Stocking my freezer

Fall makes me want to cook. Well, at least October brings on the cooking frenzy. We are still having upper 80 degree weather here. But I am breaking out the crock pots anyway and hoping that eventually the weather cools a bit.

I've spent the last week making soups (split pea, yellow pea, chicken noodle, tortilla), chili, browning ground meats to add to sauces, making meatloaf (very convenient serving size when made in a muffin tin) banana bread, pumpkin bread, spaghetti sauce, and chicken stock.

My chili ended up being way too spicy. I had to triple the recipe to tone down the fire just to get it to manageable levels for my family. So now I think I have enough to last us until 2011. But it is rather tasty so I am looking forward to some cold nights to enjoy it. So now my freezer looks like this:

I've still got some more meals to make to use up the rest of the chicken and ham. I've got Toby helping me too. He is a fabulous cook and so I am employing him to make the chicken makhani, thai red curry and massaman chicken this afternoon while I am working on the soups. (One of the joys of having a homeschooled kid is the built-in helping hands during the day.)

A fully stocked freezer is the best reward for a couple days of cooking and dish doing. Now, when it's 6:00 and I'm looking for something for dinner, I'll just have to warm it up and we're all set.

Priceless.