Mid-March Celebrations

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Homeschool Coffee Break helps fuel this blog and our homeschool - thank you!

Happy Pi Day! This is one of those silly holidays that's not really a holiday. In this case, a good excuse to eat pie! That's a tradition that we've followed for many years, and if our schedule allows, we try to eat several different kinds of pi(e) on this date. A couple of years ago, I shared some favorite Pi(e) Day recipes, and I'd like to share some of them again today. And in a few days, we'll all be pretending to have an Irish brogue, wearing green, and hoping to find a pot of gold. Although a feast day in honor of a saint, St Patrick's Day is also a fun holiday that celebrates all things Irish. Or, things we like to think are Irish, even if they are not! It's a day to drink Irish breakfast tea for breakfast and Guinness or shamrock shakes the rest of the time. And a good day to try to Irish foods, I think. Our social studies a few years ago included our own attempts at international cooking, and I shared many of our recipes here in the series A Taste of Europe. I pulled up one of those posts about food from Ireland to revisit today.

***********************************

Today, March 14th is Pi Day, one of my favorite "holidays" simply because it's the perfect occasion to eat pie! I don't care much for meal planning, so having a day that gives me a chance to be silly and creative in thinking up something for dinner. Believe me, we are not such big fans of math or geometry that we celebrate Pi Day solely for the numbers!

Usually on Pi Day, we try to have every meal include pie. Depending on what day of the week it is, that's sometimes a challenge. Today is one of those very busy days when we're running most of the day so there aren't as many kinds of pie on my menu today.

I planned ahead a little bit and baked butter tarts yesterday. Because tarts are small pies, right? And they are delicious. I made a fairly large batch so we had some to share at co-op and with friends, but I don't think they are my best work. But tasty anyway. 

You can find the recipe in my post Canada Day Butter Tarts.

French-Canadian Tourtiere
(A Hearty Meat Pi)

And speaking of Canada, this is my favorite meat pie - Tourtiere. 

Tourtiere is a French-Canadian meat pie that originated in Quebec. Variations of the dish are also common in other French-Canadian areas and in parts of New England. The recipe I use is probably the most common - with a mixture of finely ground pork and beef - but other meats are used as well; and the dish may or may not include root vegetables. I prefer to serve it with vegetables on the side. What makes Tourtiere different from other meat pies is the use of allspice and cloves.  Also different from most other meat pies - the meats and seasonings are boiled and simmered, not fried. It's best with meat that is very finely ground, but I use what I have available. I use leftover mashed potatoes in the filling, but if I don't happen to have any, the bread crumbs work just fine, and then I make potatoes as a side dish. The hubster and I squirt some ketchup on top of our slices of Tourtiere, but I've heard that in some places it's eaten with maple syrup (so Canadian!) or even molasses. Now I love maple syrup, but I don't know about that.

French-Canadian Tourtiere

Pastry for 4 pie crusts (your own recipe, or use a mix or refrigerated pie crusts)

1 pound ground pork

2 pounds lean ground beef

1 small onion, chopped fine - or use onion powder

1/2 tsp allspice

pinch of ground cloves

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1-1/2 cups water

3/4 cup mashed potatoes (about 2 medium potatoes, or substitute bread crumbs)

Prepare the pastry, and line two 9-inch pie plates. 

Put all the ingredients except the potatoes into a Dutch oven or stockpot. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the potatoes and stir. The mixture should be moist and thick. Remove from heat and allow it to cool for a bit. Fill the two pastry-lined pie plates with meat mixture. Cover with pastry, seal and crimp the edges, dampening with water if necessary. Cut several slits in the top crust. Bake at 375*F for one hour, until browned. 

You may also cut the recipe in half, and make one deep dish 10-inch pie, or two 8-inch pies.

If I'd made these on Pi Day, the vents would have been cut in the shape of the pi symbol.

Kotopita me Feta

(Greek Chicken and Feta Cheese Pi)

This savory chicken pi takes a bit of time to assemble, thanks to the phyllo crust, but is so good! I really wanted this for dinner today, but had no time. If you want to try it, you can find my version of the recipe at Favorite Pi(e) Recipes for Pi Day

We're having just very basic chicken pot pie for dinner tonight. And now for dessert!

Pasta Frola
(Paraguayan Guava Jelly Pi)

I love this South American pie! I first learned about this delicious dessert from a Paraguayan friend and use her recipe. It's also popular in other parts of South America, sometimes made with other fillings, and the recipe may originally come from Italy where the name 'pasta frolla' refers to the cookie-like crust. Find this recipe in my post Eating the Americas - Pasta Frola or Favorite Pi(e) Recipes for Pi Day.

   

Even simpler? Just cut a pi symbol into the top crust of your favorite pie. Done.

***********************************

And now for a little fun with food for St. Patrick's Day! (I'm thinking about a more serious post about St. Patrick for another day. We'll see how that turns out!) We have a silly tradition in our family - we have Lucky Charms for breakfast on St Patrick's Day! I've already purchased the big package of Lucky Charms in preparation for the day, although I'm starting to wonder if there will be any left by then! 

   

This might be my favorite Irish recipe - a sweet loaf filled with raisins and currants called Barm Brack. It's often served toasted with butter, along with a cup of tea in the afternoon. The name may come from Irish words meaning "speckled loaf".  Many years ago, the loaf was associated with Irish Halloween celebrations. Small tokens such as a stick and a coin were baked into the loaf, and these had a meaning sort of like fortune-telling for the person who received that slice.

Barm Brack

1 cup cold tea (use leftover after brewing your hot cuppa!)

1 cup raisins

1/2 cup citrus peel (or about 1/8 cup dried peel)

1/2 cup currants

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/4 melted butter

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

Put raisin, peel, currants and sugar in a large bowl and stir in the cold tea. Cover and let stand overnight.

In the morning, beat egg till frothy, then stir into the fruit mixture. Stir in melted butter.  Combine remaining dry ingredients and stir into fruit batter, just until blended. Spoon into a greased loaf pan, and bake at 350* for 60-70 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before turning out on a rack to cool completely. Serve sliced with butter.

A little more silly fun for St. Patrick's Day - I share this video every year!

An earlier version of the Pi Day recipe collection appeared on Homeschool Coffee Break in March 2017 as Favorite Pi(e) Recipes for Pi Day and an earlier version of the St Patrick's Day recipes appeared in March 2015 as A Taste of Europe - St Patrick's Day

 Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to Homeschool Coffee Break by Email!

 ©2006-2019 Homeschool Coffee Break. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://kympossibleblog.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Homeschool Highlights - Spring Snow Edition, Week Twenty-nine

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Homeschool Coffee Break helps fuel this blog and our homeschool - thank you!

Welcome to Homeschool Highlights! 

This weekly link-up is your opportunity to share some highlights of what is happening in your homeschool and in your world each week. If you write a wrap-up post at the end of each week, like I've been doing, we'd love to see what you're busy with from week to week. If you'd like to pick a favorite post from your week that spotlights a resource or activity in your homeschool that you'd like to tell others about, we're interested in those too. I'm keeping the guidelines as simple as I can, and they will appear at the bottom of each post, along with the link tool. I look forward to getting to know you, and I hope this will be a source of encouragement and good ideas for all of us.

Grab a cup of coffee and let's get started!

Back to a wintry looking cup. But I was ready for spring to arrive for real.

Homeschool news  . . . This week started out with great promise and I was happy with how much Kennady got done, working on Algebra, History, and French. Then we wound up with a snow day on the first day of spring (how ironic), which wasn't entirely a bad thing since we could stay home and continue doing school instead of run about. She missed her guitar lesson because of the snow, but had that time to spend on other schoolwork so all was well. Sadly, the parking lot at the church we use for our co-op could not be cleared in time for us to have classes on Thursday morning, so we cancelled. That turned out to be a good thing in a way, because Kennady and I both woke up with scratchy throats and hardly any voices. I let her sleep late but then once again we had some extra time to work on school at home.

In other co-op news, a lady that had planned on teaching three of the high school classes for next year found out she'll be unable to do it, so we went to work on finding other teachers in hopes of still offering the classes. I decided to teach the US History class. I'm excited and just a bit nervous. It's the Notgrass Exploring America course that Kennady is doing next year anyway, which made it something relatively easy for me to agree to. Although I'll have to have lesson plans and do grading for at least three or four other students, at least we'll be compelled to stick diligently to a schedule, and I'll have a little income for it. We managed to move things on the co-op schedule a bit so we can still offer the high school science class, but we are still in search of a teacher for the high school health class.

Other news . . . Last weekend we finally got two of the five of us to the eye doctor for updated prescriptions. Landon and hubby needed to order new contacts so they were priority. Landon is interested in Lasik surgery, so we're going to a consult for that. Spencer and Kennady are next to the eye doctor. I won't need to do that for awhile. Next thing will be the dentist for all of us. Ugh.

Spencer's car got dropped off for repairs on Monday and we've been driving a rental vehicle since then. We just got word that his car won't be ready until next Friday. In the meantime, I am starting to shop around for new auto insurance, which is not exactly fun.

The snow started on Tuesday, which didn't affect our morning activities - Kennady and I both went to work in the morning as usual, but I did pick her up from work a bit early so she could go with me for a co-op board meeting. While I was in my meeting, she was supposed to be studying French with the other girls. Instead they mostly giggled and goofed off, as far as I can tell! Nothing wrong with that! We ran a few errands while we were in town, and then I got Kennady to drive home. I figured we should take the opportunity to let her practice driving in winter conditions since the chance (hopefully!!) wouldn't come again until after she's able to get her license! She did great. And then everything was cancelled on Tuesday evening so we got to stay home.  Same thing happened on Wednesday, and the boys didn't have to go to work either! We had high hopes of things being back to normal on Thursday, as the guys all went to work and we felt confident we could all get out of our driveways. The roads were fine too, but unfortunately the co-op parking lot couldn't be cleared and wasn't safe for us to go to co-op. Kennady and I holed up at home and nursed our sore throats in the morning, ran some errands in the afternoon, and went to worship team practices in the evening. Kennady's voice held out pretty well, but mine was far more gravelly by the end of practice than I would have liked! Hopefully I'll have a voice again by Sunday.

So this is what the first two days of spring looked like this year:

What I Loved This Week . . . exploring the cheese department of Wegman's with Landon and finding some new things we wanted to try. We finally settled on Armenian String Cheese, and it was an excellent choice. We had soup and toasted cheese "sandwiches" for dinner one night - Armenian String Cheese in pita bread. Wegman's has just found one more way to take the money right out of my pockets, because I will definitely get that cheese again!

On my blogs last week . . .

Here on Homeschool Coffee Break:

Virtual Refrigerator - Dwight
Books in Print and Handwritten Notes

And on my book blog, Just A Second:

Wordless Wednesday - First Days of Spring
What I'm Reading - March 19, 2018
Scripture and a Snapshot - Storms

Just A Second is where I share book reviews and other book-related things, and update on what's on my bookshelf. This week I've been reading:

As Death Draws Near (A Lady Darby Mystery) by Anna Lee Huber
Keturah (The Sugar Baron's Daughters) by Lisa T. Bergren
The Weaver's Daughter: A Regency Romance Novel by Sarah E. Ladd

A parting shot . . .  This sign at the local coffee place makes me laugh. I'm ever so curious about how the beans are "roasted by human hands," aren't you?

Grab the button and link up with Homeschool Highlights!

<div align="center">
<a href="http://kympossibleblog.blogspot.com/ title="Homeschool Coffee Break"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7wr0-NI6UdHibWAcXkrcAc47y8tPrt4d0dQLduL1h628DtaQN_6us-rb6vzu_8LDx3E-r7ZQKsNCio2VE_GfY7upd7KXurFKK3IsQN7uN1b5a009xdVCZrVDlaCc_kh_ZMdoIWIm7GpWq/h120/homeschool+highlights+B.jpg"  width=132&height=150&cropmode=none" alt="Homeschool Coffee Break" style="border: none;" /></a></div>

Homeschool Highlights guidelines:

• Your blog should be family-friendly content, and your post should include something about homeschooling.
• Please link directly to your post, not your blog's homepage.
• Please include a link in your post to Homeschool Coffee Break - you may use the graphic above if you wish. 
• Visit a couple of the other bloggers and comment or share.

An InLinkz Link-up

I will be linking up my own posts at the following weekly link parties that you may also be interested in: Weekly Wrap-Up hosted by Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

 Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to Homeschool Coffee Break by Email!

 ©2006-2018 Homeschool Coffee Break. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://kympossibleblog.blogspot.com/

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Favorite Pi(e) Recipes for Pi Day

Pi Day is one of our favorite "holidays" - but not because any of us are math nerds. We like it because it's kind of silly, and it's an excuse to have Pie! Who doesn't like pie!?

Usually on Pi Day, we try to have every meal include pie. Depending on what day of the week it is, that's sometimes a challenge. I hadn't planned ahead for any of my favorite pies that involve lots of meal prep time this year, since Tuesday is generally the day we are on the go. But as the weather forecast would have it, we are more or less snowed in today and don't have anywhere we can go! So I may have time to get a main dish pie ready for dinner after all. (And I'm guessing we'll have Pizza Pi for lunch!)

Here are some of my favorite recipes, all of which have been served here to celebrate Pi Day, or the country the dish originated in, or just because they made good eating.

French-Canadian Tourtiere
(A Hearty Meat Pi)

Tourtiere is a French-Canadian meat pie that originated in Quebec. Variations of the dish are also common in other French-Canadian areas and in parts of New England. The recipe I use is probably the most common - with a mixture of finely ground pork and beef - but other meats are used as well; and the dish may or may not include root vegetables. I prefer to serve it with vegetables on the side. What makes Tourtiere different from other meat pies is the use of allspice and cloves.  Also different from most other meat pies - the meats and seasonings are boiled and simmered, not fried. It's best with meat that is very finely ground, but I use what I have available. I use leftover mashed potatoes in the filling, but if I don't happen to have any, the bread crumbs work just fine, and then I make potatoes as a side dish. The hubster and I squirt some ketchup on top of our slices of Tourtiere, but I've heard that in some places it's eaten with maple syrup (so Canadian!) or even molasses. Now I love maple syrup, but I don't know about that.

If I'd made these on Pi Day, the vents would have been cut in the shape of the pi symbol.

French-Canadian Tourtiere

Pastry for 4 pie crusts (your own recipe, or use a mix or refrigerated pie crusts)

1 pound ground pork

2 pounds lean ground beef

1 small onion, chopped fine - or use onion powder

1/2 tsp allspice

pinch of ground cloves

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1-1/2 cups water

3/4 cup mashed potatoes (about 2 medium potatoes, or substitute bread crumbs)

Prepare the pastry, and line two 9-inch pie plates. 

Put all the ingredients except the potatoes into a Dutch oven or stockpot. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the potatoes and stir. The mixture should be moist and thick. Remove from heat and allow it to cool for a bit. Fill the two pastry-lined pie plates with meat mixture. Cover with pastry, seal and crimp the edges, dampening with water if necessary. Cut several slits in the top crust. Bake at 375*F for one hour, until browned. 

You may also cut the recipe in half, and make one deep dish 10-inch pie, or two 8-inch pies.

Mac and Cheese Pi with Bacon Crust

Now this one, I might be able to pull off today. 

1-1/2 pounds bacon
8 ounces pasta (uncooked)
1/4 cup butter
2-1/2 tbsp flour
Salt and pepper, dry mustard to taste
2 cups milk
4 cups shredded cheese
1/2 cup grated or shredded Parmesan

2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup bread crumbs

Weave the uncooked bacon slices into a square about the size of a pie plate. Place into the pie tin and press down with another pie tin - this keeps it in a crust shape and keeps it from curling too much as it cooks. Weave six of the bacon slices into a loose lattice on a baking pan. Put the bacon crust and the lattice into a 400* oven for about 20 minutes.

Cook the pasta and drain. Melt 1/4 cup butter over medium heat and stir in flour and seasonings. Add 2 cups milk slowly, stirring constantly. Then stir in the cheeses, cooking and stirring over low heat until thickened and the cheese is all melted. Stir the hot pasta and the cheese sauce together.

Melt the remaining butter in a small skillet and brown the bread crumbs.

When the bacon is cooked, drain as much as possible and allow to cool a bit. Pile the mac and cheese into the crust. Top with the bread crumbs, some fresh basil, and the bacon lattice. Return to the oven for another 15 minutes.

Kotopita me Feta

(Greek Chicken and Feta Cheese Pi)

This savory chicken pi takes a bit of time to assemble, thanks to the phyllo crust, but is so good!

Chicken and Feta Cheese Pie (Kotopita me Feta)

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, about 8-10 oz total

2 stalks celery

fresh or dried dill

3 oz (3/4 cup) feta cheese

2 oz (1/2 cup) grated Romano cheese

1/3 cup olive oil

2 large eggs

2 tbsp butter

10 sheets of phyllo dough, thawed

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried basil or thyme

black pepper

Cut chicken breasts into one-inch cubes and place in a large bowl. Cut celery into small chunks (about 3/4 cup total) and add to the chicken. (I've used carrots instead of celery and it worked out fine - just gave a little different flavor.) Chop fresh dill and add about 1/2 cup to chicken. Add oregano, basil, and pepper. Crumble feta cheese into the mixture and add Romano cheese and about 2 tbsp of the olive oil. Mix well. Break eggs into the mixture and mix. Refrigerate while preparing the phyllo crust.

Lightly grease a 10-inch pie plate. Melt butter over low heat, then add remaining olive oil and stir. Count out ten sheets of the phyllo dough. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the surface of the first sheet of phyllo with a thin coat of olive oil/butter mixture. Then lay the sheet into the pie plate, gently pressing it into sides and corners and allowing the extra pastry to hand down evenly around the sides of the plate. Repeat this step with all the remaining phyllo, laying each into the pie plate, but staggering the sheets so they cover the whole plate with plenty hanging out over the side. These will be folded over the filling to create the top crust. 

Spread the chicken filling into the pie crust. Then lift the overhanging corners of pastry one at a time and fold over the pie filling. Tuck in any edges to prevent them from burning. Brush the top of the pie with any remaining olive oil/butter mixture. Sprinkle with a few drops of cold water. Bake at 350* for 50-55 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Let the pie cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Ready for dessert? Of course we are - our favorite pies are the dessert variety!

Pasta Frola
(Paraguayan Guava Jelly Pi)

It's not pasta, it's pastry - I first learned about this delicious dessert from a Paraguayan friend and use her recipe. It's also popular in other parts of South America, sometimes made with other fillings, and the recipe may originally come from Italy where the name 'pasta frolla' refers to the cookie-like crust.

   

Pasta Frola

3 cups flour

5 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup margarine or butter

2 eggs, beaten

2-4 tbsp milk

2 cups (approximately) guava jelly

Sift together the dry ingredients. Mix in the butter with a pastry blender. Add the beaten eggs, and the milk as needed to make a soft dough. Roll about 3/4 of the dough into a circle, and save the rest for the top crust. Grease a large cake pan and place the dough in it, so it overlaps on the sides, like a pie crust. Fill with guava jelly. Roll out the rest of the dough, cut it in strips, and lay it on top in a lattice. Fold over the extra dough and crimp edges.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

I prefer Pasta Frola served warm with a cup of coffee.

Or just dress up your favorite Pie with a Pi symbol.

What kind of pi will you enjoy today? Leave a comment and let me know!

(I may or may not have had a Whoopie Pi for breakfast today! It's once a year - don't judge me!)

This post is linked at the Homeschool Linky Party on the Homeschool Review Crew blog.

 Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to Homeschool Coffee Break by Email!

 ©2006-2017 Homeschool Coffee Break. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://kympossibleblog.blogspot.com/

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Homeschool Coffee Break helps fuel this blog and our homeschool - thank you!

Meal Plans in Minutes with MyFreezEasy (Review)

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Homeschool Coffee Break helps fuel this blog and our homeschool - thank you! 

I used to think that since I was home during the day (because, y'know, I'm homeschooling and all), that I should probably get pretty good at putting good home-cooked meals on the table each evening. But it turns out I don't have nearly as much time as one might think, and since cooking isn't my favorite pastime, my goal has been to get in and out of the kitchen as fast as possible, and that hasn't always resulted in great meals. So I was very interested in reviewing a membership with MyFreezEasy through the Homeschool Review Crew. I received the MyFreezEasy.com Freezer Meal Plan Membership and have been trying a few new recipes and stocking my freezer with ready-to-cook meals.

 

MyFreezEasy is a freezer cooking method developed by Erin Chase of $5 Dinners, to help families save money and time in getting good meals on the table. And hopefully reducing the number of times you really have no answer for the dreaded question: What's for dinner?

This is me, hoping there is something to eat under that lid.

With MyFreezEasy, you can have ten to twelve meals prepped and into your freezer in about an hour. Erin has picked out recipes that work going from freezer to table - and combined them into sets of recipes with common ingredients, and with a master shopping list so it's easy to tell what you'll need and how much. 

Here's how it works: With your Freezer Meal Plan Membership, you get access to eight new meal plans every month. There's even special meal plans if you are following a gluten-free or clean eats diet. Your membership gives you access to all eight plans too; and they are new recipes every month. Each download-and-print meal plan comes with an organized shopping list, all the instructions to prepare each recipe, printable labels for your freezer meals, and notes on modifying recipes to be gluten-free or dairy-free. And you'll also have access to highlights videos and full instruction videos on assembling all the meals.

Even better, with the Premium Membership (which is what we received for the review), you can create your own meal plans from the huge selection of recipes. Erin's right that this is a game-changer, because instead of getting a meal plan where three or four out of the five recipes just don't look like something that would fly with your family, you can pick out the recipes that you really want to serve to your family. 

How did we use it? Well, I wanted to see how the pre-selected meal plans and the Build Your Own plans worked, so after getting familiar with the website layout, I started by downloading a few of the September 2016 Meal Plans - Traditional, Slow Cooker, All Chicken, All Ground Beef, and All Pork Chops. I took some time to look through those recipes, and then also explored the Build Your Own recipe options and put together a couple of meal plan packages of my own. I started with a couple of the simplest recipes for which I already had ingredients. Each recipe is laid out with an ingredient list that is for one meal, and with instructions for preparing one meal from start to finish, and instructions for preparing two meals to go into the freezer. A couple of the recipes I thought I was pretty safe to just prep them and put them in the freezer for when they'd be needed, and a couple of them I thought I'd be wise to make just one meal and see what the family thought before loading up the freezer.

One thing I noticed that will probably be very useful for some families is the ability to change the serving size of the recipes in the Build Your Own meal plans! The default size is for 4 servings, but you may change that to 2 or 6 or 8, depending on how many people will be at your table. And you can change it for each recipe too. So you could build a plan with a couple of 2 serving meals for when just a couple of you will be home, a couple of 6 serving meals for when the whole family is home, and an 8 serving meal to have handy for when your kid wants to bring a friend or two home for dinner after church.  I did try that feature, by changing meal sizes to 6, but I quickly found out that Erin's serving sizes are generous, and 4 servings would generally be enough for us. By changing the serving size, the shopping list and ingredient list amounts will automatically change to reflect that, which is awesome! However, at one point I ended up with this in the ingredient list for a single meal of a chili: "1 1/2 x 2 15oz. cans of white beans" It was totally correct, but I had to stop and think for much too long! (And then I still wound up doing something wrong with that recipe, which was totally my user error, but caused by my attempt to do math while cooking!) 

The shopping list though. LOVE the shopping list, because the plan makes it for me. By recipe, or by store section; and a complete list or a list just for the ingredients needed for the frozen part of the meal. In other words, for say, the Swedish Meatballs, it's only the meatballs that are prepped and put into the freezer, so I wouldn't need the broth and cream for the gravy until the day I plan to serve the meatballs. 

In general, I found the instructions to be clear and concise, and I didn't feel I needed the full instructional video each time. I made use of the highlights videos which have some tips and tricks to help you out, and just give an overview of the recipes. 

Alright, enough talk - here are some recipes we tried! (By the way, I am not a food photographer, and I don't feel like my photos are that good. Don't judge the food by my pictures alone!)

Bacon Cheeseburger Nachos - quick dinner served with salsa,
guacamole, and sour cream on the side; and with salad and fresh veggies

Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef

Chicken and Ranch Macaroni
(aka Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!!)

Winners that didn't make it onto my camera: Triple Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese, Bacon and Ranch Chicken (So good!! Because BACON. And lots and lots of cheese!), Garlic Parmesan Pork Chops . . .

And in my freezer, ready for whenever they're needed, I am stocking a growing selection of meals ready to go. They include:

Cuban Style Pork Chops

Garlic Parmesan Pork Chops

Mediterranean Chicken Thighs 

Bacon and Ranch Chicken, and more!

As you can see, I didn't bother using the printable meal labels most of the time, but they are there if I need them. You can print them on labels (or paper, like I did, and just tape them on) and they include the thawing and heating instructions, so you don't have to hunt up your MyFreezEasy recipe book each time you pull a meal out of your freezer.  I did, in fact, turn my recipes and shopping lists into my own recipe collection, which I will add to as I get new meal plans each month.

My bottom line: MyFreezEasy is everything I like about the idea of prepping meals ahead of time and stocking my freezer, without the hassle of trying to figure out for myself whether a recipe will work to freeze, or pull together my own shopping list from various recipe books. I especially appreciate the flexibility of the Build Your Own Meal Plans, and the wide variety of recipes to choose from. These are meals that regular families can enjoy together, with ingredient lists that are relatively short and easy to find; and they are not just a bunch of casseroles. (My kids are opposed to eating anything called a "casserole"!) There's a wonderful balance of traditional and familiar dishes and dishes that have a bit of a flavor twist or an international food influence. 

Would you like to try creating your own personalized meal plans with MyFreezEasy? Here's what you need to know:

Visit the website: https://MyFreezEasy.com/

Pricing: Find all the information about membership and pricing on the Join Now! page.

You can connect with MyFreezEasy on Facebook, on Instagram, or on Pinterest. There is a Facebook group for members as well.

Visit the Homeschool Review Crew blog for more information and to read other reviews.

 Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to Homeschool Coffee Break by Email!

 ©2006-2016 Homeschool Coffee Break. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://kympossibleblog.blogspot.com/

I have done my best to provide accurate pricing and links at the time this post originally appeared. Please be aware that these may change.