Freezer Cooking

I went to the grocery store last Friday and today was the first chance I had to divide and cook up all the meat I bought. I scored manager specials on ground turkey and Italian sausage and froze them right away since their sell by date was approaching faster than I could get them cooked.

One of our favorite cheap dinner dates is buy one get on free on Tuesdays at Wild Wings. Not having to cook dinner on top of freezer cooking made my evening much easier. Here's what I got cooked including the meatballs I made last night. I let the meat and spaghetti sauce cool overnight before placing in freezer bags.

• Two pounds of meatballs.
• Eighteen whole wheat banana chocolate chips muffins. Since I don't buy many snacks these will be gone in a day or two.
• Five pounds of ground beef and turkey. I mixed them together while cooking and will season some of the meat tomorrow for tacos and leave several pounds unseasoned.
• Nine muffin sized portions of sloppy joes. These make great lunches for David.
• Large stockpot of spaghetti sauce. I set some aside without meat for plain marinara sauce.
• One pound of Italian turkey sausage for the spaghetti sauce.
• Four meals of marinated chicken in different marinades.
• Four meals of plain chicken breasts. I tray freeze them and place them in a bag once they are frozen.

I'm tired but making dinner for the next month will now be much simpler.

Saving Money on Meat

Along withproduce, meat is the most expensive thing in my grocery cart. David exercises nearly everyday and needs more protein than the average man his size (although most American eat too much protein which your body turns into fat). I need 80-100 grams everyday while growing this baby but most days, meat has not been agreeing with my stomach or taste buds so I've been forced to turn to vegetarian and dairy sources.

Kroger often has 10 pound bags of chicken legs and thighs for 69 cents a pound. It comes in a giant bag like this-

I take out the chicken thighs and process them several different ways. I baked a few and pulled the meat off for chicken salad. I also marinated a few and the rest I tray froze like this. I usually wait until the next day to pull them off the tray and stick them into a freezer bag. This way I have a bag of individually frozen thighs and I can pull out as many or few as I need at a time. 

I got nine pieces (thigh and leg together as one piece) of meat for $6.90 and I can stretch one thigh and leg into enough meat for both of us at dinner. This comes out to only 38 cents a servings (that's per person). Boneless breasts are generally 50 cents or more per serving. David doesn't love picking the meat off the bone but I love that it's cheap frugal!

Don't forget to visit Life as Mom for more Frugal Friday ideas. 

Freezer Marinades for Chicken

Sorry for the terrible font discrepancies, I can't seem to fix it. 
I try and cook enough meat for a large serving for David and I plus enough for leftover. Usually about 3 breasts or thighs in a freezer Ziploc bag and add a marinade. Freeze flat. Once frozen they can stay flat or be stacked vertically likes books to save space.

I pull one bag out and let defrost in the fridge for about two days and bake. For bone in breasts bake at 350 for 45 minutes. I turn the oven up to about 425 for boneless breasts and cook 20-30 minutes. I'm not the best at keeping track of how long things actually take to cook. The juices should run clear when the chicken is done.

Freezer-Friendly Marinated Chicken

Honey and Soy

3 whole frozen chicken breasts
1 garlic clove
1/4 cup liquid sweetener (honey, maple syrup, agave)
1/4 cup soy sauce
Put chicken breasts and garlic clove in a freezer bag. Mix together sweetener and soy sauce and pour over chicken in the bag. Seal bag air-tight (use a straw to remove extra air, if necessary). Stick in the freezer (or you can cook immediately).
To cook: Thaw on the counter top for a few hours or in the refrigerator overnight. Cook in the crockpot on high for 3-4 hours or in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes.

Serve over rice, if desired. May also chop and add steamed veggies and serve over rice. Makes 3-4 servings.

The following marinades are enough for about six pieces of chicken. It makes enough for three meals for us.

Asian: Life as Mom

6 Tablespoons rice vinegar

3 Tablespoons soy sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/4 cup oil

1 Tablespoon sesame oil

Spicy Southwest (Blend in food processor or blender):Life as Mom

1 tomato, quartered

1/2 onion, cut into chunks

1/4 jalapeno pepper

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup oil

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 Tablespoon lime juice

1/4 cup cilantro leaves

Dijon: Life as Mom

1/3 cup Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/4 cup oil

Freezer Cooking and Meal Planning

I absolutely love to cook. What I do not like however, is coming home at 5 pm, opening my fridge and wondering what to make and then spending the subsequent hour in my kitchen preparing dinner. I’m moody anyways and I’m not always in the mood to cook. Menu planning and freezer cooking, also called Once a Month Cooking (OAMC) or batch cooking, has really revolutionized my grocery budget and the way I make meals.

I first came across this idea six to eight months ago while browsing blogs. Jessica at Life As Mom has many fantastic resources for learning how to meal plan and freezer cook. I don’t do a marathon weekend of cooking partially because it’s exhausting and partially because I don’t have a chest freezer, just the freezer above my fridge. 

When the freezer starts to get low or when we run out of marina sauce I will start cooking whenever I have time and am in the mood. I might make a big pot of pasta sauce one night and that's it. After it's cooled off, I pour two cup portions into quart sized freezer bags and freeze flat. Once they're frozen I stack them vertically like books. I've found this to be very space efficient. Another helpful and time saving practice is to buy ground beef in the big packages when on sale ($1.99/lb is my buy price) and cook it all up at once. I will do two pounds of plain, 2 pounds of taco meat and 1 pound of sloppy joes.

You don’t have to love casseroles (I don’t) or eat processed, canned food to prepare simple, frugal and healthy meals for your family. Here are some things currently in my freezer. Granted there’s only two of us (David eats for three though)

I haven't quite finished up from this weekend's cooking. The muffin tin has sloppy joes that need to go into a bag. The pyrex dishes contain lasagna casseroles that need to be moved to a bag as well. 

• mariana sauce with meat
• marina sauce
• diced onions
• cooked brown rice
• spanish brown rice
• season taco meat
• lasagna
• lasagna casserole
• shredded chicken meat
• plain cooked ground beef
• enchiladas
• sloppy Joes
• chicken breast in marinade

In the coming weeks, I will begin posting recipes for these dinners and more. Thanks for reading my first post!