Freezer cooking for my niece!

I have been doing freezer cooking as part of my menu planning for many years. And about a year ago, I introduced it to a friend, with whom I've cooked many months' freezer meals. Over the last few years, I've amassed some favorite recipes, and tips of the trade. So when I was asked by a niece to cook up some freezer meals for her, I jumped at the chance. I love the challenge of keeping cost low, ingredients fresh, and convenience high!

I compiled a "menu" of items that included noodle sides (for one of her children), some crock pot meals, some fully cooked meals, and some frozen cookie dough for sweets. I didn't have to make it all in one day, so I grouped them according to products, and all totalled, only spent around 4 hours from start to finish!

The main dishes include beef (5), pork (1), and chicken (4). Crock pot meals (4) and fully cooked (6). Ten main dishes (one being soup), and three sides, as well as some frozen cookie dough.

Spaghetti Pie

Calzones

Chicken Tortilla soup

Salisbury Meatballs

Plain meatballs

Garlic Herb Pork Roast

Honey Garlic Chicken

Sesame Chicken

Beef Burgundy

Chicken Marsala

Spicy Thai noodles

Spicy Garlic noodles

Parsley Parmesan noodles

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal cookie dough

The day of prep, I assemble all the ingredients needed.

 I label all of the containers with name, and cooking instructions. When I do freezer cooking for myself, I don't use disposable pans, but rather reusable metal pans that I've purchased just for this use. But being this cooking was for my niece, I had to go disposable.

After everything is pulled, labeled, and ready, it's prep time. Crock pot dishes are loaded into ziplocs:

Recipes that are fully cooked are prepared, cooked, cooled, and frozen. I love making my own meatballs, as I know what is in them, and can control salt content. I have a base recipe, as well as an Italian recipe.I will share the recipes soon!

Not to bore you with thirty pictures of the prep, I will stop here. I was able to produce all of these meals for approximately $175.00 (my estimate before actually adding up receipts). And in only 4 hours. Had I been doing these for myself, it would have been even cheaper. I wouldn't have had an expense in disposable pans, and I would not have had to buy beef at the grocery store (sticker shock at the expense!), much more expensive than when I am using the beef from our freezer (we buy an entire half, saving approximately 20% from grocery store prices!) But even at these prices, 10 main dishes, 3 sides, and 3 boxes of cookies - for a family of 5 - for $175.00. Not a bad price! Hopefully my niece will be happy as well!

I will put together a budget freezer cooking month soon as well. I am picking up our beef this weekend, so I've been trying to clean out the freezer. Soon I will need to restock it!

Happy weekend. Enjoy your day. Grab another cup of coffee!
Cheers!

A Saturday morning ritual

Every Saturday morning starts with a strong cup of coffee (chicory this morning!) and some menu planning. I love planning out the week, picking recipes, and getting geared up to cook. This Saturday has a little bit of a twist, as I am doing some freezer cooking for my niece, so I am pulling that "menu" together, finding the recipes, and writing up shopping lists, and a "to-do" list of food prep, pan sizes, etc. So it's kind of like my weekly planning on steroids!

My "desk" this Saturday morning, hard at work!

Hopefully I'll remember to take some pictures - and have a full blog on this by early next week. Today is prep day, tomorrow will be cooking. I'm delivering to her next Friday on my way to pick up our half a steer. Excited to be able to cook for my family that is not near! What a fun way to be able to do it. And helping her out in the process!

So it's time to finish up, head to the store, and start prepping veggies. Lots to do today! Have a wonderful weekend, and have another cup of coffee!

Cheers!

Stocking a Pantry!

I was asked by some readers to blog about a stocked pantry, as I'm always able to whip something up in a pinch. So today I thought about what makes my pantry "stocked". And I realized it's a number of things! My pantry was not stocked up in one outing to the grocery store. What I've done is build it over the years, based on what we use the most.

• The most important thing to remember is that there is no magical list of what to have in your pantry. It has to be based on your family's habits and tastes. You need to have things YOU use in your pantry, not what some magazine article (OR BLOG!) tells you. I would suggest you sit down with 7-10 of your family's favorite go-to recipes.  From those recipes, create a master list of ingredients needed on hand, along with some other basics, and you have your master list! 
• Once your master list is done, keep a copy in your purse. Take it with you shopping,  and watch for those basics on sale. Stocking up on your basics when they are on sale will save you a lot of money in the long run. I also keep a copy on my kitchen counter when I'm cooking. If I use the last of something, I immediately add it to the weekly shopping list so I don't forget! 
• Find one or two special spice blends that your family likes. Spices that are versatile, that can be used in a variety of dishes. They can be life (and time) savers in the kitchen! I have two go-to spice blends. One is Tastefully Simple's Onion Onion. It is a great all-around seasoning, especially in soups and on roasts or other meat. Another is Slap Your Mama cajun seasoning, which we use on roasted potatoes (regular and sweet), on veggies, in dips and soups.... We could put it on everything. 

Ok, so all this said - I will outline for you what I think a stocked pantry might include. This is to give you an idea of what I am talking about. And honestly, this is not at all what my pantry looks like. Because I cook mostly from scratch, I have shelves of multiple flours, various types of rices and pastas, dried grains, beans, and veggies, and an extensive spice rack, items that most of you would not need. And that's OK. Because it's your pantry, not mine!. But here are some suggestions:

Spices: garlic salt, powder, and pepper (all good general seasonings); parlsey, basil, oregano (Italian cooking); cumin, cilantro (Mexican cooking), and your chosen specialty blends. 

Refrigerator: eggs, milk, butter and margarine, cream cheese, hard cheeses (parmesan, cheddar, mozzarella), bottled Italian dressing (amazing marinade and pasta salad dressing!), canned crescent rolls (great in a pinch for breakfast OR dinner), jarred minced garlic, tortillas, and condiments (vinegar, lemon juice, worcesheshire sauce, mustard, ketchup, mayo, and salad dressing.)

Produce: apples and bananas (great for breakfast or desserts), potatoes (I always have both regular and sweet), garlic (yes, I have multiple forms of garlic in my kitchen!), onions, carrots, and celery.

Dry goods: Canned tomatoes (petite diced, sauce, and paste), canned beans (great for soups, mexican dishes, and chili!), canned veggies, dry pasta (spaghetti type, elbow macaroni, and a specialty like penne) and rice, taco and ranch seasonings, jarred spaghetti sauce, a cake mix or two, a couple of pudding mixes, cream soups, peanut butter, chocolate chips, and some canned stock or bouillon (both chicken and beef). 

Freezer: ground meat, italian sausage, chicken breasts, and shredded cheeses. 

Staples: flour, sugars (brown, powdered, and regular), dry milk powder (again - great to have in a pinch), salt and pepper, and seasoned salt.  

This pantry sets you up to whip up spaghetti pie, any Mexican specialty (enchiladas, burritos, etc.), various soups - chicken noodle, chili, taco, minestrone, or lasagna, easy desserts, and a whole lot in between. It has the ingredients needed for some quick meals, including easy crock pot recipes in a variety of tastes. But these may not be your tastes. That's why it's important to create your own master list. And remember it's a list that will continue to change. Good luck! 

Creative use of leftovers - a saving grace!

It has taken me years to get to the point in my cooking where I no longer have to have a recipe to make dinner for my family. MANY years. Years of pushing by a dear friend, who insisted I stop following recipes! I still follow recipes once in awhile, but I've really gotten comfortable pulling ingredients together for dinner.

This week was a prime example. Wednesday night I had about 45 minutes to cook and eat dinner between Zumba and Bible study. And I didn't realize until half way through the work day that I hadn't planned anything.

In the fridge I found:
1/3 box of velveeta
leftover chili from our chili dogs
leftover chopped onion (also from the chili dogs)
leftover cooked bacon (that NEVER happens - someone didn't see that in the fridge!)

I have made cheeseburger soup many times with velveeta, so I thought I'd try a spicy bacon cheeseburger soup.

I started with a simple roux - melted a stick of butter with some onion, salt and pepper, and then stirred in flour, cooked it off, and started adding milk. Once the base was a little thinner than I wanted, I added the cubed velveeta, stirring it until it melted and thickened the soup. Tossed in the spicy chili (basically hamburger and onion in a spicy tomato paste) and chopped bacon, and viola - an amazing soup! I had cleaned four partial leftovers out of the fridge, and with the fresh bread from the night before - had created a wonderful quick dinner for the family. Everything happened so fast, that I didn't even get pictures!

The key is to not be afraid.. Not everything works. But sometimes you find a diamond - like I did in this soup. So it's always worth the try!