My freezer is getting stocked!

We were supposed to have a work potluck on Wednesday. As school was canceled, it was moved to Thursday. I really thought we'd end up back in school this week, so I defrosted my hamburger meat with plans to make Sweetnicks Cheeseburger Soup. Well, school is out again tomorrow. So, I had all this hamburger meat. I knew that whatever I made would need to be frozen, as it was 2 lbs. of meat. So, I set out to make some beef, bean and barley soup. No recipe, of course. Basically, it went something like this:
Brown meat, drain.
Saute finely chopped onion, garlic, celery, and carrots until tender.
Add 6 cups of water+ 6 tsp. of Beef Better Than Bouillon, 1 large can of pureed Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes, salt, pepper, oregano, thyme to taste. Bring to boil.
Add browned meat and 1 1/2 cups of quick cooking barley.
Cook 10 minutes. Add 1 cup of thinly sliced mushrooms and 1 can of drained and rinsed kidney beans. Cook for 5 more minutes.
And here is a blurry picture. I think the steam was messing with my camera!

Now I need to go portion it up and put in the freezer, along with the chili I made earlier this week.

Earlier today, I was craving something fried (I blame the weather). So, I cooked up some corn fritters from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything, which is my favorite go to cookbook for basic recipes that I don't make everyday (pancakes, biscuits, scones, etc.) I read this cookbook almost cover to cover when I got it--it's a great kitchen resource for the beginning and experienced cook alike. The fritters are made from flour, cornmeal (I used coarse ground cornmeal that I make polenta with in place of some of the cornmeal because I wanted more crunch), baking powder, salt, sugar, milk, egg, and of course corn. I also add a few dashes of cayenne, because I like the kick of spice with the sweet corn and maple syrup that I dip them in. Yeah, so much for my eating healthy this year. Again, I blame the weather! I make these about 2x a year and never tire of them. Crunchy, spicy, sweet...they are a tasty treat.