Goode Plan: FREEZE-O-RAMA

I have decided to give freezing a month's worth of meals a try after reading up on the subject on Money Saving Mom and Life as Mom.

When I read what they were up to it got me to thinking about the time one of my best friends told me about cooking up a double batch of seasoned ground beef and freezing it for other recipes. I also remembered how awesome it was to come home from work and find half the work already done setting in my freezer! (Thanks Lis!)

When I combined this with the idea of all the money I could save by using up items in my freezer and cupboard as well as buying some items in bulk, I was sold on the idea. Not to mention the convenience of taking pics for the entire day would give me a boat load of cooking blog posts for future use.

So, I have been pouring over my recipes and thinking about the essentials around here trying to come up with a game plan. I have been testing a few things to make sure we like them before committing to them for our month of meals.

I think I have settled on the following list of items to freeze up for convenience sake.

Best. Chicken. Ever. - I plan to make up bags of raw chicken in the marinade for convenience grilling.

PW's Chicken Spaghetti

Brown Bag Burritos - Oh. My. Word. These are so yummy and soooo convenient straight out of the freezer!

My Awesome Meatloaf - I plan to mix it up and freeze it uncooked in loaves. (Recipe to come after FREEZE-O-RAMA)

My Mom's Oven "Fried" Chicken - This is an experiment with my mom's recipe. Never been frozen before, so we'll see how it goes.

My Lasagna in a Pot - Love this recipe. (Recipe to come after FREEZE-O-RAMA)

Creamy Asparagus Casserole- A new Gooseberry Patch recipe :)

Seasoned Ground Beef ;)

Chopped Onions

and...

Chopped Red Bell Peppers. Speaking of Red Bell Peppers...

In preparing for this weekend's FREEZE-O-RAMA I have kept my eyes peeled for good deals on some of my key ingredients.

I noticed at my local IGA (or DRA according to Addie) that they had a 5 for $5 sale on their red bells and I was so excited.

So I grabbed my 5 and waited to make sure they rang up on sale and I was shocked to find they only came to $1.82. I explained to the cashier that something must be wrong, but she insisted that it was 5lbs for $5 not 5 bells. I told her that I really thought there was a mistake, but if she was sure, I was going to buy the rest of them!

So, I got 10 gorgeous red bells for under $4! I usually pay $1.50 EACH for them!!! I saved $11.

They are deep red, spotless and so flavorful!

I am preparing my grocery list and organizing my coupons tonight. Shopping is tomorrow night after church and then Saturday is FREEZE-O-RAMA!

Keep your fingers crossed for me ;)

I just realized that our Church Directory picture appointment is that evening, so let's hope I survive the day's activities!