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by Nanci Slagle & Tammy Davis
In
This Issue:
NOTES FROM NANCI
BONUS
RECIPES FROM TAMMY
WEBSITE NEWS
MESSAGE BOARD UPDATES FROM TAMMY
CONTESTS
QUICK TIPS by Christi Gillentine, Budget e-book author
CONSULTANT NEWS
WEBSITE OF THE MONTH
COMING UP IN MAY
COOK’S CHUCKLE
FINAL
THOUGHTS
NOTES
FROM NANCI
Dear cooks,
You are all just the best. I want you to know that. So many of you have
written to let me know of your concern for our family. Lots of you are
praying. Thank you so much! Here’s the latest. (For those of you new to
us this month, my husband was recently diagnosed with a rare brain
tumor.) The neurosurgeons at University Hospital here in Indy consulted
and decided against doing a biopsy or a spinal tap. Bob will be having
surgery to remove the tumor on May 6th. They expect him to be in the OR
from 7:30 am until mid to late afternoon. The tumor will be sent to
pathology and we will know about a week later what type it is and
whether it is benign or malignant. Bob will be in the hospital about 5
days and home recuperating for an additional 6 weeks. If you want to
read the “whole” story, I have posted the e-mail updates I have been
sending to family and friends on our Message Boards under the
Newsletter Topic Chatter category. I will post an update as soon
after surgery as I possibly can. Again, thank you for your thoughts and
prayers.
Things are really clicking along here at 30 Day Gourmet. We just keep
growing and growing. Subscribers are signing on every day. Our website
is receiving 3.3 million hits a month with cooks visiting from all over
the world! Thanks so much to all of you who are spreading the word and
telling your friends. Our whole goal is to help you get this cooking
thing figured out and to provide you with lots of tools to make the job
easier. Then you’ll have more time for the really FUN stuff (of course I
realize there are a few of you who actually think cooking is fun. Isn’t
that special?). Take today for instance. Did I “feel” like cooking
supper? Heavens, no. Can I afford to eat out? No again. Do I want to do
an “on your own” night? Not really. So I took a frozen Meatloaf (raw and
squished flat in a gallon freezer bag) and a frozen bag of
Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes out this morning, thawed them and
then popped them into pans and stuck them in the oven at 5:30. Then I
made
Frozen Peanut Butter Bars for Becky’s Bible Study group (now
THAT was fun) and came back to the office to work. When you have food
ready in the freezer, you just don’t spend so much time on the whole
dinner thing.
Click here to read what some other cooks have been telling us
lately about how their cooking is going.
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BONUS
RECIPES FROM TAMMY
I heard a
commercial tonight on the radio… “Easter is a happy, joyful, fun day.
You should enjoy your family and friends on this special holiday. Relax
and enjoy your day. Don’t spend a hot and stressful day in the kitchen.
Instead… “ I said “Freezer cook!” when they paused. But that’s not what
the commercial said. The commercial was advertising a restaurant. I
smiled smugly at their commercial, because my Easter dinner (and
breakfast too, for that matter!) is at home, already tucked away in my
freezer.
Click here to see a photo of it. So I will have a calm, enjoyable, stress-free day in my own
home with my family. (OK, I’m dreaming about the stress-free part, with
3 young kids, but it sounds good!)
I’ve had the Holiday Freezer Cooking e-Book recipes for years
now, but hardly ever use them. So I pulled them out to see what recipes
I could find that my family would like. There are a lot of good recipes
in there! Why was I surprised, huh? I got my whole menu, except a Ham
Sauce recipe, from the Holiday e-Book.
Click here
to check out the Holiday e-Book in our online store. So, what are
we having for Easter? For breakfast, an Egg Casserole. For dinner, we’re
having Waldorf Salad, spiral sliced Ham with Ham Sauce, Sweet Potato
Soufflé, Veggie Medley, and crescent rolls. (See the Recipe of the Month
below for the crescent roll recipe.) For dessert, homemade Apple pie
with crumb topping. Oh, and on Easter Eve, we’ll be making Easter Story
Cookies as a family. Check under the Website of the Month for the link.
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Breakfast Egg Casserole
This is a great recipe to have on hand for breakfast. We prefer it with
ham, but you can use sausage or bacon.
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Frozen Waldorf Salad
I can’t believe I haven’t tried this recipe before! I was eating it
before it even made it to the freezer! I’m sure my kids will really
enjoy it too. I froze mine in individual foil cups, so they’re ready to
go in single servings.
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Ham Sauce
This is one of nine Ham Sauce recipes in the Freezer Cooking Manual.
This one is my family favorite.
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Sweet Potato Soufflé with Brown Sugar Crumbles
This is the only way I eat sweet potatoes! What a tasty side dish! The
Brown Sugar Crumbles is what makes the recipe, in my opinion! It’s very
popular when I take it to potluck dinners too.
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Veggie Medley
This is a nice colorful dish, and smells yummy! With croutons and cheese
in it, I’m sure the kids will like it too!
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Easy Pie Crust and
Crumb Topping
So easy to mix up ahead of time and keep in the freezer until you’re
ready to bake!
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Easy Freezer Apple Pie Filling
It’s great to have your own homemade pie filling in the freezer when you
want (or need) to make a pie.
This is the
first time I’ve ever had an entire holiday dinner in the freezer ahead
of time. And it sure is a great feeling! This may become a habit!! I
will pull everything out the day before to thaw. I will probably bake
the Apple Pie the day before too, just so it’s out of the way. Then
again, if I do that, I may have to hide it! While breakfast is baking,
I’ll get the crescent rolls set out to rise. When we get home from
church, I’ll put the ham and sauce in the oven, with the sweet potatoes
and veggies. I’ll pull the Waldorf salad out of the freezer to thaw
right before the ham is done. When the ham and sides come out of the
oven, I’ll put the rolls in to bake while I’m getting everything on the
table. Sounds like a calm and enjoyable way to put a meal together to
me. You’ve still got time to get yours in the freezer too! Happy Easter!
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WEBSITE NEWS
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Freezer Cooking for
Daycare Providers – Full version is here!
These are selling like crazy. Do you have yours yet?
Learn how to simplify your meal planning with these kid and
family-tested recipes. Get tips on persuading picky eaters to eat. These
recipes are not only great for daycare providers but for busy parents
too. The book contains 31 pages with 25 freezer recipes, including
everything from breakfast to snacks to main meals.
If you operate a daycare (or just FEEL like you do!) this e-book is for
you. Great tips and recipes! Kid-friendly foods galore!
Click here
to order your copy now. Only $6.95. Free sampler available with 3 yummy
recipes to try out on your kiddos.
Meet our newest e-book author:
Cindy Clark is a licensed child care provider and a busy mother
of three who lives in Iowa.
Don’t forget about our other e-books. They are full of great recipes
too.
Click here
for more info. Each e-book has a free sampler with 3 recipes that you
can try out.
New Kitchen Calculators
If you need a great gift for a cook (Hint: Mother’s Day is coming up!)
or if you find yourself always looking for a calculator while you cook,
this is the gadget for you!! This calculator will multiply fractions,
convert between teaspoons, tablespoons, cups, pints, etc. and adjusts
portion sizes. It converts U.S. and foreign weights and measures and
will work in fractions or decimals values. It has a built-in timer and
will also function as a standard math calculator. We’re offering both a
handheld version and a desktop version.
Click here for more details. I love this thing!
Recipes Galore!
If you are new to 30 Day Gourmet, be sure to take advantage of the many,
many recipes that are available on our website. All of our recipes work
great for freezer cooking and are multiplied out to save you bunches of
time! Check out the “Recipes” tab at the top of the home page. You can
sort them by “Source” or by “Type”. The message boards also contain tons
of reader recipes (okay maybe not tons but you’ll never have time to try
them all☺).
Attention Software Owners
When we released the software I kind of viewed it as a supplement to the
manual. It doesn’t really teach you HOW to freezer cook. It’s a tool to
use once you know how. Since the software includes the manual recipes,
though, some of you are asking if that entitles you to access to the
“Members Only” section. Sure, why not. I’m now including that info with
the software but if you don’t have it, just
e-mail me. For
beginners, though, I still recommend that you purchase the manual as
well. ☺
Attention e-Book Owners!
The e-books now include an import option for software owners. If you
purchased your e-book(s) before we had the software and would like the
zip file to import your e-book(s) into your software just
e-mail me
for the file and let me know your invoice number or approximate date of
purchase of your e-book(s).
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MESSAGE BOARD UPDATES FROM
TAMMY
We had 178 posts last month on the message boards. Our “Where is
everyone from?” thread continues to be very popular… we have over 80
posts!
Click here to meet your fellow 30 Day Gourmets, and introduce
yourself while you’re there.
How do you organize your freezer, if that’s even possible?
Click here to read a couple of ideas, and add your own, too.
Check out the
Software Help section for ideas to use your Advantage Cooking
Software more effectively.
Have you figured out the Weight Watchers points for some of your
favorite 30 Day Gourmet recipes? Share them with others’ on Weight
Watchers in our
Special Diets category.
Spring has sprung in my corner of the world, and we sure are enjoying
it! We're only about an hour from Washington DC, so we made the trip in
to see the cherry blossoms blooming. It was very crowded, but beautiful!
Click here to see a picture of me and my kids in DC.
Our Message Boards are a wealth of encouragement and information.
Click here to go to the boards.
Hope to see you there! Be sure to email me if I can help you with
anything…
tammy@30daygourmet.com
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CONTEST
WINNERS
CRAZY COOK’S STORY APRON WINNERS –
chosen by Nanci from entries posted on the
message boards or sent by
e-mail to
nanci@30daygourmet.com
Crazy Cook’s Contest April Apron Winner – Rebecca from ???
Well, I don't know how crazy this is, but it was
certainly embarrassing. When my husband and I were newlyweds I decided
to try a new recipe for chicken divan. The recipe called for dry white
wine. Being naive about anything alcoholic I looked in the aisle where
the dry drink mixes were...the kind I had seen at houses where I
babysat. I couldn't find dry white wine anywhere. My husband was
positive it came in a bottle, but I assured him since it was dry it came
in a box. Finally we asked a sales clerk where it was and boy was I
embarrassed! I still get teased 15 years later.
(Note: Rebecca – we can’t find you! If you see this, contact us for your
prize.)
"DO A GOOD COOKING DEED" $25 WINNERS
Our Cook of the Month contest is changing to the “Do a Good Cooking
Deed” contest. Tell me how you use 30 Day Gourmet cooking to help others
and if your story is chosen I’ll send you $25. Again, you can submit
your story by
e-mail or on the
message boards. It’s okay to nominate someone else, too.
Do a Good Deed April $25 Contest
Winner – Gina H. from Salem, Indiana:
I
never really thought cooking for my family could qualify for the "good
deed" board, but my Hanna convinced me otherwise. A little over a year
ago, we hosted an exchange student from Germany. It was such a
blessing to us. My family of 6 was now my family of 7 and I needed my
30 Day Gourmet plan more than ever.
Hanna loved cooking day. She would come and sit and watch my partner
and me cook. She would ask all kinds of questions. The only thing she
loved more was eating it! Her parents cooked, but with two working
parents and two teenage daughters, they didn't eat home-cooked meals
every day. Well, she put on about 25 pounds while she was here and not
from junk food! She started calling me her "kochfee", which she said
means "cooking fairy". She has since returned home and we miss her
very much. We have exchanged recipes and our lives have been blessed
so much by this experience. I'd recommend hosting an exchange student
to anyone. It is a great experience for the student, your family and a
great ego boost for a cooking mom, that is if you like daily praise
from a teenager!!! We are so blessed.
RECIPE OF THE MONTH $25 WINNER –
chosen by Tammy, our message board moderator.
Submit your recipe for the Recipe of the
Month contest!
You too can submit a recipe for this contest! Just post it on our
Cook’s
Corner message boards under the appropriate recipe category. All
submitted recipes are considered, as long as your profile contains your
email address so we can reach you. The winner receives a check for $25.
April Recipe of the Month – Super Easy Best Ever Crescent Rolls
Congratulations to Narita R.
of Pryor, OK for our April Recipe of the Month. Narita’s recipe is for
Super Easy Best Ever Freezer Crescent Rolls, and the title
doesn’t exaggerate! Narita said in one of her posts on the boards that
this recipe looks like a lot of work, but it really isn’t. I just knew
it was going to be a lot of work, and was surprised when it really
wasn’t! The recipe goes together quickly, and forming the rolls is easy
too! I have no patience when working with sticky dough, but a sprinkle
of flour on the counter and this dough rolls out great! It’s very easy
to work with!
And the baked rolls… oh my! They are a definite hit at my house! We all
loved them, and the kids even got into an argument the next day about
who got the leftovers! So I settled it, and ate the “extra” one! Because
of the butter that’s baked in them, and then topping the baked rolls
with butter, you really don’t need to add more butter when you eat them.
They taste light and flaky and have a great flavor. Since they’re
individually frozen, you can bake as few or as many as you need at a
time.
I mixed the dough up with my KitchenAid mixer, using the regular beater,
not the dough hook. I let it rise in the mixing bowl, and it filled it
to the top. If you take Narita’s advice, and don’t try to roll the dough
into a perfect circle, it really goes together quickly. And for a
shortcut to butter the baked rolls, I just use a stick of butter or
margarine. Peel the wrapper back half-way, hold on to the wrapped end,
and just rub the open end of the stick over the top of the hot rolls. It
melts on contact and runs over the top of the rolls. I use the same
stick to butter the top of homemade bread too.
Let’s meet Narita:
I am
a minister's wife and my husband pastors the Pryor Missionary Baptist
Church. That keeps me very busy. I love cooking, crafts, writing,
reading, Bible study, working with children, and meeting people. We
have 3 daughters, all married, and 4 grandsons.
I like the freezer recipes because I can have food ready quickly. I
never know if dinner will include 2 or 10! Not to mention having
something ready for when people have surgery or a hard day and a quick
meal would be a big help.
Each year as a gift to our church family, we fix a big meal. These
rolls are a favorite. I make them a month ahead of time and during the
dinner, I will bake 200 rolls and have them coming out fresh, 15
minutes apart.
Congratulations, Narita! Your
prize check is in the mail!
Click here to view/print the
Super Easy Best Ever Crescent Rolls recipe.
Click here to see a picture of some freshly baked
Super Easy
Best Ever Freezer Crescent Rolls.
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QUICK TIPS
(April special feature)
Quick Tips for Cold
Storage from Christi Gillentine, author of our Freezer Cooking on
a Budget e-Book.
Click here
for more information or to purchase your copy.
Christi is featured in
Quick Cooking magazine’s April 28 issue as the “Busiest Cook in the
Country” (page 6 & 7).
Here are some tips from the
article.
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My husband prepares Saturday
breakfast, so I stir up pancake batter and freeze it in quart-size
freezer bags. I thaw a bag in the refrigerator on Friday night. The next
day, he simply clips a corner off the bag and pours the batter onto a
hot skillet. This method simplifies cleanup, too.
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I freeze uncooked chicken and
meats in different marinades. I transfer the meat to the refrigerator a
day or two before cooking to let it absorb the marinade as it thaws. So
we always have seasoned meats available.
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Preparing meatballs and other
family favorites in bulk cuts back drastically on prep time. I often
make as many as five dinners’ worth of meatballs in one evening. To
serve, I drop a package of frozen cooked meatballs into simmering
spaghetti sauce and heat through.
Attention Oklahoma cooks:
See Christi on KOTV Channel 6's Noon show "Cooking Corner" segment April
24. And be sure to call or e-mail the station and tell them how much you
LOVED it!
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CONSULTANT NEWS
We have four new consultants! Please welcome:
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Kim H. from Buda, Texas
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Marie C. from Buda, Texas
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Joyce C. from Otsego, Minnesota
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Margee N. from Beverly Hills, Michigan
Click here to check out the whole list with contact info on
the website. Please contact them if you’d like a 30 Day Gourmet
speaker for your local group of frustrated cooks!
Interested in becoming a consultant?
Click here for more info.
Attention 30 Day Gourmet Consultants:
Curtis has the web pages done for everyone who sent him information. If
you haven’t sent yours in yet, whatareyawaitin’ for?
What’s next? Your downloads section and message boards!
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WEBSITE
OF THE MONTH
This website from Family
Fun magazine has some great ideas to help you color eggs… without
paying extra for the fancy kits at the store. Just buy the cheapest egg
coloring kit you can find, (mine was less than $1!) and use some
supplies you have at home to make the coolest eggs on the block. My
kids’ favorite, which isn’t listed, is to make Dinosaur eggs. You cut a
square of cheesecloth, wrap it around a hard-boiled egg, and use a
twister or rubber band to hold each of the ends closed. Dip the wrapped
egg in your favorite color for a couple minutes, and then set it out to
dry. When the cheesecloth is about dry, unwrap the egg. Where the weave
of the cloth touched the egg, the dye will be lighter, giving the egg a
reptile-skin look. Very cool!
Click here for other great ideas!
For another fun idea to do with your kids,
click here for Easter
Story cookies. Make the Easter story come alive for your kids with a few
common ingredients and a few choice scriptures.
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COMING UP IN MAY
Are you as anxious to use the grill as we are? Don't miss the May
issue! We will share awesome marinade recipes that are sure to save you
time and money this summer!
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COOK'S CHUCKLE
Tammy and I both love the
Flylady website.
They often put up lists of this, that and the other thing. Right now
they have one called “SHE shouldn’t” (a SHE is a side-tracked home
executive). We both loved this one:
SHE's
shouldn't leave chili unattended on the stove because SHE would end up
having to put the burning pot outside to cool off in the snow. Of
course SHE will forget it's out there. SHE then would hear her very
nice neighbor scream when he hits it with his snowblower and thinks
it's the cat being splattered all over the yard.
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FINAL
THOUGHTS
Attention Iowa Cooks! A news reporter from KMEG
TV in Sioux City is looking for 30 Day Gourmets in the
SC area. Please e-mail Angie Goff at
newsgem143@aol.com.
She is doing a feature on freezer cooking but it
doesn't mean that you have to appear on television.
Thanks!
Attention SW Michigan cooks! A reporter from
the Herald Palladium in the St. Joe/Benton Harbor area
is looking for an area cook to interview SOON! Please
contact Jane with your cooking story at
ammeson@qtm.net.
The article is slated to run on April 28th.
Thanks again for your support – for me personally and
for this business. It’s so great to hear how freezer
cooking is helping you in your day-to-day lives. It’s
also great to work with such wonderful people! Next
month I plan to make everyone (Curtis, Tammy, Christi,
Carol, Cindy, Gaylen and Beth Ann) come up with a photo so you
can “see” the whole 30 Day Gourmet staff. Please don’t
hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
We’re here to help! And so you won’t forget to think
of my hubby during his upcoming surgery,
click here
to see a photo of us taken on Bob’s 45th birthday last
September.
Have a great month and a blessed Easter!
Nanci & Tammy
30 Day Gourmet
P.O. Box 272
Brownsburg, IN 46112
www.30DayGourmet.com
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This
page was last updated on
Wednesday, June 11, 2008.
Copyright 2008 - 30 Day Gourmet. All rights reserved.
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