Friday Things #384
1. Isabelle is quickly becoming the little boss lady of our house, she is a total hoot. When we sit at the table and eat, she sings songs (ABCs, twinkle twinkle little star, etc.), we all clap, and she puts her hand in the air and says with a big smile, โthank you! thank you!โ I seriously dieโฆ where does she even get it??!
2. Dominic is still obsessed with weather and outer spaceโฆ heโs determined to be an astronaut! Heโs so quirky and funny, recovers quickly when he gets upset and just wants to be with his people โค๏ธ๏ธ
3. While Joseph starting kindergarten is bittersweet, he just loves learning so much that Iโm excited for him to get back into school; I know heโs going to just soak it up and love it!
4. I plan on buying up all of the Ina Garten spatulas from this collection!
5. I saw this on Instagram and just reading it gave me a sense of peace and calm. I would delete โAugustโ and itโs perfect for any day, every day โค๏ธ๏ธ
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6. Who has made the croissants for the August Bake-Along challenge? Iโve received a bunch of pictures via email; theyโre looking fabulous!
7. Iโm feeling super inspired by Dianeโs comment on The Weekend Dish about prepping breakfasts; what types of things do you keep prepped and stocked in your freezer?
8. My 10 day forecast shows a handful of days in the 70โs and I am elated. This has been one of the hottest summers that I can remember and I am DONE with it. Bring on the fall weather!
9. Fantastic tips on how to organize ANY freezer!
10. TGIF! Smiles from Judith!
Thank you for the freezer organizing linkโฆmine are a mess
Kindergarten is so fun! I hope Joseph has a wonderful experience.ย
I do a lot of breakfast prep because we try to give our kids a hearty breakfast. I will pre-cook a pound of bacon (oven method) and pull out a slice or two per child. It only takes 20 seconds to reheat in the microwave. Whenever we have waffles (or pancakes), I make a huge batch and freeze the rest. Pop one in the toaster for a couple of cycles on the lowest setting and voila! Homemade Eggo ;) I often make a big breakfast casserole at the beginning of the week that serves us for several days. I also make breakfast sandwiches with egg, a cooked sausage patty and a slice of cheese. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and then put all of them in a ziplock. From frozen, I wrap in a paper towel, cook part of the time on 50% power and the the rest on high.ย
I think thatโs most of my pre-made breakfast ideas. Hope they help!ย
They do help, thank you!! Whatโs your favorite breakfast casserole?
Your kids are all so special and so different in their own lovely ways. Iโve always loved how sweet your boys are to the doggies. And how adorable is Isabelle. She sure is looking more and more like you.
Meal prep: sure wish I was able to be so organizedโฆand wish I had that kind of freezer space. My dream fridge is a big giant sub zero kind. Where I can pull the doors open and clearly see everything. One can dream๐
Sweet Judith smile. Your dogs always look happy.
Love the article on freezer organizing! ย Iโm going to follow some of those tips because mine is like a black hole. Those kids are gorgeous, I love the stories about them. ย I hope Josephโs return to school will be safe. ย I cannot imagine the worry around kids going back to school. ย I am loving the hot weather. ย It took until mid July for summer to really arrive where I live so Iโm hanging onto it for as long as possible!
Thank you so much! We are starting the school year virtual, trying to keep everyone healthy and safe. Grateful that we have the option and that we are home and have the ability to do it.
Hello Michelle and Family:
ย Thank you for your positive thoughts, photos, recipes and especially Judithโs wishes!! Your weekly โcolumnโ is one I especially look forward to on Friday.
Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy cooler weather!
We are enjoying our home in the desert, ย The weather averages over 110 F sans heat index. It is beautiful and mountains are lovely!
I precook a pound of bacon at one time. I prefer the oven method but any will work. I remove it from the heat when itโs cooked but not crisp then store flat in the fridge in a glass container. Iโve also frozen it in Ziplocs. Then I can pull out only as many slices as we need and finish them in the frying pan or microwave. If Iโm chopping it for a dish, I can do that from frozen. If I need the bacon fat, itโs there too. Saves a huge amount of time and spatter. Precooked bacon will last a month in the fridge, longer in the freezer.
I also grate large blocks of cheese from Costco and keep them in the freezer. Itโs easy to scoop out as much as I need to add to a dish, and grated cheese defrosts quickly.
Awesome ideas about the bacon and cheese! I always buy big blocks of cheese from Costco and sometimes they donโt make it the whole time in the fridge before getting moldy.
Just spent WAY too much money on No Kid Hungry items but they are for a good cause and I got several Xmas gifts so Iโm happy!
Ha! I love it!
SO glad the breakfast meal prepping is helping some of you out! I just made another big batch of breakfast burritos and Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Breakfast Cookies!
As for other meal prepping ideas, I buy sausages (all flavors), kielbasa, hot dogs, etc. at Costco or Samโs Club and I grill them all at the same time. Weโll usually have hot dogs on a Saturday night, but the kielbasa, brats or other sausages can be used for meals throughout the week OR frozen (which I love)โฆand when you need them again, theyโre already grilled, so they have that great flavor, even if you just microwave them. I also like to marinate chicken tenders (I buy the 6 lbs from Costco also). I use freezer baggies and make a variety of marinades, then freeze them (uncooked). When I need to make a meal, just take them out and thaw in the fridge overnight or soak the bag in a sinkful of water (change every 30 min.). Then I can grill, bake or pan fry them for a quick protein. I have also been known to cook off a bunch of ground beef or bison, simply seasoned with salt and pepper. Then I portion it out, put in freezer bags and throw in the freezer to pull out for quick chili, meat sauce, tacos, shepherdโs pie, etc. Having the meat portion already cooked saves time on pulling the entire meal together, without sacrificing the integrity of the protein. You CAN season it with taco seasoning (Michelleโs is my favorite), lemon pepper, chili powder/cumin, etc. but I like the flexibility to season when I reheat it, or just to keep it with salt and pepper.
I find doing all of this prep work at one time saves my sanity and our need for eating out so much. It also means Iโm only cleaning my stove once, instead of nearly every night.
Seriously such amazing ideas, thank you for sharing!!!
What a cooking inspiration you are.
Let me begin by saying that I am jealous of your weather to my very core. My 10 day forecast is 110+ Every. Single.Day. The monsoons this year are playing hard to get so itโs hot and dry. Itโs so hot I wonโt even grill. This Sunday the family is coming over to watch the Golden Knights play (Go Knights, Go!) and I told them we are ordering pizza, I just canโt turn on the oven. ๐ฅต
Secondly, the article on organizing the freezers was great. They missed one critical factor thoughโฆother family members that rifle through as soon as you get done cleaning and organizing it. ๐๐ I just keep reminding myself that when they all move out I will miss them ๐ย
Have a great weekend!
What a beautiful dog smile!
Thank you for the tip in Silpats leading to cookies spreading! I had been frustrated by that for months. Last night I made a batch of thick and chewey chocolate chip cookies, used parchment and they didnโt spread- just like when I started making them years ago! Did you try reaching out to Silpat? I wonder if they would have a fix or just recommend replacing it after a year or so.
Hi Rebecca, I didnโt contact them, I didnโt use them for very long at all (maybe a few times) when I couldnโt get the greasy residue off. I just packed them away and havenโt used them since!
The kids are so cute โ Dominic is such a little man with his watch & glasses. The โAugustโ post makes me crazy โ using apostrophes in โcansโ & cantโsโ. Didnโt we learn this in fifth grade?
Well, I didnโt write it ;-)
Isabelle is #3 and. girlโฆa double whammy for a sure. I have aways understood that the third child inthe birth order can be a handfulโฆfor all sorts of reasons. When you add the ย female spice and drama, it is a winning combination, I imagine she will keep you, your husbandโฆand her brothersโฆon your collection toes in the years to come.
Good morning Michelle. I was wondering if youโd watched Martha Stewartโs new show on HGTV. It comes on Friday night 10:00 โ 11:00, thatโs 2 half hour shows each, good one to DVR. Itโs so inspirational to watch, she bought this farm 17 years ago and to see the farm then compared to now is totally amazing, itโs a beautiful farm but then again, itโs Martha Stewartโs farm! :). She talks about gardening, her animals and makes calls to her friends to give them advice and some other unsuspecting folks that think they are calling in to get advice from a gardener, only to find out Martha is on the line speaking with them. She truly has a way with all her animals, my young grandchildren love to watch it! After watching her show I want to go plant a vegetable garden right now in my backyard, but of course I think I should probably wait until spring :)
Hi Lucy, I havenโt seen that, Iโll have to check if I can catch it on demand!