Batch Cooking Plan

I don’t know about you, but snow’s still coming down pretty steady outside my window. So steady, in fact, that my church actually cancelled services for tomorrow. I was so surprised, but thankful as well.

Not only is church cancelled for tomorrow, but Mark is supposed to fly out at 7:30 am for the sunny state! Wondering how that’s going to work out!?! However, as Mark said, “Don’t worry about what you control.” Amen!

In the spirits of not worrying about what I can’t control, I’m going to cook. I’m going to cook a lot. I already had plans to cook all afternoon Sunday and all afternoon Monday. I guess now I get all day Sunday and all afternoon Monday. I’m excited since this is my first time to give this bulk cooking a try.

Well, at least this amount of bulk cooking.

Mark and I made our grocery trip yesterday to Three Rivers Market. My new favorite place to shop in Knoxville. We love that it’s locally owned, and it sells products from local farmers. Here’s what their website says:

We specialize in authentic, local, organic and naturally-grown foods, including fresh produce, cheeses, fair trade coffees, chocolates, and teas, more than 200 culinary and medicinal herbs and spices, the largest bulk food selection in town, and freshly prepared deli foods. We also carry your favorite refrigerated, frozen, and packaged groceries, fresh local breads from Tellico Grains, Hogan’s Bakery and The Bakery Lady, fresh local milk from Cruze Farms, local cheeses from Sweetwater Valley Farm and Locust Grove Farm, and many, many more healthful and delicious foods.

Doesn’t that get you excited?

So anyways, once we get Mark on the road, it’s just me and this pretty lady.

We’ll be cooking up a storm in the hubster’s absence. That and I’m going to get some girl time (and not just with the above pictured).

However, you may be asking, “Why are you cooking so much?” Well, as you’ve heard me mention, we are working on changing the way we eat around here. We’ve been learning a lot about food recently. To be quite frank, it feels like too much at times. However, I am grateful for the abundance of grace that the Lord pours out on me. I can become so overwhelmed with all the changes that we need to make regarding our diets that I become fanatical even to the point of tears. Yes, I know this is quite ridiculous, but it happens. Thankfully, it happens less and less these days though.

Therefore, in hopes of alleviating some of the stress for the upcoming month and to implement some of the things I’ve learned this past month, I will be preparing a lot of snacks, breads, condiments, etc.  all at one time over the next couple of days. I had been thinking about doing this, then I read that many women all around the country world will be doing the same thing. Money Saving Mom and Life As Mom are teaming up again for another kitchen carnival, so to speak.  This time it’s Freezer Cooking.

Knowing I’m not in this alone was exciting, and since I already had endless amounts of discretionary time, I figured this would be the wisest and most useful way to spend it. Therefore, without further ado, here is my plan for the next couple of days.

Master Batch Cooking Plan:

Condiments

• Coconut oil mayo
• Cream of Mushroom
• Cream of Chicken
• Cream of Celery
• Enchilada Sauce
• Chicken Broth
• Spaghetti Sauce (maybe)

Snacks

• Granola
• Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
• Pepperoni Rolls

Breakfast

• Blueberry Crumb Muffins
• Waffles – finish up mixes
• Bagels

Bread

• Whole Grain Tortillas
• Haven’t decided on my recipe Pizza Dough x 2 or Pizza Crust x 4 – I’m thinking I may combine the two in a way. We’ll see.
• Pita Bread

Meals/Misc

• Cook whole chicken and shred
• Pinto Beans (frugal meal)
• Chicken Enchiladas x 2
• Sweet Potato Stew
• Chicken Salad – will post
• Green Cakes – will post

I will do my best to keep you updated on my progress. If I tell you that, then 2 things will happen. It will require me to sit down and rest, and it will keep me accountable to not being lazy and give up. Most all of these recipes are new to me. Therefore, I’m a little nervous. However, the only way to find out if I can do it is to try, right?

Also, if I have any spare time (which I doubt), I’m going to see about making up some natural cleaners.

We’ll see!

Pray for me folks!

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Questions for you!

Have you ever done a batch cooking day? What is your favorite meal to freeze?