Hello everyone! Life is exciting here at my house. Do you remember when I shared my goals for the year in the January 2006 issue of the newsletter? I thought you might like an update. I made a promise to myself that I would try and honestly work on these goals. It is exciting when you actually make some progress and start to see that light at the end of the tunnel. I was going to concentrate on three different areas; driving, exercise and mind.

Driving: My twin boys got their temporary permits last Christmas and we have spent the last nine months driving with them. What an experience! The more you go through with your own kids, the more you appreciate what your parents did for you. The boys attended driver's education classes over the summer and then drove with a driving instructor once school started. They both took their driver's test this week and both boys passed on the first try. We are so proud of them and they are so excited to get their licenses!

 

Exercise: Earlier I shared with you that I was looking for some sort of exercise that I could do at home in the winter months when it is too cold to walk outside. A wonderful thing happened over the summer. Our neighborhood has an annual garage sale where anyone in the neighborhood can participate and take advantage of the group advertising in the local newspapers. It is a tradition that my kids and I walk the neighborhood to scout for that great bargain. This year's bargain was a whopper! We ran across a neighbor who was giving away a Total Gym for free. I could not believe it. We brought it home and set it up in our basement. My next goal: to actually learn how to use it and do it regularly!

 

Mind: I was able to read the books for book club and now there is another whole list of books to explore. I'm excited. I love to read and some of the books that I read last year have really inspired me. Here are some of the books I am going to read over the next year: When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin, Your People Shall Be My People by Don Finto, The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis, Edge of Eternit y by Randy Alcorn, The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, Joshua by Joseph Girzone, and Things We Once Held Dear by Ann Tatlock. 

It is great to see progress on goals. It inspires me to set new goals and continue to strive to meet the challenges. This goes for cooking as well. I am always looking for new ideas, new recipes, or a new gadget to make life in the kitchen easier. 

In last month's newsletter I talked about different cooking methods and how it  does not matter how you approach freezer cooking. What matters is that you do what works for your situation. This topic spurred a lot of questions about cooking methods and also generated some great ideas. I thought I would share them with you.

September Newsletter Question: I enjoy your newsletter each month, plus you talked about one of our favorite soup recipes (Loaded Baked Potato Soup)! You talked about using water, then adding the powdered milk (actually, you could have pointed out that powdered milk is usually cheaper, plus more convenient on the shelf!). My question: Do you mean that you could add the water to the flour and butter mixture, then simply stir in the the powdered milk with the cheese, salt, pepper and bacon? I wondered if the powdered milk needed to cook through to eliminate the "powered milk" taste.  Janell

Carol's Answer: Save out some of the water (about 1 cup per recipe) and mix it with the flour until smooth. Boil the rest of the water with the butter. Remove the water from the stove. Add the powdered milk and stir until completely mixed. Add the flour and water mixture and put back on the stove and heat until thickened. Proceed with the recipe. I have not noticed a powdered milk taste. I think the bacon, sour cream and cheese cover it up! I agree with you about the cost of the powdered milk. I use it all the time just for that reason. (This method works extremely well with the lower fat version of the soup - Loaded Baked Potato Soup - Lite.)

Recipe Question: We made the cheese filled shells from your book and our family loves them. However, we were thinking that it would be a whole lot easier to work with the hard uncooked noodles. Have you tried this and if not how do you think it would work to fill the uncooked shells cover with spaghetti sauce and some water and freeze? If so how much water? We are trying to make this great dish easier. The ingredients are bought and we need advice. Thanks a bunch. We love the book.       Deb G.

Carol's Answer: I tried this in September. I stuffed the shells before they were cooked and flash froze them on a baking sheet. Once the filling was frozen, I removed the shells from the baking sheets and packaged them in freezer bags. On serving day I placed the shells in a baking dish that was sprayed with cooking spray. I covered the shells with spaghetti sauce. The shells need to be completely covered with sauce and remain this way during cooking. Otherwise, the exposed noodles will be crunchy instead of soft. I also added about 1/2 cup of water to the dish. I baked it for 1 hour and 10 minutes. The shells were done and this method works great! Also, when I make shells, I place the filling in a pastry bag and fill the shells that way. It makes the job of stuffing shells very easy.

Gadget Question: I found your web-site and I must say I am intrigued. I do have a question for you on freezing though. When you assemble a meal, are they assembled in a fashion that you could freeze them in a vacuum seal bag? I have a home sealer that I use currently when I buy in bulk. With 7 of us, that is almost always. I am not a big fan of regular freezer bags so I started vacuum sealing everything. I know when I tried some of the recipes from the library book, vacuum sealing did not work so well and mangled many of the dishes. Any insight or suggestions you could give me on this would be greatly appreciated. I like what I have seen, so I just want to make sure I can use my sealer before I order my book.      Michelle

Carol's Answer: There are quite a few postings on the message board with tips on vacuum sealing. If the meal has a lot of liquid, some people make the entrée, freeze it in a container or in an upright vacuum seal bag, and then vacuum seal it after it is frozen. Here are some links to various postings on the Cook's Corner Message Board:

 

• Vacuum Sealing
• Food Saver
• Food Saver & Marinades
• Vacuum Sealers

 

Menu Planning Question: I enjoy your newsletters so much and admire the fact that you seem so organized about meal planning. Since you seem to cook on a quarterly basis, would you consider posting one of your menu plans? You went into elaborate detail one time about the steps you take before cooking, but I would be interested to see how it all ended up. I know in the manual a sample menu plan was given, but I am in awe of the fact that your menu planning includes lunches as well as dinners. I think this would be a great idea for those of us who want to get started OAMC but haven't taken the plunge. Any help would be appreciate and thank you for listening.                         Barbara

Carol's Answer: I know what you mean. Menu planning can be hard. I have written about lunch planning in a couple of the newsletters. I have even included sample menus. To get some ideas on lunch planning, take a look at the September 2004 and the September 2005 editions of the Chewin' the News newsletter. There is also a page on the website that lists a month of breakfast and lunch ideas. Click here to take a look. As far as planning dinners, there are lots of approaches. The easiest way to start is to say Monday is Italian, Tuesday is Chicken, Wednesday is Chinese, Thursday is grill day, Friday is pizza day, etc. Next list your recipes by category and then start filling in the calendar. The January 2002, April 2002, March 2003, and March 2006 editions of the Chewin' the News newsletter have many pointers on menu planning. There are also lots of great menu planning ideas on our message board. Click here to view one of the postings.

 

Next month I would like to talk about the tools you use in your kitchen. What gadget is totally indispensable to you? What would you recommend to first time freezer cooks? One of the gadgets I received as a Christmas gift last year was an 8 cup measuring cup with a lid. It really comes in handy when your are chilling chicken stock. Having a lid is great because you don't have to worry about spills. I used to use a two quart pitcher and the family would think that there was some strange kind of juice in the fridge! With the 8 cup measuring cup they know that it is stock.

I love sharing ideas with each other, don't you? Feel free to submit any questions or comments you have at any time. Just email me at carol@30daygourmet.com. I love hearing from you.

BONUS RECIPES

Ham and Lentil Soup

Now that it's autumn I always add more soups to the menu. I love having a hot bowl of soup, a fresh roll and a crisp salad for dinner. This soup has great flavor and it is filling. If you have never worked with dried beans before, this is a great recipe to try. Lentils are very easy to cook. I usually make this recipe in the slow cooker but it can also be made on the stove.

Click here to view/print this recipe!

Janice's Spinach Lasagna

This is a variation of a recipe that I got from Janice who is a member of the book club that I attend. Our club shares a meal together before every meeting and this recipe was a hit! The original recipe is meatless. I add sausage to mine so my picky eater will like it. If you have a picky eater in the house, you can also finely chop the spinach so that it is not as noticeable.

Click here to view/print this recipe!

 CLOSING COMMENTS FROM CAROL

Remember, I would like to hear about the kitchen gadget that you just can't do without! Your hints might just be helpful to another freezer cook just like yourself. Do you have any other topics that you would like to cover? Do you have any nagging questions that need to be answered? Email me at carol@30daygourmet.com. I enjoy hearing from you!
 

          Carol