Return to Top

Click here to view/print this recipe!

Return to Top

CONTEST WINNERS

Our winner this month is DeDe. DeDe talks about how she found her cooking partner through the Cooking Partner page on the 30 Day Gourmet web site and what a difference this and freezer cooking has made in her life.

Let's hear from DeDe:    

I LOVE freezer cooking!!!  I am now 35 years old &  have ADHD.  I was blessed to have 3 wonderful children in 18 months who are each just over one year apart.  Let me explain:  We adopted our son at 10 1/2 months from Cambodia.  Three months later our first daughter was born (making them 13 1/2 months apart) and 14 1/2 months later our surprise-but-much-needed daughter was born.

 

I've never been good at planning meals before 5 pm (even before kids).  But in comes 30 Day Gourmet.  I'm not sure how I discovered your book, but it was the first one on freezer cooking that I came across.   I liked your concept of teaming up with someone.  I tried it with a couple of friends to no avail - too different in taste.  I tried a couple of times on my own to no avail, however I did freeze meals that I would purposely make too much of. 

 

November of 2004, I received an email from someone stating that they found my name and email on your website list.  WOW!  Are we a match ever?!  She has 2 kids (one adopted, also) who are close in age to mine.  She home-schools and I do, too.  We have similar enough tastes, and we work together great in the kitchen.

 

Anyway, we've been cooking together and being friends now for over 2 years thanks to you guys.  It has saved my sanity and the health of my family (we don't eat so much processed/packaged stuff).  I also want to put in that I own and use regularly the Advantage software.  We have a planning day at my house in front of my computer then I print out all the reports.  We cook so well together now that we pretty much know who's buying what and who's prepping what.  

 

Now, on to my current situation.  My husband's been unemployed for a while and we tried to move into my in-laws garage.  That didn't work.  We are now back in our house but only until we sell it - meaning, we've not moved everything in.  My deep freezer is 45 minutes away.  However, I still cook with my friend, and each week, I go down to my in-law's house and go "shopping" in my freezer.  If my husband goes instead of me, I just tell him to "pick up" a few meals for us.  It still works for me.  In a time of my life that has been extremely stressful, at least I can still have good, healthy meals for my family. 

 

I just want to thank all of you over there at 30 Day Gourmet.  You really have changed my life.

 

Thanks for the sharing this great story with us!  

So, how do you make 30 Day Gourmet work for you?  How do you use it to help you deal with a challenge in your life?  How do you use it to help others?  Do you have a funny cooking story to share? Email me at  carol@30daygourmet.com or post your story on the Cook's Corner message board to be entered in our contest.   

      Return to Top

Hello everyone! It’s been months since I have written a newsletter. Where does the time go? I’ll hit the highlights for those of you who enjoy keeping up on my lifeJ

• I just finished my 3^rd year of teaching at Covenant Christian High School and am still loving it! I directed two plays this year as well, The Princess and the Pea and Our Town. Great fun!

• Our oldest daughter, Kaytee, finished her 2^nd year at Ball State University and has transferred to IU to complete her Criminal Justice degree. After that, she plans to head to California to work for the LAPD. We are so proud of her! 

• Our 19 year old daughter, Becky (the one on the front cover with me), just finished her freshmen year at Huntington University. She is majoring in missions. Both girls are working for the City of Indianapolis this summer as day camp counselors.

• Adam (17) and Jenna (13) are hanging around home this summer. Adam is 6’3” and will be a Junior. Jenna is taller than both of her sisters (and me!) and will be in 8^th grade this fall.

I’m sure that you are like me and have a summer “to do” list a mile long. By the end of the school year, teachers have things like “shower” and “get a good night’s sleep” on that list – ha! This summer my biggest things are/were:

• strip and re-stain our log home

• defrost freezer and FILL IT!

• catch up with family and friends

We started on the first project right away and are close to completion. Bob worked 2 weeks of 14 hour days and the kids helped a bunch.

Next job – defrost the freezer and fill it! I’ll admit things had gotten pretty bad

around here. Since I didn’t do my scheduled “Spring Break” freezer cooking, it was slim pickin’s. We were eating out quite a bit and spending LOTS of extra money. A HUGE cooking day was out of the question. I was still too tired from the end of school so I planned to defrost the freezer and do a smaller cooking day. Wal-Mart had split chicken breast on sale so I built my list around primarily chicken recipes. Like most of you, I still had various errands to run and kids to take here and there during this time so I spread the whole process out over 2 days. Here’s what it looked like:

• Wednesday morning – unplug the freezer, transfer frozen stuff to fridge freezer, get coolers ready, plan recipes

• Wednesday afternoon – go shopping (I spent about $180)

• Wednesday evening – clean out freezer and plug back in; start cooking

• begin cooking chicken breasts for cooked, diced chicken

• mix up marinades for chicken and pork

• do 4 recipes (Stuffed Chicken Rolls, Cheeseburger Quiche, Chicken in Marinade, Pork Chops in Marinade)

• Thursday – finish recipes

• do cooked chicken recipes first (Chicken Pot Pie, Chicken Pockets, Chinese Chicken Casserole, Cooked & Chopped Chicken, Chicken for Quesadillas)

• finish with misc. recipes next (Sweet Potato Casserole, Peanut Butter Fudge, Chocolate Chip Muffins, Breakfast McBiscuits)

I love your newsletters, recipes, etc.  I have really benefited from your cooking method.  It's hard to find the time to do the cooking day, but once I do...I love the results!!!  We are currently using many of the recipes I made with a friend this spring! Shawn

Thanks so much for the speedy reply.  I am planning for my first cooking effort, and am trying to get all my ducks in a row.  I am sure you have heard this repeatedly...but this is a tremendous concept.  I'm planning to cook a month's worth of recipes for my elderly parents.  What a blessing this will be for them.  Jacque

I purchased my manual at the North American Christian Convention in St. Louis MO. I believe it was July of 1998.  I am amazed on how big this company has become and am excited for you.  I would like to let you know that I have totally changed the way I prepare foods since that workshop.  I can not imagine going back to having to fix and prepare meals every day.  This has allowed me to be able to spend more time with my 5 kids and get them involved in the cooking of the foods also. Amy from Nebraska

I have gotten several teachers at my school interested and several have ordered your new edition!  I take care of my elderly parents and when school gets busy it is wonderful to pull out dinner from the freezer. And if I get stuck at a meeting or PTA, my father is able to pull out a meal and fix it.  My pregnant daughter just got put on bed rest and I was able to put meals up in her freezer. I love your book. This has been a life saver for me. I don't know why I haven't been on the web site till now. Karen

We're in love with 30 Day Gourmet!!!  We (myself and two other friends) completed our first 'cooking marathon' on Friday and froze 21 meals for each family at the incredible cost of $108.00 per family (an average of $5.00 per meal).  We have already scheduled our next session.  I never thought spending an entire day in the kitchen could be so much fun!  I used to do a version of 30-day cooking in my own home for my family; but, it is so much more productive (and fun) when you find some friends to join in!  Dawn

Q & A

Return to Top

Return to Top

Return to Top