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Freezer Meals
Michael Smith shows Dan how to make Spaghetti Casserole. Click here (56k) to watch the video. If you have a high speed connection, click here (300k) to see a higher quality video clip. Click here to see the Spaghetti Casserole recipe.
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I first learned about Freezer Meals from Doug Leopard. Doug is a Cook'n customer who called me one day with a question. While chatting with him, I discovered that he was using Cook'n to help him make a shopping list for what his family called a "Mega Cook." When I asked him what a Mega Cook was he told me it is just a nick-name that his family uses to describe the Feezer Meal concept.
When you prepare the Spaghetti Casserole recipe above, double the recipe. Since you're already browning ground beef and boiling spaghetti noodles, it only takes a few seconds more to prepare a second pan to put in the freezer. At the end of a busy day next week, when you're running late and don't have anything to eat for dinner--rather than wasting money on fast-food or heating up a frozen dinner from the grocery store (or eating chips and salsa and Gogurts like we do sometimes!), now you can enjoy delicious homemade Spaghetti Casserole for dinner! It's a simple concept that will help you save time and money and eat healthier.
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Doug explained that many people do what they call Once-a-Month cooking where a family or a group of neighbors buy food in bulk and prepare all the meals for a whole month in one day. I was fascinated. Then, he told me how he and his family do a Mega Cook and prepare four months worth of food at once. I couldn't believe that this was possible so I asked him some questions about how he did it.
He explained that they buy extra crockpots, frying pans, and other equipment for cheap at garage sales. When they do their Mega Cook, they get six crockpots going at once. They fry twenty pounds of hamburger at one time. The kid that complains the most gets to chop the fifteen pounds of onions...outside. Cook'n was indispensible for planning the menu and making the grocery shopping list for him.
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I was SO intrigued with the idea that I wanted to try it right away. However, I didn't know what recipes would work well. I didn't know how to wrap the food in the freezer. My first attempt, turkey soup, failed miserably. I left it in the freezer way too long. The potatoes, carrots, and macaroni noodles were mushy and yucky. I just didn't know what I was doing...but thanks to Desi and this issue of the HomeCook'n Newsletter now I do! Thank you Desi for all your hard work!!
Whether you want to do a Mega Cook or simply save some time and money by freezing some meals, look here for meal-ideas that you can make ahead and freeze for later. Then, click to Table Talk and Kitchen Remedies for the tips you need to know to get serious about freezing food. You'll soon realize you can freeze almost any recipe and can say goodbye to frozen supermarket suppers, pulling your very own favorite meals from the freezer instead. Hope your freezer will be put to that task like mine will be very soon!
Spaghetti Casserole
Hearty Black Bean Enchilada Bake
Chicken Lo Mein
Sandwiches on the Go
Frozen Peppermint Yogurt Cake
Enjoy Your Cook'n,
Dan Oaks @ DVO
President
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