Freezer Meal Update

So this week I did my first large freezer cooking session. This is something I hope to get back to doing on a regular basis. This took me the equivelent of a day to do, however, I broke it out over two days. In the end, I have 38 meals in my freezer at a cost of $4.45 per meal (average). That is PER MEAL which has enough servings to feed my family of 5 and the potential of leftovers for lunch for me the next day.

In comparrison. This past Tuesday we were running late. I had not planned dinner and didn't have time to really fix anything. I picked up Little Ceasars and spent $31.41 which provided dinner for the 5 of us and lunch for my son the next day so 6 servings. That is $5.24 per serving. Of a meal that is NOT really healthy. The freezer meals which include vegetables if broken down into 5 servings is a cost of $.89 per serving. That is a savings of $4.35 PER SERVING for just one nights dinner!

I did invest a little more $ than I have included in my calculation on items that I didn't use all of (such as olive oil). However, the items I purchased are items I use regularly and would have purchased anyways so it was not a burden on my grocery budget. Here is the breakdown of the groceries I used and the cost I have calculated out for them. Some items I already had on hand and were previously calculated in the grocery budget(such as the potatoes I used for the soup)

Meals I made:
(All recipes came from the book Fix Freeze Feast)
Baked Potato Soup-4
Tomato Basil Soup-3
Cherry Skillet Chicken-3
Tequila Lime Chicken-3
Sesame Soy Sirloin-2
Basil Balsamic Chops-3
Garlic Studded Pork Loin-4
Pork Barley Soup-8
Rice Pilaf-8

I will take 6 of the Pork Barley Soup and 6 of the Rice Pilaf to a Freezer Meal Exchange tomorrow and bring home 12 different meals to try and add more variety.

What I purchased and the cost:

ITEM COST
Olive Oil $5.35
Chicken $31.98
Steak $20.85
Pork Loin $36.25
Celery $3.29
Garlic $2.00
Half & Half $0.75
Onion $1.75
Pork Chop $16.58
Carrots $3.99
Tomato paste $1.59
Lime Juice $1.00
Basil $0.24
Sesame Seeds $0.65
Barley $2.78
Cheddar Cheese $6.00
Soy sauce $2.75
Fresh Basil $2.50
Green pepper $5.77
Orange $0.49
Margarita Mix $0.40
Tequila $1.50
Sesame Oil $0.25
Balsamic vinegar $0.25
Chicken broth $2.93
Rice $2.95
Diced tomatoes $7.36
Cherries $3.49
Thyme $0.25
Crushed red pepper $0.10
Gallon ziplock bags $2.66
Quart ziplock bags $0.30

Total Spent: $169
I am already planning my next cooking session its quite addicting!!

Here are a few pictures!

Dishes ready for the freezer

Baked potatoes cooling for the Baked Potato Chowder

Double batch of Rice Pilaf

Pork Barley Soup and Rice Pilaf ready for the freezer