Wednesday, September 23, 2009

COOKING TIPS from two busy moms:

Here’s a few cooking tips that have worked or are working for these two busy moms.  All of these tips save TONS of time in the long run, and make it so much easier to make dinner!

1. Cook your meat (chicken, beef, etc.) at the beginning of the month and freeze in meal sized portions. 

-We like to boil chicken, cut it up and freeze in meal sized portions.
-When a recipe calls for raw chicken to be cooked, we substitute our precooked chicken.
-Make sure to thaw the cooked chicken first, either in the refrigerator ahead of time, or in the microwave.
-Cook a large amount of ground beef and freeze in meal sized portions.

 

2. Chop and freeze commonly used vegetables:

-Carrots
-Green, red, yellow, or orange peppers
-Onions
-Any time a recipe calls for these veggies, take a few handfuls and toss it in!


3.  Buy bulk items and freeze in smaller portions:

-Cheese
-Butter
-Bread
-Frozen vegetables


4.  Keep ingredients on hand for 2 or 3 “go-to” meals:

-Spaghetti—pasta, spaghetti sauce, cooked beef (frozen)
-Tuna Melts—bread, tuna, mayo, cheese
-Burritos—cooked beef (frozen), beans, tortillas, cheese
-Sloppy Joes—cooked beef (frozen), can of Manwich, bread or buns
-Hot Dogs—hot dogs, buns
-Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup—tomato soup, bread, cheese


5.  Bake your own bread:

-Take a day to make several loaves of bread and freeze extra loaves.
-Set out frozen loaf over night to thaw.


6.  Don’t forget about your crock pot!


7.  Make an extra meal and freeze for later:

-When you’re already making a casserole, make an extra and freeze it.
-Or, take a day and make several casseroles to freeze.


8.  Marinate chicken or steak and freeze:

-Place raw chicken or raw steak in freezer bag with marinade, and freeze until ready to use.

 

(Don’t forget about our GIVE-AWAY going on right now!  It ends this FRIDAY.)

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