A number of years ago I spent three weeks with my niece who was having a baby. I decided to leave meals for Bob and the boys so with a little planning and a day and a half of my time, I put 21 meals in the freezer. All they had to do was make rice or noodles fresh to go with my bagged meals.
Here is the inventory and the order I cooked them:
Ground beef chili
I made chili and let it simmer on the back of the stove while cooking other items. I like to mix ground turkey with my beef for chili so it is a little leaner/cheaper and the seasonings go well with turkey. With half of it I added cooked corn and olives to make a chili cornbread casserole. You need to add the cornbread at the time of eating because it doesn't freeze that well.
I fried out Italian sausage with onions and mushrooms and added tomato sauce. Half of this was frozen to put on bread pizzas and half I added canned tomatoes to simmer and make spaghetti sauce. With this mix you can also make lasagna. I have found turkey Italian sausage but for some reason it is more expensive. Go figure.
When I can buy one, get one free or find a 50% off roast, I get a goodly amount to make the following meals. I cube the meat in about 1 inch cubes or smaller if little people are eating. I season flour with salt and pepper and coat each piece of meat before browning. To this I add onions and mushrooms and minced garlic. When the meat is showing the juices I add onion soup mix (package or bulk) and a pint or so of water, turn down the heat and cook slowly. You can also put it in a slow cooker once it is browned. From this I reserve one meal for stroganoff (just add sour cream) and the rest I package in pint containers for stew (adding potatoes, carrots, etc.) and for veggie soup (add veggies and a can of tomato juice). You can complete these dishes now or freeze the meat mix and make them fresh another day.
You can do pork roast the same way and make similar dishes as well as sweet/sour. Pork roast in the slow cooker with bbq sauce is great for pulled pork. I always fill the cooker so I get several meals with one cooking. I grew up cooking with a pressure cooker and I am still learning how to use the slow cooker so that the meat doesn't get dried out.
I buy chicken two ways, whole and bake or boil it, depending if I want to make salad or need broth; or I buy boneless/skinless breasts.
Once the whole chicken is cooked and cooled you can de-bone it and freeze in baggies to cook with later or if you have the time, make meals to freeze. I have started putting the broth in quart jars and freezing it as I have a good size freezer. I reuse canning lids that might not work for a second season of canning but still have a good rubber seal. The broth is wonderful if you add onions and celery while it is cooking. I sometimes save the leafy tops of celery in a bag in the freezer until I am ready to boil up a chicken. The only thing I don't freeze is potatoes because they get so mushy.
For soups I make chicken/noodle or chicken and dumplings or I made a chicken pot pie soup that is only 50 calories per serving. Just add a little half/half before serving. Adding lots of veggies makes the meal go farther, look better and be healthier. There some veggies that I can hide in soups that don't go over well on the plate, if you know what I mean. I wonder if you couldn't make chicken taco soup as well with this.
One dish I make from cooked chicken is curry and we love it. I have found bulk curry but we don't care for the taste as much so I'm still searching for more economical seasonings. I make my curry from yellow paste and with coconut milk and serve over rice. I do put a little potato in the curry to make it go further, but we try to minimize carbs and because the potatoes don't freeze well I don't do too many. Chicken and rice casserole is a good dish for freezing. Season with canned soup or make a white sauce and season to your preference. I make rice in the cooker while I'm attending other items on the stove.
Plain breast of chicken you can brown the on one side, turn and pour condensed cream of mushroom soup over it, reduce the heat and put a lid on it to finish cooking. Serve this over rice and it is delicious. I don't even bother to thaw the breasts. By the time noodles or rice is done, the meat is also done. Add onions/mushrooms/sweet peppers if you like.
Other dishes good for the freezer would be enchiladas (I recently made white enchiladas that were wonderful); manicotti;
Basically, I start with dishes that are better when simmered for a time, then work my way through meats that fry first and then can be immediately frozen or prepared further with additional ingredients, and end with meats that cook quickly. Dishes that can be started on the stove and finished in a slow pot or electric skillet are handy, space wise. Save your favorite meal for last so you aren't too tired to cook for that day's dinner.
Items to have on hand when batch cooking include
baggies or container (bags are great for smaller freezers because they freeze flat)
fresh veggies: onions, celery, garlic (minced or fresh), carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, sweet peppers
canned: tomato sauce and diced, mushrooms
frozen veggies: potatoes, mixed (for soups)
seasonings: onion soup, chili, italian,
misc.: flour, corn starch
Here is the inventory and the order I cooked them:
Ground beef chili
I made chili and let it simmer on the back of the stove while cooking other items. I like to mix ground turkey with my beef for chili so it is a little leaner/cheaper and the seasonings go well with turkey. With half of it I added cooked corn and olives to make a chili cornbread casserole. You need to add the cornbread at the time of eating because it doesn't freeze that well.
I fried out Italian sausage with onions and mushrooms and added tomato sauce. Half of this was frozen to put on bread pizzas and half I added canned tomatoes to simmer and make spaghetti sauce. With this mix you can also make lasagna. I have found turkey Italian sausage but for some reason it is more expensive. Go figure.
When I can buy one, get one free or find a 50% off roast, I get a goodly amount to make the following meals. I cube the meat in about 1 inch cubes or smaller if little people are eating. I season flour with salt and pepper and coat each piece of meat before browning. To this I add onions and mushrooms and minced garlic. When the meat is showing the juices I add onion soup mix (package or bulk) and a pint or so of water, turn down the heat and cook slowly. You can also put it in a slow cooker once it is browned. From this I reserve one meal for stroganoff (just add sour cream) and the rest I package in pint containers for stew (adding potatoes, carrots, etc.) and for veggie soup (add veggies and a can of tomato juice). You can complete these dishes now or freeze the meat mix and make them fresh another day.
You can do pork roast the same way and make similar dishes as well as sweet/sour. Pork roast in the slow cooker with bbq sauce is great for pulled pork. I always fill the cooker so I get several meals with one cooking. I grew up cooking with a pressure cooker and I am still learning how to use the slow cooker so that the meat doesn't get dried out.
I buy chicken two ways, whole and bake or boil it, depending if I want to make salad or need broth; or I buy boneless/skinless breasts.
Once the whole chicken is cooked and cooled you can de-bone it and freeze in baggies to cook with later or if you have the time, make meals to freeze. I have started putting the broth in quart jars and freezing it as I have a good size freezer. I reuse canning lids that might not work for a second season of canning but still have a good rubber seal. The broth is wonderful if you add onions and celery while it is cooking. I sometimes save the leafy tops of celery in a bag in the freezer until I am ready to boil up a chicken. The only thing I don't freeze is potatoes because they get so mushy.
For soups I make chicken/noodle or chicken and dumplings or I made a chicken pot pie soup that is only 50 calories per serving. Just add a little half/half before serving. Adding lots of veggies makes the meal go farther, look better and be healthier. There some veggies that I can hide in soups that don't go over well on the plate, if you know what I mean. I wonder if you couldn't make chicken taco soup as well with this.
One dish I make from cooked chicken is curry and we love it. I have found bulk curry but we don't care for the taste as much so I'm still searching for more economical seasonings. I make my curry from yellow paste and with coconut milk and serve over rice. I do put a little potato in the curry to make it go further, but we try to minimize carbs and because the potatoes don't freeze well I don't do too many. Chicken and rice casserole is a good dish for freezing. Season with canned soup or make a white sauce and season to your preference. I make rice in the cooker while I'm attending other items on the stove.
Plain breast of chicken you can brown the on one side, turn and pour condensed cream of mushroom soup over it, reduce the heat and put a lid on it to finish cooking. Serve this over rice and it is delicious. I don't even bother to thaw the breasts. By the time noodles or rice is done, the meat is also done. Add onions/mushrooms/sweet peppers if you like.
Other dishes good for the freezer would be enchiladas (I recently made white enchiladas that were wonderful); manicotti;
Basically, I start with dishes that are better when simmered for a time, then work my way through meats that fry first and then can be immediately frozen or prepared further with additional ingredients, and end with meats that cook quickly. Dishes that can be started on the stove and finished in a slow pot or electric skillet are handy, space wise. Save your favorite meal for last so you aren't too tired to cook for that day's dinner.
Items to have on hand when batch cooking include
baggies or container (bags are great for smaller freezers because they freeze flat)
fresh veggies: onions, celery, garlic (minced or fresh), carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, sweet peppers
canned: tomato sauce and diced, mushrooms
frozen veggies: potatoes, mixed (for soups)
seasonings: onion soup, chili, italian,
misc.: flour, corn starch
Recommended reading is the 'Make-A-Mix Cookery' by Karine Eliason, Nevad Harward and Madeline Westover. There is also 'Dinner is Ready, 30 meals in One Day'.
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting this! I know that you have a lot of experience and good ideas. I am renewed in my excitement to experiment and cook economically! I sometimes get "cookers block" when it comes to meal ideas and this will kick-start me. I wonder if you have any summer dishes that would work well for HOT days? We seem to be eating a lot of cold fruit and meats and cheeses with bread. But that gets costly too. I'm starting to look for recipes for cold bean salads. Thank you again for your help!
ReplyDeleteI do a salad bar and prepare veggies for several salads at a time. I cut up cucumbers, add frozen corn, and tomatoes and marinate them in dressing but don't put them in the lettuce. I combine chopped onions and sweet peppers the same way but I don't marinate them. Cole Slaw is wonderful on salads, just add baby shrimp for meat. I also cut up large quantities of lettuce and bag it or put it straight in the drawer for meals.
ReplyDeleteFor protein I boil at least six eggs at a time and leave them in the shells until use. The cooked chicken is excellent for this as is tuna. Sometimes I flake the tuna and sometimes I mix it with the onion/pepper mix and put mayonnaise or salad dressing with it. This can be used for salad, for sandwiches or with crackers. Chopped chicken can be done the same way.
For meals I just put everything out and let people make their own salad.
Fresh tomatoes chopped in salad or quartered with cottage cheese and French dressing are great. Serve with cheese for a little extra protein.
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ReplyDeleteI also use butter beans for protein but some people don't care for them :) I take store bought dressings and thin them down with milk to make them easier to use, lighter in calories and they go farther.
ReplyDelete