Today, reader Heather shares her strategy for freezer cooking without slaving away in the kitchen for a whole day.
I love the whole idea of once a month cooking, but I never seem to have a full day to dedicate to the process. Having meals on hand every night would be nice, although I do love the break spending time in the kitchen gives me each day. Instead, I settle for having dinner on hand once in awhile when I just don’t know what else to cook. By tweaking a few recipes here and there or spending a few extra minutes when putting away the groceries, I can save myself a lot of time throughout the month. One of the simplest strategies is to double the recipe when you cook something that freezes well. It is just as easy to mix two pounds of meat as it is one so you can freeze a second meatloaf for another night. Pasta sauce and soups take over an hour to simmer, but it doesn’t take 2 hours to simmer twice as much! Spend a few extra minutes layering a second lasagna or dividing your soup for the freezer and not only will you have dinner for another night, but you’ll save yourself a lot of cooking time.
Another, simple strategy is to season your meats before you store them. Add marinade to chicken breasts, shape hamburgers and season your roast. When you move them to the fridge for cooking, the meats will marinade as they thaw. These quick, easy preparations can be done when you get home from the grocery store rather than at night when you are struggling to get dinner on the table. You can even prep ingredients for your meals. Did you chop a whole onion, when the recipe only called for half? Onions and many other produce items freeze very well with no additional preparation. Store it in a freezer safe container for the next time you need half an onion. I often buy ground beef in bulk but rather than dividing the raw meat, I cook it all at once and freeze 1 pound packages. Think about how many casseroles and other recipes start with “Brown 1 pound ground beef.” Your first step is already done! That can go a long way towards getting dinner on the table quickly, even if you don’t have entire meals waiting in the freezer.
About Heather
Heather Sokol is the founder of Inexpensively.com and has been featured in the Chicago and the Indianapolis Star. She has also appeared on CBS Nightly News and as a weekly contributor to Fox59 Morning News. She is the married mother of three beautiful, active girls who have created in her a Montessori mom, Scout mom, allergy mom and avid coupon clipper. She shares her deals and tips at Inexpensively.com and reports progress on learning to be a grown-up at JustHeather.com.
About Inexpensively
The Inexpensively network provides a whole lifestyle concept for savings. We compile weekly lists for grocery store deals, suggest ideas on living your life for less, offer tips on finding the best savings and encourage our community to be charitable even on a budget. We connect a network of individuals from around the country to provide families with the most up to date and accurate savings tools in their own communities. In short, we encourage families to maximize their budgets so they can use some of their savings to help improve their neighborhood.
2 Comments
Join the discussionEver since we moved across the country, it has been difficult for me to spend a whole day in the kitchen like I did with my best friend…but I use most, if not all, of Heather’s wonderful suggestions to help us not only eat healthier, but eat together, at home, as a family. Thanks for putting all the tips into one post! Love it!
This sounds like a lot like what I do! Some great tips!