My Freezer is My Favorite!                     

Reasons why you should do once a month cooking

• Creates more time to do other things!
• Cost efficient- plan meals around what you have, what’s on sale, creates leftovers, lunches
• Sense of preparedness- meals for babysitter nights, rotate through food storage, meals for others, last minute company

How to get started

• What recipes do you have that are freezer friendly?
• What appliances do you own?
• How much space do you have in your freezer?

All of these questions will help you decide what types of recipes you will make-oven, stove top, assembly, or crock pot

Cooking day

        Organization

• Lay out recipes in easy to read space
• pull out ALL ingredients (messy counter!)
• Get all of your freezer containers ready(labeled, greased, etc)
• tape garbage bags to counter

        Prep Work

• cook meat night before(Colleen tip!)
• prepare similar items(all chopped veggies, all shredded cheese, etc)

        Freezing techniques-

• freezer bags
• disposable pans-saran wrap then alum. foil
• plastic reusable containers

Things that freeze well(and things that don’t!)

• good-rice, pasta, baked goods, fruits, vegetables
• bad- bread crumbs, add ons

Other Freezer pleasures

• breakfasts- burritos, sandwiches, muffins,
• other-cookie dough, bread dough, pizza dough

General Tips

• Thawing- refrigerator
• Cooking- extended time, adding end of cooking ingredients
• Completing your meal
• PRACTICE!  figure out what works for your family!- serving sizes, what types of recipes work the best.
• if possible, plan on a variety of different types of recipes, you can get more recipes going at once.
• plan on 6 hours cooking time, on average
• start with a clean kitchen
• have multiple bowls, measuring cups and spoons, etc
• turn on some upbeat music to keep you entertained!

Resources

• Books-

•  Dinner is Ready- available on www.30mealsinoneday.com

                        also has organizational software for purchase

• Don’t Panic- Dinner is in the Freezer
• More...Don’t Panic, Dinner is in the Freezer

• Internet-

• PINTEREST!
•   search:  Freezer Recipes, Once a Month Cooking, Freezer Meals, Make Ahead Meals

Social events

• Cooking groups
• Meal exchange

Other time and $$$ savers

• Mixes- baking mixes, dressing mixes, sauce and seasoning mixes
• DIY-why spend $$ when you can make it for pennies on the dollar?

HAVE FUN FREEZIN’!