by kathilipp | Aug 24, 2009 | Uncategorized |
***Give Away Alert! I will be giving away three copies of my freezer cooking cookbooks The Frozen Gourmet Just leave a comment on the blog sometime this week and I will pick three winners – the more comments, the more chances to win!***
Before I get to the steps for shopping for your freezer meals, let me answer a few questions from the blog yesterday:
How do you fit all those meals in your freezer?
I will give a fuller explanation later in the week, but one thing is important for you to keep in mind if you are shopping for things like foil pans to prepare your meals. Squares and rectangles pack better than round pans.
The other key is to freeze thing like soups, stews and marinades as “flatly” as possible. (I will have pictures later in the week.)
How long can you keep meals in the freezer?
Some people would say longer, but I feel that three months is a good rule of thumb. (Plus, it gets me to clean out my freezer at least a few times a year and not waste meals.
Where did you get all the recipes for all the meals?
A while ago I bought a “Freezer Cookbook” (Without naming names, if you were cooking in the 90’s and going to church, you probably owned – or own – that book,) and tried out all of the recipes. While I loved the technique and learned how to do freezer cooking from that little book, there were a couple of problems:
- Making 30 entirely different meals was a pain in the rear.
- My family hated most of the meals.
That is when I tried some of our family favorites Freezer Cooking Style. As I learned more and more about what froze well (and what didn’t) I got a collection of recipes that worked for us. I have those in my Frozen Gourmet Cookbook.
Carleta – My freezer doesn’t look anything like yours – mine is full of Mystery…
Trust me – if I don’t keep on top of it, my hubby and I have conversations like, “So what do you think that grey lump of meat it?” Roger’s response? “Garbage.” That is why I have to be so vigilant at labeling everything with dates and contents. Trust me – it is better for everyone involved.
How long does it take to make all those meals? Is your grocery bill astronomical?
Pretty much a full weekend. We figure that each meal averages up between $6-7.50. We could make it cheaper (cook our own chickens for casserole meat instead of buying Costco roasted chickens, making our own pesto, etc.) but we choose convenience over cost on some things.
How do you cook the black and white meat under the table?
Just like chicken.
Now to shopping for your cooking day
My shopping system is pretty easy. I triple my recipes, make a list of ingredients and quantities needed, and buy the biggest containers I can to satisfy those need. If I am doing marinades (and I am always doing marinades) I will buy the big Costco-sized bags of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, divide those into Ziploc gallon bags with five breasts each (because that is usually how many people I am feeding – less breasts for smaller kids who will share,)and then pour marinade in the bags with the frozen breasts. Super, super easy. (I will give more detailed instructions tomorrow about labeling, etc.)
When I got to advanced freezer cooking, I did an Excel spread sheet with my basic menu already tripled – that way I just had to see what I was out of and buy that at Costco and Safeway. My kids are never bored with my cooking and it makes my life SO much easier.
Things you will need besides ingredients
Here are some basic supplies that will make your Freezer Cooking Adventure easier:
Remember, leave your comments and questions to be entered into the drawing for the cookbook giveaways!
by kathilipp | Aug 23, 2009 | Uncategorized |
***Give Away Alert! I will be giving away three copies of my freezer cooking cookbooks The Frozen Gourmet Just leave a comment on the blog sometime this week and I will pick three winners – the more comments, the more chances to win!***
I have been posting my progress reguarding my freezer cooking adventures over the past week. Well, I have to say the reaction has been amazing. Everyone I know is looking for solutions to making dinner easier and 
cheaper and this is the plan that works for me. I feed five adult-sized people seven nights a week and winging it is so not an option.
Especially since my freezer looked like this. (Ben and Jerry’s wasn’t even mine. No fair!)
I just want to warn you right now – I am a Freezer-Stuffing Sensi. I am super advanced when it comes to meal prep. I did 51 plus meals this week. Do not try this at home.
However, doing bulk cooking to get yourself ahead a few nights a week is a great idea. Tripling recipes that you already love will help you get ahead and take some stress out of your evenings.
After you have success with your first attempt at freezing and get comfortable with the proceedure, then you can pull out multiple recipes and do it all Ninja-style.
Step 1 – Pick Your Recipe
Today all you need to do is pick your recipe!!
The absolute easiest type of dinner to prepare ahead is a marinade. We do several chicken and pork marinades each time we freezer cook –they are super-easy and everyone in my house will eat them – a double bonus.
So go through your recipes and find the one that your family will love and will be easy to prepare. When you find it – please share it here. I will read through them all and let you know if they will freeze well – I am here to serve.
Tomorrow – I will share the shopping stratagy.
Let me get you started with a Lipp family favorite:
Pesto Chicken
1/2 cup Prepared pesto sauce
6 Boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
6 slices Mozzarella cheese
1. Prepare: Pour pesto over chicken breasts in a one-gallon bag.
2. Freeze: Double bag the chicken. Place the Mozzarella cheese in a separate freezer bag and attach to the chicken bag. Freeze lying flat.
3. Serve: Thaw chicken overnight in the refrigerator. Drain marinade. Place chicken breasts in a pan sprayed with light cooking oil. Place one slice of Mozzarella cheese on each chicken breast. Bake at 350° for 30-40 minutes.
by kathilipp | Aug 11, 2009 | Uncategorized |
Two of the FAB speakers from the WCA Leadership Summit were Chip and Dan Heath, authors of one of the best books I have read in years: Made to Stick – Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
The book focuses on how to make sure that the ideas that you are trying to communicate stick with your audience; whether you are a speaker, a teacher, a boss or a mom, the key is to make sure that your audience clearly remembers what you want them to remember.
So here is what I would love to do. All of you who are communicators: writers, pastors, administrative assistants, teachers, let me ask you a question:
What do you do to make sure that your audience remembers your message? (And please include examples!)
Let me get the ball rolling:
When I do my talk called “All Things New” I talk about the things that weigh us down in life and keep us from living our all that God has designed for us. During the presentation, I have a suitcase full of really heavy chains that I drag on to the stage and as I pull our each one, I name them (fear, judgment, etc) and then proceed to wear the chains throughout most of the talk – and let me tell you – they can weigh a girl down.
What is so cool is that women really identify with the illustration and can absolutely name the chain that they feel is weighing them down. I have women write me months later able to repreat back to me all that I said about their particular chain.
That is, what authors Dan and Chip call, “Sticky”.
So tell me, how do you communicate your message. I would love to use some of your tricks in my writing, speaking (and let’s be honest,) parenting.
From all the comments that are submitted now through next Monday, I will be choosing a name randomly to receive a copy of Made to Stick.
Can’t wait for all the stickiness.
by kathilipp | Aug 10, 2009 | Uncategorized |
The title for this session was Hiring, Firing and Board Meltdowns which, I will be honest, didn’t really appeal to me. I do have an Advisory Board, (for more on how I use an advisory board in my speaking and writing ministry, download my article,) but I don’t hire or fire anyone in my organization (actually, I do hire, but it has always happened by either marrying or giving birth to the future employee.)
However, I did find many of the principle that the panel talked about applied to dealing with others in my industry. So far I have had great relationships with my publisher, publicity people, and my agent. But I will be honest enough to say that there have been a couple of event planners that I should have seen coming.
This session also gave me some great insight into working with other teams – retreat planning teams, family, and book teams. Here are the people on the panel:
Dr. Henry Cloud is a clinical psychologist, best-selling author, and business consultant with unique insights on relational dynamics in organizations.
Carly Fiorina is the former Chairman and CEO of Hewlett-Packard. She was the first woman to head a Dow 30 company and was named “The Most Powerful Woman in Business” by Fortune for six years in a row.
Dr. David Ireland is senior pastor of Christ Church in Montclair, NJ, a 6000 member multi-ethnic congregation which he founded in 1986. The author of several books, he holds a PhD in Organizational Leadership.
Patrick Lencioni is founder and president of The Table Group, Inc., a specialized management-consulting firm focused on organizational health. He is the author of six best-selling books, including Death by Meeting.
And here are the best things that they said (my thoughts are in italics):
Hiring
Most of these ideas apply whether you are hiring someone to be the Junior High Pastor at church or a contractor to repair your roof. I would also say that these principles, in a large part, would apply to volunteer teams.
- “First impressions are frequently wrong.” Carly Fiorina
- “The best way to hire someone is spend 8 hours with them on a plane.” Patrick Lencioni
- Question to ask: What would other people say about you? (I can’t remember who said this, but it is a great way to get an honest answer out of people.)
- Ask the same question 3 times, just like they do on CSI Miami.
- Question to ask: “How would your weaknesses affect the rest of our organization?”
- “Organizations that have a strong culture – the right people will flock to it and the wrong people will be repelled.” Patrick Lencioni
- Before hiring someone for a job, list the needs of the organization and make sure those are met.
- Follow the process – don’t tweek the process to meet the needs of that applicant.
- Bill Hybles said – Every time we feel desperate to meet a need and hire quickly, we have failed.
Firing
Bill Hybles – A firing should never be a surprise.
Dr. David Ireland‘s Three step process of firing someone:
- Retrain – Have I trained them well enough to do the job I have given them? If not, it is my responsibility to retrain them.
- Reposition – Maybe their gifts would be a better fit in another part of the organization.
- Retire – Last resort.
“The kindest form of management is the truth.” In churches “The kindest form of management is avoidance.”
by kathilipp | Aug 9, 2009 | Uncategorized |
Every year, my church is one of the satellite locations for the Willow Creek Association Leadership Conference. This conference is broadcasted to locations all over the world, and for many leaders in the Bay Area, Church on The Hill is where they land to participate in the satellite event.
My hubby is the guy (along with his crew) who makes sure that all the buttons are pushed, microphones are on, and giant jumbo-tron screen is in place. He spends the better part of a week prepping for the conference (this in on top of the other hobby he has – working for HP full time,) and by the time the event arrives, I can be found some muttering some not-so-Christian-leader stuff under my breath. It take Roger away – a lot – the week before.
But then I get there, and I start to hear the speakers, and I take notes and see people from churches in the area that I love, but don’t get to see very often, and then I start to think, “We need to do this more often.” (I know, I know, just try living with me.)
So in case you didn’t get to go this year (and I highly recommend that you check out their website so that you can go next year) , I wanted to share some of the best things I heard.
Bill Hybles, the lead pastor of Willow Creek talked about the need to replenish if we are going to lead. Here are some of the best things I heard from Bill: (The words in italics are my thoughts.)
We lead best when we are filled up.
You need to have a planned negligence strategy. He talked about the need to plan on what you are going to neglect – there are going to be a lot of great things that you can’t participate in – and that’s OK- but you need to plan for it.
Who do I need to be around to be replenished? Who do I need to stay away from? There are some people who fill us up, and some who drain us. Make sure you are scheduling time with the ones who feed you, and limiting time with those who don’t.
Doubling exercise. Limiting eating. Pay attention to vacation. Self-explanatory.
Starting the day gently – with God’s word. No leadership material, no communication material. I am working on this, but I am getting better. I have to remember that it is OK not to get something accomplished, but just to linger with God. I am working diligently on lingering.
The best thing you bring to the table everyday is a filled up bucket and a heart that is attuned to God.
More notes tomorrow.
by kathilipp | Aug 5, 2009 | Uncategorized |
Tomorrow I am going to the Willow Creek Leadership Summit (our church is a satellite host,) which I have done for the past four years.
This conference always leaves me so energized and motivate – that is until I get home and have to shovel out my desk to get anything done.
So your project for today is to get rid of 21 items in your “office” area. Whether that is a desk in your home office, or a drawer in the kitchen, get rid of 21 things that are just taking up space.
For those of you who are switching from paper to plastic-incased computers to hold your files, take a look at this great article on getting rid of outdated stuff from your office:
Ten Office Tools to Retire
by kathilipp | Aug 3, 2009 | Uncategorized |
OK – I will be sharing this with the rest of the world later today, but I wanted my BBFF (Best Bloggy Friends Forever)to know first.
I have just signed two new book contracts with Harvest House Publishers. (Yes, I continue to do the happy dance every time I think of it.)
The Next two tentative titles are:
The Me Project – 21 Days to Pursuing Your God-Given Dreams
The Kid Project – 21 Days to Connecting with Your Kids
I have about nine months to finish each of them and I am going to need a lot of help.
In the next few weeks, here on the blog we will be starting the Me Project and I am hoping that many of you will b my cyber guinea pigs and do the projects with me, give me your feedback, and then (with your permission,) I will be using your stories in the book.
See, you can get a writing credit without having to find an agent. Pretty cool.
Keep reading for further announcements – we are going to have a LOT of fun.
by kathilipp | Aug 2, 2009 | Uncategorized |
One More Pass it Along
I was so inspired by your stories of things that you passed along that, in case you don’t read comments on the blog, I wanted to post them here so that you can get your inspiration on and pass along one more thing that someone you love could use. (OK – now you try to write a longer run on sentence. I dare you.)
Here are some of the things that have been passed on. You are gonna love this (but be warned, you are going to start wanting to give stuff away that perhaps it would be wiser to keep. Your husband’s gold clubs, for example…)
Stephanie says:
I certainly have some things in mind; my old microwave we keep just in case the one this house came with breaks down, and a nice TV set someone gave us that collects dust in the garage.
But this reminded me of when a good friend and neighbor of mine went through a divorce and her husband cleaned out their house leaving her AND her kids with nothing but their clothes and beds! I had just bought a new set of pots and pans and hadn’t figured on giving away my good (pampered chef) old set. I was planning on using them for camping or just as a second set if needed. That same day when my friend came over in tears telling me what happened I immediately gave her my entire old set! It felt so good to do it and to go over later and see them using it. It was a double blessing for the both of us! God works in amazing ways!
Kathi Lipp says:
Proud of you girls!
I have to say, I am staying at a friend’s house and I am loving the lack of clutter. She has everything she needs (and a bunch of movies I’ve been wanting to watch,) but there aren’t the “extras” everywhere that make my house feel so cluttered. I am inspired.
Lisa Williams says:
One of my favorite give away moments was when we remodeled our home. My mom’s house was in need of a number of things, so the cabinets and the kitchen sink, that were about to be tossed in the trash by our contractor, were remade to fit her kitchen. To this day I can’t believe the difference it made in her kitchen. Then when we moved, the new carpet I had installed wasn’t the color the new owners wanted, so we pulled it up, pad and all, and put it in her family room. I gave her some dressers, our dining room table, bedroom and a living room set among other things. My boys love going to Grammy’s house because, as my son puts it, “It feels like home with all our old things around us, it’s comfortable.” One of my other favorite moments was when we cleared the house and garage just before moving day, I emailed friends, and then put a add on craigslist that said “Everything free, you’ve got 24 hours, come and get it.” I did it twice. My friends have apart of our home, and I met some great people that could use our stuff, we no longer had room for. Truth be told it was freeing! Kathi, was it you who ended up with the wicker chair? I’m about ready to do it again…need anything! 
Kathi Lipp says:
Lisa –
I DID get your wicker chair!!! I was just thinking about that!!! It is on our patio and is greatly loved.
Shelly says:
What a great story!! We just recently got rid of our bedroom furniture b/c we needed to downsize. We gave it to our cousin, who had just given theirs to their mother-in-law.
Heidi Holm says:
We have been on a roll sorting, tossing, donating and even putting things on the street with free signs on them and it feels good. Today we put our microwave/oven that we pulled out to upgrade on the street with a free sign and it left for a new home before the day ended. Now we have plans for tomorrow and this is going to take place until we feel free of clutter. Amen!
Stacy says:
I’ve been putting out box after box of stuff in front of our house labeled “free”. It’s amazing how fast it all goes. And I find that I prefer giving it away instead of having a garage sale.
Jessica says:
Love all the comments! I once heard that keeping things you don’t need/love/use is keeping a blessing from someone else. Isn’t it easier to get rid of stuff when you’re thinking that way?! I love that God works through us and in us, even in the mundane acts of housework!
by kathilipp | Jul 28, 2009 | Uncategorized |
Get Rid of It Project #18
OK – it is a 21 item project today. You can do it!
I want you to go through your house and get rid of 21 things that you no longer love.
I was looking at my red hutch (which looks so cool in my golden yellow kitchen,) and realized that it has become a junk collection site.
There are some things on it I love. My mom’s old coffee grinder (that my brother and I decided to grind dog food in – and my mom promptly retired from the coffee grinding business,) the three fat chickens Roger and I bought on a B&B tour of Northern California, and some very cute Disney Coffee Canisters (yes, we are Disney freaks.) I love all of those things but totally forgot that they were there, because there was so much other stuff to contend with – little trinkets that had accumulated and I didn’t deal with, didn’t love, but didn’t do a darn thing about.
So today (or I should say Saturday, when I get back from Nashville,) I will go through my house with a box and get rid of 21 things that I no longer love.
Will you be my inspiration? The Wind Beneath My Wings? Tell me some of the stuff that you are getting rid of so that I will be reminded – and inspirited – to get rid of my stuff.
by kathilipp | Jul 23, 2009 | Uncategorized |
Get Rid of It Project #17 or Trusting God and the Case of the Mysterious Boomerang Basket-And a Great Giveaway
Today’s Get Rid of It Project: Get rid of something you could possibly one day use, or has some value, but you know would bless someone else.
Several years ago, as my first husband and I were cleaning out the house we were going to have to put up for sale, we were both in positions where we had to get rid of a lot of stuff.
He was going one way, and my kids and I were going to go live with my parents in Sacramento, two hours away from where we had been living in San Jose, CA.
While my parents house was big, we were going to be doubling the population of the residence. I needed to drastically par down.
The problem was that so much of the stuff that I had could be useful again. Someday.
There were books that I loved, dishes that I could use when I had a house of my own, linens and wedding gifts and fondue pots and so much stuff. And it broke my heart to give it all away. It felt like an admission that I had failed at not only marriage, but at grown up life.
So I did something different than a garage sale or just taking it all to Goodwill. I had what I called on the invitation a Buddy Blessing.
I invited all my best girlfriends over and had them clean house. I put every book, candle, knick-knack, cup and table cloth in my living room and told my friends to go shopping. I probably gave away hundreds of things.
Was it hard to see some stuff go – absolutely. There were a lot of memories tied to some of those items.
But here is the cool thing. When I would go to visit friends, I would see the book I gave them on their coffee table, or see the tea cup that used to be in my picture window being used as a tiny vase in their breakfast nook. It sure was a lot better than paying storage on things I wouldn’t see month after month.
And then, a few years later when it was time to set up house with Roger, I unpacked the boxes that I had kept, and tried to remember what all I had given away and what I needed to replace. And what did I come up with? One thing.
The only thing I missed out of all the things I had given away was this cute little basket that had four slots in it – one for knives, one for forks, one for spoons, one for napkins. That was it.
Now the funny thing about that little basket was this. I couldn’t remember who I gave it to – it didn’t matter, I wasn’t going to ask for it back. It wasn’t that I regretted giving it away, it was just that it was the only thing I missed.
A week after Roger and I got married, my friends Chris and Vikki were packing up their house to move to Arkansas. As we were painting and cleaning and sorting to get them ready to move, I saw the magic basket. Vikki saw it at the same time I did and asked “Do you want that back? We aren’t going to be able to take it with us.”
It was like God arranged free storage of our basket for a couple of years.
That was a very long story to say this: I don’t know how much God cares about a silverware basket, but I do know that the stuff I hang onto out of the fear that I will need it “someday” is much better off in someone else’s hands than mine.
And here is where I can help you pass on something to someone you love. In the next week (that is, by next Friday,) if you post a comment here telling me about something that you passed on to a friend that you knew they could use, I will put you in a drawing for a copy of The Husband Project to be sent to the friend of your choice – on me from you.
