Menu Monday #3: Meals made for the day

Pweeeh!!

What a crazy couple of days, cooking up a storm! Typically I tend to utilize the "dump recipes" when I do freezer sessions, b/c I find heat and eat freezer meals to be lacking in taste and texture. And honestly all those cream of whatever soups mixed with a protein of some sort, shredded cheddar or mozzerella cheese & starch I believe to be bland, overly salty, & boring PLUS I can't stand all those chemical laden, cream of whatever soup, based casseroles and the lack of culinary skills involved with those types of "stereo-typical" freezer meals.

But with dump meals you loose the taste that you get when you sear the protein and loose the flavor you get when you deglaze the pan and pick up all the flavorful brown bits. I could still accomplish this even by using the dump ingredients as a marinade as the protein thaws in fridge, then blot dry and continue on.....but with major abdominal surgery looming near the horizon I don't know how I will feel and if I can handle heat anywhere near my stomach.

Enter in my combination meal plan, I am doing some SANe meals, Heat and Eat, Dump, Crock pot Meal Kits. I really like the SANe meals, bc you can sear the meat, deglaze the pan and freeze at that point, then you thaw and reheat in the oven or stove top like you finish anyways if you were cooking fresh, so I don't feel I loose taste or texture. I was going to par-boil the pasta and have a "Meal Kit" the pasta would cook as I re-heat the dinner, but I really don't like the gummy texture. Plus I am HOPING to make some fresh pasta and freeze it so I would cook in minutes anyways.

So far I have made:

• 3 "Heat and Eat"- Chicken Enchiladas, 
• 2 "Heat and Eat"- Refried Black Beans and Cheese Enchiladas 

 Both made with homemade tortillas, enchiladas sauce, & Chicken filling-it really turned out YUMMY! I didn't use the cream of chicken soup, I just couldn't stomach that gooey fake taste, so I did something I have read about;  infusing flavor with the crock pot.

I threw quartered onions and smashed garlic cloves on the bottom of the crock pot and thought that was going to be the end of the "infusing flavor experiment"... But I looked at the lime I squeezed the juice from with it's peel I zested & though normally that would have been the end of that lime,  I decided this time to infuse more flavor into the dish and threw the lime on top of the chicken breasts that was seasoned with kosher salt, pepper, and adobo seasoning. Along with the lime I added green onions, crushed cilantro, jalapeno and pepperoncini peppers {left whole just smashed slightly, I don't like the texture of peppers} plus 1 C chicken stock, 2 C pepperoncini brine and a splash of jalapeno brine. Man was that good and the cooking liquid was outstanding, much better than cream of chicken would have tasted. So I pulled out the lime, cilantro threads, green onion and I threw in a tad more s&p plus adobo seasoning thickened with arrowroot flipped the control to high for 1/2 hour and it was just right. Gotta remember that one!

I made SANe Meals of:
3 "Chicken Scalopinne"
3 "Chicken Picatta"
3 "Chicken Scampi"

Wow, were these meals insanely good! I slightly undercooked the chicken pieces with the understanding of finishing either on the stove top after thawing or oven so I hope the texture of each dish will not be compromised and will taste as good upon reheating as it did today.

The Scalopinne reminds me of TGIF Friday's Chicken Bruschetta, with a rich balsamic reduction and delicately sage rubbed chicken breast with caramelized onions and mushrooms....lip smacking deliciousness! My husband LOVES this and I just forgot about this fabulous dish I have in my arsenal.

The Picatta is just incredible, the lemon, butter, wine sauce with the briney capers and the perfectly seasoned, lightly pounded breasts balanced with a touch of heat from cayenne pepper, is out of this world! I have bought this heat and eat meal from a buyers club store in the past and it costs $25 for 2 meals, in the resturant it would cost me $15-18/person, so when I found this recipe on all recipes I knew I had to try it out. (Incidentally it cost me about $2.25/person!!!)  I was finishing this as my husband came home and he had to have some NOW! It was as excellent as it smelled, hopefully reheating will do it justice.

Hands down my pick, is the Chicken Scampi...all that you love about shrimp scampi, clarified, nutty, rich butter sauce, infused with garlic and lemon juice with its zest- finished with a light, crisp white wine & homemade chicken stock, mmm..... I need a napkin now, how about you? Yeah it's that GOOD! Really the clarified butter butter is what sets the stage for this stellar stand out dish, I used a Grass Feed Ghee, and the complexity and nutty richness this imparted in the dish is irreplaceable. It tastes like you would get at fancy restaurant. Thought similar to the Picatta, the Scampi dish is heavy on the garlic (I used granulated garlic to season the chicken breasts along with s & p) and with the slight heat of the breasts in the Picatta they differ enough to be able to tell the difference.

All in all a successful freezer session! I am doing this in mini sessions as to not overwhelm me or the kids, I can't stand them playing in a room without me! Tomorrow I will finish my SANe meal kits by making the Chicken Parm and Greek Stuffed Chicken Breasts & these both are seared and finished later without a difficult sauce. I will make a Chicken Velouté Sauce for the Greek Stuffed Chix that I will place in a separate qt sized freezer bag to be reheated & placed on top of chicken after it finishes either stove top or oven. 

I will give more details later, but this should go fairly fast and hopefully not take up the whole day! Then I can do the quick 21 other chicken dishes bc they are "Crock Pot Kits", you just mix ingredients together and pour of chicken and freeze. You don't have to thaw chicken breasts if they are frozen that would create a horrible texture issue.

MENU MONDAYS: 12 + Flavorful Freezer Meals in 60 min Sessions+Plans +Shopping Lists

I am not sure how much I will be able to handle after my extensive, major, abdominal surgery.

So I am planning to about as many meals in my freezer as I can:

1. Afford
2. Fit in the my freezer
3. Physically & Mentally handling making*

~ One of those "little Interruptions"~!

*{ Note 6/11/2012: #3 is a new one for me, I never saw this as quite that taxing mentally or physically in the last 1,000 sessions or so I have done in the past 16 years!! Alas it has been 2 years since I have done a freezer session of this magnitude bc of health issues and time management issues [BTW , if you are thinking this- IT is NOT an exaggeration of sessions, it's actually quite modest. If you did a session a month for 16 years it would be 3,200 sessions] .



This post show cases how I typically plan my freezer meal sessions I: 

• Brainstorm
• List dishes my family really likes 
• Recipes I haven't made in awhile
• Recipes I have been wanting to try.

Sometimes budget constraints prevent me making all I want and planned on making because the main &/or important ingredients are NOT on sale at the time & simply too spendy to purchase in bulk otherwise.

Other times I plan on making something and the kids get sick, too many appointments that month & I just can't "swing it"... LIFE "happens"& these "interruptions" can change our best laid plans ... in that event I will freeze the protein in a 1-2 Lb increments and cook it later. 

There have been more times lately as I cover in another post, that all I do is: 

• Buy proteins on sale in BULK!
• Freeze in meal portions deciding later what I will do. 

This has worked for me lately quite well as I stock up dry goods constantly as they go sale, it is very easy to pull together a meal the night before or even in the morning with what I have on hand.

This has been a life changing concept for me, allowing more flexibility with my sessions has given me more freedom and keeps me from being so rigid & "Cranky" to my family when my plans do NOT go as I wanted them to.

This is 1/3 filled, still have about 75 more meals to go!

It is infinitely easier for me to make double or triple of a recipe, 

you get caught up in ingredients when you do too many recipes and it makes a better use of time for me to multiply the amounts of the recipes this way. 

I just mix it up and then divide the dishes and place into freezer container of choice or I open the freezer bags and dump ingredients as go.  

Freezer cooking this way allows me to  

crank  out 12 flavorful meals in less than 60 minutes time  

even if I am cooking portions of it before I freeze.

I also cook/assemble freezer sessions according to protein type to not only make it :

• Safe so as to not cross contaminate meats, 
• It makes it affordable [I only buy proteins on sale]  
• "Doable" with 2 young kids needing constant attention- it breaks the sessions into mini sessions. (More here in this post)

List of terms used:

• HEAT & EAT-{Heat meal in pan provided or dump into oven proof/stove top proof pan/skillet, reheat and eat}
• SANe-{Some Assembly Needed, is partially cooked will need some finishing time in oven or stove top and might need various ingredients}
• MEAL KITS- {Has all protein ingredients but at times might need cooked & might include starch, veggies, shredded cheeses &/or sauce in" kit"}
• CROCK POT/MEAL KIT- {Thaw ingredients overnight and dump into crock pot and cook, might need to add starch but rest of ingredients are present in "kit"}
• DUMP KIT- {Protein with marinade, all you do take protien dump in freezer bag size of choice & dump in marinade-FREEZE. Thaw in fridge overnight and grill, bake or crock pot cook} 
• ORGANIZATIONAL HELPS:
• COLOR CODE SYSTEM- { I place same type dishes in same basket/crate [red meat in one, veggies in another and so no] and  I will also write the meals in specific colors so at a glance I can tell what kind of protein or dish type it is: 

Love the look of Luggage tags

RED= Red Meat,  BLUE= Poultry,  PURPLE = Pork, 
GREEN= vegetarian, YELLOW= Side Dishes,    
BLACK= Breakfasts,   BROWN= Lunch,  ORANGE=Desserts/Snacks

• LUGGAGE TAGS- This is a new organizational element, TO ME anyway, I am going to use, I really like the way it looks and I will add this to my chest freezer and my fridge freezer.

 Proteins:

~Ground Beef &/Or Ground Turkey Breast Mix:
 {WILL MAKE 3X'S EACH MEAL AND NEED 27 GALLON SIZED FREEZER BAGS}

I. MEAL KITS:

{WILL MAKE 3X'S/EACH MEAL AND NEED 4 QT SIZED & 9 FREEZER BAGS}

Flash Frozen Salisbury Steak Patties

1. Salisbury Steak Patties w/brown mushroom onion gravy (4 Meals)
2. Romanian Grilled Minced Meat Rolls (MICI)
3. Meatballs ( 3 Meals)
4. Hamburgers (3 Meals 
5. Taco Seasoned Ground Beef(4 meals)

Shopping List:
24 Lbs Ground Beef/turkey, Beef Bullion, Worcestershire sauce, 7 Onions, 14 cloves of Garlic, 2-3 boxes (6 Cups) Beef Stock, Gin, 6 eggs, Garlic and Onion Powder, Salt, Pepper, 24 oz Mushrooms, Bread Crumbs, Parsley, Parmesan Cheese
___________________
Grand Total: $60/15 meals=$4.00/$0.70/per serving+left overs!  Still have to add in starch and veggies but won't be over $9/meal by the time I add in those numbers for sure!! SO YAY!!

II. HEAT & EAT:
{WILL MAKE 3X'S/EACH RECIPE & WILL NEED 6 ALUMINUM PIE PLATES,  6 ZIPLOCK GALLON SIZED FREEZER BAGS, 3 QT SIZED ZIPLOCK FREEZER BAGS}

Taco Seasoned Ground Beef-Used Mixture of Wild Tree Seasoning & MYO

1. Shepherd's Pie
2. Cheeseburger Spaghetti
3. Spaghetti Pie
4. Mexican Macaroni

Shopping List:
15 LBs ground beef/turkey (1& 1/2 Lb each meal), 5 LBS Yukon Gold potatoes, 24 oz Tomato Puree, 32 Oz Salsa or diced tomatoes w/chilies and onions, 3 sticks butter, 4-5 jars Ragu Double Cheddar Sauce, 3 Lbs Macaroni, 6 Envelopes Taco Seasoning, 3 Lbs Spaghetti, 2 Lbs Frozen Corn, 8- oz frozen French Green Beans, [8 oz puree of peas and carrots for shepherd's pie- kids & I won't eat the peas or carrots cooked], 1 box Beef Stock, 3 cans Cream of Onion Soup, Dill Pickle Relish, 6 C Monterrey Jack Cheese, 24-oz mushrooms, 3/4 C Half & half, Worcestershire sauce, Dijion Mustard, dried parsley, 2 Lbs Ricotta Cheese, 3 Eggs, Parmesan Cheese, Italian Seasoning, Brown Sugar, baking Soda,


III. CROCK POT KITS: Roasts/Steaks/Cubes-
{CROCK POT KIS: WILL MAKE 3X'S/EACH MEAL AND NEED 24 GALLON SIZED ZIPLOCK FREEZER BAGS}
*6/21/2012 Note: I don't think I will get to this part of my plan as my time is getting near I and I need to focus on other projects b4 the surgery. Beef prices are not co-operating with me! So I will leave this intact and perhaps use this meal plan when roasts are cheaper!

1. Mexican Beef
2. Chili Con Carne
3. Teriyaki Beef
4. Creamy Pot Roast 
5. Crock Pot Gyros
6. Super Simple Slow Cooker Steak Pizzaiola 

Shopping List:
36LBs Top/Bottom Round Roast, 60 oz can diced tomatoes w/green chilies, 12 onions, 1 C Pepperoncini Peppers brine, 11 Cups Beef Stock, 3 Cans Black Beans, 96 oz Tomato Puree, 3-cans Mexican beans, Chili Powder, Chipotle Powder, Smoked paprika, 4 C Pineapple Juice, Soy Sauce, Mustard Powder, Ginger, 4 bulbs Garlic, 2 Cups oil, black pepper, 6 cans cream of mushroom soup, Beef Bullion, 3 T fresh Lemon Juice, 3/4 C EVOO, Dried Oregano, cumin, 64 oz tomato puree, Parmesan cheese, Italian herb mixture, 24 oz Mushrooms,  Kosher salt, pepper,
 
~ Chicken:

 I. Crock Pot Meal Kits: 

{ALL MEALS 3X'S EACH Will Need 18 Gallon sized ZIPLOCK Freezer Bags}

1. Orange Chicken
2. Chicken Paprikash
3. Chicken Swarma
4. Greek Chicken
5. Chicken Tacos
6. Brown Sugar Chicken

 II. "Heat & Eat" & "SANe MEALS"-
{Will Need 3 8X8 Foil pans with lids and 12 gallon sized ZIPLOCK Freezer bags}

1. Chicken Enchiladas {H&E}
2. Chicken Piccata {H&E}
3. Chicken Scalapini {H&E}
4. Chicken Scampi {H& E}

Shopping List:
{KEEP IN MIND THIS LIST IS A COMBINED LIST OF ALL CHICKEN DISHES, CROCK POT KITS AND HEAT AND EAT, & SANe MEALS. I did have some ingredients in my pantry and fridge so I didn't list those, if you are following this meal plan you will want to check each recipe, double check the shopping list with the ingredients listed  and triple what is needed where you find a missing item}
3 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup, 3 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chilies, 3 bunches green onions, chopped,divided, 1 tablespoon lime juice, 1-1/2 teaspoons onion powder 1-1/2 teaspoons garlic powder, 9 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded,divided, 3 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste, 56 Lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 2 liter 7-Up, 9 onion, apricot apricot preserves, Catalina dressing, 3-onion soup mix, 3Lb lemon, 4 boxes chix stock, 6- 8 oz  mushrooms, 12 C Panko style bread crumbs, capers, white wine, dried parsley, balsamic vinegar, 3 red onions, 3 bulbs fresh garlic, butter, dried Oregano, cumin-- non food items: large 2"x4" mailing labels, wax sandwich wrappers, large gallon and qt size freezer bags, 3 small foil rectangle containers with lids, sharpies in red, black, green, and blue.
____________________________
Grand Total for chicken meals: $180.00 for 39 meals that will feed 4-6 ppl with left overs= $5.00/meal or $0.77person

Update: as of now: 6/10/12 { Didn't get to these 9 meals [WAS GOING TO MAKE 3 MEALS OF EACH RECIPE]-but did add on 3 different vegetarian meals I wasn't planning on}

• Chicken Parmesan {SANe}
• Chicken Perkelt (CROCK POT KIT}
  
• Greek Stuffed Chicken {SANe}
• Caprese Chicken {SANe} This one is a new one & I want to add this amazing recipe from a fellow blogger I just found.

Would need to purchase 12 more Lbs of FRESH LARGE boneless skinless Chicken Breasts*, 8 oz Cream Cheese, 12 oz Sundried Tomatoes in EVOO, 3- 14 oz frozen spinach, 6 C Chix stock, 3 Onions, 24 oz Mushrooms.
*Chicken Breasts I bought were very cheap, and they were filled with broth solution so once thawed they ended up being 1/4 less of the size and I ran out of chicken. Will ONLY used FRESH Boneless Skinless Chicken breasts! So needless to say I will have to purchase more to make these dishes though I did buy enough!!
_______________________________
SO AS OF NOW Grand Total IS: $180 for 33 meals that will feed 4-6 w/left overs= $5.50 or $0.92/person

 I. Vegetarian/Beans: 
{Want to make 12-18 patties each for several lunches or quick vegetarian suppers & 24 qt sized ZIPLOCK freezer bags}

Zucchini Patties

1. Falafel (12 patties)
2. Zucchini Patties-(12 Patties)
3. Quinoa Black Bean Burgers-(15 Burgers)
4. Refried Black Beans and Cheese Enchiladas (X2)

Quinoa & Black Bean Burgers

Shopping List:
4-5 Cans Chick Peas, 3 Cans Black Beans, 3 Zucchini, 3 Yellow Summer Squash, Carrots, 8 Eggs, Bread Crumbs, Parsley, Onions, 16 oz-Mushrooms, 1-Lb Quinoa, Garlic, Cumin, Fresh Cracked Pepper corns, Panko Bread Crumbs, EVOO
____________________
Grand Total: $14 for 11 meals= $1.27 or $0.03/serving!!



 I. Pork: 
{Will make 3 of each pork recipe and need 24 gallon sized freezer bags, ZIPLOCK BRAND!] 

1. Carnitas
2. Buttermilk & Mushroom Smothered Pork Chops
3. Balsamic Tenderloins
4. Barb-B-Q Pork

Shopping List:
24 Lbs Pork whatever is on sale, 24 oz Buttermilk, 3 cans Cream of Mushroom Soup, 48 oz Mushrooms, 3/4 White Wine 3/4 C Balsamic Vinegar, Dry rub for Pork{Brown Sugar, Cumin, Chili Powder, Chipotle Powder,  Kosher Salt, fresh cracked black Pepper,white pepper, Garlic & Onion Powder, Smoked Paprika, dry Mustard], 3 T butter, 6 T soy sauce, Check Freezer bags, need 24 ZIPLOCK gallon sized for this session
____________________________
GRAND TOTAL: $58 for  12 meals =  $4.83/meal for 4-6 ppl with left overs for next day's lunch or meal or $0.81/person  {Most ingredients I had on hand and pork sirloin roasts & boneless sirloin chops both were on sale for $1.99/Lb, $48 was the pork, $10 was spent on pantry items I didn't have}

I. Fish:
Not doing any ahead, just having frozen fish fillets in freezer with meals in mind to cook later.

I. Lunches: 
{MAKING 8 OF EACH RECIPE UP TO SANDWICHES, THOSE WILL BE 8-10 EACH, NEED 10 GALLON SIZED ZIPLOCK FREEZER BAGS}

• Taco Cups
• Mini Pizza
• Ham & Cheese Hot Pockets
• Meat Ball Sub Pockets
• Calazones/Pizza Pockets
• 2 loaves P.nut butter & Jelly sandwiches

Shopping List:
1/2 Lb Gr Beef, 2 envelopes of Taco seasoning, 1 LB Chip-Chopped Ham, 4 C Shredded Sharp Cheddar, Mini Meatballs, 10 oz Spaghetti Sauce, 16oz sliced Pepperoni, 4 C Mozzarella, 1LB Bologna, Mayo, Mustard, 1-pint Peanut Butter, 8 oz Jelly, 2 loaves of bread, 16 oz Ricotta, 1/3 C Prosciutto, Parmesan Cheese, eggs, Spinach, 1 Onion, 3 loaves of frozen bread dough, 1 Lb Frozen Spinach

I. Breakfasts:

1. Breakfast Tortillas{30 Tortillas}
2. Breakfast English Muffins{12 Sausage, Egg, & Cheddar Cheese w/Dijion Mustard Sauce}
3. Breakfast Mini Cup{in biscuits {20 Bacon, Egg, & Cheese Mini Cups- 4 were snacked on by the boys as I made them}

Shopping List:
3 Pkg- 10" Tortillas, 3 dozen Eggs, 3 Lb Sausage, 1 LB O'Brian Potatoes, 3 C Shredded, Cheddar Cheese,  2 Pkg English Muffins or 2 loaves English Muffin Bread, Lg pre-formed Sausage patties, Spinach, Shredded Swiss cheese, 1 Lb Bacon
*"Mini Quiches{In Biscuits or crust-less}"-This was on my "list" but don't think I will get to it.
 _________________________
GRAND TOTAL $14.40/MEAL SERVING 1/PERSON = $0.23/breakfast sandwich!!
*I had a lot of grocery times left over from previous session so didn't need to purchase as much plus I got 10 tortillas//$0.79, English Muffins for $0.85 for 6...Cheaper and easier than hand making-right now I am can't do as much homemade as I would like, I hate that but I needed to make decisions for my sanity.



I. Desserts:
1.) Slice and bake Cookies {Tip: For perfectly round cookies, shape the dough into logs, wrap in plastic, and insert into empty paper towel tubes. Going to try this tip!}
       * Oatmeal
       * Chocolate Chip
       * Peanut Butter
2.) Peanut Butter No Bakes

Shopping List:
Flour, brown sugar, 1 dozen eggs, Rolled oats, Sugar, Vanilla, 2-24 Oz Peanut butter, 1 box Butter, Milk, Milk Chocolate Chips, Baking Soda and Powder, Butter Flavored Crisco

Personal Note: 6/21/2012: 
Phewww! This is taking much longer than I thought I am just exhausted trying to get all of these meals prepped, packaged and NEATLY stored. I detest looking into a haphazard freezer then you can't find what just just spent hours loving preparing, that is sooo FRUSTRATING to find it months later all freezer burned and inedible all because you didn't organize the freezer contents! 

So I don't know if I will be able to accomplish all that I planned on, I will cross of what I didn't get to and give you an accurate list when I eventually post this. (OR I might just let you know what I did get to and leave the shopping list and meal plans intact if someone what to use those meal ideas it will still be easier to read.)

Linked to Menu Mondays

TEACH ME TUESDAYS: Food for thought...

My family eats so many oranges and uses limes and lemons in our water, so much that I often feel guilty throwing away all these peels. I will take my microplane and zest the limes and lemons for cooking in the freezer but that is about it, I don't really know what to do with oranges. Until.....I came across some bloggs lately, and all I am hearing about is dried citrus peel uses, and ground citrus uses so I was so inspired I made some this morning...



 Some of the recipes and ideas are from: Crunchy Betty Blogg http://www.crunchybetty.com/the-great-grapefruit-scouring-scrub?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&  


I took the citrus we have been eating over the past 7 days: Key Limes, Cara Cara oranges, Milano Oranges,  Blood Red Oranges, Navel Oranges, Lemons, Cuties...we all eat one citrus or use them in our water so we accumulate quite a bit in several days. Here is a portion of the citrus peels, cut into small pieces and partially dried. I ended up drying in oven bc some started to mold apparently my house has quite a bit of moisture.  I placed it in a cold oven, no heat so the essential oils would still be intact. I then took the peels and ground up in a "bullet" type blender/processor. The smell was amazing as it ground. I think we had about 7 or 8 peels and it    made about 4 oz of ground goodness.

So now what, u ask? I have 4 oz of peeling goodness and we eat about 3 lbs of citrus.  Make your scrub according to Crunchy Betty's site:

• 3 Tbsp dried, powdered Citrus peels
• 3 Tbsp borax
• 5 Tbsp baking soda

Combine everything in a shaker (like an old parmesan container) and shake well to combine it all. Use liberally wherever scouring is required. Be sure to rinse the scrub off well with a clean, wet sponge.

I used a upcycled garlic powder/dried herb container, I didn't add the citrus powder to the above recipe, will use as needed until I use up a herb container I have in mind to use. Below is the handmade labeled Citrus powder scrub a the half gallon of homemade fabric softener I made this weekend.

 Hmm, what else... ???  ( Keep in mind if you will be using citrus peel for any edible applications, and especially if you will be extracting the flavor with alcohol, it is best to source organic, sustainably grown fruit if you possibly can. In general, the peel of most conventionally-farmed fruits contains the largest concentration of pesticides, fungicides or other chemicals used in treating the fruit. Since citrus peels are not typically eaten in the US, data on pesticide load tends to concentrates on the flesh of the fruit, and is likely an unreliable indicator of pesticide load present in the peel.)

• Citrus salt from 101 Cookbooks
• Citrus sugar from Baking Bites
• Orange butter from Gilt Taste
• Meyer lemon olive oil from Buff Chickpea
• Lemon olive oil from Food.com
• Lemon lavender vinegar from a new bloom
• Dehyrated citrus slices from Well Preserved, dried peel or zest  from About.com
• Candied grapefruit peel from Hitchhiking to Heaven and Martha Stewart
• Candied lemon peel from The Luna Cafe
• Homemade lemon extract (and thyme lemonade!) from Infinite Feast
• Add orange peels to brown sugar to keep it soft
• Add dried peels to tea (via Chiot’s Run)  and/or use in your own tea mixes to enjoy or gift
• Freeze citrus peels, or quartered or halved whole fruit, then use later to flavor roasted chicken or braised meats (via What Julia Ate)
• Dry citrus rib rub from Hudson Valley Food Network
•  Add it to coffee grinds as it brews, or add to tea ball make a version of Earl Grey
• Add to facial masks
• Add peels to vinegar and allow to infuse for about 4-6 weeks to make vinegar cleanser/could also make vinaigrette for salads
• Add it to the dishwasher now and then to clean it up and make the dishes sparkle, leaves a nice orange scent too
• Thinking of adding ground citrus peel to cracked ground pepper like a citrus pepper chicken, doesn't that sound awesome with a little honey and kosher salt perhaps some crushed garlic for a marinde and then grill the chicken? 
• Mix it with with Epson salt for a bath-time soak
• Make a bath bomb with the citrus powder, essential oil,
• Use the dried citrus peels as a kitchen deodorizer  (b4 you grind them, could even use this b4 you dry them) in a small saucepan- fill with 1-2" of water, add citrus peel, a cinnamon stick, and a few cloves. Heat over medium-low for a lovely citrusy kick.
• After you dry the peels add cinnamon stick, cloves, peppercorns, and star annise for homemade potpourri even a hint of vanilla bean.
• Add with sugar or fine ground sea salt and neutral or light oil to make a scrub (1 part ground peel and sugar to 2 parts oil) would be an awesome body scrub.
• Thinking of adding to a toothpaste recipe along with myrrh gum powder, clove essential oil baking soda, extra virgin coconut oil and raw honey. 
• Also thinking of making a mouthwash w/nearly same ingredients and adding peroxide and tea tree essential oil.
• Could add to cold processed soaps
• Make Orange cookies and icing
• Add dried peels to vacuum cleaner bags
• Adding it to baking soda and sprinkling on the carpet...wonder if it would leave a sticky residue?
• Add to sugar to make a citrus sugar, hmmmm, interesting....
• Add to plain cake batter to make a citrus cake, yummmmy!
• Add to bread to make a citrus spring tasting bread
• Add to butter to make a marmalade butter, press into a candy mold like a daffodil, wouldn't that be sweet?
• Infuse Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Make a dry citrus rub
• Infuse Liquor, think Lemoncello, Lemonpeel vodka, grapefruit tequila...
• Perk up homemade mustard with citrus zest: see habanero lime chipotle or winter lager mustards
• Make citrus pectin, using the peels from 2 or 3 grapefruits. Based on Julia’s recipe, but slightly modified:toss peels, unchopped, in a medium saucepan, covered them with filtered water, and brought to a boil. I let it simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes, then removed from the heat and let it sit, covered, overnight. The next day strain out the peel and froze the pectin in 1-cup portions. It’s fairly bitter in taste, and would not do for all types of preserves, but for anything that needs a bit of a flavor edge, not to mention a pectin boost, this is perfect.
• Microwave lemon peels, in a small bowl of water, in high for 1 minute, to deodorize the microwave
• A wealth of limoncello recipes from Punk Domestics
• Meyer limoncello from Hip Girl’s Guide to Homemaking
• Pompelmocello from Hedonia (who tells me it was also incredible made with yuzu zest)
• Grapefruit & juniper bitters from Autumn Makes & Does
• Buddah’s Hand (citron) vodka from White on Rice Couple
• Lemon peel vodka from taylor takes a taste
• Cranberry-orange vodka from the Food Network
• Grapefruit tequila from Fine Cooking
• Vin de pamplemousse from Local Kitchen
• Citrus pectin from What Julia Ate
• Add slivered citrus zest to most any jam or preserve for a little texture & zing: try apple jelly with lemon & lavender (using lemon peels instead of whole lemon slices), sour cherry bam! punched up with lemon zest, orange zest in a cranberry chutney, or lime zest added to blackberry or raspberry jam
• Add chopped candied citrus peel to jams or preserves for another layer of texture and flavor
• Dry citrus peels, then crumble for use in a sachet or potpourri
• Orange peels as kindling/fire starter from Apartment Therapy
• Homemade orange oil extract for cleaning from Two at the Farm
• Add homemade orange oil/extract to perfume homemade hand cream
• Add citrus zest to homemade body scrub: see avocado & citrus sea salt scrub (use finely grated citrus zest in place of essential oils), or Meyer lemon sea salt scrub from Hitchhiking to Heaven
• Spread orange peels throughout the garden or household plants to keep cats away; I’ve seen the same tip as a mixture of ground orange peel and coffee
• Freeze citrus peels throughout the season, then grind and use to dress vegetable beds to keep squash bugs (and other critters!) away (via Maggie’s Farm)
• Ground orange peel, lemon peel and lemon juice are all effective ant deterrents
• Toss orange peels down the garbage disposal, or keep a few at the bottom of your trash barrel, to freshen
• Microwave lemon peels, in a small bowl of water, in high for 1 minute, to deodorize the microwave
• Add citrus peels to a dishwasher run to deodorize the dishwasher (I’m going to try wedging some into the silverware tray under a small Weck jar)
• Design your own biodegradable kitchenware (!), via David Lebovitz
•  freeze peels, and sometimes they are not sliced but a half of the fruit. I use those, straight from the freezer and use either for a brine for meats, or stuffed in the cavity of a chicken (or turkey) that I intend to roast. 
• Citrus Peel candy http://thekalechronicles.com/2011/11/15/my-first-orange-plus-candied-citrus-peel/ , neat idea, will definitely try this one...

http://localkitchenblog.com/2012/01/23/what-to-do-with-citrus-peel/  A lot of info gathered from Local Kitchen Blogg, "what to do with citrus peels" post and many more ideas and links...

Food for thought, huh?? What else am I throwing away that I could be using??

FRUGAL & FREEZER/FOOD STORAGE FRIDAYS: PANTRY..... in your FREEZER????

There are many ways I strive to be frugal, organized, speedy & keep my meals flavorful during the week. 

One of them is of course writing a menu 

typically on Friday by then I have gotten all the sale ads from my usual "haunts" and

 in my area they are all varied most end during the week, 

only one grocery store I cherry pick deals at has there sales end on Sat~ 

so this day is very good for me to organize my meals around what is on sale that week.

I typically will keep certain items on hand in my regular pantry and when it's on sale I will buy bulk of like:

• Pasta shapes (This I can't make them yet, I might try my hand at a few but for now I only make pasta noodles-once a month it is too costly, the eggs are the costly items)
• Egg Noodles (for times I don't have the time or resources to make myself)
• Chicken &Beef Stock (I usually have a couple quarts of stock in freezer, but I like to keep 3 boxes of GOOD stock in pantry in case I run out)
• Cereal
• Sweetened Condensed Milk (I KNOW, I KNOW!! but this keeps me from buying coffee at that expensive coffee cafe)
• Annie's Homegrown Organic Bunnie Cheddar Cheese crackers
• Annie's Homegrown Organic Bunnie Snack Mix
• Annie's Homegrown Organic Cheese and shells
• Annie's Homegrown  Organic Ravioli
• Triscuits Woven Wheat Crackers
• Veggie Chips
• POP chips in sweet potato
• Organic glass jarred fruit and fruit spreads
• Tomato Puree

In Freezer/sometimes Fridge

• Unbleached Flour
• Eggs(fridge, will keep quite some time, do buy from a CSA but need more than budget allows)
• Cheeses (Shredded or block)
• Bagels (don't make these)
• Bread Dough (I try to keep about 4 loaves of homemade bread in case we run out or something happens to supply) 
• Almonds- slices and whole
• Frozen Organic when can afford fruit and veggies- sometimes they are cheaper than buying fresh produce off season
• Bulk Yeast
• Baking supplies I don't often use like brown sugar, baking soda and cornstarch
• Meats (Hopefully we can afford to buy a grass fed pastured side of beef this year, until then it's on my lists of items I will buy in bulk when it's on sale) 

1.   Chicken (Half Boneless skinless breasts/half split breasts-but will get 4 whole chickens if the price is right and cook up for meat and stock), 
2.   Roasts (I'll cut into strips, chunks or medallions),
3.   Ground beef (will make meatballs, taco seasoned meat, Salisbury steak patties,  meat loaf, hamburger patties, the rest will be in one LB increments.) Typically I will triple any starter or meal I freezer- it is faster this way, all ready have ingredients and recipe in my head.
4.   Pork center cut loin- We don't eat pork that much I am not a fan of the flavor typically I will make my mom's Hot Pepper Pork, BBQ Pulled Pork, Pork Fried Rice, Breaded and seasoned medallions)
5.   Fish (Flounder, Maui Maui, Talapia, Orange Roughy, White Fish, a few Salmon)

Great way to organize freezer

Fortunately I do have a large chest freezer that holds up to 300Lbs of food, I have in the past packed up 390+ meals-some meal kits some&  heat'n'eat meals. I was very ambitious and had 6 months worth of 5day/week meals-breakfast, lunch, supper+ some snacks and some sides. As well as some yeast, frozen veggies, bulk yeast, almonds and that sort of thing...You get the idea it is HUGE.

However that is the freezer I solely use for bulk cooking and supplies and it is located in my garage. In my house I use the freezer attached to my fridge as a pantry, I save a ton of time and money plus up the entity when it comes to flavor just by saving a few things people might throw away.

• Citrus peels I have a post on uses for this, you would BE AMAZED at what you could do with some citrus peels
• Wax wrapping on butter sticks- use to grease pans, works great and saves loads of money, no more spray filled with chemicals
• Veggies from dinner that no one has ate- I keep a baggie of left over cooked veggies from various meals and typically after a month's time I have enough to make either veggie soup & or veggie stock, or I will make some mashed potatoes, throw in the veggies along with thickened broth and any left over meats I have and call it cowboy pie
• Soup starters, similar to veggies in bag but these are celery, onion, crushed & minced garlic gloves, and carrots I have fine diced for most of my soup I will freeze for soup starter. These are typically veggies that tend to go bad in the fridge and in the past my most frequent offenders for spoilage, as I am not a fan of the taste but will use in a few recipes and they sit in fridge until I throw them out. So my clever solution, finely dice and I have soup starter, just add some EVOO or butter to pan saute and add rest of soup ingredients.
• Smoothie packets, I will take fruit that is about to go bad and chop into freezer baggies, gr8 for smoothies just add some yogurt and Kale's Yeast flakes and some pureed veggies
• Pureed veggies and fruit, I will take some fruit on it's last day of fresh any except oranges and puree for smoothies or veggies mainly spinach, carrots, beets, celery and fresh parsley and puree if about to go bad and puree them for smoothies as well, or add to applesauce or yogurt or to make veggie stock
• Roasted Beef Bone & Chicken skin and bone stock- I will keep the bones from ribs, roasts, steaks and place in freezer baggie until full and use to make healthy & flavorful stock, same with chicken skin and bones from previous meals
• Fat scooped from Chicken stock- I can't stand all that fat, so I will skim a lot of it and render it with an onion and use if for soups- this is what Matzo ball soup starter is and it is quite spendy in the stores
• Fat scraped off of bone broth, use as tallow in place of butter, virgin coconut or olive oil.
• Bacon and sausage drippings, I NEVER let these go to waste a few teaspoons of well placed bacon or sausage drippings can bring so much flavor to a dish though this will raise more than a few eyebrows lets face it a few calories for some flavor and the kids will eat it, I will pick my battles. I will use sausage drippings for a twice a year treat of sausage gravy, this is a sometimes food, but a nice treat
• Ginger Root, grates easier when frozen and will last months in freezer.
• I keep the expensive Parmigiano Regginao and Peccerino Ramono as well as Asiago in the freezer bags wrapped in paper towel to keep the ice crystals from forming (One of my bestie's Sicilian mom's tips), not anything out of the ordinary to keep cheese in freezer but what most ppl throw out is the ...
• Rind of the Parmigiano Regginao or Peccarino Romano to add flavor to soups, this an amazing tip for me anyway, I never knew to do this until I heard about this tip somewhere. I used to throw the rinds away, all that flavor went in the trash...NOW I save it for when I make Italian Wedding soup makes it taste amazing. I might even use my rind I have in freezer now for my pasta sauce...
• Veggie Cooking water

• • Escarole & peeled chopped celery cooking liquid- when I make Italian wedding soup I cook the escarole with celery to make a little tender b4 adding to soup. I save the reserved water I don't use in the soup for later uses, love it in any clear broth, gives it a depth of flavor

  • Potato water- when I boil potatoes for mashed potatoes I will save the water for the liquid replacement in making baked goods like bread, cinnamon rolls, pancakes, biscuits, add to soups, pierogie dough for extra flavor or texture,  clear starch you can use as soon as cools for a very green & frugal clothes starch, a sour dough starter, some ppl even use the water for a tightening mask for mature sagging skin. Most of the time I will use a small amount with the mashed potatoes after I have dried them so they don't get sticky and over starchy, then add a small amount of cooking liquid along with heated up whole milk that I have added some whey to make it like a buttermilk, YUM!!  The rest I will LABEL so I don't forget what it is & freeze to use as I mentioned above~ More Ideas here and this recipe site called Food.com that has great recipes that call either for the potatoes and water and or the peelings

  • Ice cubes & qt sized freezer bags of Veggie Broth: how to make here this recipe is pretty much what I do(made from fresh veggies on their last days-this way I don't waste our valuable produce and get lasting taste), use for soups (like lentil and beans, minestrone) for risotto, or any dish to add a depth of flavor. Cubes are great for that 1 oz splash of flavor.

Anyway, this is a look at my Freezer Pantry, it is so nice to have on hand items that either cost money if I were buy at store or an ingredient that really packs a flavor punch to a meal. Basically the items I have in my freezer pantry are free, bc I have paid for whatever the first use of this item was, but now they are being re-purposed if it were and it is free to us now!!

What items do you keep in your freezer pantry that is a re-puprosoing ingredient 

or 

something most ppl will throw away that brings as flavor punch to your meals?

FRUGAL& FREEZER FOOD STORAGE FRIDAYS: Using up Perishables...

We have all been there- you buy the 3 lbs of garlic bulbs because it's on sale, you planned using it for a variety of dishes BUT you just didn't quite get around to making, or for whatever reason you are left with garlic on it's last day & you have nearly ALL 3 POUNDS OF IT!! Or those bags of limes that looked so awesome in the grocery store but now they are on their last leg and you just don't feel like making Lime-Aide...

What to do?

Well, I was there today with quite a few odds and ends ready to expire:

• 3 lbs of yellow onions 
• 3 Lbs of whole garlic cloves
• 2Lbs each of lemons and limes
• 1 head of cabbage
• left over rice 
• mashed potatoes
• potato water from a previous meal

I already address usage of potato water in this previous post, after reading that post you can see why I save the water from boiling potatoes, I did freeze most of the left over water, yet I had some on the 3rd day and for me most left overs have a 3-day limit for freshness in my fridge after that it's eat it now,  freezer, or trash!

Potato Water & Mashed Potatoes:
I decided to make Pierogie dough with the left over potato cooking water and fill the peirogies with the left over garlic crock pot cooked mashed potatoes.

This recipe makes so much I divided it in half and froze the extra portion for extra meals, I dislike making meals that don't offer repeats- so this is gratifying to me. It is a soft dough, so refrigeration is a must, I think I added to much potato water b/c it was tough to roll, I didn't eat any I made today so I hope it is not a chewy tough dough. {Just learned my cutting and re-rolling were the culprit of my tough to roll dough, the next batch I will roll into balls then smooth out to make pierogies. My favorite way to eat pierogies is to boil them slighty then sauté them caramelized onions, bacon, & ghee sprinkled w/smoked paprika & served with a dollop of drained homemade yogurt so it is the consistency of sour cream and topped off with a sprinkling of sea salt, fresh cracked pepper, and parsley...YUMMY!!

Pierogie Dough
        6 cups flour
        1/2 cup margarine, room temperature
        2 eggs, room temperature
        1/4 cup sour cream
        1 1/4 cups potato water- room temp 

(save from making mashed potatoes)
        2 t of kosher salt

    

    1.    Mix flour and salt in large bowl.

    2.    In a second bowl, mix together the potato water, sour cream, and eggs-beat slightly.

    3.    Cut Margarine into the flour then add rest of ingredients to flour

    4.    Mix liquids into flour mixture & wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 min.

    6.    Prepare perogies with filling of choice.

To cook:

Drop perogies in boiling salted water. Cover. When water has almost boiled over pot, lift cover 3 times (This is from the original recipe, not sure why and what is "magic" is about 3 X's?) remove perogies from pot & sauté with chopped onions, in butter, margarine, ghee, or bacon renderings {this extra step of sautéing  really "makes the pierogies" otherwise they are "slimy" in my opinion} and add this to the roast pan. . Shake well to ensure mixture coats all perogies or layer pan with perogies, chopped bacon can also be added, and sautéed onions as you fill roaster pan for carry-in dinners or serve immediately.

If you are going to freeze perogies, place them on a cookie sheet uncooked and in the freezer. Once frozen, they can be removed and placed in freezer bags.
   
Notes: You can save potato water from potatoes you boil for your meal the night before. The water can be refrigerated and used the next day. Best to have at room temperature, though. You can use some of the dough right away and freeze the rest for a later date. Works well that way.

I always double this recipe if I want to fill up my roaster to the brim. If the eggs are not room temp, I increase the heat of the water. The favorite filling of the house is mashed potatoes with cheddar cheese. Second is mashed potatoes with cheddar cheese and ground beef."

Garlic:
I have addressed the garlic clove issue in this post, What to Do With Extra Garlic?, I made a garlic infused extra virgin olive oil, that you can use for specialty flavorings for bread dippings, drizzled over salads with some red wine vinegar, or drizzled over seared steak or chicken, pasta with grated fresh Parmigiano Reggiano, even use to for ear infections ( I have addressed this usage in this post: "When it's time to say, WHEN!") or to make a garlic poultice for congestion also addressed in the same post.

I took the cooked garlic mashed with a potato masher and froze for future use, will be great to give me a head start on nearly all my dishes I froze flat so I will break of what I need, could also freeze in ice cube tray, but I don't want the solid 1oz cubes, easier to break apart...

Onions:

Carmelized Crock Pot Onions-this creates such a wonderful aroma as the onions slowly carmelize in the slow cooker. I typically will do this with vadilia onions but since nearly the entire 3 lbs of onions were on the last day of freshness I had to use them up quickly and I didn't want to use them in one fell swoop especially since I JUST bought the bag, really irritating.....I guess that tirade will have to wait for another post...

3 Lbs Onions, sliced (Awesome for vadilia onions, any onion will do) or Peel onions and cut off some of the top and bottom
1/2 C EVOO
1/2 palmful of kosher salt and few grinds of fresh cracked pepper

In a 4-6 quart crockpot, place peeled whole onions and top with olive oil. Cover and cook on low for 9-11 hours: 7-8 hours if you have a newer, hotter cooking crockpot.

The onions will literally fall apart, get a deep golden brown color, with sweet caramelized flavor. Use them as omelet fillings, in sandwiches, soups, casseroles, as an appetizer with softened cream cheese or ricotta cheese, in spaghetti sauce, as a condiment with any grilled meat, or any recipe that calls for onions.

I used to throw the oil out, silly me, now I pour the onions over a sieve and drain the oil to place in a jar and refrigerate for nearly same uses as garlic oil.

Lemons & Limes:
I have addressed the citrus usages in this post: which by all means I could have used the rind for that, but I typically use oranges and grapefruit for those uses. Lemons and Lime juice and zest I really love to use in my water, make lemon or lime aide or other lemony-lime beverage, & to add to fish and chicken dishes....

So what I did, half I zested for future meals and juiced great recipes for zest & juice- I placed both in a small ziplock baggies for easier portioning. The other half I sliced and placed into muffin pans so I would be able to enjoy my lemon-lime slices later plus have ice cubes.





Head of Cabbage and Left Over Rice:
The cabbage I got for 39 cents so I bought way too many, I have made many recipes with the cabbage I thought the family would revolt, so I sorta forgot about the one in the veggie bin all alone left behind and definitely ready to expire within the next 24 hours. The rice I have had for 3 days, that is the limit for starches, the sugar breaks down quickly so 3 days is the max, I was planning on making rice pudding with this batch of left overs, but I added onions so that simply wouldn't work...enter

Cabbage Rolls!

I boiled the head of cabbage for 6 min until bright green and peeled the outer leaves, not sure if it was because the cabbage was on the older side, but I only got 9 rolls from that head before the leaves just wouldn't peel away nicely. So I sliced the remainder and froze in a gallon freezer bag for future meals that call for cabbage, such as my Romanian Cabbage and Noodles, veggie soup, Bubbles and Squeak...


I have linked this up to "Growing Home"

FRUGAL FEEZER/ FOOD STORAGE FRIDAYS #1: How to eat out of food storage

IN an attempt to post with a purpose I am dedicating Fridays to FRUGAL & Freezer COOKING/ Food storage posts:

Welcome to FRUGAL Freezer/Food Storage Fridays 

The First Installment:

I haven't posted a weekly menu plan in several weeks,bc I haven't really made one. With all the meal prep for freezer cooking and the constant planning & double checking for ingredients I simply eat out of food storage and I'll show you how easy that really is.

I have done my Freezer food storage 2 different ways-

One way is to purchase proteins on sale in bulk, typically 30-40 Lbs,  and package them up in a meal sized portions.

Roasts -

• PURCHASE ONLY ON SALE
• I typically stick with top round roast, or English roast- these are lean and tougher cuts, need low & slow cooking to break down the muscle fiber PERFECT for CROCK POT COOKING!
• ON SALE I can typically purchase for $2.49/LB
• I will buy the roasts and butcher them myself to save money, cubed, steaks, & strips.

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

• BUY ON SALE ONLY!!!!!!!-Usually $1.39/LB
• Basically all my chicken recipes are BSCB.
• BUY FRESH! NOT FROZEN if you can!!-I will purchase the Quick Frozen type if the price is right, but you mostly purchase the "broth solution", got burned last time I bought 20 bags of 2.5LB of IQFBSCB once thawed the bag was 2 LB!!! 
• If I do buy I QFBSCB, I will ONLY use them for DUMP recipes

Split Chicken Breasts

• PURCHASE ONLY ON SALE & ORGANIC IF POSSIBLE!- (I know all should be organic but I can't afford it, however I use the skin and bones to make stock so I feel the extra money is worth it! Most times $2.99/Lb if organic if not can get as cheap $1.99LB)
• Great for Crock Pot dishes, 
• I freeze these as is, and will thaw then dump in crock
• Save skin and Bones for stock later, DON'T THROW THIS AWAY!!- (I keep a bag in freezer & when filled I add in some wings when I get on sale and make gallons on home made stock)
• Also PERFECT for soups

Ground Beef

• PURCHASE ONLY on SALE!!!-Used to have rule on only purchase $1.99/Lb, this gets harder to do!
• Use for Meatballs, Salisbury Steak Patties, Make my own pre-shapped patties, taco seasoned beef, MICI Rolls, Meat Loaves, Frozen in cooked 1Lb portions, and in HEAT & EAT MEALS

Pork:

• PURCHASE ONLY ON SALE!- (Usually $1.99/Lb)
• I tend to stick with the tenderloins, but will purchase the country ribs too-This cut is CHEAP! and with the most meat when you buy ribs. Great for Crock pot cooking too!

 Fish:

• My family is not big on the strong fish taste so I stick with firm white fish, Orange Roughy is our favorite, Cod, Mauhi Mauhi, White Fish, Talapia, and recently Swai

I also keep Baked Goods in freezer, along with Baking Items {Flour, Sugar, Baking Chips},  Stocks, Shredded Cheeses, Purees, Veggies, Bones...

From that point I look inside and see what protein I have and make a meal from that along with what starches I have in pantry and veggies I have in fridge as I stock pile there as well. I basically have pretty much all I need to pull together a meal even if I pull a random recipe from a blog I have fell in with one the day before, I might need to buy a bottle of wine or some obscure herb here or there to make a special dish.

I have Baskets/Crates one for each freezer items:
*Beef       *Poultry      *Pork       *Fish       *Baking Items {Flour, baking chips, chocolates}
*Veggies   *Stock        *Purees    *Sauces   *Baked Items   * Lunch     *Breakfast   *Misc

After  I have figured out what my protein will be- that is typically the foundation of our family meals, the rest of the meal, starch and veggies, I take care of by stock piling. I stock up when dry goods go on sale. These items I always keep at least 3 lbs of each:

*Brown rice        *Noodles,      *Pasta,     *Couscous,    *Quinoa,    * canned and dry beans

In winter I have frozen veggies some from summer produce & some when they go on sale. This summer I bought a share in a local CSA so each week we will eat whatever fresh veggies are in season, plus this CSA gives a dozen fresh organic eggs, baked good, jam, and popcorn!! Should be a culinary adventure!

 MASTER LIST
The second way I have used my Freezer food storage & the way I most like to utilize my Freezer  is to have a rotation of pre-made meals, crock-pot kits,  proteins in marinades,  SANe meals, breakfast & lunch items, cheeses, baked goods and so on.

This type of organizations helps me to see at a glance what is inside my freezer and when I need to stock up. I used to keep track of the contents but I fell off the wagon and recently I had to throw away 6 gallons of shredded Zucchini, Pumpkin puree, Sweet Potato Puree, and some several gallons of mystery contents.

To keep track of this in a more organized way without opening my freezer 1,000 times & wasting electricity is to make a "Master List" of freezer contents. I made a basic spread sheet with 9 columns and 18 rows with repeating titles of "Meals", "Number Made",& "Number Used".

Then I use it faithfully so I can have an accurate track of what is inside. I will go out to the  freezer look at Master List {spread sheet} I have attached to freezer by magnets to see what is available for meals that day. Plus I have a pencil attached to the freezer handle, if I don't have pencil handy, I know for sure I will forget 5 out of 10 times to record what I have just removed. It makes more sense to me to remove all situations for forgetfulness to happen in the first place to just have pencil handy at ALL time, you feel me?

I am working on a downloadable PDF file you can view and fill in your own blanks, but for now I will just try to explain how easy it is to make your from either RTF from my MAC and I can't do a simple copy & paste here.

But with both PC & MAC users this is really easy to do as well to make your own Master List:

1. Find your tool bar or drop menu in your Word, Work, or RTF and find " Cells" or "Tables" 
2. Choose 18 columns in that menu options & 9 rows in the row option. 
3. Make top row title bar and fill in top rows with the repeating titles of "meals" "number made" & "number used". 
4. Fill sections Titled "Meals" with your meals in freezer, better yet do this at the beginning of a session & leave some blank to fill in what you might find at the bottom or back of your freezer. 

You could do one for your pantry items or freezer pantry items with blank spaces to fill in as you buy or find items in back of shelf, we all find that random jar of pimentos or tuna days or weeks after we were looking for them.

This is my freezer 1/3 way filled

From this point I have figured out what my protein will be- that is typically the foundation of our family meals, the rest of the meal, starch and veggies, I take care of by stock piling. I stock up when dry goods go on sale so I always have rice, noodles, pasta, couscous, quinoa, & beans in pantry. In winter I have frozen veggies some from summer produce& some when they go on sale, & in summer I belong to a CSA so each week we eat whatever fresh veggies are in season.I just pick rest my meal based on pantry items and call it a day!

An added layer of frugality is the pantry items I use to complete the meal never costs us over $1-2 a person and my freezer meals basically cost me under $7/family of 4-6 with left overs!!!  All together I can put together meals that typically costs me under $9 with dessert of some kind. These meals are not just canned soup and ground meat with gummy sticky noodles/rice and some limp over cooked veggies. These are flavorful meals with caramelized onions with reductions sauces and seasoned to perfection

Now having a menu with Supper, lunch & breakfast options makes life easier for me, I will go back to that when I am done with my freezer sessions, much easier to glance at a menu pull in what I can for the week from the deep freezer to save energy and place in freeze above fridge if I have room. But these days I use that for a "freezer pantry" To learn more about that check this post out. I will probably make one for a month out bc of surgery looming in the horizon.

Both ways have worked for my family, saved us time & money, either way it is much easier to have a plan ahead of time but you have to find what works for your family and what you can handle yourself or what your food budget allows for.

Even if you were able to purchase just a 3 Lb bag of frozen boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, you could break them down into 1Lb increments in a gallon sized freezer bags and pour marinade- store bought or home made over them,  this would help out your family and time out tremendously.

Or make crock pot meal kits out of the frozen breasts by throwing in ingredients that make a crock pot meal, like for my Chicken Paprikash Crock Pot Kits, I use 2 C chicken stock, 1 onion diced, salt & pepper, smoked paprika. Then all you have to is thaw overnight then dump into the crock pot on low for 4-6 hours a delicious meal with only 5-10 min of prep work!