Freezer Cooking: Meal Planning Advice (2)

by Nicole Humphrey | More from this Blogger

10 Apr 2007 12:38 PM

At this point, I was basically looking at one hundred and thirty four meals. That's thirty chicken recipes, thirty pork recipes, thirty ground beef recipes and thirty turkey recipes. Plus, I had made fourteen meals of pasta sauces, all together equaling 134! Seems like a lot doesn't it?

Looking at that, you probably thought, hey she doesn't have to cook for three and a half months, but that is not how I looked at it.

The very next weekend, I began my normal freezer cooking sessions. I started with the chicken, creating thirty more meals, from ten different recipes. And an additional two weeks of pasta sauces. However, I stopped there. I got to take a month off, and at the end of the month, I did it again, creating thirty new recipes with ground beef and added two more weeks of pasta sauces.

The reason I chose to do this, is so that there was always a choice of foods in the freezer and we weren't eating nothing but chicken for weeks on end.

Again, you don't have to do it this way. It's a huge commitment starting it this way. But the outcome is pure heaven as you can enjoy a month of different meals just by creating one month of one type of meal. I use the pasta's on nights when I need to make quick dinners, and I try to not eat it any more than once or twice a week, so I don't run out by months end.

This method is time consuming, I know. However when I was spending that one month cooking every weekend, each weekend I only spent about four to eight hours preparing and cooking at the very most - some weekends I did it all in one day, and other weekends I did some on Friday night, or some on Saturday and finished on Sunday. It has taken me less time each meal preparation session since then, and that has helped tremendously. Once you surpass the one month of constant cooking, you can enjoy an entire month off before you have to cook again.

If you have any questions about this method, just let me know!

See Freezer Cooking: Meal Planning Advice (1) for the start of this series on my personal experience with freezer cooking.

For more of my articles on freezer cooking, please see the freezer cooking section in the frugal living blog or for some excellent recipes to prepare, visit the food blog. I have contributed some exclusively for freezer cooking, however you can use many of the great ones already there!

Learn more about Nicole Humphrey

Nicole Humphrey is a freelance writer, consultant for CTMH and a Sr. Blogger for families.com. She resides in St. Charles, Missouri with Mike and their five children and two furbabies.

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Valorie Delp (49340) 10 Apr 2007 03:30 PM

Thanks Nicole. A freezer is next on our list of appliances to buy!

Nicole Humphrey (15757) 11 Apr 2007 09:55 AM

Valorie, you will be so happy you got one! Just watch for sales. Often Home Depot or Lowes tend to put them on sale and you can get a pretty nice sized one for a really great price.