is more common than normal conversation, but if you persist, you might find that as time passes, it’s easier to have normal conversation and to have more patience with each other.  And you’ll see that your marriage has become more about working for the common good of your family - that you created - rather than just two people enjoying each others’ company.  

It is so confusing to live in the haze having people tell us to “enjoy them while they’re young” when it’s possible that life just doesn’t always feel enjoyable.  But the thing is, when the haze lifts, you realize that the haze kept you from seeing that you were climbing a mountain.  Now that you can see, you realize you just survived a very difficult part of your journey with your baby and partner.  You will never have to relive that particular part of your life again.  (You may choose it with another baby, but by then, it will be slightly different!)  

If you are in the haze, hang on! You’re not alone! You are almost there! It will get better!