10 freezer to crockpot meals

adulthood has changed me -- i'm not the fun and spontaneous person i used to be! i was blessed with 5 days off (yes, 5 days) between winter semester and spring semester, and i spent every minute doing boring housewifey stuff. you know, like laundry, cleaning the apartment, rearranging the living room, and making freezer meals. 

but let me tell you, making those freezer meals was one of the best decisions of my life! totally worth the social sacrifices. you can do it too! it's so easy. the hardest part was spending hours on pinterest researching and looking for the best recipes. i tried to pick ones that had some similar ingredients. after that, all you need is a buttload of food, money, and ziploc gallon bags! 

i picked 8 recipes to make 10 meals (i doubled two of them). i went to costco and harmons and bought everything i didn't already have. i spent a total of about $110, with some of the purchases being spices, oils, or bottles of things that i can keep using for a long time. 

i let the bags of chicken thaw out, and then i laid out all the other ingredients. i was ready to dominate! i labeled ten 1-gallon ziploc bags with the recipe name, cooking time, and any other instructions. i turned on les mis. then i chopped away and packed a bag at a time! 

things got pretty crowded. 

it was really time consuming, but really simple. it took me almost 3 hours, but to be honest i was taking my sweet precious time. i wasn't in a hurry at all. also, i was feeling a little OCD so i washed my hands like 492 times. and i probably worked longer than necessary because i didn't chop all my veggies at once, i went recipe by recipe. and i had to stop chopping peppers to sob while anne hathaway was singing. bless her heart. 

anyway, the few pieces of advice i have for this project are to add the liquids LAST, and make sure each bag thaws for a good amount of time before you dump the contents in the crockpot. duh and duh -- but for noobs like me, those things didn't come easy :) also, get as much air out of the bag as possible, and once everything is in the bag, squish it around with your hands so the contents are distributed evenly. 

 now for the moment you've all been waiting for... pictures and recipes! 

cilantro lime chicken

in the bag: 

3 chicken breasts

juice from 2 limes

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

1 (16 oz) bag corn

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 red onion, chopped

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 tsp cumin

salt and pepper

to cook: 

cook on low for 8 hours

shred meat and serve on tortillas

chicken broccoli alfredo

in the bag: 

3 chicken breasts, cut into strips

1 (16 oz) bag frozen broccoli 

1 large green pepper, chopped

2 (16 oz) jars alfredo sauce

to cook: 

cook on low for 4-6 hours

serve over noodles

hawaiian chicken

in the bag: 

2-3 chicken breasts

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup vinegar

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbs soy sauce

1/2 can of large pineapple chunks

1/2 cup of pineapple juice (from can) 

to cook: 

cook on low for 6-7 hours

shred and serve over rice

teriyaki chicken

in the bag: 

3 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces 

1 cup teriyaki sauce 

1 cup water

2/3 cup brown sugar

3 cloves garlic, minced

a few sprinkles of ginger

to cook: 

cook on low for 4-6 hours

creamy italian chicken

in the bag: 

4 chicken breasts

1 (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1 can cream of chicken

1 dry packet of italian seasoning

to cook: 

cook on low for 4-6 hours

honey rosemary chicken

in the bag: 

4 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup honey 

1/3 cup olive oil 

3 tbs rosemary, chopped

1 tsp salt

to cook: 

cook on low for 6-8 hours

bbq chicken

in the bag: 

4-6 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces

1 (12 oz) bottle of bbq sauce 

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup vinegar 

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

to cook: 

cook on low for 4-6 hours

chicken fajitas

in the bag: 

2 green peppers 

1 onion

3 chicken breasts

1/2 cup chicken broth

taco seasoning packet

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp paprika

1 tsp salt

to cook: 

cook on low for 5-6 hours

shred meat and serve on tortillas

that's all! i doubled the teriyaki chicken and the cilantro lime chicken because i thought they sounded the best, but i'm excited to try all of them! can you tell i'm not a huge red meat person :) ? and i am not one to plagiarize, so let me give you the sources for these recipes. i got the chicken broccoli alfredo and cilanto lime chicken from six sisters stuff. i got the honey rosemary chicken from kojo designs, hawaiian chicken and chicken fajitas from this post, and then i got teriyaki chicken, sweet bbq chicken, creamy italian chicken from over the big moon. she has great tips and ideas. how did people know recipes before pinterest? pinterest and these ladies just saved me from 10 nights of dinner-prepping stress.

so there you have it. $110, 1 hour of grocery shopping, 2.5 hours of prepping, and i was able to stuff my freezer with 10 meals - ready to be eaten!  

good luck to you all, and let me know how it goes!
p.s. if you have any great crockpot recipes, i would love to hear them.
p.p.s. my blog is now on bloglovin' so make sure to follow! 

3 quick finals week treats

let's be honest... sweets are like the #1 motivator in my life.

what would you do for a klondike bar? anything.

break me off a piece of that kit-kat bar? no. mine.

need a moment? i need 5 moments if they each come a twix.

similar to buddy the elf, candy is one of my main food groups, and during finals week my sugar levels spike to an all-time high. the stresses of studying and the comfort of sugar balance each other out, and as a result i am a perfectly calm and content student. while studying for finals, i only allow myself a few short breaks. during those breaks, i don't have enough time to whip up a whole batch of cookies or bake a dozen cupcakes. i can't allow myself to go to the store, because i'll never come back. i need a quick, easy recipe with ingredients i already have in my cupboards. i stick to one of these three simple (yet delectable) sugary sweet treats:

1. smores for one
ingredients: 2 graham crackers, 2 marshmallows, 2 hershey kisses
total time: 3 minutes
directions: place crackers on pan. place marshmallows on crackers. broil in oven for exactly 138 seconds. top with a kiss. get back to work!

2. improv reeses
ingredients: 1 spoonful of peanut butter, 1 small handful of chocolate chips
total time: 30 seconds
directions: see photo

3. heaven on earth
ingredients: BYU bookstore dark chocolate sea salt caramels
total time: varies depending on how carefully or carelessly you choose your hiding places
directions: when all else fails, turn to your secret stash of these babies. nothing is better. i promise.

happy finals week, and good luck! 

p.s. the post-finals diet starts on thursday

celebrating

every wednesday morning at my practicum elementary school, the principal plays a celebration song over the intercom. he instructs the students to get out of their desks to "celebrate and dance, because the week is halfway over!" the kids love it. i love it. i think life would be so boring if we didn't find reasons to celebrate. 

scotty and i celebrated on friday night because *drumroll* ... i was offered a teaching position for next year! i'll be doing an internship teaching fourth grade at falcon ridge elementary (aka, my practicum school!). i am so freaking excited. i can't wait to shape the minds of little fourth graders. i start in august, i'll be paid half salary, and i'll graduate as a second year teacher... we thought this made for a good reason to celebrate!

i asked the waitress to document this special moment in my life, to which she replied, "of course! i've become quite the photographer since working here!" ... then she produced the following two photos: 

how appropriate was my fortune? 

and finally, my "I'M GOING TO BE A TEACHER!!!" face. 

pure happiness.
can't wait to share all of my fourth grade stories with you all. 

now, go out and celebrate something! you deserve it. 

awful waffles

lately the husband and i have been on a semi-obsessive waffle craze. waffle trips are our new saturday morning tradition. i wish i could say we're connoisseurs by now, but ever since we tried bruges waffles, we haven't been able to stop. it's divine! my mouth is watering at the very thought. 

anyway, tonight we thought we could recreate the magic. 

enjoy a calm, low-key, breakfast-for-dinner ensemble. 

relax after a long and stressful monday. 

what could be simpler than making batter, and then pouring said batter into a waffle maker? 

the machine pretty much does the job for you, right? 

WRONG.

it started out great. the batter was absolutely delectable. like, eat-a-spoonful-at-a-time delectable (and if you are going to judge me for eating raw batter, i ban you from my blog!). but delicious batter was the extent of our cooking successes tonight. everything else was kind of a disaster.

lessons learned: 

1. don't underestimate the simple things. 

2. have a backup plan. 

3. don't betray bruges waffles ever again. 

friday facts

1. tuesdays and thursdays are stupid because on those two special days i have classes until 9:30 PM.

2. sometimes i come home and i'm real grumpy. 

3. you would be grumpy too if you spent 12+ hours on campus and didn't get home until after 10. 

4. my husband is nice. 

5. he knows how to make me not so grumpy. 

6. a little late night snack & snuggle session can turn any frown upside down.
7. ramen is my happy go-to snack.
8. if you're looking for a health blog... go somewhere else.

9. he's a keeper.
10. i'm so incredibly happy it's the weekend!

comfort food

do you ever have those mornings where you don't feel like you're at your top game? maybe you hit the snooze button in the early hours and forgot that you have a job and school to go to. maybe after that, you woke up and remembered those two commitments, and that you were supposed to leave five minutes ago.  and maybe once you got into your car, you realized that your gas light was on and you probably wouldn't make it all the way to provo. and maybe before you even merged onto the freeway, you got flipped off by an 80-year-old woman riding a bicycle.

and maybe all day you just feel gross because you didn't have time to shower (or even put mascara on, for that matter), and your dress shrunk in the wash so it's almost too short for comfort.

and maybe you're thinking about other things that happened throughout the week; working overtime, getting approved for $0 in pell grants, almost losing in a fight-to-the-death battle with the biggest spider you've ever seen, and last but certainly not least, accidentally saying shit in front of all your coworkers.

you know those mornings?

i do!

so i came home yesterday, after fighting my short dress and an ambush of wind gusts, and needed something to comfort me. since scotty works til 7 and i don't have OWN network, i turned to food. and not just any food, this food:

some warm homemade rolls accompanied by cheese & broccoli soup.
recipes found here and here.
i'd do maybe 1/4 or 1/3 cup of green pepper rather than 1/2.
a little overpowering. but still delicious.
to top it all off, fell asleep around 9 :)

now it's saturday and i get to spend the entire weekend with my beautiful family!
i'd say things are definitely turning around.

the final hurrah

ew.
another summer has come and gone.
it's hard to accept the fact that in 1 hour, it will be monday.
as if mondays aren't hard enough already, tomorrow is my first day of school
and the busiest day of work imaginable.

... "first day of school" is not as thrilling as it used to be.

awkwardly running into old friends,
seeing old makeout buddies,
being overwhelmed with homework,
trying to remember how you know people,
rolling your eyes at everyone else's excitement,
paying for tuition,
popping pills for the headaches,
having 0 hours of free time,
it's just not fun anymore.

so scotty & i tried to make the most of our last weekend of summer.

yesterday we had a beautiful night up at city creek and visited with my aunt cathi and uncle kris who were up from arizona. it was a blast! we laughed, gossiped, and ate until we couldn't move. (and then after we stuffed our stomachs full, we ordered a slice of cheesecake)

we love them and we are so glad we got to enjoy their company for a few hours!
today, we went to church. the usual.
then we came home and i whipped up a lovely fruit pizza to take to a little dinner date in provo.

we spent the whole night with our dear friends jen and tony castagno!
we love them!
i am so freaking happy they finally moved back to utah.
we mourned over school starting, we talked politics, we surfed pinterest, we ate, we watched half of a documentary on mitt romney, we talked books, we shared stories, and on top of all that, we almost beat two worlds on super mario brothers.

talk about a successful night! 

let's hope this week runs as smoothly as our weekend did, 

and that we'll survive the chaos! 

bring on the books. 

mini

my mom loves miniature things.

so naturally, i like them too.  

my coworkers think i'm crazy for squealing over this mini 6-pack of orbit gum. 

CUTE! 

and every time scotty and i are shoe shopping, i have to look at the little mini baby shoes. 

CUTE! 

and i really, really, really, want this little mini book of instagram prints. 

CUTE!

you get the point. 

so when i found this idea on pinterest for "mini pizza muffins" i about died. 

mini pepperonis. 

mini chocolate chips.

 bake at 425 for 10 mini minutes and viola: 

mini. pizza. muffins.

CUTE! 

i'm in love!