Search Member Sign-In
   Forgot Password?    Not a Member? Join   

Archives

Smithfield.com Blog

January 13, 2011

Meet (MommyNamed)April from Mama Loves Food

Meet (MommyNamed)April from Mama Loves Food

Hello Hello!!!


My name is April and I love food. I live in central Florida with my three gorgeous little boys and amazing husband. I have been moving and shaking (or at least doing a bit of wiggling) around the internet since 2008, when I resolved that sweatpants and sippy cups were more my style than the suits and suing to which I was previously accustomed.

I began my blogging endeavor at April’s Little Family where I gush (and gush and gush) about my awesome family. The site started as a personal journaling experience and has grown into so much more. Soon after starting April’s Little Family, I decided to share my passion with (easy to make) food and thus, Mama Loves Food was born! Since then I have added a review site (Mama Must Haves) and a travel site (Mama Travels).

My love for cooking developed after getting married, when I realized my food repertoire could be summed up in about four dishes. I endeavored to gain the skills which would allow me to feed my family healthy and delicious meals. I enjoy cooking immensely, but do not have the patience for intricate or time consuming recipes. In my mind, the simpler the better. To that end, I am passionate about my slow cooker, my clay cooker, my dome covered roaster, casseroles and single skillet meals. (And cookies, but that’s neither here nor there).
Fun fact!
Hubby’s favorite meal is enchilada casserole, which is absolutely fantastic when made with my famous shredded pork!

What I've learned from having three children in a matter of three years, is that time is precious. Meaning, I have almost none. To combat our time management problem, I began batch cooking. About once every three to six months I spend a long weekend cooking hundreds of meals. Yes, you read that correctly. Hundreds! I stock our deep freezer with single serve, double serve and family sized meals that are ready to heat and eat. I also prepare fully cooked proteins for incorporating into quick sandwiches, stir fries and last minute casseroles. This technique has saved us enormous amounts of money and allows my family to eat healthy home cooked meals almost every night, without having to actually cook every night.

Fun fact!
The most freezer meals I’ve ever made in one cooking weekend was about two hundred and fifteen. It was so many that I had to give some food to my sister because they wouldn’t all fit in my freezer!

Thanks so much for joining me in this newest endeavor with Smithfield, I am excited and honored to be part of your homes and kitchens!
Posted by
01.13.2011

Leave a comment

Email address will not be published

Please enter the word you see in the image below:


21 Comments

Pat Johnson
January 20, 2011 at 12:47 pm

Would love to try that out. Can’t wait to see some of your recipes.

Carrie
January 18, 2011 at 7:27 pm

I’d love to learn more about your batch cooking!

January 14, 2011 at 11:42 pm

You are a Super Woman!

Turkstras
January 14, 2011 at 10:52 am

Hope you having a blast can’t wwait to hear all about it especially the plane ride ;)

January 14, 2011 at 9:46 am

As a mom of 4 little ones, i find Mama Loves Food especially helpful! Thanks so much for your time and energy posting recipes, tips and tricks! Fab!

Rach <3
January 14, 2011 at 5:14 am

Awesome! I am so impressed with your deep freeze and big batch cooking! Looking forward to more!! :)

January 14, 2011 at 12:09 am

i So look forward to reading April. youll have to give me some suggestions for stock cooking. my twins keep me moving!

January 13, 2011 at 9:21 pm

Great to see you expanding!  Best of luck at Smithfield! : )

Mel
January 13, 2011 at 8:08 pm

April the batch cooking is something I have been dying to do. When we move Deep Freezer it is!!!

Mamas mama
January 13, 2011 at 6:46 pm

You made me hungry. The food and kids are both delicious.

Danielle
January 13, 2011 at 5:37 pm

I love Mama Loves Food!  Who doesn’t want to get tips and tricks to cooking and your preparing multiple meals in advance is a great way to always have healthy, delicious and cost effective meals on hand.

January 13, 2011 at 5:26 pm

What a brilliant idea April! I used to do Once a Month cooking but got out of the habit. I’ll bet I could definitely do once-in-a-blue-moon cooking! :-D

Turkstras
January 13, 2011 at 3:56 pm

Sending some March mama love! You are an inspiration to me!

MrsJ
January 13, 2011 at 3:28 pm

That is AMAZING!! I totally need to buy a deep freezer. I’m a long time fan of Mama Loves Food. Excellent tips and recipes!!

Jen
January 13, 2011 at 3:18 pm

Wow, that is amazing. Can you please share how you do this? What kind of things do you make?



 

Blog      Smithfield News      Job Opportunities      TV Commercials      Shop Online      Privacy Policy

Follow on facebook  Follow on facebook

Smithfield