What's for Dinner? Find it in your Freezer!
State PTA SLS * July 2015 * Shaleen Wilding *
What is Family Freezer Food Fixing? It's imitating Stouffer's when they cook the meat, make the sauce and put the lasagna together and freeze it then sell it to youand you go home and cook it! FFFF is when you put it together - you know what's in it, you've gotten the ingredients at good prices and you can make more than one at a time. Fantastic!
Check out and Advantage Cooking Software to get started. The first step is deciding what meals you're making, how many of each meal and how much of each ingredient you need to purchase. Once you're familiar with your meals you buy ingredients on sale, stock up and get ready for your cooking day (or week)! I've got this to a system where I cook for one week out of the year!
Day 1 - Final Shopping and Cook the ground beef with onion
Day 2 - Ground beef meals together and Boil Chicken
Day 3 - Chicken meals together
Day 4 - Combine Miscellaneous Meals
Day 5 - Breakfasts
Storage - glass containers do not work well. Use pans, foil pans (sold in 30 pack at Sams and Costco) and cover with Heavy Duty foil. Freezer bags are my favorite. Label everything WELL - with name, date, temperature and time.
General Tips
* Freezer will take awhile to freeze everything solid - then you can rearrange and compact everything.
* Try a cooking day with husband and children to help - it's awesome!
* "Rinse" bowls, measuring cups, etc. between meals - only take time to "wash" in-between meals w/ different meats and always with the use of eggs.
* Out of freezer space toward the end of your cooking day? Put some meals in refrigerator to use over the next week.
* Keep an Inventory list of meals - check them off as you use them.
* Remember to defrost the meal in the morning.
* Slightly undercook rice and noodles before freezing - they finish cooking on serving day.
* Try using already shredded cheese, dehydrated onions, frozen carrots (cut up in the food processor)...
Positives
* Each night after dinner - the dishes needing to be washed are fewer - you don't dirty any pots and pans making the meal!
* Having freezer meals prepared when you're having company is fantastic! Spend more time visiting, not fixing the food!
* Saves money and time
* Have meals on hand in case of sickness (your family or someone else's). I've even gathered a few friends to make meals for another friend who is down with a pregnancy!
* Free for a week, a month...or just make two of one meal - eat one and freeze the other!
Please email me with questions - I'm happy to help in any way:
"In the afternoons we need and want to spend time with our families. Freezer Food cooking allows me to be there for my children, instead of in the kitchen during that precious time!" ~Shaleen
Spooning up goodness for my sweet family!