Money Saving Wednesday…Freezer Meals

January 01, 2010 Comment

It seems so trivial to talk about saving money today as we watch the complete devastation in Haiti. I will be praying for our brothers and sisters there. A 7.0 earthquake is devastating under any circumstance but when homes are so crudely built everything just collapses. They will literally be starting over. Please be careful as you hear in the next few days of those who are raising money for relief. There will be some who will take advantage of this tragedy and try to make money off of this. Please donate only to those you know will spend the money in Haiti or to send needed items. Ask organizations how much of their money is spent on administration. You may be surprised that even the Red Cross takes a cut of funds. There are always salaries to be paid so some of this is legit, just be careful.

You may be rolling your eyes or wondering what in the world freezer meals have to do with saving money but they do!

First : Having meals ready to go in the freezer is the best way to avoid those budget busting trips to pick up fast food or pizza. I recently read that the average family spends 6.5 % of their income on fast food! That is lots of money. If you make $25,000 per year that means $1625.00 per year, $50,000 per year income $3250.00 per year. Yikes! Most of you will say you don’t spend nearly that much. Really? I don’t know anyone who can feed their family for less than $20.00 dollars at a fast food restaurant. Do you realize that is $1040.00 per year! For the next month keep a note pad in your car and record all your fast food purchases, all of them.

Second: You can purchase frozen foods that are already made, to keep on hand for a quick meal but they are expensive as well. A frozen lasagna big enough for a family is $12.00 to $15.00 and then you have to add vegetables and or a salad to have a balanced meal. You can make two lasagnas for less than half that price.

Third: Freezer meals are a great way to use produce from the garden or special deals. When you get tired of canning or freezing vegetables put them into a freezer meal and use them later.

Fourth: If you have meals in the freezer you are always ready to help others.

Fifth: When you are having a tough day or you need a quick meal so you can make it to that basketball game these are the answer.

Sixth: You control all the ingredients in your own convenience food.

Set aside a day when you just make meals. You will need the ingredients for your meals so work out a menu ahead of time. You will need freezer bags and/or dishes that are freezer appropriate and/or disposable pans. Several years ago I purchased some glass casseroles that were one sale for $1.29 and I got four so I could stack them in the freezer.

Putting together freezer meals is also a great project for a group of friends. Everyone brings all the ingredients for the meals they choose to make. They bring enough ingredients to make the recipe for all the others who are working with you. If you have three friends and everyone brings ingredients for three meals you end up with nine meals. The other big advantage to this method is that you get to try new recipes and you have a greater variety.

One important tip, never place aluminum foil directly on your food. The foil can leech into the food. Always use plastic wrap first and then top with foil.

Let me share just one idea and then I want recipes from you.

Quiche

1 ½ C flour

½ tsp. salt

1 stick butter

4 T ice water

Combine flour, salt and butter until crumbly. Add ice water 1 T at a time

roll out and place in pie plate or quiche dish.

Filling:

3 oz. swiss cheese grated

3 oz. jack or mozzarella cheese grated

4 large eggs

1 C milk

1/8 tsp. dry mustard

1 C diced ham, bacon, asparagus or other meat or vegetable. (optional)

Place pie crust in quiche pan or pie pan. Combine eggs, milk, and mustard and mix well. Place cheese in pie crust. Add other ingredients. Pour egg mixture over all. Gently press meat and vegetables so they are covered by the egg mixture. Place plastic wrap over quiche. Add aluminum foil over the plastic wrap and secure.

Quiche is a great freezer meal. You can use any vegetables you have on hand, although zucchini does not work well. It has too much water in it. You can also add any leftover meats, like Thanksgiving turkey or Christmas ham. Never use raw meat in a quiche. You can also replace the cheeses with any cheese you like as long as it will melt well.

Remember our current give away? We have lots of great prizes and each recipe you post here will give you one more chance to win…get out the recipe book and add your favorite freezer meal today!