Let's start with the cast of characters...

Today I went through my freezers (both the inside and garage) and wrote down a list of every item in there.  All I can say is this is going to be quite the challenge!  At first I wanted to photograph every item, but once you see the list, you'll see why I opted not to.  Instead, I'm putting the complete list on the right side of my blog, so you can see the progress I've made.  Here are a few photos and descriptions of some of the things I found.

This is pineapple upside down cake.  I made it at one of those places where you make dinners ahead of time and then freeze them.  I am not eating sweets right now, but once I am, I think I will bake this and see how it turns out.  It's been in there a while, so I'm not too hopeful.

These are some of the fruits and veggies we keep.  I usually give these to Chris, because he's kind of a picky veggie eater.  The blueberries are usually used for pancakes, so I guess I'll be making some of those soon!

 

I'm not sure why I photographed these together, but here are two more items.  Chris bought the Steak-ummm, but I don't think it will be too hard to use up.  Same for the fettuccine, I'm hoping to make a fantastic pasta with it.

Hellooooooooooooooooooooooo Eggo!  I hear there's a shortage of these, but not in my freezer.  I actually bought these on a whim, and have only eaten two.  I highly recommend them though.  Add a little peanut butter and you have yourself a waffle PB&J. 

 

These are my secret problem.  Tastykake is only found on the east coast, so when I would go visit Chris I would bring a box home.  I will have no problem finishing these off, that's for sure.

And you can't forget the steak.  These are quality bacon wrapped filets from Omaha steaks.  I completely forgot about these until today.  Sorry Chris, I think you'll be missing out on these!

And then I will admit I threw a few things out that were so gross looking, I wasn't going to use them no matter what.  I managed to realize that this was gumbo, probably from a while ago.  Sorry gumbo, I will not be eating you again.  I also threw out some chilies, and some chorizo.  Oh and some incredibly freezer burned pineapple.  Oh well, can't eat everything.

Well folks, there you have it.  That's a recap of my freezer.  Take a look at the list on the side, and I'll let you know when I cross things off, and what meals I manage to make from all of this.  Hope you stay to follow along!

Operation Clean Freeze

We have a garage freezer.  I realize this isn't uncommon, but the common thing to do is to move it from house to house.  And we are not common.  That freezer is going straight to storage, which means one thing...we need to empty the darn thing!  And by we I mean me.  So I am embarking on a new project I have lovingly decided to refer to as Operation Clean Freeze.  Ok, the name needs some work, so suggestions are appreciated.

My goal:  1.  To use everything in the freezer in a quality meal by February 19th.  2.  Document those meals on this blog.  3.  Take some fun photos of said quality meals using my new photo lights.

I will be introducing the cast of characters this weekend, after a wonderfuly frozen food photo shot.  I did manage to use up a partial bag of frozen peas in my lunch today, so that's already one thing off the list!

Starting 2010 with a BANG!

Happy New Years everyone!  I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday season and spent some quality time with family and friends.  Chris and I had a very busy holiday season, but I will blog about that once I have my photos ready. 

But a few other things have been going on since a few days before the New Year that have caused our world to be a bit topsy-turvy.  I've known about most of this for a few months now, but have been waiting to share everything until we had a few more solid details. 

I guess the biggest thing of all is...we are moving.  I wish I could say where, but honestly we don't know.  There are quite a few factors to deal with.  Chris is now based out of Maryland, USMC-wise, and has to report once per month.  It's too much to fly across the country every month, so we are looking into areas a few hours around Maryland, so he could easily drive every weekend.  He also must find a new job. He left for more training in California this morning, but is already starting to apply to some places back east.  Those are the Chris-based factors.  Now onto me.  I have applyed for a grad school program at ASU, which would start in the fall.  I will find out if I got in in the next few months, and if I get in, I will most likely stay here until school is finished.  I chose to apply here b/c the program is great, and the in-state tuition is hard to pass up.  If I don't get in, I will find a job wherever Chris does, and just move at the same time.

WHEW...wasn't that just daunting?  That's how I look at it.  Lots of unknowns and ifs, but I know that it will all work out in the end.  We've spent the last few days packing up the garage and books, and stuff we don't need right now.  Well Chris has, I don't touch all those tools for fear of his wrath:).  We've also done lots of decluttering, and I've been cleaning up the house all at the same time.   

Since Chris left this morning for 7 weeks at Camp Pendleton, I have time to pack up the house slowly and go through my stuff and try to weed out.  We are going to rent the house for now, and we have already had 1 person look.  But, this also gives me some more time to blog since Chris is usually ready for some human interaction by the time I get home at night.  I guess the animals don't make the best company day after day.  But speaking of them, here's a teaser picture about our Christmas vacation.  More to come soon!