What's for dinner!!!! Repeat this 600 or so times between the hours of 4 and 5pm .....UGH....welcome to my world!! Fast, quick and simple are three of my favorite words when it comes to dinners. Healthy's in there somewhere too but I don't worry much about that since most our food is home cooked anyway...I'm not a health nut at all honestly....shhh don't tell. Not that I mind at all people who are!! I don't know why but I just can't seem to find the time to spend hours each night cooking . I spent some time last summer reading books from the library about once a month cooking.....a GREAT idea for some.....didn't work out great for me, bummer. The idea is ....cook ALL day long one day and package up enough meal items to freeze for a month . Reasons it didn't work for me??? Money. Plain old simple money. First off because of how we are paid, I never could get together a months worth of grocery money to buy everything at once...and still feed us at the same time....LOL... it'd be great if I could just save and pocket the cash for a month....but ya know,we gotta still eat! Second there is the expense of storage containers....all cost $$$$. Choices are: freeze in dishes (that's a lot of casserole dishes to own....or foil throw aways (still pricey) or Tupperware.....pricey too...oh well. But I still like the concept and have adapted where I can....with fall and winter comming up I can (and do) get ahead food wise.....I may not get 30 meals....but I do get a few for those hectic times that I haven't planned well and don't want to get take out cuz it's too expensive. Basically our food changes a bit in the winter to things that I can make double of and freeze . Chili and any soup/stew are EASY to make a BIG batch of and freeze half....so is meatloaf.....make two (or more) , cook and freeze. Meat balls can be made and frozen.....when I make them by hand I cook them in the oven - you can get a ton of them on a rimmed cookie sheet. We do tacos/mexican type dishes a lot here....if I have the xtra $$, I'll get a HUGE pack of ground beef and cook and spice it ALL....we use some for that dinner then I freeze the rest in batches for the next meals.....if I do say 5 (or more) lbs (I cook it in a large stock pot) I can get about four meals out of that....we make tacos, meat nachos, beefy mexican rice w/cheese, burritos.... and I even use this meat in chili (the mexican flavor goes away with all the chili spices). I have been known to cook a whole huge crock pot of chicken breasts....usually when I do this we eat it all week in different dishes but if we tire of it....you can shred it and freeze. Maybe I'll do more of that this winter to cut down on cook time ...so if I plan right and make dinners that can be doubled....I am able to put some back for those really hectic days that always come up around my house!!!
3 comments:
Just found your blog through your comment on The Crockpot Lady's blog. I've been fascinated with the once-a-month cooking idea too, but I've yet to try it...but I do double recipes and freeze one and cook a baking sheet full of meatballs. I also my cook ground beef ahead, but I boil mine. It doesn't effect the taste and cuts down on the fat content. Thanks for sharing your ideas. I've bookmarked your blog and I'll be back! : )
Forgot to mention another option for freezing meals...line a casserole dish with aluminum foil, leaving enough foil all the way around to fold over and completely cover food after you put it in the dish. After it is frozen solid, pull the foil-covered meal out and put back in the freezer without the dish. When you want to eat it, just put it back in the same casserole dish and let it defrost. This lets you use the same dish over and over without having to leave it in the freezer.
That's a really great idea- the foil!! I actually boil my ground beef too!!! If you have the time....save the strained water and cool it.....skin off the fat (it will go to solid in the fridg) and PRESTO....FREE beef broth :) Save in jars for soups and such!!
Post a Comment