The Pinterest Challenge #1-3: Freezer Meals

Friends, I have 979 followers on Pinterest. 93 boards. 5,537 pins.

This is an accomplishment akin to the "Achievements" Steve gets when he beats a level or finds some hidden thing in Black Ops on the xBox. Meaning, obviously, that it is more a cause for concern than an actual accomplishment.

So here's the deal. I've got 5,537 pins. All I have to do is complete 100 of them. And then I win! Yay!

I've got everything from DIY maternity clothes to financial overhauls to desserts-in-a-cup pinned, so that should lead to a nice variety of big and small tasks I can accomplish while Steve is off being a first year resident. (Won't it be great to respond to his "I stitched up a guy's face today!" with "Cool! I made a life sized horse sculpture out of Home Depot paint swatches!"?) Anyway as I go along I'll show you the hits and misses (I've already had some of each) for your voyeuristic Pinterest-judging enjoyment. :)

Today we start with freezer meals, because in my panic over being alone & pregnant/having to cook during intern year, I for some reason felt that these would be the most helpful thing I could do for myself. Oh, me.

1. Green Smoothie Packs
source: All Things G & D
worth doing again: Smoothie packs, yes. This recipe, NO.

Simple idea. Chop up fruits and spinach and toss them in freezer bags, then just blend up with some juice (though the original poster used just water--ew! Bland!) later. We've done these before, but never a green smoothie recipe.

The kids and I drank this the other morning, and it was pretty gross/watery/weird textured. If/when I did/do it again, I would probably skip the green apples in favor of more berries and maybe some pineapple. The spinach wasn't really noticeable flavor-wise, but it definitely freaked Gracie out to have spinach in with fruit. :)

2. Toddler French Toast Sticks
source: Once a Month Mom
worth trying again: yes

Basically you whip up a huge bowl of eggs, milk, cinnamon, and sugar (she also added veggie purees, which I was too lazy to do), slice pieces of bread into sticks, dunk in the mixture and bake for 15 minutes on each side.

This was pretty easy, and I think they came out good. The ones I baked in glass pans came out a little crisper than the ones on a cookie sheet. I've got probably 6 meals worth(?) in the freezer now, and I plan to just pop these babies in the toaster and serve them with applesauce to dip in. (That's how I justify feeding my kids breakfast foods for dinner rather frequently--applesauce instead of syrup. Mom of the year!)

3. Make Ahead Eggs with Spinach (for Homemade Egg McMuffins)
source: Macheesmo
worth doing again: yes, if I can ever get it right

This is actually the third time I have attempted this. The first time I made the full McMuffins, like the original poster does, and froze them. They were are PAIN to defrost. I am hungry in the mornings. And now that I'm preggers, I really don't like to sit around waiting for food. The second time, and this time, I just did the make-ahead egg step. You whisk them together and bake them in cupcake tins for about 20 minutes, and then freeze.

Would I recommend them? Not yet. So far I have tried PAM and butter, and metal and silicone cupcake trays, and every time these make a huge, unwashable mess when baked. It is almost impossible to get the extra baked egg off of the tins--and even the silicone! I hate cleanup. So I definitely haven't perfected this.

That said, I do like having eggs ready to go on my sandwiches in the morning. I pop one in the micro for 1 minute, then put it on an English muffin in my toaster oven and toast. Yum. Not good enough to eat on their own, but perfect on a sandwich.