Hello there! This is Cris, the FREEZE-O-RAMA mama from GOODEness Gracious where we cook up all kinds of GOODe food with a side of life!
I am so tickled to be here sharing with you today about one of my most favorite kitchen tips: Freezer Cooking or Once A Month Cooking (OAMC).
I just {heart} freezer cooking. Sure, freezer cooking not only saves me tons of time in the kitchen and it allows me to buy items in bulk and therefore saves me many a grocery dollar… but I gots to tell ya that I am into it for a totally different reason.
Imagine with me for a moment… You have just finished supper after a very long day. You walk to the kitchen sink and much to your surprise there are no pots, pans, measuring cups, skillets or multiple kitchen utensils awaiting you.
Nope.
Nothing but a clean sink and counter… and your family just ate lasagna or grilled tomato-basil chicken.
Now, before you go thinking that fairies, elves or nice little Disney woodland characters gone and done your dishes, you realize you are reaping the best benefit of freezer cooking… the effortlessly clean kitchen. Ya see, when you do all your cooking for the month in one to two days, you also do up all your dishes for the month at the same time! Mommy-score.
Now with all that said, cooking a month’s worth of meals during one day when you are first starting to freezer cook can be a little intimidating, not to mention overwhelming. So, with this being our first post on this subject and all, I thought we might just get our feet wet a little with a few ways to dip our toes in the freezer cooking pond.
So here five easy ways to start freezer cooking a little at a time:
1. Buy 6-8 lbs of ground beef when it is on sale or at a good price. I usually buy the lean ground beef from Aldis. Cook it up and season it to your family’s taste. My seasoned ground beef is a mixture of lean ground beef, chopped onion, minced garlic, salt and pepper. Once it is all cooked up, cool it off until it is room temperature and then place it into freezer bags. I like to measure out the amount I use in a typical recipe and put them in individual bags for quick prep. Now when I need to make my deep dish pizza or beef stroganoff, my ground beef is already seasoned and ready, trimming tons of time and energy off of dinner prep.
2. A similar tip is to watch for really great produce sales or think about a veggie you really hate to prepare–I am looking at you onions! Take some time to chop or slice up onions, bell peppers, carrots, celery, etc. and freezer them up in recipe sized portions. You will thank me every time a recipe calls for onion and you just have to grab a bag out of the freezer! This is also a great tip if you are preparing a recipe that just calls for 1/4 of a cup of one of the above vegetables. Oftentimes the unused portions of those veggies will go bad at my house unless I have another recipe that is calling for 3/4 cup of red bell pepper. So, instead of letting it go to waste (and onto my guilty conscious) I go ahead and chop it up and freeze in 1/4 cup portions.
3. Love to bake but those recipes have way too many cookies (and calories) for your family to eat in one week? Why not freeze half? Cookies freeze very well and can offer a portion sized snack all month long versus gobbling up 3-4 dozen the week they are made. This option also allows you to bake more often and build a wide variety of treats to choose from.
4. Do you have a loaf of bread about to go stale or do you hate the mess of pancakes/waffles in the morning? Take that loaf and make up a large batch of French Toast or get creative with the kids and spend a morning making some Pumpkin or Peach Oatmeal Pancakes and let all that hard work pay off all month long by freezing them in individual portions that the kids can grab and heat up each morning for a warm and hearty breakfast.
5. Perhaps one of the easiest ways to get started in freezer cooking is to just start out with tomorrow night’s dinner. Most casseroles or family sized recipes can either be divided or easily be doubled and half can be frozen. By cooking it all at the same time, you save on the dishes and the time in a couple weeks when you would be making that dish from scratch all over again anyhow. Now you can just go to your freezer and thaw it in your fridge the day before and TADAH… a family meal in the oven in minutes.
Well, I can’t wait to hear about your first steps into the freezer cooking world! I will be back next time with a great new recipe for your family and freezer to try on for size.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
I really need to do this! We have a couple of nights during the week when I just don’t have time to put something together unless we want to be eating at 7:30! Thanks for the ideas!
Jenny´s last [type] ..Morning Song
Great! I totally know what you mean. I used to set aside weekends to freezer cook,but they are hard to come by these days… but when I can just double a meal or do one or two of these things, I am sooo thankful when I open up my freezer
Cris´s last [type] ..Shooting People
Great post! I have always been drawn to the idea of freezer cooking, but been intimidated by it.
Once you give it a try a little at a time, you will totally see how doable it is
Cris´s last [type] ..Shooting People
Ok Freezer lady! I NEED to learn from you! Teach me your ways! Question! What do you like to freeze things in? Do you mostly freeze chopped onions and stuff in plastic bags? The green in me wants to do away with plastic bags but they are so much easier to store than glass jars. Any tips? (I also hate springing the money on lots of plastic bags.)
Becky @ Our Peaceful home´s last [type] ..Moving with Little Ones Tips to survive
I use baggies. I put them in serving size baggies and then put all the servings in a gallon size baggie for organization’s sake… the gallon bags never get thrown away, but the little baggies are one-use. However, you can always use those small storage containers– I think Glad makes some good ones.
Just remember… when freezing, air is your enemy. So, I always take press and seal or clear wrap and press down onto the food and push out all the air when making a casserole or storing something in a storage cup.
Cris´s last [type] ..Shooting People
Great tips, Cris!!
I have used a variety of containers for freezing foods! Sometimes I even reuse the plastic baggies (if possible) just by washing them out and letting them air-dry between uses. I have also used several different containers from Glad or Ziploc. We have several of the pyrex casserole dishes that I can actually bake in, allow the food to cool, and then freeze – straight in the dish I baked it in! I like to use the Press and Seal to cover the tops of the open dish (and some of them come with lids also)!
Hey there Cris! Way back when I had a houseful of kids running around, I did my share of freezer cooking. I while it may seem intimidating to get started you have done a good job of introducing it to people.
I know what I would do sometime is cook 3o r 4 dishes with ground beef one week. The next week, I may boil or saute chicken breasts and mix up 3 or 4 recipes with that. That would help build my freezer up.
Even now, I do what you suggested about the ground beef. And many times I will freeze spaghetti sauce or chili, if anything is left around here. When they do come to eat (the young adult kids!) they eat ALOT!
I look forward to reading more of your tips!
Bernice
Living the Balanced Life´s last [type] ..Moving for Life
I just got started doing freezer meals, but i have the main course down pat, but im stuck in the kitchen fixing side items any suggestions
Hey Candie! I would just stick to easy side items! Carrot sticks, celery sticks, corn or even crock pot sides if you want something hot. Make it super easy. Don’t feel stressed about having a complete meal that takes a lot of time. A salad is always a good one two. Something that can just be thrown together right before dinner!