Freezer Cooking Weekend

Charlie has been sick, so we canceled our plans to go to Tri-cities to hang with the fam on Saturday. That left us me with some unplanned days where Charlie wanted to do nothing but sleep, watch Cars, and snuggle with Daddy. Hence, I took advantage! Both of my freezers are pretty full right now! I got a lot of help from Money Saving Mom. Here's what I made:

Chicken stock
Place an entire fryer chicken (cut into pieces) into a large stock pot. Cover with water. Add salt and a couple cubes of chicken boullion ( I know that kinda defeats the purpose of homemade stock, but since I use the chicken for enchiladas, I wanted it to have a little more flavor). Cook on medium high for about an hour. Remove chicken pieces and shred the chicken. Put the bones and skin back in the pot. Add a couple onions, quartered, some roughly chopped carrots and celery, some parsley, a bay leaf and some thyme. Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer on low. Simmer for 4-5 hours. Strain out all the solids. Let cool to room temp, the pour into 2 glass 9x13 pans. Place in refrigerator overnight. In the morning, skim off all the fat. Pour into ice cube trays and freeze. Each cube is 1 ounce. Store in ziplock baggies. This last step takes some time. I can only freeze 6 trays at a time, and I've had to do that twice so far.

Memory's Chicken Enchiladas
Combine 2 cans cream of mushroom soup with 2-20 oz. cans of enchilada sauce (I like the Old El Paso mild sauce). Create an assembly line with corn tortillas, cheddar cheese, shredded chicken from the stock) and sauce. Dip a corn tortilla in the sauce, fill with chicken and cheese, then roll and place in a 9x13 pan(I use foil pans for freezing stuff). I can usually fit about 12 of the enchiladas in a pan-8 one way and 4 the other way. Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas and top with cheese. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes. You may want to put foil over the top for the first 25 minutesso the cheese doesn't burn-- the original recipe calls for the cheese to be added for the last 5-10 minutes.

Lasagna Casserole

Marinated Chicken

Calzones
I made a double batch of pizza dough in my Kitchenaid. This yummy dough recipe comes from my sister Kellie. You can substitute whole wheat flour for half the bread flour if you want.

1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
4 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup warm milk
1/2 cup warm water
3 cups bread flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp butter

Mix the first four together and let sit for 3 minutes, then mix the rest of the ingredients in and let dough rise. Roll out the dough and cut circles using a saucer for a template. Put sauce, cheese, pepperoni, green bell pepper, and mushrooms in the center. Dip a pastry brush in water and wet the outside of the circle. Fold in half and crimp the edges with a fork. Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 15 minutes. I'm pretty sure you can put them straight from the freezer to the oven, but it should take considerably longer--I'll let you know when I try it!

Procrastination

I've been putting off blogging because of the AMOUNT of things I need to blog about. Our anniversary, Thanksgiving, Christmas, all sorts of things.

So, I'm just skipping them for now. I wanted to get a few things down about Charlie before I forget.

In no random order:

Charlie can say-
*Mama/Mom
*Dad
*Bye
*Hi
*baba (bottle)
*oh-up (cup)
*up
*apple
* I-l-oh-oo (I love you)
*Na-nigh (night night)
*ahh doh (all done)
*yeah (his answer to almost every question)
*no
*ahhh-pullll (apple)
*elbow (this one is actually really clear)
*Pop
*Meme (sometimes)
We're still working on Grandma and Grandpa. He says "Nana" but we're not sure if he's trying to say banana or Grandma.
*ball
*dog
*woof
*meow
*moo
*maa
*baa
*braloo (elephant)
*ooo oo ahh ahh
*roar/rawr


The kid LOVES nursery. I accompany him on Sundays because he's not quite old enough. I spend all of my time holding OTHER screaming children. We go to aerobics class at church on Mondays and Fridays. He runs in without so much as a "bye, mom!" He's learned how to climb up the slide and slide down all by himself. I can't wait until next month when he can stay in Nursery by himself and I can actually sit through Sunday school and Relief Society without interuption. I don't think I'll know what to do with myself. Heck, I might even get BORED, just because I can.

Eating- Charlie has finally made it past the 22 pound mark. Our little guy now weighs 24.4 pounds.. little chunker! He's finally catching up in weight to all stretching. He loves his smoothies that I make him, he's finally drinking watered down juice occasionally, he eats spaghetti, mac n cheese, scrambled eggs, cottage cheese, yogurt, bananas, cereal (rice krispies especially), yogurt, PBJ (only if it's open face and cut into very small squares), oranges (especially mandarin oranges in a cup--no sugar added, of course), bread, chicken/chicken nuggets,broccoli and he even ate clam chowder the other day. That's quite an extensive list, most of which are new foods in the last 2-3 months. Other things are hit and miss, like anything we have for dinner on a given night. I'm so glad he will drink the smoothies.... at least I can get some nutrition into him. Otherwise all he would eat is crap!

Charlie loves the dishwasher--more specifically emptying the dishwasher, regardless of whether the dishes are clean or dirty. Today he had a screaming fit when he wanted me to open the dishwasher and I didn't get there fast enough (the crankiness could also have something to do with his current UTI we just started antibiotics for...). He normally hands me each utensil to put in the drawer, but today I started teaching him how to put each one in the correct spot. Combine this with his love of sweeping (no joke), I forsee a fabulous future in chores for this boy :)

All I can say is, man, I love this kid! He really is getting to be fun.

New York Trip October 2010

**Edit** Blogger isn't letting me load any more pics right now, so I'll have to upload them later...

Charlie and I have become quite the travelers (especially since it is free for him to fly on my lap). We are going to be in California this year for Christmas, and everyone in New York except Mom and Dad Goepfert hadn't seen Charlie since he was 3 months old, we decided to visit! (well... Dawn decided first to take Guy, and then we decided to join her:) )

So, off we went for a week and a half! It seems to always be an ordeal to fly anywhere from Spokane... not only is it a 1.5 hour drive, but Spokane is NOT a major airport and therefore there are not ANY direct flights anywhere. We left Pullman around 10:30am, flew to Minneapolis-St.Paul, barely made our connection and finally arrived at La Guardia around 11:30pm. WHEW! I was very tired by the time we made it to Long Island. Charlie did fairly well on the airplanes, but man, it was so much easier to travel with him before he could crawl/walk! I always feel like when we go places we have to stay for a longish period of time to make up for the 2 hellish days traveling there and back.

Anyways, Charlie had so much fun at his Meme and Pop's house! He quickly showed us which things needed to be put out of his reach. He was also scared to death of the Frankie dog (a dachshund) at first, but was chasing him around by the time we left. Charlie and Guy sat next to each other in high chairs for almost every meal, and Guys amazing eating habits rubbed off slightly on Charlie... hooray! It also allowed me to try some new foods for Charlie without worrying about wasting things... I would just get a little bit of whatever Guy was eating.

Everywhere we went, people asked if Charlie and Guy were twins ... I guess it didn't help the 2 separate days we put them in matching outfits. They both had so much fun in their matching overalls exploring the pumpkin patch.



*picture*

*picture*

And the day we spent at the Bronx Zoo.

*picture*

*picture*
We also spent a lot of time at Aunt Cheri's hanging out with the cousins while she was out of town (in Barbados...lucky duck!)

We had lots of fun, but it was good to get back home and see our Daddy:)

Walking

Yep, that's right. Sir Charles is a mean, green, walking machine ( As of Tuesday, 9/28). He's been cruising for months now, and we thought he was going to start walking on his own a couple of weeks ago. He became disinterested in trying, though, until the other day. He just started standing by himself again and next thing I know, he's toddling around.

I love it. It's so cute. And he's just as mobile as he was crawling, so it doesn't feel very different. Slower, actually because he takes his sweet time taking each step. I'm sure he'll get faster, very quickly though. But now that we have our play room back in order (with a freshly borrowed baby gate from Malia after Charlie discovered how to open pocket doors) he has a big open area to play in where he can't get into trouble.

Also, Charlie has been sleeping through the night the past couple of nights (hooray!). His sleep schedule got off after the last surgery (AGAIN), so he has been waking up and wanting to play for hours in the middle of the night. So... we went on a very strict nap/eating schedule for the past week and it seems to be working. He's never needed a strict schedule before, but if it works, I'll take it.

Unfortunately, Charlie has fully embraced one aspect of toddlerhood-- being a picky eater. If it was up to him, he would do nothing but drink milk and eat cheerios. I've been doing some research on how to sneak in nutritious things into his meals. Today he ate some black bean pancakes... hooray for protein! Some ladies at church have also suggested I try making fruit smoothies and sneaking in tofu and spinach. I'm headed to the store after Charlie wakes up from his afternoon nap (in 5 minutes) to buy some supplies. I hope he'll actually LIKE them. We'll see....

Toys R Us coupon shop

Seriously, I can't believe I used to pay full price for this stuff. Or wouldn't buy it at all. Or, for that matter, start Christmas shopping in September.

Toys R Us was having a great sale this week... buy 2 toys, get 1 free for a LOT of different brands. Everything I bought was Playskool because they released some awesome coupons this week! (The coupons are still available, but the Toys R Us sale is now over.) I got some great ideas from the Hip2Save website.

Here's what I bought...

Transaction #1
2 Playskool Ball Poppers ($24.99 each)
1 Sit N Spin ($19.99, but Free as the 3rd Playskool toy)

Subtotal $49. 98
I used a $5 off $25 Toys R Us coupon
I used 2 $5 off Ball Popper coupons
I used 1 $5 Sit N Spin coupon ( you can still use this coupon, even though you aren't technically paying for the Sit N Spin--the manufacturer will still pay Toys R Us the $5)

Total $29.98 +tax ... That's about $9.99 per toy!

Transaction #2
1 Classic Mr. Potato Head ($7.99 in store)-- this is ages 2 and up, so I'll have to hold on to it for a while for Charlie... I don't want him choking on any of the pieces!
1 Glow Worm ($9.99)
1 Weebles 2 Pack ($5.99- was free as the 3rd toy)
1 Wheel Pals Mini 4 pack ($9.99)

Subtotal $27.97

I used (well... I had Ken do this transaction because this coupon is 1 per customer.... ) $5 off $25 Toys R Us coupon
I used a $2 off Mr. Potato Head Coupon
I used a $2 off Weebles coupon
I used a $2 off Glow Worm coupon
I used a $2 off Wheel Pals coupon

Total $14.97 plus tax

So, $45 dollars (plus tax) for $105 dollars (+tax) worth of merchandise. Why have I not been couponing my entire adult life?

P.S. This is not all for my own kid, I swear. I have plans for this stuff :)

Cream Puffs

I'm making cream puffs today for a church activity tonight. This recipe is so delicious, and I often get asked for the recipe, so I figured I might as well post it. Plus, now when I'm visiting somewhere, I have access to the recipe :)
This recipe came from my Food Prep class at BYU taught by Janet Stocks. All kudos go to her for this recipe... I take no credit for the recipe.
Cream Puffs
3/4 c. water
1/2 c. butter or margarine1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. AP flour4 large eggs or 5 medium eggs
Yep. That's it. 5 ingredients. One of them is WATER. Easy, right? Super easy. Just time consuming (you will soon see...)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine water, butter and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then add the flour all at once, stirring constantly to make a stiff dough. Remove from heat and stir to cool for 1 minute (this is important if you don't want bits of scrambled eggs scattered throughout your dough). Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. I usually use a wooden spoon, but it takes some serious arm muscle. Alton Brown does this step in the kitchenaid, I think with a paddle attachment. Stir until mixture is smooth and creamy.

Drop by spoonfuls onto greased of parchment lined baking sheets (about 1 teaspoon for appetizers, 1 tablespoon for individual servings). I use my handy dandy kitchen scoop.
Alton Brown puts his batter into a piping bag (aka a Ziplock with the proper pastry tips) and then does small spirals.

Bake in the oven until golden brown and dry (small 25-30 minutes, large 35-40 minutes). If time allows, turn the oven off and leave cream puffs in oven for 1 hour. I rarely do this step, but it does allow the puffs to keep their nice puffy shape. If you don't do this, the puffs still taste fine, but sometimes deflate a bit.

So now you have the puffs, and you have to fill them with something. My usual filling of choice is vanilla pudding, whether its from a box or homemade. This tends to be an all-afternoon kind of project, so I rarely make the homemade just because the box stuff is so easy and it tastes good. But, sometimes when I'm feeling super ambitious...the homemade pudding is quite a treat on it's own.

Vanilla Pudding

3/4 c. sugar
5 T. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt
3 c. milk
2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 T. butter or margarine

Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium saucepan or double boiler. Add milk and stir until smooth. Cook over medium heat to a gentle boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stiff egg yolks just until blended. Add a small amount of hot milk mixture to egg yolks, stirring constantly, then gradually adding egg yolk mixture to hot mixture, stirring constantly. Return to a gentle boil and cook for one minute. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and butter. Pour into a glass or plastic bowl and cover with plastic wrap, lightly touching the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate. You can also make this into CHOCOLATE pudding by adding 1/3 cup cocoa into the dry ingredients before adding the milk, and increase the butter to 1/4 cup.

Now, for the best part. The Chocolate Glaze. I could eat this stuff by the cupful. It is beyond delicious! And seriously the easiest part.

Combine 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips and 2 T butter. Melt on high in the microwave, stopping to stir every 10 seconds until smooth. Do not overheat. Gradually stir in 1/4 cup whipping cream. Cool slightly, then drizzle over filled cream puffs. I usually put the glaze in a plastic squeeze bottle and then drizzle.

Finished pictures to be coming soon!

Rite Aid Shop

This was my fabulous Rite-Aid shop today. I really have come to enjoy Rite-Aid since moving to Pullman. I was always a Walgreen's girl in Utah, but here, Rite-Aid is much closer. And they have such great coupon deals! This is for all the people who keep asking me how I do my coupon shops!

I did 2 transactions this time.

Transaction #1

3 bottles Johnson's baby lotion (1 regular and 2 night-time), $3.99 each

*$1/1 baby lotion coupon
*$2/2 night-time products
Receive 3 $2 +UP rewards (Rite aid coupons at the bottom of your reciept that you can use at Rite Aid for any non-prescription purchase)

1 bottle Johnson No More Tears shampoo $3.99
* $1/1 coupon
Receive 1 $2 +UP reward

5 Reach toothbrushes @ $2.99 each
* $3/3 coupon
* 2 $1/1 coupons
* $1 Rite Aid printable coupon
Received 3 $2 +UP rewards

I also used a $5 off $25 Rite Aid coupon and a $2UP reward from a transaction from last week. Also, since I purchased $30 worth of stuff from Johnson & Johnson, I qualified for the $10 +UP reward. So, I spent a grand total of $15.85 for this transaction and received $24 in +UP rewards. That's an $8.15 money maker!

Soo.... on to transaction #2:

2 Single serve packs of Oreos 2 for $1
*Rite aid printable coupon $1/2 (FREE! just paid tax)

2 18 count boxes of Playtex tampons @$4
*2 $2/1 coupons
Received 2 $3+UP rewards

2 cans Aussie Hairspray @$2.99 each
*2 $1/1 coupons
Received 2 $1+UP rewards

Total $9.07 , with $8 in +UP rewards printed. I used $6 in +UP rewards from the previous transaction, and paid $3.07 in cash.

So.... I paid a total of $18.92 out of pocket, and received $32 in +UP rewards total. Not a bad day! My receipts say that I saved $30 in coupons and $22.76 in "wellness savings". And I won't be buying toothbrushes for a while now...:)