Thursday, August 28, 2008

What's in your freezer?

Now that school has started, I've come to the conclusion that I need to stock my freezer with already prepared foods so that I can get dinner on the table in a very quick fashion. We've got one girl that works/baby-sits most days after school and another that is in volleyball. The first question out of their mouth when they hit the door is, "When are we eating?". Arriving home at 5:20 isn't conducive to having dinner on the table at 5:45. My goal is 6'ish so I don't have a lot of time to work with but if part of the meal is already prepared it goes much faster.

This week I've been trying to stock my freezer with items that will cut-down on my preparation time. So far, here's what I've added to the freezer.

1# Italian Sausage, browned
Homemade Pizza Sauce (enough for 2 pizzas)
4.25# Taco Meat
2.5# barbecued beef, shredded
10 breakfast burritos (made on Sunday, wrapped individually)

These items won't make a meal on their own but they'll definitely be time-savers when it comes to getting dinner on the table.

And surprisingly, it hasn't been that difficult. I've done just a little bit extra each day and it has added up.

Do you have any time-saving tips to share?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

we are on the same page. I will have 3 in soccer every afternoon except Friday. My freezer has never been as full as it is now. I've also been freezing soups. I plan on taking these to work for lunch. For me, the biggest thing is having a meal plan. I'm working on that now.

Jenny said...

I've been freezing tomato sauce from garden tomatoes to use for pizza and pasta sauce, and soup starters. I've also stocked up on a few ready-to-go meals... Stouffers Chicken Parm., Chicken Alfredo and Amy's Pizzas. The remaining half of last night's dinner went in the freezer, too. Some days are just crazy and a go-to-meal makes all the difference!

Jill said...

I'm with you - two teenagers and two more that act (and eat) like teenagers! I also do taco meat, BBQ beef, and soups. I also do sloppy joe meat and meatballs. You can do tons of things with meatballs.

I also do a "chicken soup base" from which I can make chicken noodle soup, chicken and rice soup, chicken and tortellini soup, egg drop soup, or chicken and dumplings.

Frozen pesto sauce (that I make a ton of in the summer) makes a great quick meal. Having rolls or bread in the freezer really helps me because side dishes are what I really struggle with.

I should do some freezer stuff . . .hmmm, I'm off to plan!

Jill