We did a MAJOR grocery shopping right before Christmas. Like, I think we could feed several small military units, and have left overs. We probably over-did it, but I am tired of the junk we have been eating of late, and needed to make some freezer meals. My children are going to need to get over their pickiness. I am tired of one only eating this, the other one only eating that. And nothing mixed together (like a casserole). And no sauce. And, and, and.....pfffffttttttt! Sorry kids, the reign of garbage food is OVER.
I discovered how long it takes to wrap food for the freezer when you do it alone. Usually G-man and I do this project together. He did do some, but the bulk of it was me, myself, and I.
Some of the meats are just being frozen (in meal size portions, like 4 chicken breasts, or 6 pork chops) for later use. But since I had stuff readily available, I thought I would cook up a storm, in true Judy fashion.
- Last Sunday night's dinner was Chicken Chili. I doubled the recipe, and made a ton of rice. We had a nice dinner. I made 16 home-made burritos (and discovered my poor burrito rolling technique) for a quick lunch or dinner later. I had enough left for a couple of lunches in the fridge.
- I made 6 dozen meatballs (half beef, half pork). I froze them on a cookie sheet and now they are stored in a freezer bag, and now we can take out what we need as we go for crockpot cooking, sauce and meatballs, or whatever.
- Christmas Eve Dinner was Penne a la Vodka. This is a very heavy dinner, and a single recipe usually gives us at least 2 dinners and at least 2 lunches. I doubled the recipe, and have several individual portions, plus a "double" family dinner portion for the freezer.
- Part of the Vodka Sauce is a ton of sliced onions. Since I was chopping away, I chopped some more, and made Beef Chili. (We cut back on the beef stock, but otherwise, it is yummy) That is the most time consuming part of the prep for the Chili, so it really wasn't a big deal (other than the tear-filled eyes!). The chili is great on its own, on baked potatoes or even mixed with elbow pasta for a beef-a-roni type dish.
I am no where near Judy status, but it was a start!!!!
Take a look at Zaycon Foods. They do these bulk truckload sales of meat every few months. My wife and I have bought chicken and beef from them several times. Boneless skinless chicken breast for $1.49/lb and 93/7 beef for $3.99/lb. You have to order in 40lb quantities, so we've always split with another person. Meat almost never goes on a good sale in the supermarket. This is a great way to stock up cheap.
ReplyDeleteYep, we have purchased with them. Unfortunately, they have only done the chicken deal in our area, and it has only been once a year!!!!
DeleteI've pretty much gotten one kid (our oldest, who is almost 7) into eating what we eat. The younger one is much pickier, & cannot handle things mixing together. If you require him to try a bite . . . well, he has a very sensitive gag reflex & will throw up. It's just a little disruptive to dinner. ;-) He is getting better. I think in 2012, he added like 5-10 new foods to his palate, including goat cheese!
ReplyDeleteI want to be like Judy too. (I have 3 crockpots so I am on my way) - works well for me as a single person. Sounds like you are off to a great start!
ReplyDeleteOh please mysti you re making me blush!!!! but bulk cooking and shopping really does make your life easier. When my kids were younger they were always told they eat or they starve no acceptions. They even told their friends when they came to eat..talk about being embarrassed! My middle one had a horrible gag reflex from premature birth also but we worked through it by her having to eat it but she could eat it with whatever she wanted on it. She may have put ketchup on brussel spouts but she ate them.
ReplyDeleteMy theory is if I am making one meal I might as well make three and freeze the rest. It works for us.
Your doing great!
Yes, I want to be Judy when I go up too, too bad I am already older, lol! I have two crockpots, so I am working my way there...
ReplyDeleteI only have the one crockpot in our house, but I do use it a lot.
ReplyDeleteDs was and is such a picky eater and he is coming up 29 now. Anything that is green and a vegetable is off limits to him {{{SIGH}}} Glad he lives in his own place and I don't have to cook for him!!
Gill