out of helen’s kitchen Helen Drysdale Boundary setting Freezer meals

I’ve always been a big fan of freezer meals. When I am cooking I use the motto “cook once, eat twice.” If you are making the effort to cook, which usually make a mess, why not cook an extra meal for the freezer at the same time? One mess, two meals. This takes a bit of planning, but it helps you to eat better with less stress on the nights you do not have time to cook. This can save you from making additional trips to the grocery store, going out to eat, or running to get takeout.

Making and freezing simple meals with groceries on sale helps you succeed with your freezer meal cooking and stretching your monthly food budget. When lean ground beef or pork is on sale, I buy a large pack (or two). One time I will make the whole pack into meatballs. I put the raw meatballs on a lightly greased baking tray and bake them in the oven at 350°F for 15-20 minutes or until they are just cooked, do not overcook. I freeze them and take out the amount I need and gently simmer them in my favorite sauce. I also made meat loafs when ground beef is on sale. Make several of them, use one for that day and freeze the remaining for later. Meatloaves can be frozen not cooked or cook, cool and freeze for later. Hamburger can be cooked in a roaster in the oven. Add one cup of water, stir and place in a 350°F oven to cook. Stir occasionally to make sure the hamburger crumbles. When cooked, drain any fat off and place the cooled hamburger in smaller containers/bags and freeze. Use the cooked hamburger for tacos, chili, spaghetti sauce etc.

It is important to label the container or bag that has been frozen for a later date along with any cooking instructions it may have. Cool precooked dishes as quickly as possible before they are placed in the freezer. For the fastest cooling, place the pan of hot food in a sink or large pan filled with ice water. If you’re cooling a soup, stew, or sauce, stir occasionally to help it cool evenly. Leave as little air as possible in the packages or containers. When freezing liquids in containers, allow a small amount of head room for expansion. If the recipe calls for you to thaw before cooking always thaw in the fridge as this is the safest way. You do have to plan ahead.

To freeze or not to freeze? While soups and stocks freeze tremendously well, anything with dairy runs the risk of curdling or separating. Any milk or cream-based gravy or sauces do not freeze well. Neither do sauces or gravies which contain cornstarch, these should be avoided in the freezer. Flour gravies do well in the freezer. Fresh potatoes do not freeze well, however, cooked potatoes are just fine to freeze and reheat. Any fruit and vegetable which contains a lot of water such as cucumber, melon or lettuce should not be frozen.

This delicious Taco Lasagna is the perfect weeknight meal that everyone will love! Make two and freeze one unbaked lasagna. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake lasagna as directed.

12 lasagna noodles

1 lb. hamburger

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 small red pepper, diced

1 pack taco seasoning

Taco Lasagna

1 540mL can of diced tomatoes

1 418mL jar of salsa

1 540mL can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 398mL can of corn, drained

3 cups shredded Mexican Cheese Blend

Additional toppings of your choice: Sour cream, sliced green onions, diced tomatoes, olives, guacamole, cilantro

Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly grease a 9x13 inch pan with cooking spray. Set aside. In a frying pan, brown hamburger. Add the diced onions halfway through the cooking and the garlic and peppers during the last two minutes. Drain off any fat. Save one cup of the diced tomatoes with juice. Stir the taco seasoning into the meat then add the remaining can of tomatoes and salsa. In another bowl mix the black beans and corn. In the prepared pan, layer in the following order: 2/3 cup of diced tomatoes with the juice, 4 lasagna noodles, one half of the meat sauce, then sprinkle on one half of the beans and corn, then sprinkle on one cup of the cheese. Repeat the layers using all the meat sauce and bean mix up and one more cup of cheese. Top with remaining noodles, remaining 1/3 cup of diced tomatoes and remaining cheese. Cover with foil and bake 35-40 minutes. Remove foil, bake an additional 15 minutes or until cheese is browned and bubbly. Let rest covered for 8-10 minutes before cutting. Serve with desired toppings.

When you think about romantic relationships, boundaries are often not the first things to come to your mind, but they are an essential component of maintaining a healthy romantic relationship. There are four main kinds of boundaries which are important to look at in your relationship.

The first are physical boundaries, those things that could interfere with our physical sense of self. A couple of examples of these are food-sharing and bed-sharing. Physical boundaries are especially important for trauma survivors. When someone has survived a trauma, they have had their physical and emotional space invaded without their permission repeatedly. This can take a toll on every aspect of their self, all the way to their core. Just because you consent to having an intimate relationship with a partner, this does not give your partner the right to unrestricted access to your body. Remind your partner that you aren’t rejecting them personally, nor are you rejecting intimate touch. It just needs to happen in a manner that is agreed upon by both of you, is pleasurable and is predictable for you.

Sexual boundaries are next. Sexual boundaries involve the physical boundaries of what kind of touch is OK during intercourse, but it also encompasses so much more. What parts of your sexual self do you share with your partner and what do you hold back? Please remember that boundaries can be renegotiated at any time. These boundaries should never feel like coercion. They need to be placed

Your Listening Ear

Delsie Martin

carefully, with much discussion and emotional validation.

Emotional boundaries are complicated, but equally as important as others. Emotional boundaries are very important and can help strengthen emotional connection. The act of being emotionally vulnerable, to say that you have a boundary and trust that your partner will not think less of you for having that boundary, is a very big deal. Accepting your past can be very helpful in setting emotional boundaries. Your past relationships undoubtedly shape the person you are now. It’s important to acknowledge when old stuff, old triggers bleed into your new relationships. Another question for emotional boundaries is how much of your private stuff you share with other people. Boundaries vary from person to person, and you might find yourself with someone who is easily trusting of others and share more about your intimate life than you are comfortable with. Showing our partners respect is knowing how much they share with others about their life and only sharing as much as they would feel comfortable with, not how much we feel comfortable sharing.

Financial boundaries are next. The concept of financial intimacy is how much of your financial life you are comfortable sharing with your partner. Do you have complete disclosure of financial information? Do you share or have separate accounts? How you speak about financial matters is also very important. Those relationships that have more financial intimacy have more disclosure but are also able to talk about finances in a curious, problem solving and reasonable way. Setting financial boundaries with your partner can feel uncomfortable because it feels parental but it’s vital. Finally, time boundaries. How much time is appropriate to spend with one another in your relationship? How much time do you spend with extended family and friends? Everyone is going to come into their relationships with predetermined beliefs on what is appropriate and there is no right answer here. The right answer is what feels best for each member of the relationship. For more information on boundaries in relationships, please check out my podcast episode on boundary setting at https://shows.acast.com/ the-relationship-reviewwith-delsie-martin/episodes/boundary-settingin-intimate-relationships.

Delsie Martin (BA, BSW RSW, MSW candidate) is a masters of social work student with the University of Calgary. Anyone who may have feedback on the column or wish to have a question anonymously answered as part of the weekly column may reach Martin at delsiemartin@ trueyoutherapy.ca. Martin’s podcast, The Relationship Review, can be found on Apple, Amazon, Google and Spotify podcast platforms.