May's Freezer Cooking, Once a Month Cooking, Batch Cooking......

This week I ended up with several good deals at the grocery in the meats department.  I spent most of Friday and Saturday prepping the products I scored.  Add to the fact that I already have a baking day.  I thought a picture tutorial would be a nice way to walk you though my mini Once a Month Cooking, Batch Cooking or Freezer Cooking.  Whatever you want to call it!  LOL:

Make and Bake Pizza Pie Crust Shells.  

I am not topping these first, just freeze for later use.

Make ahead Hamburger and Hotdog Rolls.  Freeze for later use.

Bake a Loaf of Bread, slice and freeze. 

Baking a sheet cake and freezing half.

Buying whole chicken breasts, de-bone, slice in half.

Add breading and freeze.

Take those bones and make stock.

And pick the meat off the bone for a quick Casserole.

Cook and freeze taco meat.

Make spiced up quick bread for the week.

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Stuffed Baked Potato with "The WORKS"

Please enjoy this recipe as a part of my make ahead series.

8 large Potatoes

1 cup Bacon Bits

3 cloves Garlic, chopped

2 sticks of Butter

1 cup Sour Cream

2 cups Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese

1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash

1 teaspoon Pepper

2 teaspoons Salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  

Bake Potatoes for 1 hour or until soft in center.

Meanwhile saute garlic for one minute and set aside.

Cook bacon until crisp. Crumble and set aside.

Slice baked potatoes in half with serrated knife.  

Scoop pulp into large bowl and set shells aside.

Add bacon, garlic, butter, sour cream and seasonings.  

Mash with a hand held potato masher.

Stir in 1 cup cheese.

Scoop potatoes back into 15 shells (one will be sacrificed for the additional pulp)

Top with remaining cheese and some fresh green onions.

Freeze at this point, flat on a cookie sheet until solid.  Place in plastic bag for longer term storage.

Bake fresh or thawed potatoes for 450 degrees for 15 minutes.

This recipe was originally from Cooking Light Cookbook 1999 addition. A friend of mine forwarded to me the Pioneer Woman's version.  It was very similar but on its own tasted fabulous.  This recipe is a compilation of both recipes.

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Freezer Cooking, Dinner Starters, Make Ahead List

Have you seen my post here? My style is more like making my own convenience foods and dinner starters, not making ahead full dinners.  I still love to give that home made feel each night but don't want  cooking to consume my evening.  My make ahead list is ever growing as I continue to  replace my processed foods and canned goods with my own.  Eliminating processed and canned foods leaves you with what I believe is Whole Foods.  What has provided us as nourishment though the earth.
Why would I do all this?  I was seriously ill and a part of what helped my cure was eliminating processed foods entirely.  It was actually doctor prescribed.  At first I only did it for the time I was being treated.  But my mother strongly URGED me to keep it up.  There must be SOME reason you were told to do that she would say.  What harm could it be to continue she says.  I was always the child that listened to my mother.  Her words sunk in. If it helped me, it will help my children be healthy was well right?  That was all the motivation I needed.  I'm still working on it.  I have not mastered it yet, but i will.


Rice a Roni Dry Mix
Jiffy Corn Bread Dry Mix
Cream Soup Dry Mix
Hamburger Rolls Dry Mix
Pre-Cooked Rice
Pre-Cooked Beans (red, black and white)
Refried Beans
Escalloped Apples
Mashed Potatoes
Stuffing
Bolognese Meat Sauce
Tomato Sauce (same as bolognese without meat)
Meatloaf
Hamburgers
Meatballs
Ground Beef Base
Soup Starter (cup each of diced onions, carrots and celery)
Stock (chicken and beef)
Gnocchi
Twice Based Potatoes

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Cream Condensed Soup Powder Mix

Please enjoy this recipe as a part of my make ahead series.

2 cubs Nonfat Dry Milk Powder

1/4 cup Corn Starch

1/2 Potato Flakes

2 Tablespoons dried minced onions

1/4 cup Bouillon Powder

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon thyme

Using airtight container combine all ingredients listed.  Shake well.

When using mix combine 1/3 cup of mix with 1 1/4 cup hot water.  Stir until thickened.

To make condensed soup for cooking use 1 cup water.

• Add chopped sauteed mushrooms for cream of mushroom soup.
• Add Sauteed celery for cream of celery soup.
• Add a hand full of chicken bits for cream of chicken soup.

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Refried Beans

Please enjoy this recipe as a part of my make ahead series.

1 pound Pinto Beans (2 cups)

3 or 4 cups Water

1/2 cup Bacon Drippings (I save mine when I cooke bacon)

1 large Onion

5 cloves Garlic

1 Tablespoon Chili Powder

2 teaspoons Cumin

2 teaspoons Salt

1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper powder

1/2 teaspoon Oregano

Soak beans overnight with enough water to cover by 1 or 2 inches.

Next morning, rinse beans and place back into pot with enough water to cover by 1 or 2 inches.

Simmer uncovered on low for 1-1/2 to 2 hours until beans are tender on stove top.

Use potato masher or stick blender to mash up beans.

Place bacon fat in a dutch oven over medium heat.  Cook onions until translucent.  

Add garlic and seasonings.  Cook for about a minute until fragrant.

Add beans and cooking liquid.  

Cook stirring until thick paste forms adding any water as necessary.

or

Starting from stop one, place beans, onions and garlic in crock pot and cook 8 to 10 hours on low.  

Remove enough water to just allow beans to be submerged.

Use potato masher or stick blender to mash up beans.

Place in jars or bags and freeze.

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Gluten Free Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix Copy Cat Recipe

Please enjoy this recipe that is a part of my make ahead series.

Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix

1 cup Medium Ground Corn Meal

1 cup of Flour (use any flour if not Gluten Free, works with both)

• 1 parts Brown Rice Four,
• 2/3 part Potato Starch,
• 1/3 part Tapioca Flour

1/2 teaspoon Xanthan Gum (omit if not Gluten Free)

1/4 cup Sugar

3 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder

1/4 teaspoon Salt

**********

1/4 cup Canola Oil

1 cup Milk

1 Egg

1/4 teaspoon Vanilla extract

Combine all dry ingredients and store in a Glass Jar for up to one year.

To make Muffins:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Spray 12 muffin slot pan or 8" pan with baking spray

Combine oil, milk, egg and vanilla well.

Add dry ingredients from Jar. Incorporate well.

Bake 18 minutes muffins or 23 minutes for bread.

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Gluten Free Italian Meatballs

Please enjoy this recipe that is a part of my make ahead series.

2 1/5 pounds of Ground Beef

2 Tablespoons Parsley

4 Eggs, beaten

2 Tablespoons Milk

2 Tablespoons Red Cooking Wine

3/4 cup Romano Cheese

3/4 teaspoon Salt

3/4 teaspoon Pepper

2-3 cloves Garlic, finely chopped

1 Onions, finely diced

Combine all ingredients and incorporate well.

Roll a small hand full of meat in palms to form a ball.

Place on cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

Cool and freeze in a single layer until fully frozen.

Toss in a Ziplock.

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Escalloped Apples

Please enjoy this recipe that is a part of my make ahead series.

Escalloped Apples (Stouffers Copy Cat Recipe)

10 cups Granny Smith Apples (or Jonathan works well too)
* 1 medium equals 1 cup.  

1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
2 Tablespoons Butter

2 Tablespoons Corn Starch

1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

1/3 cup Brown Sugar

Peel, core and slice apples. I use a bowl with some lemon water to prevent browning. I get about 8 slices that I will then cut in half to make 16 pieces each apple.

In a large bowl toss to combine combine apples, cinnamon and sugar.

Either....

Add butter to pan to melt.  Add remaining ingredients and cook on medium heat until apples are just turned soft (careful not to over cook and make applesauce).  You may have to add a few tablespoons of water or juice at some point.

Or....

Place ingredients in microwave safe bowl.
Dot with butter, cover and microwave on high for 12 minutes (stirring occasionally).

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Hamburgers

Please enjoy this recipe that is a part of my Make Ahead meal list.

Fresh Pressed Hamburgers

5 pounds Ground Beef

5 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

In a large bowl mix beef and worcestershire sauce until well incorporated

Get out your Hamburger Press and line with Wax Paper.

Press 1/4 pound burgers and line on baking sheet.

Put baking sheet in freezer to freeze individually.

Once frozen they can be placed in a ziplock and they wont stick together.

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Bolognese Meat Sauce

This is the recipe my husband and I created while cooking together in our tiny apartment in Delran NJ. Check out the kind of tomato products we used. I am not even sure they sell that still? Well one thing is for sure, they don't sell it here in the south.

Bolognese Meat Sauce

1 pound Italian Mild Sausage

1 pound ground Beef

1 Onion, chopped

2-3 cloves Garlic

28 ounces Crushed/Whole/Diced Tomatoes

12 ounces Tomato Paste

12 ounces can Sauce

12 ounces can Puree

2 tablespoons Sugar

1 tablespoons Parsley

1 tablespoons Basil

1 teaspoon Oregano

1/2 teaspoon Thyme

1 Tablespoon Oil (to coat pan)

In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until browned. Stir in tomato products, water and seasonings. Simmer covered for 1 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

I usually double this recipe and get 8 large family servings for the freezer.

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Dinner Starters, OAMC, Freezer Cooking, Bulk Cooking

I am not a beginner at Freezer Cooking. I never participated in the Bulk Cooking, Make Ahead Meals, Freezer Coking days (or any other catch phrase out there for this task) due to the massive amounts of food made from others folks. The very idea would intimidate me. This time especially I had the kids home all week with snow days. I'm thinking to myself you barely have time to shower, how the heck am I going to do that? In fact, I don't even have the money to buy the massive amounts of food all at once. These are just some of the issues I have always had with once a month cooking or freezer cooking. Still my cupboards were empty from the Pantry Challenge and I wanted to participate in some fashion. Plus I had a load of great items from Kroger that needed processing.

I always cooked ahead certain things though, even when I worked. I even cooked ahead before being frugal (I admit it, I'm a convert). I always made my own spaghetti sauce (both with and without meat). I always made my own meat loaves (have no idea why I just do), and I always made my own meatballs (to name a few). In fact, the list of make ahead grew over the years for me and is now 17 items long. WOW. After being miraculously cured of cancer, my list of make my own non processed foods from great ingredients grew and grew. I would never do all that at one time. I have always staggered when I made what and always made more than a months worth. I would make one or two make ahead item a week or maybe even a month but the main idea is that the items always ran out at a staggered rate. This made sense to me and I always had spaghetti sauce, I always had meat loaves and I never felt rush or had to do mad cooking. Yet I always had dinner "starters" ready like ground beef base, stock, my own cooked ahead dried beans so I did not have to use BPH lined cans. I do not have the resources that most moms have with families and sitters.

This participation was based no the Kroger Mega event and our Hays Dollar Days sales. All fo these items are on my massive make ahead list of items.

• Marinade Chicken Breasts (5 dinners worth)
• Use breast chicken bones & make Stock (added freezer bones ~ 10 cans worth)
• Cook Dried Beans Black, Pinto, White and Kidney beans (4 cans each)
• Make $1 bags of Potatoes into Freezer Mashed (4 dinners worth)
• Made a batch of Vegetarian Pasta E. Fagioli soup (4 servings)

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