The last two weeks have been very busy.  But the beauty of it is that I haven’t cooked dinner during that time (short of throwing a couple chicken breasts in the oven).  The reason?  Freezer cooking!

On Black Friday, we bought a Chest Freezer.  It took about two weeks for us to get it situated, add an outlet and then, I started cooking.  Most of the dishes I made came out of Don’t Panic – Dinner’s in the Freezer.  I am loving this cookbook!
 

You can read my basics of Freezer Cooking here.  Instead of having my usual 2-7 frozen meals at time, the chest freezer has allowed me to do so much more.

Here’s what has been in the freezer over the last month:  2 Chicken Tortilla Soups, 5 lbs of Taco Meat, Buttermilk Herb Chicken, Beef Picante Pie, Turkey Chili, 2 Bags of Mix Meat (Beef, Onion, Green Pepper and Shredded Carrot), Colorado White Chili, Pizza, 2 Chicken a la Kings, 2 Lasagnas, Continental Beef, 2 Cottage Pies, Pork Loin, Bacon Roll-Ups, 2 Santa Fe Hot Dip (WOW!)  not to mention smaller portion soups for Dan to take to work.  (I love a full freezer!)

Plus, in the beginning of January, I bought a 16lb ham for $1.17/lb.  Dan helped me carve it and we made 52 Ham & Swiss Sandwiches (the most awesome recipe of my mother-in-law’s – soon to share), Honey Dijon Ham Steaks, 2 Cups of Cubed Ham, 4 Cups Diced Ham ready for my Breakfast Casseroles, Diced Ham to add to salads, and enough Sliced Ham for 20 additional sandwiches.

 
I was so into building a mega-stash that instead of trying to cook one freezer friendly meal a week by doubling what I was already serving, I ended up choosing two freezer meals each week and cooking it times three.  This gave me one meal for dinner and two to freeze.

A Couple Other Things:  

• I have found that cooking three of something really isn’t a whole lot more work than cooking one.
• I am getting ready to plan another co-op freezer cooking day with some friends.  Want to learn more about doing it yourself?  Go here.
• The companion book from which I am also cooking is Don’t Panic–More Dinner’s in the Freezer.  I’ve made some great things out of here as well!
• One thing I love about having a frozen meal stash is that I was easily able to take meals to two new moms this month and also a meal to a family who had just moved.

Linked to:  The Thrifty Home, Raising Homemakers


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