The Homemaker Plans Her Week: Pantry Freezer Challenge Continues

Last week's Pantry/Freezer Challenge went off quite well.  I tried a recipe I've had my eye on for at least two years.  I'm not sharing it because I honestly don't think it's something I'll eve make again, but at least I can say I tried it.  And it was better than I imagined so far as flavor went.  It was texture that killed it for me, namely the texture of the cornmeal mush.  The filling in between was pretty awesome.

I got lots and lots done last week, some of which I planned to do, and a good bit that I didn't, but which I'm glad to finally knock off my list.  I'm really enjoying having this free time just now to catch up on all the things I've been wanting to do.  

Work:

I did not really touch the guest bathroom last week. I was too distracted by all the other tasks I found that needed doing but I did take a moment on Saturday to clean out the cabinet.  I have a plethora of really cheap, really thin and rough dingy white washcloths that I want to retire and turn into cleaning rags.  I plan to put cleaning the rest of the bathroom on the top of my list this week, zone or not.   I want to see it really clean once again.  

The decor in that room could use a touch, too.  I moved a lot of stuff out in order to give space to Katie and Caleb and now it's looking empty.  Nothing major. I'd like a new waste basket, a basket of some sort to go on the back of the toilet to replace the rusty galvanized piece I put there last year, fresh toweling and a touch of paint on the cabinet, mirror frame and door.  Will I get all the cleaning done and all the rest, too?  Probably not.  I'm going to focus first on cleaning.

Zone 3: Living and dining room, front entry.  My main focus will be bookshelves.  The one nearest our bedroom seems to become the worst of them as I tend to slip books right on the front of shelves and others in the house push things onto the other shelves to rest in front of the books.  The cases are overly full already.  It's time to take all the books off the shelves, sort, dust well and arrange fresh.  While I admire those who have empty shelves and space on their bookshelves and are able to intersperse decor here and there, that's not something I can do at present.  My bookcases are simply too full of books!

Of course, included in zone work is dusting, deep vacuuming (getting the edges of the room, moving furniture) and if I find time for it, wiping down walls, but I feel that last one is stretching my ability to get things done.

There are also three boxes of books in the guest room.  I plan to tackle at least one of those boxes and determine if I'm keeping any of them or if they are going to be donated.  I think I can donate to our local women's club for their annual book sale.  Anything I determine to keep shall end up right back in a box until I finally get more bookcases.

It's supposed to be a bit cold this coming week, so I have few plans for outdoors.   Most of the necessary work on the porches now involves soap and water and it's too cold to be wet.  I can get the blower out and blow away the debris on the patio.

I may head out to the shed one afternoon if it even whispers of warmth and start to work on one section.  It's such a disaster that while I will devote a week to just that task later this month, I want to get a start on it, and perhaps get it really well organized by the end of the month.

Kitchen:

Make bread, bagels and pizza dough to put in the freezer.  John has mentioned twice now that he's less than pleased with the two different brands of bagels I've brought home.  He has never complained over the homemade ones, so I'd like to get some made and in the freezer.

And cookie dough.  Caleb asked for cookies Friday, specifically wanting to make cookies.  I had just come in from working hard outdoors and cookies was not on my agenda in the least.  I'd like to have some cookie dough on hand, plain sugar cookie dough because he wanted to cut them out and chocolate chip dough so next time he's here I can let him make cookies.

I shared that I am currently sick of cooking...and planning meals.  Too bad, so sad!  I'm still doing this pantry and freezer challenge and I've plenty of foods on hand to use.  But I'm taking notes!  Even when I'm in this sort of mood, we rarely get takeout because driving an hour round trip to pick anything up has less appeal than cooking.  I hate picking up hot food and having it cold when I get home anyway.  I'll do what I've done in the past: stock a few convenience food items for those days when food fatigue sets in.  

What sorts of things do I typically keep on hand when I'm in this mood?  Chicken tenders, pre-seasoned wings, French fries and tater tots, breaded fish fillets, frozen ravioli or tortellini, pierogi and kielbasa, even a few burger patties I've formed myself when I buy ground meat in bulk.  Some of these things are on sale currently and I plan to take advantage of this and pick up one or two things, but I'll save them for when I'm NOT in the middle of this challenge.

Menus:

Out with John/weekly date

Lasagna, Salad, Garlic Toast.  I was so pleased to find the sauce, ground beef and cottage cheese in the freezer the other day.  I put this together Friday night while I prepared supper.  I made a big 9X13 foil pan of it with the intention of putting portions in the freezer for future meals.

Spanish Chicken and Rice, Black Beans, Pineapple Salad, Tortillas.  I found a container full of Spanish rice in the freezer. I think I can place it in the pan frozen, arrange chicken pieces around it and it should thaw and heat while the chicken cooks.

Veggie Beef Soup, Cornbread. I didn't prepare this meal last week. Today is to be one of our coldest days this week, so soup will be nice both to simmer on the stove and to eat. I went ahead last week and cook all the beef bones from the freezer to make broth. I also found a container of beef broth in the freezer. I'll use that broth as my base for making soup this week and if I need more, I'll take out the one I made last week.  FIFO, Bess told me, is first in first out, so that's why I'm not using the most recently made.  Since the weather is meant to be really cold, I think it will hit the spot.

Swiss Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Butter Beans, Rolls.  Mama always used round steak. I cannot find round steak anywhere anymore, but I picked up a small piece of Chuck steak that I think will be nice.  It is small and will make a smaller portion but that's okay.  Just enough for two is really all I need.

Easy Chicken Divan, Rice, Peas with Mushrooms, Bread and Butter.  Leftover chicken will do nicely in this easy dish.  I found this recipe as an old clipped newspaper recipe on Pinterest.  It's really good.

Breakfast Casserole, Winter Fruit Salad.  I was reminded last Friday when I was worn out and had Caleb that it has been my goal for some time to make Friday meals simple, easy and low prep.   I have this breakfast casserole in the freezer, so all I need do is thaw and bake.  I think preparing a bowl of fruit salad will just about be enough work for the cooking day, don't you?

Personal/Leisure:

I started reading Heart of the Family by Elizabeth Goudge, which is a book club read along and A Faith That Will Not Fail by Michelle Cushatt.  I bought this book last January after hearing her speak on a podcast with The Money Saving Mom about this book.  I was so impressed by what she had to say that I pre-ordered it.  Well, I never picked it up last winter when it finally arrived.  Perhaps I was too caught up in my personal griefs of the time.  I am really getting a lot from the book just now.  I am taking it as a day-by-day devotional.  Cushatt discusses the things that make up a strong faith and she starts the book with Lamenting.  Yes, lamenting, grief and mourning.  I highly recommend the book even though I'm fresh into it.  I've linked it at the bottom of this post.  Google has docked my ad rates because of links set in the middle of posts that they said interfered with their ads and confused readers, so just scroll on down to the bottom of this post if you're interested.

Moisturizing my skin has paid off this year.  I've had no ashy winter skin nor is my skin as crepe-y as it has been in years past.  If I am doing one thing, I'll pass on another...It's my face cleaning routine that is screwed up now and my face is looking rough.  If I don't do makeup, then at the end of the day I'll just skip the cleansing and moisturizing.  Well, it's showing up in tight dry skin...Back I go to my usual nightly routine.

Ho hum....set up outfits.  Just not something I have stopped long enough to do.  After cleaning out the closet last week you'd have thought I'd jump right on that task, but no, I didn't.  Fortunately, I haven't had that many places to go this month, being too busy at home anyway, but it will make it a little easier to get dressed if I'd have a few of them already compiled and accessorized.

My current evening routine, since I'm not allowing myself to spend time mindlessly scrolling reading, coloring, writing, writing notes to friends, listening to music via earbuds, watching Bond films with John and playing one or two online games but not letting any one of these eat up hours and hours.  I'm sleeping really well and feeling far more personal satisfaction and collecting a lot less recipes than I have been.  Anyone else start to feel snack-y after watching cooking videos or scanning recipes online?  Perhaps this will help curb the urge to eat at 9pm.

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