I've wanted to do if for some time but was afraid - of the amount of time needed, the cost of buying all that food at once, the kitchen being such a disaster that I would run from the house, screaming. See, I had this idea in my head that Freezer cooking meant cooking all the meals your family would eat for an entire month, all in one setting. That was the wrong impression I got from all the articles and books out there from people who spend time, one day a month, freezer cooking. I equated "freezer cooking once a month" to "cooking everything my family will eat for the next 30 days". It's not so. Phew!
I decided to start small on Thursday but it wasn't small enough for this scatterbrain, because I didn't cook everything I thought I would. I didn't get upset, though, and did a little more on Friday. I did well, so I did some more Saturday and today, too. Although I don't have every meal, not even every dinner, my family will eat this week, I have some meals and a some meal elements in my freezer that I can go to on those days when life gets away from me. Those days when I didn't plan ahead or I just don't feel like cooking. I enjoyed it because I took baby steps and I'd like to do this regularly to keep my head above water in the kitchen.
BABY STEP #1: Doubling Up. I made Salisbury Steak, mashed potatoes and roasted green beans for dinner on Thursday. While I had the ingredients out and my hands were in raw meat, I decided to make enough steak for two dinners. Just the Salisbury Steak, mind you, I didn't make extra potatoes nor green beans. But the protein is always the hardest part of meal planning, for me; throwing sides together are easy. So the extra portion of Salisbury Steak is in the freezer.
On Friday, I decided to make a fake-lasagna bake for lunch, so I doubled the recipe. I dislike making lasagna. The noodles are a pain to cook, they peel apart while I'm trying to put the lasagna together and all the layering is messy. So now I just heat all the lasagna ingredients in a skillet, along with whatever shaped pasta I have on hand (B's fav is Rotini), pour into a baking dish, top with some more cheese and bake until the top gets some color on it. The extra one went into a baking dish and received cheese on top, but went to the freezer before baking.
