Freezer cooking blitz

[strider3700]

Monday my wife spent $587 at costco.  It was 100% food. 

She turned the first chunk of that into  meals ready made and sitting in the freezer on the same day.  Today I made meatballs and chilli to use up the remainder.   We have 49 dinners  for 4 of us in the freezer.  We'll couple that with our staple rice or potatoe  and steamed veg.  I figure the final cost will be about $3 a person in the summer due to the garden.  $3.50 in winter due to paying for veg(we buy the giant bags of frozen veg usually.     For comparison McDonalds for 4 is $27 these days.   A real restaurant is $50  and that's with the kids eating either a cheap happy meal or off of the cheap kids menu.

 This is mostly meat that was purchased.  Lots of chicken thighs/drumsticks,  sausage, steak, roast, and ground beef.  I'm sure this could be done cheaper but I freely admit I love big meaty dinners.

[sol]

My wife and I do a "power cooking" thing every few months that produces 30 freezer meals (for 4) in a day's worth of shopping and cooking.  We went to WinCo for cheaper prices on bulk goods, was about $250 the first time and $220 the second. 

And I agree, the biggest portion of that cost was meats which ended up in meals that I felt had WAY more meat than they needed, so we may try reducing the meat portions in the future.

[DebtDerp]

This is mostly meat that was purchased.  Lots of chicken thighs/drumsticks,  sausage, steak, roast, and ground beef.  I'm sure this could be done cheaper but I freely admit I love big meaty dinners.

Yeah go vegan! Haha, jk. I could never go without hot wings and pepperoni.

Do you vacuum pack the meals or just use freezer bags? This sounds intriguing but I don't have a Costco membership or a car.

[strider3700]

vacuum pack.  We were given the packer as a christmas present 6 years ago.  It's easily paid for itself in that time.

[totoro]

I do this every once in a while.  On haiatus since our move.  I find the following works great:

1.  lasagna
2.  thai curry (plus cooked rice made when needed)
3.  chili
4.  wontons
5.  shepherds pie
6.  chicken/turkey pot pie
7.  gyoza  (aka wontons but fried with japanese-style dipping sauce)
8.  a mix of cooked onions, ground beef, peas, carrots and spices that is frozen and then defrosted in smaller batches and used to make shepherds pie by just adding mashed potatoes/cheese on top AND a fabulous soup by adding the mix to chicken stock plus cream/milk plus tomatoe paste plus spices plus vietnamese chili paste plus feta cheese
9.  homemade calzones/mini pizzas
10.  pizza dough
11.  tart filling with shells frozen separately (ie. pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie, pecan pie filling with pecans frozen separately)
12.  logs of frozen cookie dough that you can cut and cook as needed.

[Mickijune]

I have heard of this before and would like to try it. Are there any good websites out there with instructions? My main concern is we have limited freezer space and do you cook everything before or after?!?

[amyable]

9.  homemade calzones/mini pizzas

Seriously--I need a recipe for homemade calzones you can freeze.  I have been looking for a cost effective / comfort food replacement for our once a week pre-made grocery store frozen pizza (I know!  I know!  It's like $7, and ridiculously unhealthy--I deserve a chorus of face punches).

[totoro]

Here is a recipe for calzones:  http://www.thekitchn.com/weekend-cooking-calzones-to-ea-46337

I now use the pizza dough recipe by frompa:

"Basically, use about three cups of whatever mix of flours you want, half to three quarters a cup of olive oil, two teaspoons of yeast, a pinch of salt, and enough water to make it hold together like pizza dough should.  Knead it for whatever the flours require to develop the gluten a bit (heavy whole grains like wheat require more kneading than plain unbleached white.)   Let it sit for a few hours or overnight in the fridge to rise, and you're good to go. Roll or press it out to whatever shape your little heart desires,  cover it with your favorite sauce and/or toppings, and bake in the lower part of your oven at your highest oven setting til it's done." 

I make the dough, put it on trays topp the pizzas and freeze them individually.

[strider3700]

I have heard of this before and would like to try it. Are there any good websites out there with instructions? My main concern is we have limited freezer space and do you cook everything before or after?!?

most of this stuff isn't cooked.  some is.  The meatballs for instance need reheated and then are good to go.  Anything no cooked it's usually a case of drop it in a pan (assuming it wasn't frozen in one) and toss it in the oven. 

[totoro]

This is commonly referred to as once-a-month cooking.  If you google this lots will pop up.

[153]

9.  homemade calzones/mini pizzas

Seriously--I need a recipe for homemade calzones you can freeze.  I have been looking for a cost effective / comfort food replacement for our once a week pre-made grocery store frozen pizza (I know!  I know!  It's like $7, and ridiculously unhealthy--I deserve a chorus of face punches).

Google Martha Stewart broccoli calzones. Had them for dinner last night, and was thinking I should share them on the forum, because they are cheap and tasty

[boy_bye]

9.  homemade calzones/mini pizzas

Seriously--I need a recipe for homemade calzones you can freeze.  I have been looking for a cost effective / comfort food replacement for our once a week pre-made grocery store frozen pizza (I know!  I know!  It's like $7, and ridiculously unhealthy--I deserve a chorus of face punches).

Google Martha Stewart broccoli calzones. Had them for dinner last night, and was thinking I should share them on the forum, because they are cheap and tasty

Also, try the no-knead bread recipe (on mother earth news or NY times website) to use as pizza dough. It is literally as easy as stirring flour, water, yeast, and salt together, then letting it sit for a while. And it's very nommy as pizza crust!

[Lina]

I am doing this every week or every second week. I cook my meals on Sundays and freeze the meals that I will not eat during the couple next days. I have bought reusable plastic containers from Ikea as I don't like the thought of using plastic bags from both an environmental and a financial perspective. I am mostly freezing the whole meal with pasta or rice and sometimes also the vegetables. Mostly I add the vegetables when I eat my meal. It saves my money and time as I don't buy ready made food because I am to tired to cock or to hungry to make anything healthy. I just need to heat the meal at lunch or when I get home. Time as I don't need to cock every day.

As I don't have a car I find it difficult to buy in bulk so I take my bike to the store once a week and shop according to a shopping list made after a menu. I have decided that once a month or every second month I will walk to store and buy everything that I need in bulk and take a taxi home.

[MooreBonds]

Do you vacuum pack the meals or just use freezer bags? This sounds intriguing but I don't have a Costco membership or a car.

I don't have a vacuum sealer (kind of funny when you look at all of the other kitchen gadgets that I have never used, but bought 3 years ago in preparing for my first home! :( ).

However, for meals that have a high % of liquids in them, you can freeze them just fine in a bag, since they won't get freezer burn. So things like chili freeze absolutely perfectly in individual servings in quart-size bags.

And I also bought some fresh fish on sale - simply cut them up into individual serving/one meal's worth, put the fish (uncooked) into the bag, and cover with water. The water will cover the fish and prevent any freezer burn or drying out, and when you thaw it out, it will be just like it was the day you froze it. You can use this trick for any other foods that won't be effected by some water (i.e if it's cooked, it will still freeze just fine in water - but the water might remove some of the seasoning/flavor on the surface). Kind of a poor-mustachian's freezer sealer. :)

Other meals might be more susceptible to freezer burn, and it could also depend on how low you have your freezer set, humidity levels, and other environmental conditions, but I routinely buy and bake chicken breasts, beef roasts, and pork country style ribs...slice them into individual serving sizes, and freeze, and they last 2 months in the freezer without any negative effects.

The one thing that I do need help on are frozen potatoes. I make breakfast sandwiches in the microwave in the morning (egg, ham, potato). I've tried cooking my potatoes in a batch in the oven when I have it on cooking something else, but when I freeze the potatoes and defrost them in the microwave, they come out rubbery!

I've tried simply baking the potatoes then freezing, I've tried baking fully then sauteeing to get a crispy edge, and I've tried flat-out sauteeing...but they always defrost as a rubbery, unappetizing thing.

Any suggestions on freezing cooked potatoes? Aldi's frozen hash brown patties are the lowest price in town, but I'd rather buy a 5lb bag of potatoes for $1.50 and make my own, instead of buying the calorie-laden patties for 4x the cost!

[sol]

Potatoes just don't freeze well.  Something about the high starch content. Sorry.