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MarilynW
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I took another diversion from lesson planning today - my neighbor and I spent a glorious morning at the park and playground, looking through lots of cookbooks. I have decided to make an annual plan for each season over the next few days. I really want to have a watertight menu plan - and maybe try to move to grocery shopping once every two weeks. Our grocery bills are way way too high.
One of my favorite "cooking in season" cookbooks is .Simply in Season
Today I found a new one which is also really really good - Martha Stewart's Great Food Fast
I have a question - is it possible to do freezer cooking and eat seasonally?
The whole freezer cooking idea appeals to me - just not sure I can pull it off
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RamFam
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I just got a free freezer from freecycle and was wondering how freezer cooking worked. Do you use disposable serving dishes?
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Leah
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ctrivette
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RamFam wrote:
| I just got a free freezer from freecycle and was wondering how freezer cooking worked. Do you use disposable serving dishes? |
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I put most things in zip locks, freeze them flat (as flat as possible), then thaw it and heat it in my reg pots and pans. If it was cooked first, I can wash and reuse the plastic bags. Takes less space that way.
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Bookswithtea
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I use a combination of freezer bags and 9x13 pans (I watch for them on sale). Yes, you can eat seasonally and still freezer cook. You have to have meal plans for both seasons, and then anticipate when the weather changes and switch to the other plan. I am running out of freezer space though, now that we buy beef at 1/4-1/2 side at a time. I have 2 fridges and one deep freeze. Am I am either going to have to buy another or find a way to be more organized. 
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MarilynW
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Bookswithtea wrote:
| I use a combination of freezer bags and 9x13 pans (I watch for them on sale). Yes, you can eat seasonally and still freezer cook. You have to have meal plans for both seasons, and then anticipate when the weather changes and switch to the other plan. I am running out of freezer space though, now that we buy beef at 1/4-1/2 side at a time. I have 2 fridges and one deep freeze. Am I am either going to have to buy another or find a way to be more organized. |
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How do you make time for the freezer cooking. I am reading Frozen Assets right now - I love the idea of a freezer full of meals - just not sure how to get time free to do it
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Bookswithtea
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MarilynW wrote:
| How do you make time for the freezer cooking. I am reading Frozen Assets right now - I love the idea of a freezer full of meals - just not sure how to get time free to do it |
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Years ago, I was a diehard 30 meals mama. I am not successful at it now. One thing I noticed as my kids got older is that the recipes were often designed to make protein stretch and are carb intensive. What that means now is my older kids are still hungry. Also, I don't eat grains as much as I used to...my waistline can't take it. 
I'm looking into other options now that still make use of bulk cooking, but don't have the solution yet.
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mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and due 9/10
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Lisbet
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TONS of stuff here: OAMC
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RamFam
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So, how does it go from freezer to table? I was given a couple of frozen casseroles after my baby was born and they seemed to take forever to thaw (which meant I went ahead and put it into the oven and it took forever to heat.) What is the normal pattern of events for frozen ready to eat meals?
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Lisbet
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they need to sit in the fridge overnight to thaw, if you need to, you can set it on the countertop for an hour to thaw further. sorry for lack of caps - nak
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Sam, 9
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Greta, 3
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RamFam
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Marilyn, Sorry to have hijacked this thread twice.
Lisa, thanks for the answer and especially the link.
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Leah
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ladybugs
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Bookswithtea wrote:
| ...now that we buy beef at 1/4-1/2 side at a time. |
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I am interested in doing this...
How does one start and where would one look? I did a search on google to find out where to buy produce locally - thankfully, there are two farms near my new home  but I'd like to do the whole organic thing...
Any advice?
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Bookswithtea
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ladybugs wrote:
I am interested in doing this...
How does one start and where would one look? I did a search on google to find out where to buy produce locally - thankfully, there are two farms near my new home but I'd like to do the whole organic thing...
Any advice? |
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Just find a farmer and visit to see if it looks like the animals are clean and well cared for. I have found in my area that there are lots of animals that are raised without antibiotics or hormones, but aren't certified organic. This is much less expensive than hunting down anything certified, as long as you trust the person you are purchasing from. Also, the farmers usually let you know if the animal is grass or grain fed. Grass fed is usually more expensive, but sometimes you can find people who do mostly grassfed with a little bit of grain and that is less expensive as well. If you live in a semi rural area, I'd ask around in the local hs groups. That's where I've found all of my contacts.
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MarilynW
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Thanks Books, Lisa etc for all the suggestions. Leah - your questions are very pertinent (I never object to hijacking of threads - probably because I do it all the time  )
I am sitting here making a master list of recipes by season, then trying to get a menu plan.
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nissag
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I've done freezer cooking over the years and got out of the habit when our bus went down with the flu this spring. She's on the mend now and I'm gettign ready to plan for more freezer meals.
I agree that many recipes are carb-loaded and protein-light. With boys in my house, that's not a great option. I will be looking into buying bulk meat from the butcher (we have a GREAT one here in town offering local meats) and making some great dishes that are heavyier on the protein and rely upon fresh green salads and veggies on the side.
Marathon cooking helps so much with a busy house. I make a menu and shopping list on one day (i developed a menu planning calendar that highlights feast days and such to help), shop on the next day, and cook on the third day (with the help of my two older girls and sometimes my oldest son). I also do a one-day bake (oh, Lord won't you buy me a double oven?). The meals are ready for Cate to pop into the oven on nights when Brian and I are at classes. We generally eat our big meal at midday, so we can have a leisurely and simple evening meal with little mess. I save, on average, 30% on groceries, and have only 1 big day for pot-washing.
I use some disposable aluminum pans, but am slowly transitioning to more re-usable ones because the waste bothers my conscience. I store soups in jumbo sized rubbermaid containers.
A tip - only par cook (or don't cook) pastas mixed with sauces, or just freeze the sauces and make the pasta on the day (since it's so quick). I prefer glass or ceramic pans for casseroles acidic sauces, rather than metal ones. Potatoes can taste funny after being frozen - I don't store them in metal anymore, and often load them with flavour so that they don't have a funny taste out of the freezer.
Whew. TMI...
Blessings,
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Bookswithtea
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nissag wrote:
i developed a menu planning calendar that highlights feast days and such to help), shop on the next day, and cook on the third day (with the help of my two older girls and sometimes my oldest son). I also do a one-day bake (oh, Lord won't you buy me a double oven?). |
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Nissa, I am totally impressed! Is there any way you could share your menu planning calendar and give us a peak into the plan you are working on when you finish it? It sounds like you have a lot of the same concerns I do.
The other thought I had, ladies, is...if we all had similar goals, is there any way we could all work on a part of this and create a plan that we could all use or just tweak slightly? I'm thinking:
*avoid processed foods
*heavy on the protein instead of carbs
*uses a variety of heating options (this is crucial to get your cooking done on one day)
*no meat Fridays/takes the Liturgical year into consideration
*seasonal
Maybe between us all, we could make a plan work?
I dunno...thinking aloud here...
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nissag
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Sure! I actually put a full year's menu planning calendar into my home management book. We also observe meatless Fridays so all of my Fridays are marked as a reminder. The Liturgical seasons are color-coded as well. I also keep a long list of fun holidays (like ice cream day, teddy bear's picnic day) that can be filled in and planned for.
I'm re-designing my entire blog while I'm on summer break. One of the things I'd like to feature is my menu planning since there seems to be a lot of interest. And I'm also hoping to finish the Fit in 40 entries that I started last winter - very much along the lines of what you're talking about - no processed foods, homemade, holistic health-conscious, etc. I think it's great to have a group do it together!
Blessings,
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juststartn
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Oh, I could SO use this!!!!!
We're just now to the point where our garden is producing (right now, the cukes are coming and coming and coming--so I made some more pickles this morning), the beans and squash are coming....the corn is tasseling...but the pumpkins...oh me oh my...I'm gonna have a lot of them, if the bees activity this am is any indicator (anybody have some good pumpkin recipes?).
We're getting some pigs this fall to raise to butcher in the spring, and we'll have close to 75 chickens in the freezer before Thanksgiving...we'll have all the eggs we need and then some (we're planning on selling a few, once we get the pullets laying).
I need LOTS of recipes to use this stuff up! And I have GOT to stay away from the carbs, as much as possible, too, with my PCOS (and hence, my PCOS inclined dds).
I'm in...Anything to cut my grocery bill...
Rachel
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Bookswithtea
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Rachel...I don't know how you are doing ANY of that with twins in the house under 2. You go girl! Do you have a rural background which makes this easier or are you learning as you go (in either case, what can you teach me???)? Our garden is not doing so well...actually its pitiful and our lettuce, which was the only producing thing, just got overrun by bunnies when the gate door was left open. I'm seriously looking into doing meat chickens (50) in August and Sept. We only have a couple acres, so this is all on a small scale for us.
I am looking for recipes that are heavy on meat and veggies (not necessarily carrots and potatoes), relatively kid friendly (not spicey) and can be put together easily. I have 2 who are sensitive to dairy. We use some but I don't want to use cheese intensive recipes like lasagna.
I am thinking 8 recipes, made 4 times, for 32 meals a month (enough to cover if it takes a few days to gear into the next big cooking day). If there were 4 of us, we could each come up with 2 really good recipes that we have practiced and know cook up well, don't get icky/mushy in the freezer and aren't similar to each other. And we need maybe 2 of them to work for meatless Fridays. Do we have 4 people???
Anyone??
Edited to Add: I'm thinking lets work on recipes for the fall/winter, rather than the summer, which is sadly, 1/2 over. If it goes well, then in March we oughta do this again for the spring/fall!
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JodieLyn
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Couple of ideas..
I pre-prep rather than pre-cook..
so for instance.. I'll make meatballs (nice generically flavored) and freeze them raw on a cookie sheet and then put into a ziplock bag.. I can grab as many or as few as I want to cook.. and I can cook right from the freezer with only a bit of increase in time (lower heat a bit add a bit of water and a lid for the first bit of cooking)
If anyone is interested in some of my other shortcuts that don't include cooking things ahead I can try and get them typed up soon.
Also, since time is a premium and trying to make many meals all at once can be overwhelming.. you might try just making double meals for a while.. if you make a lasagna make one for dinner and one for the freezer etc.
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Lisbet
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I do ALOT of double meals, it makes is so easy since I already have everything on hand and I'm chopping/prepping the same things. And usually if I do a cooking day - it's not my goal to have everything for a month, just extra in the freezer for when I need it. It takes the 'pressure' off.
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Gabe, 13
Isaac, 11
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Sam, 9
Henry, 7
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Greta, 3
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: Seasonal Menu Planning/freezer cooking
