Crock Pot Freezer Meals: Cilantro Lime Chicken

 Are you as busy as we are as a family?  I'm certain many can answer with a resounding YES!  I have been stocking my freezer for years with amazing healthy alternatives to fast food.  I t wasn't until I shared my 20-minute process one day on my personal Instagram where I had quite a few questions about the meal prep process.  It started as a rather funny tongue in cheek joke where I showed my friends and family how much I can get done in less than 20 minutes.  I wound up making 3 freezer lasagnas and everyone wanted the recipe because many people think lasagna is a super difficult messy dish.  But my son just loves it and requests it often so, when I make big batched to freeze it seems less of a daunting task.   

I'm sure we all are faced with a night or two that we just can't figure out what to cook for dinner.  Those are the most stressful nights, 5 o'clock rolls around and as you should be pulling something from the oven or stove you rush off for another night of fast food.  These fast-food options are often expensive and far from healthy or nutritious.  Enter:  Crock pot and freezer meals.  The best part...YOU decide what ingredients fit your family best. I have a few very picky eaters and some food allergies so right off the bat we have some limitations.  My husband is allergic to potatoes so you will rarely see potatoes on my shopping list.  We simply replace starchy potatoes with gluten free rice. See, easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Let me also add that I do not have a ton of time to devote to meal planning for hours or days on end.  I typically have maybe 20 minutes before heading off to carpool or dance class.  If I'm making a from scratch meal for the day, I often bring out a freezer bag or pan and double the recipe while I'm making the meal. One for the night and one for the freezer.  So soon you will have a fully stocked freezer and you can reference those easy meals when you schedule gets hectic.  Happy Prepping!

Cilantro Lime Chicken 

4-6 Chicken Breast 

1- Bunch of cilantro torn

1 cup frozen or canned corn

1 can black beans drained 

1 t minced garlic

1 red onion chopped

1 t cumin 

1/4 cup lime juice  

Mix all ingredients in a Ziplock freezer bag.  This meal will typically stay fresh for up to 3 months in the freezer.  When ready to use, I defrost the night before in the freezer then dump in the crockpot and cook on love for 5-7 hours. 

I like to initially freeze my meals stacked horizontally 

flat, then once fully frozen I can stand them up vertically in my 

deep freezer and save on space.  Of course, this is

 just my personal preference, I've seen people store

 their meals MANY different ways. 

Check out my You Tube video a watch how quickly it all comes together!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj2_YzE4SFc

A New Beginning

A wonderful thing happened a few weeks ago. I came across an old piece of paper. Simple I know....but that simple scrap had amazing words of wisdom scribbled on it. It was my birth plan for my first child from 2006. My eldest daughter was only a twinkle in my eye yet I had oodles of things I wanted her to know, to feel, to do; I even scribbled down things as mundane as, "wood toys only", "no make-up" and "less is more". Where had this mom gone?!  Why had my priorities and my hard-line set of rules taken such a back seat to the mom I had become?

I begain to think hard, to analyze the person I am versus the person (the mom) I wanted to be. Eight years and four children later I want to take back my family and my kids. I remember fondly sitting with the love of my life and essentially creating a roadmap for our future, for our children. We had wants,  wishes, and goals. The number one thing we agreed on, "don't allow stuff to become more important that people."
Somewhere along the line we found ourselves swimming in the belongings of our children. Something we promised ourselves we wouldn't do.  But after every turn we also found ourselves buying more and more until our home was filled to the brim. After awhile 'stuff' is just 'stuff' but still it is a need so we continued to  fill already full rooms with one of a kind 'stuff' and  hard to find 'stuff' trying to justify the purchase.  We came to a serious realization this holiday.  WE were going to take back Christmas! We wanted moments not things. And the things that we were going to buy were going to mean something. We settled on each child receiving four gifts... a NEED, a WANT, a WEAR, and a DO. Actually it shows how little we truly NEED. Not one of the kids received a NEED gift and we actually told them we have it all. We have faith, family,  friends and most importantly we have our health. 

I actually think this was the best Christmas to date. We took pictures at the mall, baked cookies, drove around the neighborhood to look at lights,  we had dinner out, wrapped gifts, and talked about the miracles of the holidays.  It may sound too good to be true or like something out of a Rockwell painting and honestly....it's better.
My goal for my children is to be well rounded, respectful, and feel so deeply the love that I have for them. And you know what?   I think STUFF just gets in the way.

I Caved!

Okay anyone who knows me well knows that I'm not a big fan of total commercialization. Don't get me wrong, I love Disney. Their cartoons, movies, and the 'happy place' are great, but you wouldn't see me buying Ariel bedding or Handy Manny birthday stuff. Or so I thought. I used to cringe at all of the princess stuff too until 'it' happened. The look of sheer joy on my daughter's face in regard to everything princess. So, when we stopped off at Party City (a treat after a doctor's appointment) for what I thought would be a quick stop to pick up these funny pink fairy plates for her school party, I stood in awe. It went something like this: 

Me: hey Cam we're going to get plates with a pink fairy on them for your school birthday. Cam: Yea! A party for me. 

Me: Yes, but it won't be for a while. Like a month! 

Cam: And I will have a CAKE. 

Me: Yes, but not today and we are only getting your plates. I veer away from the girly princess aisle (you know the one) and head straight for the pink fairy. We have no idea who it is, but I think it's a Sesame Street thing. So here we go... 

Me: Here Cam, how is this for your school party? 

Cam: (With a look of total disgust) Not good. (Totally calm and not interested she looks up at me.) 

Cam: Where's Tinkerbell fairy? 

 So here it is I caved, big time. This non-specific fairy party is now a Tinkerbell party and yes, Captain Hook accents for the boys.  The things we do for our kids. 

More to come on what this mess is turned into. 

 

And since I still have a say in what she wears to ballet: a rainbow tutu and baby legs.

I told her to pose with her new glasses. She really is a star. I think next year she is confined to black leotard and pink tights. But until then, this is what I do...

Okay. B is reading the Bible so he'll either be asleep soon or crying, I should check on him. Happy weekend.