Freezer Meals

Lately I've seen a couple places on blogs where people do just a couple days of cooking for the month and put together a bunch of freezer meals. I liked the idea but I wasn't sure if I wanted to go that far so at least made a monthly calendar of what we were going to eat and still shop weekly. While it uncomplicated my meal planning (I didn't plan by what I felt like eating that day and it was really easy), I still got off plan by mid month because I had to go to the store and I'm terrible about making a good shopping list so then I go too much.

Last week I came across a website that had a plan for 15 freezer meals days, breakfast, lunch, and dinners. The idea is to spend one or two days cooking and you are done for the month. I already know that when I do multiple freezer meals at a time I can save a lot of money. So, I made a plan and came up with 9 meals that I would make 2 of each (18 meals total).  Saturday afternoon I spent 2 1/2 - 3 hours shopping and spent my entire food budget, but by the time I run to the store a couple times a week it is much worse, so I feel like I did okay. I don't know how you would fit everything in your cart for a whole month. I'd probably have to take Charlie with me and I'm sure he would love that.

So I made 9 different meals:
No-boil manicotti
Apple cider pork chops
Honey lime chicken
Apricot mustard chicken
Garlic ranch chicken
Baked teriyaki chicken
Chicken macaroni bake
Sweet and sour meatballs
Brown sugar meatloaf

I put them together over the course of two days but really only spent 3-4 hours. I did all of the chicken ones Saturday afternoon and then made the meatballs and meatloaf on Sunday.  I was already going to make sweet and sour meatballs so I just made a double batch and then Charlie and I through together the meatloaf while we were waiting for the rice to finish cooking.

A couple like the honey lime and the apricot mustard chicken are new recipes that we haven't tried before, but most are our family's favorites (Charlie LOVES sweet and sour meatballs). So far it has been really nice to not have to worry about what I'm going to make each day. I was busy running to kid stuff this morning and I'm tired and sore from helping a friend yesterday. By 2 I had the dreaded thought of "what am I going to make for dinner?" And it wasn't a big deal because it was already done. I will pull out tomorrow's dinner tonight to thaw though.

The nice thing is that I put my master shopping list on my computer so I can make this set of 9 meals again with minimal prep work.  I'm excited for this one.  So far it has worked really well and it's nice to feel like life is a little less complicated, even if it is a little thing.

Activity Days Garden Party

Last Wednesday, I went to Activity Days with Madison and Ally.  They did a garden party with their moms and one of the things they did was have each girl spotlight their mom.

Madison's spotlight:
Hello, my name is Madison. This is my mom, Sarah Grunig. My mom is a smartie because she knows how to play piano, read big books, and loves to cook.  My favorite feature of my mom's is her talents from Heavenly Father.  The impact she has on our family is that we do family prayers every night.  The funniest thing that my mom does is she says something like chair--is the stairs.  The nicest thing my mom ever did for me was plant the prettiest flowers that are just like her.

Ally's spotlight:
Hello, my name is Ally.  This is my mom Sarah.  My mom is very kind because she helps my family.  My favorite feature of my mom's is she is fun.  What I admire about her most is she comforts me.  The impact she has on our family is that she made a rule to say family prayer every morning and night.  The funniest thing that happens to my mom is sometimes she says something and she says something else.  The nicest thing my mom ever did for me was on my birthday my mom planned to go to the movies and see Alvin and the Chipmunks, Shipwrecked.

I do have to laugh because I didn't go to the movie--Charlie did.  I'm glad that Ally remembered it being a really fun day, though.

Madison and Ally are growing into beautiful young ladies.  It has been really neat to see them become more aware of the gospel and more sensitive to the Holy Ghost and those promptings.  I love them so much.

Mother's Day

The girls came home from school on Friday and insisted that I open their Mother's Day presents.  Ally's had a paper that she filled out about me.  Here is what it said.

Q. What is your Mother's full name?

A. Sarah Marie Grunig

Q. She is the mother of?

A. 4 kids.

Q. How old is she?

A. 31.

Q. How tall is she?

A. 5 feet.

Q. How much does she weigh?

A. 100.2

Q. What color is her hair?

A. Brown.

Q. My mother says of me?

A. I'm funny.

Q. What does she do around the house?

A. Clean.

Q. What is her favorite thing to eat?

A. Pizza.

Q. What is her favorite tv show?

A. Dancing with the Stars.

Q. Where does she like to go?

A. Stores.

Q. What is her favorite hobby?

A. Cook.

Q. My mother is a lover of?

A. My Dad.

Q. My mother is special to me and I lvoe her so much because?

A. She is very fun.

New dresses

Temple Square

Last weekend Charlie had a funeral in Springville plus it was his weekend off so it was the perfect weekend to make a family trip to Utah.  After his funeral on Friday we headed up to Salt Lake.  Madison has been watching videos on lds.org and some of them are of the sites around Temple Square.  We haven't been to the Church History Museum in a really long time and I don't know that we've ever taken the girls there.  This was one of the spots that Madison really wanted to make it to.  It was actually really interesting and I'm glad we went there first.

Madison and Ally learning to dance:

Emily, Ally, Madison, and Lydia:

Matthew was incredibly hard to get a picture of because he wouldn't sit still for more than 30 seconds.  We really needed to go in the morning so he could nap, but it didn't work out that way this time.

 Log cabin:  Ally, Charlie, Emily and Madison

 We walked south of Temple Square because they had some neat fountains going off.  It might have been a little cool to get wet, but the kids loved it.

Ally at the Salt Lake Temple:

Charlie, Sarah and Matthew:

I wanted a picture with Charlie and it turned into an everybody picture.  We must have looked crazy to people.

If we crop the picture we only look semi-crazy.

Jesus talked to me loud

Yesterday as I was driving to Walmart, Emily and I had a very interesting conversation.

Emily: When I prayed, Jesus talked to me loud.

Me: He did? What did he say?

Emily: He was loud in my ears.

Me: What did he say to you?

Emily: I'm a good girl and I can be big like my sisters.

Me: Do you know Heavenly Father and Jesus love you very much?

Emily: Yeah, I know.

It was such a simple conversation, but so meaningful. Emily just stated nonchalantly, as if it happens everyday. Who knows, maybe it does. No wonder we are supposed to become like a little child.

Conference

I loved conference this year, as I have most other years. It was nice not having things to run to on Saturday this year, especially since Saturday was my favorite day.
The M&Ms was a huge hit. The girls were listening for everything including the songs and prayers. They also cleaned out the candy the first session. They ended up putting it in a bag and saving it for later or, like Emily, to share with our neighbors.  I'm okay with them getting it in one session because they listened and were excited about it.