The Quick and The Delicious

I blogged previously about freezer meals and thought I'd update. So far, it has been quite successful:) I have really enjoyed simply popping things from freezer to oven. The teriyaki steak strips were my favorite so far...tender from being marinaded while thawing, and juicy mmmmmmm...

I also feel like it affords me more time to think about sides and I can cook healthy instead of just quick. So far, each meal I cook I try adding a little something back into the freezer- I made 8 baked potatoes instead of just four and now I have four ready in the freezer for a hurried night. So nice:)

All in all, that 45 minutes it took to prepare those meats and main dishes for the freezer has saved me oodles of time. I still haven't gotten around to dinner breads but 'Dough Day'is coming.

UPDATE 10/14/12:  The baked potatoes were a bust!  Once thawed, the water leaked out of it-ewwww...  I would not recommend just baking the potatoes and throwing them in the freezer.  Perhaps if you scooped them out and dressed up the pulp before returning it to the skins, then freezing?  I'll try that and get back with you;)

Green thumb? I think not.

Apparently I don't have the attention span necessary to grow a great garden:(

I've always dreamed of having a yard of food-producers set up in a beautiful way. Grape vine with a trellis thingy doubling as a shady spot for a hammock. Fruit trees bordering the woods, and strategically placed berry bushes and vines. And then the traditional veggie garden, using the square foot method to save space. In this dreamland, I would also have a few chickens and the cutest little henhouse.

What I actually have is a patch of dirt with a little clover creeping in and a couple of dead plants that I just never got around to planting. Every year I say I'm going to do better...and then I don't. Perhaps I need a mentor? Someone to help me map out my garden according to plant/harvest times and what we can freeze and so forth.
And
I think I'll invite my sister over to watch me plant-kinda like an appointment-so I'll actually do it. I'll let you know how that works out:)

Easy Freezy

My new thing: freezer meals. I've done a few things for years: cooking beef and freezing in baggies (huge time saver), pureed veggies for adding into unsuspecting food, and I've canned and dried as much as I could before I get sick of it.

Thus far, I have in my freezer:
8 large waffles, 24 pancakes made from 8 cups of Krusteaz mix- best guess $3
9 slices Apple cinnamon french toast- under $2
4 meals worth of pork chops- $13
Chicken breasts(honey bbq, alice springs, teriyaki strips, and 35 nuggets)- 5 meals for $12
3lb ground turkey in place of beef-8 baggies (2 for spaghetti, casserole, tacos, and 1 each for mex dip and pizza hoagies) meat for 5 meals for $6.
Teriyaki beef strips -$5 only 1 meal
chicken drumsticks- under $3 only 1 meal


All my meats were in the freezer in about 40 minutes- just FYI.

My next step will be dinner breads and snacks along with potatoes and other veggies. Super excited!