If you've never done freezer cooking, you have no idea what you're missing. I didn't do much freezer cooking at all until I was pregnant with my daughter, and it really came in handy after she was born. Between all the meals brought by church friends, the meals my mom cooked and froze, and then my own freezer cooking, my child was 7 weeks old before I had to put together a meal. And that was wonderful, because it seemed impossible to cook dinner--she either had to eat during the preparation or after, when we should've been enjoying our hot meal. Yeah, yeah, I know--welcome to motherhood.
Freezer cooking can be elaborate, where you're making 5 casseroles all at the same time as a regular part of your meal planning, but it can also be simple too. When you're cooking chili, double or triple the recipe and freeze your leftovers in small quantities for later. Since there's only two (and a half) of us eating, dinners go a long way with our family. We have so much in our freezer currently that this week is empty the freezer week. That means I won't be cooking at all this week. If you know me, you know that's amazing. It'll be a welcome break too. But it's not like my family will be suffering. We'll enjoy gumbo, red beans and rice, and pasta jambalaya this week. YUM.
Just a helpful hint :) when you do have to cook and it's something you have to do a bunch of prep for. Do it at nap time. Cut up veggies, debone your chicken or just what ever will make the actual cooking process easier and faster come dinner time. That has saved my sanity more times than you know!
ReplyDeleteYa got that right, Sam! Anything to keep the dinner rush as stress-free as possible is great. Good suggestion!
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