I am still working on my April freezer meal plan. I would like to do a large batch of both main dishes and sides. I am going on incorporate some help for this session with the kids and maybe a couple of friends. Of course, the friends will be rewarded with a meal to take home!! :)
Right now I hope to make:
Three Cheese Manicotti-3
Taco Kits-3
Lasagna-4
Chicken encheladas-3
Twice Baked Potatoes- 15 individual
Breakfast burritos- 15 individual
Quiche in a bag-3
Pie crust- recipe makes 20
Chicken Parmigiana-3
Pecan crusted chicken strips-3
Cashew Chicken Stir Fry-3
Mozzarella meatballs-6
Broccoli Beef Stir Fry-3
Steak Skewers with blue cheese dipping sauce- 3
White sauce butter balls- recipe makes 28 individual
Biscuits- 3 dozen
I may add to this I am not sure yet.
Showing posts with label Freezer Meals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Freezer Meals. Show all posts
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
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
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!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Blog Slacker and Craft Projects
Yes, I have officially become a Blog Slacker. I am adjusting to not working and having too much time on my hands. While most would LOVE the opportunity to have all of the free time, I do not do well with it. I enjoy being busy busy busy! I have found myself shopping more than I should. Not necessarily buying things but browsing the stores which could be potentially very dangerous on the budget.
I am setting a goal for myself over the next couple of weeks to finish up some craft projects that have been sitting around collecting dust. Yesterday it was headbands. I found this pattern online last year at Paige and Brook on Blogspot . The girls picked out their fabrics at that time and then it just sat, in a drawer in my "to do" craft area. Yesterday I pulled it out and made 12 headbands! I did modify it a bit. I printed the pattern hey supplied but made it a little bit longer. I also just used fabric and elastic I did not use the interfacing, well, because I had since used what I had bought for another project and I was NOT going to go to the fabric store. It worked just fine. My next project will be the resuseable shopping bags that I bought the fabric for almost 2 years ago! Again, using a free pattern I found online.
I am also working my way back into Freezer Meals and Once A Month Cooking. I will start school right at the time that Spring Sports for all 4 children are in full swing. That will make for an insane schedule for a few months. By planning ahead with freezer meals I can cut down our grocery expenses AND curb eating out.
I am setting a goal for myself over the next couple of weeks to finish up some craft projects that have been sitting around collecting dust. Yesterday it was headbands. I found this pattern online last year at Paige and Brook on Blogspot . The girls picked out their fabrics at that time and then it just sat, in a drawer in my "to do" craft area. Yesterday I pulled it out and made 12 headbands! I did modify it a bit. I printed the pattern hey supplied but made it a little bit longer. I also just used fabric and elastic I did not use the interfacing, well, because I had since used what I had bought for another project and I was NOT going to go to the fabric store. It worked just fine. My next project will be the resuseable shopping bags that I bought the fabric for almost 2 years ago! Again, using a free pattern I found online.
I am also working my way back into Freezer Meals and Once A Month Cooking. I will start school right at the time that Spring Sports for all 4 children are in full swing. That will make for an insane schedule for a few months. By planning ahead with freezer meals I can cut down our grocery expenses AND curb eating out.
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