When I mentioned on Facebook that I have a blog, it is no
wonder that all my friends were surprised by this. This appears to be my first entry on this
blog. I have my personal and my
photography blog, but this one was an idea that I never followed through
with. That is all about to change!! I have discovered this thing called Freezer
Cooking, and I am OBSESSED!!! I am a
full time working mother, a military spouse of an Airman that works a very
random schedule and long hours most days, and I just recently graduated from my
first two years of college. I am still
working on going back and getting my Bachelor’s degree, so as you can see… I
already have a lot on my plate. So on
nights where we have swim lessons, softball or soccer, how do I figure out the
time to get dinner on our plates!?!? (Do you see what I did there???)
I needed to find an easier option. A better option. I was tired of making a cheese quesadilla
because it was the quickest thing I could feed my daughter. Then I finally saw a post on Facebook one day
about Freezer Cooking. I read what it
was all about, and I was instantly intrigued.
Basically what freezer cooking is, is one day of prepping meals to be
placed in a freezer so that you have ready to go meals for the rest of the
month! All the ingredients go in raw, so
when you decide to cook them, you are cooking them for the first time! You just pull the bag out of your freezer the
night before to thaw, and the next morning you toss it in your Crock-pot (or
desired method of cooking. Personally,
some of the meals I prefer to throw on the grill). So simple!!
There are some pasta dishes that you can make and freeze, but I haven’t
really tried those yet. Maybe I will try
a few… I will keep you all posted!
I checked out a lot of other great blog before deciding
which one to use. I followed the blog,
Who needs a Cape, and I got a ton of recipes from that site. The great thing about that site was that it
had a master shopping list. I made all
the recipes listed, and as we went through them, we decided which ones we
liked, and which ones we didn't. This
way I knew which ones I wanted to make again.
There were some recipes that I fell in love with and made sure to make
extras of.
Last weekend I had two of my friends come over, and we
prepped together and stuffed our bags.
It was fun to get to spend a few hours together, but also be productive
at the same time. I will warn you… this
will take you a few hours. It doesn't
seem like it should, but it will. We
made 9 different meals, and it took the three of us just under 4 hours.
Before I post those recipes and shopping list I want to
share with you how to freezer cook. I
have had a lot of friends ask me how I do it, so here is my process.
1 Start by
choosing your recipes. This is
key. You have to pick recipes that you
think you will actually like or recipes you are dying to try.
2 Create
your master shopping list. This
takes some time. That is why I loved
finding sites that include the shopping list.
I love spreadsheets, so that is where I started. I separated my shopping list into five
different categories. They are 1- Meats,
2- Fruits/Vegetables, 3- Canned Goods, 4- Wet Ingredients, and 5-
Herbs/Spices. You can, of course, set
yours up however you find it most suitable for you. Go through every recipe and write down what
you need, and how much of it. As you
come across a duplicate ingredient, tack on the amount. If one recipe calls for ½ tsp. of oregano,
and another calls for 2 tsp., then you need to make sure that you have 2 ½ tsp.
accounted for. To make it easier, I also
use my list to account for how items are to be prepared. For example, if it says I need 1 onion
sliced, or I green pepper chopped, I write that out on my grocery list. That way I know how to prepare them when the
time comes. You will see what I mean when
you look at the grocery list below.
3 Scan the
ads for deals. You will do a lot of
shopping at one time, so if you want to get the best deals, keep your eyes out
for them. I seriously went to three
different stores the first time I did this.
These are YOUR meals, so you can customize them as you please. When it says to use barbecue sauce, guess
what- you get to pick which brand and flavor.
If you need onions, it is up to you if you use organic or not. I can’t tell you what it is going to cost you
because everyone will come up with a different sum. I am cheap, so I always try to get the best
price on things. So I will tell you that
the cost for the nine recipes I am posting was about $150. Two of three of these recipes I doubled, so I
got 12 meals out of them. According to
my calculator, that means each meal cost me about $12.50. We can’t even go to Taco Bell for that cheap
anymore.
4 Prepare
your work space. Make sure you have
plenty of room and an empty dishwasher.
You are going to use a lot of dishes.
You will have knives for cutting, bowls for storing, and you will use
every measuring cup and spoon. I would
strongly suggest separating your items into groups. That way, when you need something you know
exactly where it is at.
5 Prepare
all your veggies. That is pretty
much it…. Sliced ‘em, dice ‘em and chop ‘em as instructed. Do it all at once and put them in bowls. I know that once they are all combined it is
hard to determine how much is a whole item, but again, these are your meals, so
you can add as much or as little as you would like. So if it is a little off, it’s ok. It is still going to be amazing!!
6 Mark your
Freezer Bags. This is key before
starting. You want to make sure that you
know what you are making, and what goes where.
Write the name of the meal, and if you want, write down a few ideas for
side items or special instructions. For
example, the Jambalaya recipe has the option to add shrimp, but you don’t want
to add it until the last half hour of cooking or it will overcook. On the bag you can write, “Add Shrimp last 30
minutes”, so that way you know to pull the shrimp out of the freezer as
well. I mentioned above that I was
cheap, but Freezer bags are the one things that I do not skimp on. You will notice from my photos that I used the
Hefty Ziplocks. They were fantastic for
me, and I loved that I could just slide the bags closed. I didn’t have to worry about whether or not I
pinched the seal in every place. Just
make sure that you don’t forget the Freezer Bags. And I would recommend Gallon Size.
7 Start
with the meats. Go through the
recipes and see if you have any meats that need to be prepared a certain
way. Sometimes you need chicken or pork
chunks, so if you do, then prepare them as needed. Once you have all the meats ready to go, fill
each of your marked Freezer bags with the appropriate meat proportions. Just follow through each of the recipes and as
you fill them, line them up. Here are a
few personal notes about the meats…. First thing, when it comes to chicken, it
is up to you on whether or not you want to buy fresh or frozen. Since I am freezing these all anyway, I
usually buy frozen because it seems to be cheaper. However… if I need to cut up chicken chunks,
I will always buy fresh so that I am not thawing it out and re-freezing
it. Second thing, make sure you have
enough meat for you and your family. If
a recipe call for 4 chicken breasts, but you have 5 in your family, throw in an
extra. It will be ok. If it calls for a 6 lb. roast, but your
family only needs a 4, buy that four pounder.
It is entirely up to you to make these recipes work for you. Third, to avoid cross contamination, be sure
to wash your hands between handling the different meats. And of course wash your hands after you bag
all the meats.
8 Add the
final ingredients. Now that the bags
are marked and the meats are in, it is time to add the flavors. Follow through one recipe at a time and add
as instructed (or a little more or less if you desire). Once you have everything added, seal the bag
tightly and turn it upside down. Squish all
those ingredients together and make sure it will be mixed throughout the
bag. Put it aside, move on to the next
recipe, and repeat! Once you have all
the bags filled, move them into your freezer.
***I STRONGLY RECOMMEND YOU HAVE
A DEEP FREEZER FOR THIS*** Maybe I should have said that in the
beginning. You will need to have plenty of
space to store these items. The more you
make, the more room you will need.
I know this is extremely long, but I hope that it will help
guide you through your freezer cooking process.
I will work to keep updating you guys with recipes that I like. As I cook the meals, I will update the photos
with Pictures of the meals as they are prepared.
So, without further ado, here are the first nine meals!!
**These are a combination of meals from a bunch of different websites. I did not come up with these recipes and I do not own any rights to the recipes**
Lemon Garlic Chicken
And as promised, here is the master shopping list for these 9 items:
MEAT
Chicken Breast, boneless, skinless 18
Chicken Thighs, boneless, skinless 1 Lb.
Shrimp (tails off) 1/2 Pound
Pork Roast (1) 5-6 Lbs.
Stew Meat 1 Lb.
Boneless Pork Loin 4 Lbs.
London Broil, Flank or Skirt Steak 2-4 Lbs.
FRUITS/VEGGIES
Lime 5
frozen corn 24 Ounce bag
Red Onion, chopped 1
Celery, bunch, chopped 1
Green Peppers, chopped 2
White Onion, SLICED 3
White Onion, CHOPPED 1.5
White Onion, DICED 1 Cup
CANNED GOODS
Black Beans, drained, rinsed 2 cans
Chunky Applesauce 2/3 Cup
Diced Tomatoes 1- 14 oz. Can
Rotel w/ green chilies 1- 10 oz. Can
Salsa Verde 1- 16 oz. Jar
WET INGREDIENTS
Honey 1.5 Cups
BBQ Sauce 2/3 Cup
Chicken Broth 5 Cups
Lemon Juice 3 Tbsp
Tobasco/Hot Sauce 1 tsp
Soy Sauce 1 Cup
ketchup 1/4 Cup
Canola Oil 1 Tbsp
Hoisin Sauce 1/2 Cup
Bourbon 1/4 Cup
Olive Oil 3 Tbsp, 2 tsp.
Vegetable Oil 1/4 Cup
HERBS/SPICES
Brown Sugar 1/2 Cup, 2 Tbsp.
Chili Powder 1.5 tsp.
Garlic Cloves, MINCED 11
Cilantro 2 Cups
Cumin 2 3/4 tsp.
Chipotle Powder 2 tsp.
Dried Oregano 1 tsp.
Lawry's Seasoning Salt 1/2 tsp.
Dried Parsley 2 tsp.
Paprika 2 tsp.
Cayenne Pepper 1 tsp.
Basil 2 tsp.
Ginger, MINCED 1/2 tsp.
Garlic Salt 1/2 tsp.
Red Pepper Flakes 1 1/4 tsp.
Garlic, CHOPPED 1 Tbsp
Garlic, MINCED 2.5 tsp.
Cornstarch 1-2 tsp.
