Freezer Cooking February & Guest Posts Request

One of the ways that I find that I can stretch my grocery budget a little farther is with "freezer cooking." This is basically where you make meals ahead of time and freeze them for quick meal-prep later. I'll go into the ways to save in one of my "Long-Term Savings" postings but I wanted to share with you my plans for February.

I've been wanting to get in another good Freezer Cooking session coming up. Well, I've been sitting here for days saying how I've been fr-fr-freezing and I thought it might be fun to do a month-long Freezer Cooking theme for February to go along with the cold we have outside here in Chicagoland.

While I am still learning the do's and don'ts of freezer cooking, I know some of you have also had success with recipes, etc. So I'm opening up to some Guest Posts if anyone is interested. I'm keeping them real simple with just bloggers/readers sharing some freezer cooking recipes that they've had success with--and maybe some tidbits of what you've not had success with, too! If you are interested in doing a guest post, please send me an email with the subject line "Freezer Cooking Guest Post" and I'll get back to you with more details.

And what fun would another monthly theme be without some great giveaways? I'll also be hosting some giveaways for some Freezer Cooking books and some supplies to aid in the freezer cooking process. I'll do a link-up, as well, for you all to share your freezer cooking sessions.

I hope you all will enjoy the theme and not only find more ways to stretch your budgets farther, but that you'll also find some great recipes in the meantime! Stay Tuned!

2010 Goals and Blog Series

When I think about what made me the happiest over my little mini-vacation, it wasn't presents that I received but the time I was able to spend with my family. I was also able to have some time to think about what I wanted for the next year. I really want to make 2010 a great year for us. So I've made some goals for myself and tried to incorporate some blog series around them to help fulfill them. Now, I could fail miserably at achieving them but I'd rather try and fail then not try at all. Here's what my current list looks like:

Personal Goals for 2010

1) Spend even more time with the kids. I'd love to use everyday life activities to teach them the skills they'll need in school and life in general.

2) Pay more on our house to reach our long-term goal of a debt-free life in 2014. For over a year now, I've said that I want to be debt-free by the time I have to take my daughter to her first day of Kindergarten.

3) "Give Back" even more to those in need.

4) Be sure to include in more "me time" throughout the week.

5) Learn more ways to stretch my grocery budget and to expand my knowledge in the kitchen, along with turning favorite recipes into a healthier version.

So to help me achieve these goals, here are the new series that I'll do at random on the blog:

Upcoming Blog Series

1) Outdoor Learning/Play & Learn - So this is the year of my hopeful big garden. I'm hoping to not only get in an extensive variety of veggies but to also create a nice butterfly/bird flower garden. I also want to spend more time outside with the kids, in general, finding great things to do for free. I'll be sharing our experiences as they happen.

2) Long-Term Savings - While weekly hot deals, freebies and coupons are great to find, it's hard to base a budget around them. As I find more ways to maximize our savings and find more ways to have fun on a limited budget, I'll share them with you. Some of these will be similar to my 31 Ways To Save On Your Grocery Budget Without Coupons Series I did HERE.

3) Locate Great Donates - I'm taking a Rubbermaid Container, marking "Giving Back" on it and hoping to fill it up quite regularly. As I find items that are free or near free at stores, I'll share them with you so you can fill your donate boxes, too. I'll be putting a link-up option on each weekly posting so you can share your findings and/or pictures of your over-flowing boxes! (that you'll donate when full)

4) Read With Us - I was able to take some time to catch up on some of my magazines over my "break" and it just made me realize how much I miss getting in some reading time. So each month, I'll share with you the book I plan on reading and hope you will share yours, as well, so we can all find some "great reads" for the year. I'll also be doing a giveaway each month for whatever book I'm reading.

5) Happy & Healthy - I'm the only one that can be responsible for me living a healthier life. I'm hoping to take our favorite recipes and find healthier versions. I'll share any good recipes and/or books that I find to help fulfill this goal. I'll also be starting back up my Conveniently At Home series of where I try to find more homemade recipes that I like.

These series will be at random and will be in addition to the daily hot deals, freebies and coupons that I find.

Your goals may not match mine, but I hope you enjoy me sharing my journey to reach them. Did you set any goals for yourself in 2010?