Freeze It! Budget Bootcamp #8

First, before I get into this week’s challenge, I have to tell you about my great shopping trip on Monday. And, yes, I do feel like I’ve graduated to some level of couponing madness since I took a picture of all of my groceries after getting home from the store. What can I say? I was proud. I saved 47%, using over $30 worth of coupons and over $60 worth of sale savings. Plus, I went home with a $10 certificate for a free giftcard from the Safeway giftcard mall, which technically pushes my savings over the 50% mark. In other words, I saved more than I spent on a shopping cart full of food. Not only that, but the milk and the bananas were the only 2 items not on sale.

I am a deal seeker. Always have been. But yesterday, I worked for these deals. I did my research, I did my planning, and it payed off! This couponing thing is getting to be easier for me!

And now on to this week’s challenge…..

The Challenge:

Make an extra meal and freeze it to use when you don’t feel like cooking or are short on time.

This is actually a concept that I have used before (I’ve even taught a class about this before!) so I do know a thing or two about freezer meals.

There are several ways to tackle freezer meals, but the concept is the same: Prepare your food when you have the time so that you will have the food ready when you don’t have the time. Brilliant, isn’t it?

Here are a few of the methods that I have used:

• Spend an entire day cooking a bunch of meals. Years ago, a friend of mine gave me the book Dinner is Ready – 30 Meals in One Day and I took the challenge. It takes a lot of preparation and a big chunk of time, but I cannot express the thrill of having a month’s worth of meals made in one day. It’s worth it! I would recommend getting a book, though, since there really is a method that needs to be followed.

• Prepare a double recipe when you cook dinner. Eat half, and freeze half for later. This is probably an easier way to build up a stock of freezer meals. You just won’t have all the meals ready at once. Sometimes this is a good thing if your freezer space is limited. I’m lucky and have a full size deep freezer (the old kind that has to be defrosted

• Get together with a group of friends and have a mega cooking day swap! Clair actually wrote a guest post on my blog about Meals Swaps a while back. Go check it out!

• Buy meat in bulk, cook it as soon as you bring it into the kitchen, and freeze it, cooked, for use in future meals. This is a mini-step, but can be a real time-saver. You can also do this with things like onions, peppers, fruits, and other things that are only available seasonally.

In fact, yesterday, I cooked up a family pack of ground beef, added some taco seasoning and onions and froze the meat for use in tacos later. And then, last night before going to bed, I stuck a whole chicken in my crock pot so that it would cook over night. Today, I am going to use that chicken in a few recipes (much cheaper and yummier than cooking single boneless, skinless breasts for a recipe).

Have  you ever tried cooking ahead and freezing meals? What methods work best for you?

Psst–click above for some great bulk buying!

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About Lolli

Lolli has written 3740 post in this blog.

I became a mom in 1996, and in 2005 I had my fifth. Yes, 5 kids. In 2007, this blog was born (my 6th baby that will never grow up) and I've been sharing recipes, photography tricks, parenting tips, and everything in between. (Formerly Better in Bulk)

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