Freezer Cooking!!

I joined Weight Watchers two weeks ago.  I'm so tired of being overweight, and decided that THIS WAS IT.  So to that end, I've been looking at freezer cooking a bit harder recently, because I like the idea of being able to portion things out properly while I'm not rushing around for dinner, and then I can just pop the meals in the microwave or in the oven, or whatever. 

So my BFF and I were at Red Robin last week, and we decided that we were going to start doing freezer cooking, she hates cooking for 1, and wants some variety, and I need the portion control that it gives me.  If I'm giving her half, then I know that I only have 3-4 servings.  So that's what we're doing on Sunday.  We're going to make Mexican Casserole, German Style chicken, and Tex Mex Chicken Rollups.  I'm also making Vegetable Lasagna with Gruyere cheese, since next week Lent begins.  We shall see how it goes, I did a decent stock up this morning, purchased $20 worth of meat, and got about 20 meals out of that.  I've already portioned them out for the family.  I'm going to purchase more this weekend, because we'll need it for this weekend.  I also want to help with the portioning with CB, so that she can buy a huge thing of meat, and it'll be good for her. 

Meal Planning/Freezer Cooking

By far my favorite way I've found to reduce waste in our kitchen is once a month cooking.  Now, I don't only cook 1x a month, but I do a large amount of prep work once a month, and freeze it for use later in the month.  For example, I will cook 3 lbs of hamburger meat, and divide it up into 3 freezer bags, and then have it throughout the month- simply remove and dethaw!  Wha-lah!  Ready to sprinkle taco seasoning onto, or mix with Spaghetti sauce or whatever else you want to use it for! I love doing this, because I mess up the kitchen, use every pot and pan in the house, for one Saturday or Sunday per month, and when I'm done, I have most of the meat for the month done!

Lots of time I will also prep out entire meals- simply prep them to the cooking point, and freeze!  Or you can cook them, and then cool/freeze- but I prefer prepping to the cooking point, and then freezing.  Cooking then cooling just takes too much time, I find, but that's just me!  I love it- when my son gets off the bus, I pop dinner in the oven, and my house smells wonderful when my husband comes home from work!  No mess, no fuss, and the only thing we have to decide is what vegetable we're having! 

I know you're also thinking, yuck, I hate casseroles!  I agree to a certain point- and when I refer to casseroles, I don't mean chicken, rice, and vegetable mixed together with a can of soup poured over and frozen.  You can freeze stuffed peppers- prep them, put in a dish, and pour tomatoes over them, and freeze.  You can also freeze stuffed cabbage or baked macaroni and cheese.  And, now with all the sales on baking supplies, you can make cookie dough and freeze it, but more on that in another post!