Freezer Cooking

I've been really interested in freezer cooking for quite some time, but have never gotten up the motivation to get started on it. I got this book for Christmas and it was the inspiration that I needed.

Here's a great post by Aimee that gives the introductory information on what freezer cooking is.

http://www.recipelink.com/rcpmenus.html- this website provides lots of great free freezer cooking recipes and articles on tips and practices

http://www.momsbudget.com/freezerrecipes/index.html- this website provides lots of free freezer cooking entree recipes designed for once a month cooking

For my first session on New Year's day I started out really simple. I bought 5.87 pounds of ground beef from the local warehouse club for $2.79 per pound. While Jeremy enjoyed football I browned up a little more than 3 pounds of meat with taco seasoning that I had purchased in bulk. I divided that into 3 quart freezer bags to be pulled out later for chili, taco soup, taco salad, enchiladas, tacos, or mexican lasagna. I browned up the remaining over 2 pounds using the Sloppy Joe recipe below. We ate one serving for dinner that night and the rest I froze with some whole wheat buns to be enjoyed on another evening.




This weekend I'm hoping to tackle one of the pork chop or chicken breast freezer recipes from the book that I got for Christmas also. I'm excited to have a freezer stocked full of dinners that are already made and can just be put in the refrigerator the night before serving to start thawing and then are ready to go when we need them. These recipes also enable me to buy bulk sized portions of meat to save money and to already have a plan in place for what I'm not using immediately.

Sloppy Joe's

-1 lb lean ground beef (or ground turkey if you prefer)
-1/2 yellow onion, chopped
-1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
-2-4 cloves garlic, minced
-1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
-1 teaspoon prepared mustard
-3/4 cup ketchup
-3 teaspoons brown sugar
-few dashes of hot sauce

In medium skillet over medium heat, brown beef, onion, garlic, and green pepper; drain off liquids. Stir in the garlic powder, mustard, ketchup, and brown sugar; mix thoroughly. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes (or put in a crock pot and simmer until serving).

Are you using any type of freezer cooking? If so, does it work for you? Where do you get your recipes?

Shannon