Quick freezer meal idea

It's me again.  Like I said, I probably wouldn't be posting everyday but this weekend was Easter.  My sister Connie and her family were in town visiting from Seattle for the week and it got a little busy.  Of course, it was back to work for me today also. 

I am on a kick right now to create freezer meals.  I don't know about you but we tend to eat out way too much.  Not only do we spend too much money doing that, we are usually eating fast food which is totally unhealthy.  So in my quest to be frugal I want to create meals that I can place in the freezer and take out when I just don't feel like cooking or we are on the go.  I want meals that won't take me more than a few minutes to prepare when we are in a rush or meals that I can throw in the slow cooker that morning.  One of the meals my family likes is stir fry so to make it really simple I bought a bag of frozen stir fry veggies, cooked my chicken and bagged up brown rice.  I placed all the ingredients into a two gallon ziplock bag and put into the freezer.  I did three of these so on the days we get busy and tired we can grab one out, cook it in about 15 minutes and eat.  The temptation at that point is to head to the fast food joint and I don't want that temptation any more.  Besides, by the time we load up the kids, get to the restaurant, place our order, and wait for it to be delivered we could be eating a much healthier meal at home and saving money.  What are your favorite quick meals ideas?

Homemade and better fruit cups

There are so many things I want to share with you but I'll start with this.  Lately I have been on a kick of making and freezing lunches for my kids so that our mornings are easier.  I came across this the other day in another blog post in the comments section and changed it some to fit what I had on hand already and I must say it was a crowd pleaser.  I've come to learn that I should not think my kids won't like something just because I've never fixed it or because I don't like it.  Over the course of the last six months I have made some things that surprised me when my kids liked it.  I have been very blessed that they are not picky eaters.  One of those things is fruit.  I was not a fruit and veggie eater growing up and I didn't buy that kind of stuff fresh because it was expensive.  However, I have seen the error of my ways.  While this recipe does use some "processed" ingredients I am striving to seek out a way to use all fresh items.  So here's my recipe.  Enjoy!

Homemade fruit cups:
1-11 oz can manadrin oranges, drained, juice reserved
9 oz orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained, juice reserved
1 anjou pear, diced
32 oz fresh strawberries, diced
1 cup reserved fruit juice
2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice

Mix all ingredients and divide into containers and freeze.  I used the Glad 1/2 cup size cups with the blue lids.  They are the perfect serving size and this recipe probably would have filled at least 15 to 20 of these cups.  Take out of freezer when packing lunch.  Ours were not quite thawed before lunch but I think that was even better.  They were thawed just enough to eat and were great!  Happy eating!

In the beginning.....

This is me, Jennifer, and I'm a blogger now.  My goal, to share with all of you how I live frugal but feel so rich!  Being the wife of a fireman and mom to three kids means little money coming in, lot of money going out.  My first post, well, it's a bit of a  test since I've never done this before and I'm trying out my blog.  I'm trying to get all the this figured out and try out all the settings.  What I'm asking, please join me and give me a little while to get it figured out.  Will my posts be short or long, I don't know.  Will I post everyday, probably not.  Will I share lots of information that you will find helpful, I hope.  I have a desire to spread my knowledge.  It is my goal to share as much information with you as I can.  We should not hold back what we know or what we have learned in life.  It should be shared and I would love for you to share with me.  Proverbs 24:3 says, "By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures."  We build our houses through wisdom and wisdom comes from the Lord.  I believe God has blessed me with the ability to learn new ways, to make better lives for my family and in that my house is built.  Will you join me in building your houses with the wisdom and knowledge of frugal living?