Managing our family meals.....the joy of a stocked freezer!

I know that I only work part time now. But for almost 20 years, I was a busy working mom. So I've been there. And some of the tricks I did back then, to ensure my family had good meals at a reasonable cost, are still what keep me going today.

I know you've heard me talk about my "freezer cooking" before. It is one of my weapons, to be sure. Once a month, I prepare meals for the freezer - some that are fully cooked, just to be thawed and heated, some that need to be baked, and yet others that are prepped for a crock pot. I don't use them every day. Now that I'm working part time, I don't have to. I can spend time cooking. But when they are needed, they make my life SO much easier.

Today - we had a garage sale. My mother-in-law was over to help, and I found myself out of time to prepare anything for lunch. I headed to the freezer, found frozen chicken tenders and twice baked potatoes - both fully cooked, just needing to be heated. In ten minutes, I had a wonderful lunch for us - one that I think even earned me some brownie points!

But that isn't the only way I utilize my freezer. Sometimes when I cook for my family, I make double, and freeze the second - chicken enchiladas, lasagna, soups, etc. You name it - if it can freeze - I do it. Why not make ONE mess, and two meals? I make the second, wrap it up, and pop it in the freezer. Voila - a frozen meal ready for me!

One of my favorite things to freeze is soup. At times I will freeze in containers ready for our lunches - they go into the lunch bags frozen, thaw during the morning, and then just need to be reheated at lunch time. Tonight when I got in from the sale, I was famished... I remembered the minestrone I froze the last time I made it, pulled it up and warmed it for dinner. Just like that I had from scratch good-for-me minestrone, full of veggies from my garden - made a couple of weeks ago.

Doubling a recipe does not have to be a time-consuming beast. I only do it when I have time to do so - typically on the weekends - and these little meals make my life so much more manageable. It is WONDERFUL to be able to react - to have a "go-to" meal for me, or my family, when time is tight.

These two tools have helped me tremendously. They help when I'm too busy to cook, when our family schedules are off and people are eating at different times, and for our lunches. And it's just about getting into the habit! Start small. Next time you make lasagna, make two. You'll be happy you did the next time dinner is needed!