Another birthday!

Have a great day Beth.  Maybe enjoy a little Black Forest cake?

When we were in buying my chair, the salesman and I spent a couple of minutes reminiscing, mainly about people we knew "in the day".  One I mentioned was our cousin Ian Cochrane, and darned if I didn't find Ian's obituary in Saturday's paper.  He was married to Catherine McIntyre, who was daughter to Lori and Sandy McIntyre.  Lori was a niece/cousin to Grannie McGrath, and the two had been of an age, so were raised almost as sisters.  Lori gave her name to Lorraine, and perhaps, Laurence as well.  Certainly there have been a string of Catherines in the family, on both sides, if you remember Auntie Cay, Grandpa McGrath's sister.  In any case, Catherine McIntyre was an OT and was responsible for getting me into the profession.  We used to see each other at meetings, etc, and she was very much a mentor to me.  She died in middle age of Cancer of the Pancreas.  David and I took Lorraine to the funeral.  Lori was there at quite an old age, and seemed to think it was a social occasion.

I'm trying to think about what you could freeze, Cathy.  I freeze a lot of casseroles.  I will mix them up and put them in casserole dishes ready to cook and then freeze them.  If there are left overs, we freeze them, and then just heat them in the microwave.

The old stand-by, chicken, rice and mushroom, with mushroom soup freezes well.  My Kraft dinner casserole actually lasts us for two meals, so half gets frozen,  That is: one box of Kraft dinner cooked according to package.  Mix in meat scraps (Ham is best, but chicken, turkey, salmon work well), and a bit of chopped celery or green pepper.  Then add a can of Cream of Celery soup, and about 1/2 can of milk. Pour into a casserole and add a few bread crumbs on top ( I have also used a half can of French's French Fried Onions, on top.  WOW!).  Bake for about 40 minutes, or until warmed through.

Another one we make is "That Wild Rice Thing"
Crumble and brown 4 oz of Italian sausage.  (I use "mild")  Cook 1/2 cup white rice in 1 cup water, cook 1/3 cup wild rice in 1 1/3 cup water.  Prepare one package of French's onion Gravy mix according to package directions.  Mix everything together,  adding 1/2 can of French's French Fried Onions.  Pour into a casserole dish and cook covered for about an hour.  Remove the lid and sprinkle the other half can of fried onions over the top and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes.

Do you have Daddy's recipe for Seven Layer Dinner?  Some people call it "Shipwreck".  Raw potatoes don't freeze well, but the casserole, itself, freezes nicely, once cooked.  We'll be having it later this week--provided I can find the sausages in the freezer.  We still haven't sorted that out.

I also freeze things like cooked rice in meal size packages.  What sort of meats are you freezing?  I often freeze sliced pork tenderloin cooked in French's Mushroom gravy mix, with canned mushrooms mixed in.  Daddy's ribs freeze well.

French's gravy mixes can be expensive, but I buy them at Dollarama for 2/$1.25.  French's French Fried Onions, are sometimes found in stores with canned vegetables, but more often with salad dressings.

Let me know if this helps.  David is off right now trying to buy Hot Cross buns, on sale at Safeway.  If he gets any we plan to freeze those, as well.