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Farm Kitchen:  Oh my gosh, I'm exhausted!!  |
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mikesgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
3659 Posts
Sherri
Elma
WA
USA
3659 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 25 2007 : 3:27:15 PM
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| I grocery shopped this morning and did a bulk cooking session this afternoon and I am beat!! It had been awhile since I'd done this and I forgot that it's not a good idea to cook the same day that you grocery shop (I have to go to Olympia to shop which kills the morning.) Anyway, I have two meatloaves in the oven, and when I get those wrapped up, I'm done for the day. Net results: two meatloaves, two pkg. meatballs in tomatoe sauce, two pkg. pizza burger patties, two pkg. beef and macaroni, two beef tortilla casseroles. Anybody else do this? (This session is out of Frozen Assets) |
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lisamarie508
True Blue Farmgirl
2648 Posts
Lisa
Idaho City
ID
USA
2648 Posts |
Posted - Jul 25 2007 : 3:32:07 PM
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I've thought about doing this, but never really have. Other than making meatballs and meatloaf but then I freeze it uncooked. What is "Frozen Assets"?
my blog: http://lisamariesbasketry.blogspot.com/
We come from Nature, we go back to Nature; health & happiness in between requires intimacy with Nature. |
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mikesgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
3659 Posts
Sherri
Elma
WA
USA
3659 Posts |
Posted - Jul 25 2007 : 3:36:37 PM
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| Frozen Assets is a book by Deborah Taylor - Hough that sets up mini "sessions" according to the protein source (chicken, ground beef, beans, etc.) and you cook 5 or six main dishes all at the same time and freeze them. I like it because you can buy whatevers on sale that week, do your session, and pull those out when you need a main dish. So you're always eating something different if you do it once a week or so, and you're always cooking with what's on sale. some of the categories she has are:chicken, turkey, ground turkey, ground beef, beef, porkchops, crab (does crab ever go on sale), tuna, pasta, tofu, cooked beans, and vegetarian. Most of the recipes are pretty down to earth, unlike some of the stuff in "Once a Month Cooking." |
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lisamarie508
True Blue Farmgirl
2648 Posts
Lisa
Idaho City
ID
USA
2648 Posts |
Posted - Jul 25 2007 : 3:53:03 PM
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I'll have to look for that book on Amazon. Thanks for the info.
my blog: http://lisamariesbasketry.blogspot.com/
We come from Nature, we go back to Nature; health & happiness in between requires intimacy with Nature. |
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Whimsy_girl
True Blue Farmgirl
576 Posts
USA
576 Posts |
Posted - Jul 25 2007 : 4:29:41 PM
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I was a big fan of freezer cooking before the big move. I had a large freezer and we used it as much as we could. Having some meals stocked up actually helped to keep our tummies full during some lean moments for a while there, so I am a pretty big fan of keeping a well stocked freezer. (Ours is in storage right now so I am on hiatus)
I didn't use Frozen Assets although I have heard of it. I belonged to a Yahoo group that exchanged recipes. I did a lot of lasagna, stroganoff, enchiladas, seasoned ready to use meats, and I even have a few containers of premade pumpkin pie filling from my last crop of pumpkins before we left. Every time I roasted a chicken or a turkey I made up double batches of chicken/turkey dumpling soup from the resulting stock. Freeze it thick, well seasoned and boiled down. When you thaw it out on the stove you can add water to it to taste. It takes very little time which is great when you have a winter bug and need a little comfort food.
you can be oh so smart, or you can be oh so positive. I wasted a lot of time being smart I prefer being positive. |
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Kathie
True Blue Farmgirl
2436 Posts
Kathie
Thonotosassa
Florida
USA
2436 Posts |
Posted - Jul 25 2007 : 5:26:20 PM
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Sherri.. When can you stop by my house?
In a World Where you Can Be Anything, Be Yourself.. |
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Carol Sue
True Blue Farmgirl
4033 Posts
Carol Sue
Washingtonian
USA
4033 Posts |
Posted - Jul 25 2007 : 5:36:49 PM
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Sherri great job and thank you for the book idea, with it just dh and I sometimes you just don't feel like cookin.
I agree, when can we come for dinner yummi!
Enjoying life. |
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mikesgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
3659 Posts
Sherri
Elma
WA
USA
3659 Posts |
Posted - Jul 25 2007 : 5:46:22 PM
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| Any time you're in Elma ladies - any time you're in Elma! |
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therusticcottage
True Blue Farmgirl
4439 Posts
Kay
Vancouver
WA
USA
4439 Posts |
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sewgirlie
True Blue Farmgirl
1894 Posts
Sheryl-lyn
Calverton
NY
USA
1894 Posts |
Posted - Jul 25 2007 : 7:33:43 PM
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Thanks for sharing your experience with us. I love to cook a few meals at a time and have some in the freezer as well. I don't do it in sessions though. That is a great idea that I will have to try when I go food shopping again. I have not shopped in three weeks!! I will see if I can get that book at the library and do a few sessions before I go back to school.
There is nothing like being prepared for weeks in advance to have something good and quick from the freezer when life gets busy! Thanks Sherri! |
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Bluewrenn
True Blue Farmgirl
1122 Posts
Erin
Texas
USA
1122 Posts |
Posted - Jul 25 2007 : 8:12:05 PM
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I do this regularly. DH always buys huge packages of meat, which he wants to cook on the grill. THe problem is he cooks a ton of meat on the grill each time, to minimize the number of times he has to heat it up. So we then repackage the meat into smaller portions that just need to be heated up in the microwave.
I do the same with hamburger. Buy a lot and then have a cooking session. Make spaghetti sauce, meatballs, meatloaf, a generic hamburger mix that I use with rice or pasta or potatoes, taco meat and so forth.
When I go to the farmers market or my neighbor gives me veggies, I've been trying to process them in some way to avoid losing too much to spoilage. I can make A LOT of stuff from a few veggies provided I have a decent variety of veggies to work with, so giving me a large quantity of veggies at one time means I have to find a way to "keep" them or they will go bad before I can use them all up. So shredding and then freezing them or slicing them for soups, or making my own diced veggies mixes for adding to casseroles is usually what I do.
DH also shops sales or store closings and we tend to get a lot of stuff in bulk that way. I have a ton of dried lasanga noodles and at least three cases of green beans sitting in my pantry right now.
Not to mention three commercial sized cans of baked beans. We're saving those for a farm BBQ that we hope to host for our friends later this year.
Someone on Craigslist had two freezers full of meat to give away today (Dad died, they're vegan.) I wanted it but I don't have any freezer space at the moment. *Sigh*
My Homesteading Journal http://toomyvara.livejournal.com
My craft journal http://bluewrenn.livejournal.com
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mikesgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
3659 Posts
Sherri
Elma
WA
USA
3659 Posts |
Posted - Jul 25 2007 : 9:25:16 PM
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| Which goes to show you really CAN find just about anything on Craigslist. |
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brightmeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
2045 Posts
Brenda
Lucas
Ohio
USA
2045 Posts |
Posted - Jul 26 2007 : 03:07:36 AM
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I've done this only once, with chicken, I found whole chickens on sale and deboned them - I made two packages of hawaiian chicken (with pineapple sauce) and 2 of Chicken Parmesan with the breasts. I froze them in aluminum cake pans, then had legs for dinner that night, and deboned the rest of the legs to use in casseroles and chicken pot pie. I made stock with the rest of the carcasses and froze it too.
I need to do it again - I've used up all the pre-made freezer meals and they were SO CONVENIENT a few nights to come home and just stick them in the oven, knowing that it wasn't full of fat and sodium but was instead my own healthy recipe.
I've thought about making a turkey and doing a similar project - and not waiting for Thanksgiving. Thanks for the inspiration!
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands - You shall be happy and it shall be well with you. -Psalm 128.2
Visit my blog at http://brightmeadowfarms.blogspot.com ,web site store at http://www.watkinsonline.com/fish or my homepage at http://home.earthlink.net/~brightmeadow |
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Farm Kitchen: Oh my gosh, I'm exhausted!! |
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Oh my gosh, I'm exhausted!!
