My computer is still sick.  The keyboard died.  A new keyboard is coming any day now.  I'm blogging from a borrowed computer just to tell y'all about my Freezer Cooking Monday. 

I am blessed with a new (to me) freezer.  I've been anxious to fill it. 

My littlest miss accompanied me to the Piggly Wiggly or as she says the "Piggahly Wiggahly" for some freezer cooking groceries this weekend. 

This morning I pulled out both my crockpots.  I put a pack of chicken in one and 2lbs hamburger in the other and set them to cooking.  I rinsed a huge bag of pinto beans and started them soaking.  I took an additional 2lbs of hamburger and made meatballs (recipe below).  I lined the meatballs on wax paper to flash freeze before putting them in the freezer bags.  Total time 30 min. 

(Some of my meatballs.  I debated on posting this pic cause raw meat is kinda ew... but what's a post without pics?)

A little later, I labeled quart size freezer bags for the browned hamburger.  Drained the meat.  Spooned it into the bags.  Most of the hamburger was frozen for tacos or spaghetti.  I used some of it for our lunch (spaghetti).  Bagged those meatballs that were flash freezing.  Total time less than 10 min.

After lunch, I labeled gallon size freezer bags for the pinto beans.  Drained them and gave them a final rinse before bagging them.  With the beans in the freezer already soaked, they'll be ready to pull out and cook. Total time 5 min.

Mid-afternoon, I used the chicken to put together casseroles (recipe below) for the freezer.  Total time 30 min.

A little over an hour of my time has created the start of nine meals for my family and saved me bunches of future meal prep time.  I love it! 

Read more about freezer cooking. 

Meat Balls Recipe:

2 lbs of hamburger

1 cup of bread crumbs

2 eggs

1/4 cup onion

1/4 cup green pepper

Salt, pepper, seasoning salt, as desired.

With a mixer or by hand, mix together all ingredients.  Divide into balls.  Wrap, label, and freeze.  When ready to serve, thaw and bake 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until cooked through. 

Chicken Casserole (makes 1 casserole, I double and make 2):

Chicken (the recipe calls for 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, I use whole chicken or whatever is on sale)

1 can cream of chicken or mushroom

1 cup milk

1 package stuffing (8oz.)

Cook chicken, reserve broth (about a cup and half).  Shred chicken in baking dish.  Heat soup with milk and pour over chicken.  Mix stuffing with broth and pour over chicken.  Wrap, label, and freeze.  When ready to serve, thaw and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until cooked through.

This post is linked to Freezer Cooking Days at Life As Mom.

One of the best frugal tips I've found is freezer cooking.  I searched the internet, read blogs about freezer cooking, as well as a library book (very resourceful).  Over time I gathered recipes and ideas that made it fun and easy. 

It is just as easy to make two of something as it is one.  Put one in the oven or on the stove for supper.  Wrap the other in aluminum foil, label, and freeze for another day.  Our freezer menu currently includes chili, chili-beans, chicken casserole, mexican casserole, lasagna, taco meat, spaghetti meat sauce, marinated chicken tenders, mashed potatoes, rolls, muffins . . .  yummmm - my. 

So, how does filling the freezer save money?  When it's been a busy day and there is little or no time for dinner preparations, what do ya do?  Load four kids in the minivan and head out to eat, of course.  Well, if the freezer is full of delicious meals that require little preparation - dinner is covered.  No time to thaw?  No problem.  Just take the amount of baking time for the regular recipe, half it.  Add half to the original baking time.  So, if it normally bakes for 30 min., frozen it would bake for 45 min. (30 + 15).  Or just bake it until it's hot when you stick your finger in the middle (lol). 

I've read about ladies cooking one day a month for the entire month.  I think it is a great way to save time.  Some team up with other mom's who have families similar in size and cook together.  Others cook several of the same entree and then trade with others for different entrees.  I usually just cook extra here and there, stocking the freezer gradually.

After the births of my last two babies, I didn't cook for four or five weeks.  Friends and family brought us food for a week or two (thank you family and friends) and then we started on our freezer meals.  It gave me extra time to focus on healing, enjoying our newborn, and loving on our older children. 

Some of my favorite recipes can be found here.

Lazy Day Lasagna

(Makes a 9X13 pan or 2 – 8X8)

• Cottage cheese – 12 oz.
• Shredded Mozzarella Cheese – 2 cups
• Eggs – 2
• Parsley (chopped) – 1/3 cup
• Onion powder – 1t.
• Basil – ½ t.
• Pepper – 1/8 t.
• Spaghetti Sauce (homemade or not) – 32 oz.
• Cooked ground beef – ¾ cup
• Lasagna noodles, uncooked – 9
• Water – ¾ cup

Multiply the ingredients by however many you want to make. I usually make six at a time. 

In a large bowl, mix cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, eggs, parsley, onion powder, basil and pepper until well blended.  Set aside.  In a medium bowl, mix together spaghetti sauce and cooked ground beef.

In baking dish, spread ¾ cup meat sauce on the bottom.  Layer 3 uncooked noodles on tip of the meat sauce.  Next spread ½ of cheese mixture and 1 ½ cup meat sauce.  Layer 3 more uncooked noodles on top of the meat sauce.  Spread with remaining cheese mixture.  Top with remaining 3 noodles and remaining sauce.  Pour water around the outside edges.  Cover the top of the lasagna with wax paper and then the foil.  Freeze. 

When you are ready to serve, remove from freezer and thaw at least overnight in the fridge.  Bake covered at 375 degrees (remove wax paper before placing in oven) for 45 minutes.  Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes.  Let stand for 10 minutes.  Serve with grated Parmesan cheese, if desired. 

To bake from the frozen stage, add 30 minutes to the total baking time.

This post is linked to the Ultimate Recipe Swap at Life As Mom and Works For Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family.

I read about this at The Full Table and it definitely simplified preserving corn. The best part? The husk just falls away.  De-silking is soooo easy.

Place ears of corn directly on baking sheet. Bake at 450 for 30 minutes. Let cool slightly, peel back husks, leave on the cob or cut off the cob and freeze.

Although beans are easy to prepare, they are time consuming.  It takes hours to soak the beans and then hours to cook them. 

I picked up this handy tip (wish I could remember where).  Soak tons of beans at once.  Cook some and dump the rest into freezer bags for cooking later.  Just bag 'em and freeze 'em.  So easy.  When I'm ready to cook the beans, I don't even thaw them.  I just run some hot water over them, pour in the crock pot, and start slow-cooking. 

So, there you have it.  Soaking and freezing beans Works for Me.  For more, visit We Are THAT Family.

The chief bought a 50 pound box of potatoes for $5.00.  A great use for some of those potatoes?  Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes for the freezer! 

5lbs potatoes

8 oz cream cheese

1 egg

1/4 t. garlic powder

1 t. salt

1/8 - 1/4 cup chopped chives (optional)

(Makes 14 servings)

Peel and quarter potatoes.  Place the potatoes in a saucepan and cover completely with water.  Bring to a boil, and then gently cook until tender.  Drain well.  In a large bowl combine potatoes, cream cheese, egg, garlic powder, and salt.  Mash well with an electric mixer.   Spoon potatoes into a 1 gallon freezer bag.  Divide into the bags according to the number of servings you need at one sitting.  For instance, for my family of six, I would divide this between two freezer bags.  Freeze.

To serve, thaw completely.  Pour into a casserole dish.  Put a pat or two of butter on top of the potatoes to melt over them as you bake.  Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes until the top is golden brown. 

You'll love having this side dish handy!

Recipe adapted from What's Cooking America and 30 Day Gourmet.  Of course, it has been changed according to my taste and my pantry. 

For more Works for Me Wednesday, visit We Are THAT Family. 

Last week, I browned hamburger in the crock pot.  So easy.  Allowed me to do a large quantity at once. 

This week, I'm chopping peppers and onions for the freezer.  

First, prep and chop.  Then place the peppers in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Put in the freezer for an hour.  Pour the peppers in freezer bags for the freezer.  Doing this prevents the peppers from freezing in a clump, allowing me to grab a handful of pepper and add to whatever I am making.  Repeat with onions.

Filling the freezer def works for me.  What works for you?  More at We are THAT Family.

Love to fill the freezer!  Makes meal prep so easy. 

I usually brown lots of hamburger at the start of the week.  After I drain the grease, I spoon the hamburger into portion size freezer bags and freeze it.  It's so handy to pull it out and add to tacos, spaghetti sauce, or soup.  The easiest way to brown a huge amount of hamburger?  In the crock pot. 

My crock pot is large enough to hold all the meat at once instead of browning smaller portions multiple times.   

What works for you?  Visit We Are THAT Family for more...

Remember when I shared with y'all how I freezer cook? 

You just gotta visit The Full Table to learn more, a lot more.  Follow this series all week as she shares step by step how to have a freezer cooking party.  I'm learning so much! 

So, any of you local gals want to organize a cooking party? 

I'm serious.

Besides watching the first Pioneer football game of the season, I froze corn.

Corn is one of the easiest vegetables to put up for the winter.  Step-by-step instructions can be found here.

We bought three dozen ears of corn.  I froze two dozen.  We are going to have one dozen for dinner during the week.  Corn on the cob is a TrentTribe favorite! 

Brian's Uncle Robert gave me the secret to picking the best corn.  He says to pull the silks back just far enough to see the end.  Corn that is not completely full (meaning that there is some corn missing at the very end of the cob) is the best.  If it's full, then it was left on the stalk too long.  Corn that was left on the stalk too long will be sticky or gummy when you eat it. 

Did you alreadly know this?  Thanks for indulging me.