I'm trying to make some meals to stick in the freezer so that the kids and Joe & I eat a little healthier. PLUS I want to take some of the dinner making stress out of the week. Like yesterday my friend (chefs) came over and gave us a cooking lesson (I pay in produce and eggs). They taught us how to make Mac & Cheese and we did a Leg of Goat (pretty dang good). We were able to do 1 batch of Mac & Cheese and freeze it - and I'd LIKE to do a few more meals like that. Anyone have any suggestions?
Check out the Freezer Menu Mailer from Leanne Elly. This is a subscription service, but she does have sample recipes you can look at for free. Mom's Budget has tons of great tips and tricks. Here are some other sites that have tips and/or recipes. The Family Homestead Kitchen Link Thrifty Fun Southern Living at Home (this is probably the one I'd start with). Hope these help.
Dana, yes, I do some I will make double of things and freeze and put away. Like chili and stuff like that..
I try to freeze as I cook. We don't have a ton of freezer space, but maybe someday! I have used the Freezable Meals menu mailer from Leanne on FlyLady's site (or savingdinner.com). Also I get some in emails from The 30 Day Freezer Gourmet. I think that's what it's called. I've done Dream Dinners a couple of times with my moms group (and I won 12 free meals!) but we didn't care for them really, and it is a lot of expense. I would probably do it if I was working outside the home sometimes, though.
Lasagne, meatloaf, meatballs... Soup season is coming! *Clapping here!!!* Soups are wonderful to make and freeze.
I don't generally do freezer cooking but we do pack a few meals away. When we make spaggetti we make a big batch so some can be frozen, occasionally boiling some macaroni and making a casserole to to freeze. Meat always gets portioned and/or made into meatballs and patties (if it's ground) before freezing. I throw leftover and wilted veggies in an ice cream bucket in the freezer now for a "whatever'' soup stock on a lazy day. Not exactly make ahead meals but definately good shortcuts.
I think the biggest thing so far I will do is marinate in the freezer and do some stuff that way. I did like the savingdinner site.... I got the lunches and breakfasts (I'm in so much need of that right now). Spaghetti is a staple here - we have over 50 quarts of sauce canned so we are set there. Meatballs will be another cool thing I plan on making later once we have meat (since we raise our own we go with what we have on hand). I think I'll plan on preparing meals to have on an emergency basis or day where I just don't want to plan dinner (ok that's most every night but still - LOL)
I have several recipes I use (I posted one in the crockpot thread) so when I get home fixing dinner (yes I do that in our home) takes max 20 minutes unless I'm giving the daughter a cooking lesson. My favorites are Chicken Fajitas Ground Beef (for tacos) Meat Paste (for 'ziti') Mozzarella Chicken When I come home I nuke the main ingredient and prep the side dishes (boil some veggies generally). If any of those sound interesting to you I'll post the recipes.
I'll type them up tonight and post tomorrow. They're all really easy to do. I usually buy groceries on Saturday then cook all the meals on Sunday while I've got a game or a movie on in the kitchen. When we were dating I told my spouse to be that the kitchen was my domain and she very politely let me keep it
I sometimes prepare meals in advance. Usually I chop up onions, olives, and veggies. I keep them in plastic containers so when we want a salad the makings are ready to go. We eat a lot of fruits and veggies when they are ready to eat. I try to keep hard boiled eggs handy as a snack or for salads. I also purchase turkey breast and slice it thin. I freeze some and keep some in the fridge. I cook a large pot of beans and freeze some whole and refried. I also keep some in the fridge. The same is done with ground turkey. I cook it and freeze some in individual containers. Patty
what I usually do, is plan simple but healthy meals for during the week. The time consuming meals get moved to the weekend. My thinking is that if I am too busy to cook a healthy meal for my family, then I have too many things going on and I need to cut back. We might have an out to eat night once every couple of months. It should not be stressful, if you think about easy things to prepare....there are lots of easy meals out there that require very little preparation or cooking time.
My problem is I usually forget about dinner Seriously.... plus we have people drop in on occassion and I don't mind that at all, but it sometimes throws me off. Since we pretty much raise our own meat, I also have a large selection of sometimes 'odd' cuts of meat - or more expensive ones. Then I have a 7 year old who pretty much would prefer not to eat meat (unless it's a hotdog and sometimes sausage). So now I'm just piling up resources and will pre-make certain things (like the mac & cheese) and freeze them so I can just pull out dinner and be done with it.
I used to do "Once a Month" Cooking. It was really a great way to do it. You have to have a large freezer. You make your menu, shop one day, chop one day and then cook a day. It takes time, but it is really nice to pull something out of the freezer, add a side dish and you have supper. Google, "Once a Month Cooking"
Ohio Grandma, that brings back memories. When I was a kid and my mom was teaching she would do that. We would all go to the grocery store on a Friday night and it would take a couple of hours. My dad would take us around and point out all the stuff like pigs' feet.
I found this: http://www.recipezaar.com/cookbooks/tags/OAMC Just in case anyone else is planning on doing some OAMC But I think I plan on just doing a couple of meals extra per week until I have some good stuff frozen. AND I need to work on lunches and breakfasts since we do farm work in the morning, I don't always get the stuff together and kids end up eating too much cereal
Ah yes, the "zaar". I love that place. I think we'd have spaghetti every night if it weren't for recipezaar.
