Easy Freezer Meals

This month in our town it has been all about emergency preparedness.  With so much going on in the world, and disasters happening all over the place, even very close to home, we have been feeling a sense of urgency to work on our food storage. 

We were also counseled a couple of weeks ago to live within our means.  For me this meant that I needed to work on my budget.  The place we spend the most money is our food and unfortunately, even though I cook a lot, most of it takes place on the weekend.  During the week we are so guilty of eating out.  We eat out A-LOT!!!!  I mean a ridiculous amount.  So my sisters and I decided we would use recipes we already have, things we know our families love, and spend an afternoon making freezer meals. 

They are just nice to have on hand for all sorts of things.  Meals on the fly for when we are in a rush, or sick, or just don't feel like cooking. 

We chose 5 of our favorite dinners, 2 kinds of cookies, and 2 breakfast items.  We went shopping and kept the receipts because we wanted to be as accurate and we can be for those of your wanting to try it.

We also opted for the throw away pans, press n seal, heavy duty tin foil, and gallon size zip lock freezer bags for storage.

Before all the madness began, we stacked all of our groceries on the table.  We looked over our recipes and decided that one of us would start cooking our meats on the stove, while the other mixed her batch of cookies.   We had our sister Mary, and my daughters there helping us assemble things as we went along.

 Mary and Paige cooked the french toast sticks, while MaKady scooped the chocolate chip cookies onto the cookie sheets to be frozen. 

Meanwhile Tabitha put together the Shepherds Pie.

 After my batch of cookies I got my chicken enchiladas put together.

 We covered our pans with press n seal, then covered that with tin foil to help avoid freezer burn.

 We both shared the table so I could put together the lasagna and Tabitha scooped the chili into gallon size freezer bags.  We used freezer bags for things that don't need to bake in the oven in it's own container, like chili that will cook in a crock pot or on the stove, and Samoan chicken, which will get cooked on the grill.

 Next Tabitha made sugar cookies while I put together some breakfast burritos.

Here is what we made:

Shepherd's Pie - 3x this recipe (makes 48 servings)
Lasagna -2x this recipe (makes 38 servings)
Samoan Chicken - (makes 20 servings)
Chicken Enchiladas - 2x this recipe (makes 36 servings)
Chili - 3x this recipe (makes 60 servings)
Chocolate Chip Cookies (makes 6 dz, about 36 servings)
Sugar Cookies - 2x this recipe (makes 6 dz, 36 servings)
Breakfast Burritos - no recipe on this.  We scrambled 18 eggs, cooked 1 lb sausage, 1 lb bacon, 1 bag of cubed potatoes (in the freezer isle) and 30 flour tortillas.  Cook everything, mix together, then spoon into tortillas.  Roll and place in bags to freeze.  (makes 30 burritos, 30 servings)
French Toast Sticks - 2 loafs of bread, 18 eggs, a little bit of milk and cinnamon.  Cut each slice of bread into 3, dip in egg batter, then fry.  (Makes 8 dz, 24 servings)

In total, we have 328 servings of food.  Our groceries cost $150 for everything, with the exception of a few spices and flour that we already had on hand).

Each serving cost $0.46.  You guys!!!!  Seriously.  Compare that to what you would spend getting a pizza, which is about $1.00 per serving, or eating at McDonald's which is about $5.00 per serving.  You can see that a little bit of time is so worth it.

It took us 4 hours to get all this food done, and there were 4 of us working together.  Just a couple of notes:

1.  Plan ahead.
2.  Select meals that you know your family will eat.  It doesn't do anyone any good picking meals if your family won't eat them.
3.  Label your meals.  Write what it is, cooking instructions, and the date it was made.  
4.  Many hands make light work.

Now our freezers are full and we don't have to worry about spending money eating out.  Woohoo!!!

Tada's Goal: Year in Review

Here it is, Tada's Goal: year in review.  This year our goal was food storage.  We have done pretty well at my house.  Each week we got just a few items and stocked up a little at a time.  Now the year is nearly over and it's time to begin a new year.   We hope it's your goal to get your food storage stocked up this next year or start over if you have been working on it already.  Here is our year in review.  Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from us here at Tada's.

 Here is the link to the whole document.

  Tada's Goal: Weekly Food Storage Goals

Tada's Goal: Week 46

 
Tada's Goal: The rules

1. Each week buy the items listed and store them.

2. Use a permanent marker to write the date purchased to aid in stock rotation.

3. Buy the largest quantity you can afford and store, don't go overboard and stay within your budget.

4. If you miss a week, skip it and go on. Don't get behind.

5. Replace items as you use them

6. Share good deals with your friends and family. Everyone loves discounts!

7. Store properly

Tada's Goal: Week 46- Candles & Matches.  

Merry Christmas!!  Give yourself a great gift - security!

Tada's Goal: Week 45

Tada's Goal: The rules

1. Each week buy the items listed and store them.

2. Use a permanent marker to write the date purchased to aid in stock rotation.

3. Buy the largest quantity you can afford and store, don't go overboard and stay within your budget.

4. If you miss a week, skip it and go on. Don't get behind.

5. Replace items as you use them

6. Share good deals with your friends and family. Everyone loves discounts!

7. Store properly

Tada's Goal: Week 45- Cooking oil.  (canola, vegetable, olive, peanut, coconut, grape)  What ever kind of oil that you cook with is best!

Tada's Goal: Week 44

Tada's Goal: The rules

1. Each week buy the items listed and store them.

2. Use a permanent marker to write the date purchased to aid in stock rotation.

3. Buy the largest quantity you can afford and store, don't go overboard and stay within your budget.

4. If you miss a week, skip it and go on. Don't get behind.

5. Replace items as you use them

6. Share good deals with your friends and family. Everyone loves discounts!

7. Store properly

Tada's Goal: Week 44- Rolled Oats, Cornmeal, Hot Cereals, get what your family will eat.

Tada's Goal: Week 43

Tada's Goal: The rules

1. Each week buy the items listed and store them.

2. Use a permanent marker to write the date purchased to aid in stock rotation.

3. Buy the largest quantity you can afford and store, don't go overboard and stay within your budget.

4. If you miss a week, skip it and go on. Don't get behind.

5. Replace items as you use them

6. Share good deals with your friends and family. Everyone loves discounts!

7. Store properly

Tada's Goal: Week 43- Treats for baking : Cocoa, coconut, chocolate chips, vanilla extract, Karo syrup, etc...

Tada's Goal: Week 42

Tada's Goal: The rules

1. Each week buy the items listed and store them.

2. Use a permanent marker to write the date purchased to aid in stock rotation.

3. Buy the largest quantity you can afford and store, don't go overboard and stay within your budget.

4. If you miss a week, skip it and go on. Don't get behind.

5. Replace items as you use them

6. Share good deals with your friends and family. Everyone loves discounts!

7. Store properly

Tada's Goal: Week 42 - Vitamins

Tada's Goal: Week 41

Tada's Goal: The rules

1. Each week buy the items listed and store them.

2. Use a permanent marker to write the date purchased to aid in stock rotation.

3. Buy the largest quantity you can afford and store, don't go overboard and stay within your budget.

4. If you miss a week, skip it and go on. Don't get behind.

5. Replace items as you use them

6. Share good deals with your friends and family. Everyone loves discounts!

7. Store properly

Tada's Goal: Week 41----------  Iodized Salt. (it seasons, preserves, de-ices, and in a pinch can be used as a tooth paste)

Tada's Goal: Week 40

Tada's Goal: The rules

1. Each week buy the items listed and store them.

2. Use a permanent marker to write the date purchased to aid in stock rotation.

3. Buy the largest quantity you can afford and store, don't go overboard and stay within your budget.

4. If you miss a week, skip it and go on. Don't get behind.

5. Replace items as you use them

6. Share good deals with your friends and family. Everyone loves discounts!

7. Store properly

Tada's Goal: Week 40.  ---- Nuts!  Walnuts, Pecans, almonds,... they all freeze well.

Tada's Goal: Week 39

Tada's Goal: The rules

1. Each week buy the items listed and store them.

2. Use a permanent marker to write the date purchased to aid in stock rotation.

3. Buy the largest quantity you can afford and store, don't go overboard and stay within your budget.

4. If you miss a week, skip it and go on. Don't get behind.

5. Replace items as you use them

6. Share good deals with your friends and family. Everyone loves discounts!

7. Store properly

Tada's Goal: Week 39 - Apples: Make your own apple pie filling, applesauce, apple butter, etc. This year we picked apples at our Grandma's house and made our own applesauce.  My little boy loves it so much he eats it everyday for breakfast. 

Tada's Goal: Week 38

Tada's Goal: The rules

1. Each week buy the items listed and store them.

2. Use a permanent marker to write the date purchased to aid in stock rotation.

3. Buy the largest quantity you can afford and store, don't go overboard and stay within your budget.

4. If you miss a week, skip it and go on. Don't get behind.

5. Replace items as you use them

6. Share good deals with your friends and family. Everyone loves discounts!

7. Store properly

Tada's Goal: Week 38 - Canned Soups

Tada's Goal: Week 37

Tada's Goal: The rules

1. Each week buy the items listed and store them.

2. Use a permanent marker to write the date purchased to aid in stock rotation.

3. Buy the largest quantity you can afford and store, don't go overboard and stay within your budget.

4. If you miss a week, skip it and go on. Don't get behind.

5. Replace items as you use them

6. Share good deals with your friends and family. Everyone loves discounts!

7. Store properly

Tada's Goal: Week 37- Vinegars-  white and apple cider... (They are good for removing odors in laundry and are a great cleaner)

Tada's Goal: Week 36

Tada's Goal: The rules

1. Each week buy the items listed and store them.

2. Use a permanent marker to write the date purchased to aid in stock rotation.

3. Buy the largest quantity you can afford and store, don't go overboard and stay within your budget.

4. If you miss a week, skip it and go on. Don't get behind.

5. Replace items as you use them

6. Share good deals with your friends and family. Everyone loves discounts

7. Store properly

Tada's Goal: Week 36-  Sweeteners: Honey, Corn Syrup, Molasses, Syrup, etc.

Tada's Goal: Week 35

Tada's Goal: The rules

1. Each week buy the items listed and store them.

2. Use a permanent marker to write the date purchased to aid in stock rotation.

3. Buy the largest quantity you can afford and store, don't go overboard and stay within your budget.

4. If you miss a week, skip it and go on. Don't get behind.

5. Replace items as you use them

6. Share good deals with your friends and family. Everyone loves discounts

7. Store properly

Tada's Goal: Week 35-  Dry beans, Peas, Rice & Legumes

Tada's Goal : Week 34

Tada's Goal: The rules

1. Each week buy the items listed and store them.

2. Use a permanent marker to write the date purchased to aid in stock rotation.

3. Buy the largest quantity you can afford and store, don't go overboard and stay within your budget.

4. If you miss a week, skip it and go on. Don't get behind.

5. Replace items as you use them

6. Share good deals with your friends and family. Everyone loves discounts

7. Store properly

Tada's Goal: Week 34 - Canned tuna and salmon.  This week stock up on tuna and salmon.  But remember, buy only items your family will eat.  We don't eat salmon or much fish at all at my house.  My kids hate it.  They will eat these little tuna salad lunch kits and we eat lots of chicken, so I stocked up on those things instead.

Tada's Goal: Week 33

Tada's Goal: The rules

1. Each week buy the items listed and store them.

2. Use a permanent marker to write the date purchased to aid in stock rotation.

3. Buy the largest quantity you can afford and store, don't go overboard and stay within your budget.

4. If you miss a week, skip it and go on. Don't get behind.

5. Replace items as you use them

6. Share good deals with your friends and family. Everyone loves discounts

7. Store properly

Tada's Goal: Week 33- Sugar!!  Restock after canning and also get Brown and powdered sugars for baking.

Tada's Goal: EXTRA WEEK

This is your extra week for Tada's Goal.  This is your opportunity to catch up on past weeks or stock up on anything you might have used up.  If your all caught up just sit back and enjoy the week!!  Happy Food Storage!!

Tada's Goal: Week 32

Tada's Goal: The rules

1. Each week buy the items listed and store them.

2. Use a permanent marker to write the date purchased to aid in stock rotation.

3. Buy the largest quantity you can afford and store, don't go overboard and stay within your budget.

4. If you miss a week, skip it and go on. Don't get behind.

5. Replace items as you use them

6. Share good deals with your friends and family. Everyone loves discounts

7. Store properly

Tada's Goal: Week 32 -- Canned or frozen veggies.

(I try to use as many fresh veggies as possible but there are always those veggies you don't use all of.  Celery is the one I always end up wasting.  I don't like it raw but I love it in soups and casserols. But at my store I can only buy big bundles of it, so instead of wasting it I cut it up in to pieces I can easily add to soup, and freeze it) --I use this method for a lot of different kinds of veggies/fruit that might be about to go bad,  I hate wasting food so this is a great way to save it.

(bad picture I know,.. but the best I could get with a baby in my arms who now grabs at everything  :/ )