Have you heard about Freezer cooking???

  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**

Marinated Beef

Mongolian Beef

Easy Pulled Pork

Green Chili PorkTacos

Jambalaya

Apple Sauce BBQChicken

Cilantro Lime Chicken

Honey Bourbon Chicken

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.