What a good mom!

Wow. That all looks so good. A couple years back at our family Christmas party one of my cousins handed out bags like yours of chocolate chip cookies. Major hit. We had driven from California to Washington to be there and those were the greatest road food ever on the way home.

Have a safe trip.

Kate

Thanks y'all. I am extremely blessed with two incredible children. So I'm happy to do for them when I can. My other son is in NY at Columbia so I can't exactly transport lasagna up there when I visit. But I look forward to him coming home after he graduates in May so he can just COME OVER and eat that lasagna RIcheer. LOL. It's a pleasure to cook for those who appreciate it!

A million years agi when I was in college... your care packages would have been SOOO welcome but... no way to deal with them. NO mini fridges or microwaves at that time.

When god-duaghters were in college, would send then a birthday care package of stuff. Crackers, peanut butter, jelly, cans of tuna, tea bags or instant coffee, etc.

Yummy! I would love to be your son right now! Have safe travels and I am looking forward to hearing about your visit.

When my daughter was in college she also loved to get a care package and I remember getting them from my Mom when I was in college too! A noble tradition. They were always full of non perishables though and I had to mail them out. My Mom used to send me praline topped brownies which were to die for. That's a 45 plus year memory!!!
Joann

Your lasangna looks delicious May, serious comfort food!

Do you mix the rotini with sauce and then layer? Is that cottage cheese or ricotta - please share what you did, it looks very appetizing!

Those are perfect food for the dormitory. Such delicious food, if the word gets out, you may have to feed the entire dorm.

I see you have been eating take-out. I recognize those containers. I am sure you will tell your son to return them. They are very nice to have, microwave-able.

I use a hot nail to burn a tiny hole on the covers so that they don’t pop open when you heat them and they don’t collapse when they cool down.

dcarch

Yumm. DS is 3 hours away and coming home in a couple of weeks. He'll take the bus home but dh or I may drive him back.

I'll be prepping some food for him as well and packing them in Foodsaver bags.

I like the cook once, freeze for a month way of doing things so I will go to Costco and buy a ton of chicken and prep and freeze 3-4 different recipes. Some will go with him and some will be for us.

Love the rotini lasagna. I may make some for him as well.

loves2cook4six... what are the 3-4 different chicken recipes that you will make? Daughter is away at college too and loves chicken.

I make homemade waffles and freeze them. I also freeze broccoli and carrots (from the garden) for her.

I just recently bought some pork back ribs (lots of it) to make some honey garlic ribs and some barbecue ribs for us and for her.

May, your food looks fantastic! (Nor do I think anyone would hold you accountable for a missing cookie no matter how it went missing.) I'm in the meal-making mode myself filling my MIL's little freezer, so I'm right there with you in spirit. You have lucky kids, who also have such a caring and attentive mom!

Here are some of the ones I've used in the past:

Teriyaki Chicken

Ingredients for Cooking Day:

* Chicken- you can use any chicken parts that you like for this recipe: breast, legs, thighs, wings or a mixture!
* 1/4 cup water
* 1 small piece of fresh ginger, crushed
* 1 tsp. garlic salt
* 1 cup soy sauce
* 1/4 cup brown sugar
* 1/4 cup white wine

Directions for Cooking Day: Put raw chicken in a freezer bag. Combine rest of ingredients and pour over chicken. Freeze.

Ingredients for Serving Day:

* Sesame seeds to taste

Directions for Serving Day: Defrost chicken mixture. Cook this any way that works best for you. Sometimes during the summer we will grill the chicken and other times I will cook it in the oven. Sprinkle with sesame seeds before cooking. I usually do about 30 minutes at 425. Cook until chicken is completely cooked through.

Wine and Herb Chicken Marinade

Ingredients for Cooking Day:

* 2/3 cup white wine
* 1 tsp. tarragon
* 1/4 tsp. rosemary
* 1/4 tsp. thyme
* 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
* 1 Tbsp. minced garlic
* Chicken (this will marinade 2 1/2 - 3 lbs.)

Directions for Cooking Day: Combine all ingredients. Put chicken pieces in a freezer bag. Pour Marinade over the pieces. Put in freezer.

Directions for Serving Day: Completely thaw chicken and marinade. Cook on grill.

Chicken Paprikash

Ingredients for Cooking Day:

* 3 lbs. chicken, cut up
* 2 cups sour cream
* 2 cups chicken broth
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 Tbsp. flour
* 3 cans tomato soup
* 1 Tbsp. parsley flakes
* 1 large onion coasely chopped
* 2 Tbsp. olive oil

Ingredients for Serving Day:

* Noodles

Directions for Cooking Day:

Fry chicken until lightly browned. Add the onions and garlic and cook until onions are tender. Add tomato soup and sour cream. Heat chicken broth and add the flour. Combine to chicken mixture and add parsley. Cool completely and freeze using freezer bag.

Directions for Serving Day:

Defrost completely. Cook on med. low heat for approximately 1 hour or until chicken is completely cooked. Serve over noodles.

Pull Apart Cinnamon Apple Rolls

Ingredients:

* 4 packages cans refrigerated biscuit dough (7.5 oz)
* 3 cups white sugar
* .25 cup ground cinnamon
* .5 cup melted butter
* .5 cups chopped pecans
* .5 cups applesauce
* 1 cups apples, peeled and diced

Directions:

Lightly grease an 8×8 deep dish pan. In a large zippered bag, mix together 2 cups sugar, cinnamon and apples. Open biscuits and cut each biscuit into 4 pieces. Put the biscuit pieces into the mixture, and shake/mix, until they are all completely coated. Add in the applesauce and shake until covered again. Arrange in pans. Stir pecans and 1 cup sugar into the melted butter. Pour butter mixture evenly over the pan. Bake at 375F for 45 minutes, until top is golden brown.
Freezing Directions:

Cover with foil and freeze BEFORE baking (ie do not bake). To serve: Thaw. Bake at 375F for 45 minutes, until top is golden brown.

Orange Chicken

* 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts; cut into bite size chunks

* Orange Sauce:
* 1 1/2 c. water
* 2 Tbsp orange juice
* 1/4 c. lemon juice
* 1/3 c. rice vinegar
* 2 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
* 1 Tbsp grated orange zest
* 1 c. packed brown sugar
* 1/2 tsp minced ginger
* 1/2 tsp minced garlic
* 2 Tbsp green onion; chopped
* 3 dried pepper pods/ dried red chili peppers
* 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

* (added later)
* 3 Tbsp cornstarch
* 2 Tbsp water

* Sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

1. Pour water, orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar and soy sauce into a saucepan and set over medium- high heat. Stir in orange zest, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, pepper pods, green onions and red pepper flakes. When mix comes to a boil remove from head and let cool for about 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Place chicken in a zip lock bag and pour 1 cup of the sauce in with the chicken. Try to get out as much air as possible so that the chicken is fully submerged in the sauce. Let the chicken marinate at least 2 hours or freeze at this point. If you can do it over night then that is even better. Store the rest of the sauce in the frigerator as well.
3. Thaw frozen packet overnight. Pour about 2 Tbsp of oil on the bottom of a skillet over medium heat, just enough so that the chicken won't stick to the bottom of the pan. Place the chicken in the skillet and cook until brown on both sides. It is ok if the chicken isn't fully cooked. Once the chicken is browned take it out of the skillet. Wipe out the skillet to get the chicken residue off of it.
4. Add the sauce into the skillet and bring it to a boil over medium- high heat. Mix together the cornstarch and water and stir the mix into the sauce. Reduce the heat to medium low and add the chicken into the skillet. Simmer for about 5 minutes stirring occassionally.

Taco Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

* 2 pounds ground beef
* 1.25 cups onion, diced
* 15.5 ounces kidney beans (undrained)
* 15.5 ounces black beans (undrained)
* 15.5 ounces pinto beans (undrained)
* 15.5 ounces canned corn, drained
* 10 ounces canned green tomatoes with chilies (Ro-Tel)
* 1 packages Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning
* 1 packages taco seasoning
* 16 ounces tomato sauce

Directions:

Brown hamburger and onion; drain. Place ingredients in a slow cooker. Cook for 3-5 hours on high or until heated through. Top with sour cream, cheese, and/or jalapenos, if desired.
Freezing Directions:

Let cool; divide among 2 gallon freezer bags. Freeze. To serve: Reheat on stove top or in microwave for 2-3 minutes or until heated through. Top with sour cream, cheese, and/or jalapenos, if desired.

Mustard Marinated Chicken Breasts
Ingredients:
1/4 c. Dijon Mustard
1/4 c. Soy Sauce (lower sodium)
1/4 c. Lemon Juice
1/2 tsp. Thyme
3/4 tsp. Basil
1/2 tsp. Parsley
1/8 tsp. Sage
6 Chicken Breasts

Assembly:
Mix mustard, soy sauce & lemon juice and pour over chicken.
Sprinkle spices over meat. Freeze in Ziploc freezer bag or let marinade for several hours in fridge.

Serving Day:
Thaw. Grill or bake @ 350 for 25 minutes or until chicken is done.

Wow May. You are spoiling the heck out of your kids! :-)

My DD is at college 4 hours from home. I LOVE the USPS flat rate boxes for sending care packages. Chocolate chip cookies are a staple as are jars on homemade salsa (Annie's recipe), jams, smoked roasted peppers, pasta sauce plus homemade breadsticks, flatbread and pasta.

I keep coming back to this thread to gaze at the amazingly empty freezer. How do you do that!!!!

We had a nice trip yesterday. The weather was warm but nice. We had lunch at a local TexMex spot which we were just driving by and decided to try. Turned out great.

Then we went to the LBJ Library (one of my favorite spots in Austin) and spent about 2 hours viewing the current exhibit about Walter Cronkite. Very well done and interesting.

We then stopped by The Cutie Pie Wagon which I had read about in Southern Living. The pies are small but delicious.

Joann, praline topped browines - yum!! I want some!!

Pauline, I just followed (well almost followed) my favorite recipe for lasagna, Virginia's Easy Lasagna. I like that recipe because you don't have to precook the lasgna noodles. However, in this case, I did precook the noodles so I just left out the 1.5 cups water in the recipe.

I used jarred sauce (=lazy!). I just layed some sauce on the bottom of the dish, then a layer of noodles, then the spinach (two frozen 10oz packages, defrosted), then the cheese mixture, then the rest of the noodles, then the rest of the sauce. Topped with the rest of the grated mozz and baked for an hour. Very easy to put together!

dc,
Actually, Ben lives in an apartment, not a dorm. So, he actually does cook/prepare the vast majority of his meals. LOL, yes, those ARE take out containers for chinese food. He will return them if he wants me to cook more for him, however, they are expendable since there's a good chance they won't all make it back.

claire, thanks for the nice words!! You are really doing a good deed cooking for your MIL!!

Thanks for posting those recipes L2C46! Those marinades sound wonderful. I love the idea of premaking them and just sticking them into the freezer for future cooking. I do a lot of pre-prep like that to make cooking go faster on weeknights after work.

Teresa, LOL, not really! I'm generally pretty tough on them to get them to be self sufficient. But after all, the BOTH do cook most of their meals themselves so a little bit of indulgence is ok. :)

Jessy,
I do that by having an additional fridge/freezer in my utility room that is packed to the gills. The "front" freezer is just for frozen veggies and odds & ends. The "back" freezer has my real stock in it!