This weekend is the culmination of several weeks of planning that will bring together four families intent on stocking our freezers with wholesome, homemade food. I’ve posted a few photos of the beginnings of the supplies we’ve stocked up on.
I was the instigator of this little project. The participation of Family Frog Taco and Family Gracey’s Mansion meant that there would be toddlers involved, and since my home is no longer toddler-proofed, the event itself is being held in the much more child-safe Gracey’s Mansion homestead.
I’ve done “freezer cooking” before, also known as Once a Month Cooking (the title of one of the earliest cookbooks on the topic) or OAMC. I had a pretty good selection of recipes that work well in the freezer and researched several others. I put together a list of about 25 options and asked everyone for their top 5 or 6 choices. From that we whittled down the menu to those things that had at least two votes.
Once we had the menu down, I estimated how much of each ingredient we needed. We chose to do a number of chicken dishes and ended up needing over 25 pounds of chicken altogether. Then I divided up the ingredient list into things I should buy in Costco-sized bulk and those things I could buy at regular markets, vegetable stands, or specialty stores like the fishmonger. I also added a healthy supply of freezer-quality Ziploc bags and heavy duty aluminum foil.
I’m on my way out to location as soon as I post this, with the food, plus my personal stash of knives, cutting boards, extra pots, storage containers and other helpful odds and ends.
The plan is to come home with portions of:
lemon marinated chicken
Brazilian garlic-lime marinated chicken
teriyaki chicken kabobs
lime shrimp skewers
chicken enchiladas verdes
calzones
baked spinach manicotti
chicken packets
roast vegetable ragout
Will post and after action report, assuming my friends don’t end the day by killing me and cursing that I was ever born for suggesting this craziness.
sounds like a great idea!
my biggest problem is actually getting rid of stuff from my freezer!
sounds like a great idea!
my biggest problem is actually getting rid of stuff from my freezer!
I took the opportunity to throw out a bunch of stuff that was past its prime and defrost the whole thing before starting this project. Good motivation!
I took the opportunity to throw out a bunch of stuff that was past its prime and defrost the whole thing before starting this project. Good motivation!
Okay, that looks pretty awesome. Color me curious how it goes.
Okay, that looks pretty awesome. Color me curious how it goes.
That sounds really fun!
That sounds really fun!
This sounds pretty cool. Perhaps Suzi and I will try in in the height of summer when produce is cheapest. Hrm..
This sounds pretty cool. Perhaps Suzi and I will try in in the height of summer when produce is cheapest. Hrm..
I usually cook on the weekends and then pack up the leftovers in portion-sized containers for lunches/breakfasts/suppers during the week. Some of the most successful dishes have involved chicken. Today I made zucchini, black bean, and corn enchiladas from Cooking Light magazine. This has been a good freezer item in the past. This time I made it with corn tortillas and spiced up the sauce a bit more. From the samples I took before packing it up for freezing, it’s much better this time around.
I usually cook on the weekends and then pack up the leftovers in portion-sized containers for lunches/breakfasts/suppers during the week. Some of the most successful dishes have involved chicken. Today I made zucchini, black bean, and corn enchiladas from Cooking Light magazine. This has been a good freezer item in the past. This time I made it with corn tortillas and spiced up the sauce a bit more. From the samples I took before packing it up for freezing, it’s much better this time around.
Hoping..
After doing all the planning and shopping, I hope you got to sit back and just take pictures and videos!
Hoping..
After doing all the planning and shopping, I hope you got to sit back and just take pictures and videos!
Re: Hoping..
Eh, HA. I did get to sit down after getting everything back to the house in one piece and put away into the freezer, though.
Photos up on Flickr, after action report tomorrow assuming Miva tech support keeps me waiting for half the day for a phone call that then puts me on hold for an hour. (I’ve penciled it in around 3pm, if last week is anything to go by.)
Re: Hoping..
Eh, HA. I did get to sit down after getting everything back to the house in one piece and put away into the freezer, though.
Photos up on Flickr, after action report tomorrow assuming Miva tech support keeps me waiting for half the day for a phone call that then puts me on hold for an hour. (I’ve penciled it in around 3pm, if last week is anything to go by.)
I used to do that with a group of people when the kids were small. It sure saved us money and time so that I could spend more time living and being. Great job!
I used to do that with a group of people when the kids were small. It sure saved us money and time so that I could spend more time living and being. Great job!