Freezer Day

{This is a re-post of a November 2011 post on my prior blog, Rewards of the Simple Life.  It is still useful and relevant to reread today!}

I have been realizing how necessary it is for me to plan ahead with meals or at least have quick go-to meals on hand for weekday evenings.  Since my classes are often in the afternoons and evenings, I often have to pack dinner for a few days, as well as leave Ben to "fend for himself" for a few evenings while I'm gone.  All that to say, some freezer restocking was much needed!  I was inspired by this post from Money-Saving Mom to plan my own freezer/cooking day to stock up for the next few weeks.

After using MSM's model to plan out what meals I wanted to make, what ingredients I needed to buy (which involved inventorying my pantry) and then making a to-do list for my afternoon.  I decided on 5 different meal options to make, and 2 baking recipes to try.

- Broccoli Cheddar Pockets (from Food Network magazine)
- Cheesy Chicken and Rice Bake
- Pizza Dough and Sauce
- Broccoli-Cheese Potato Soup (from Simply in Season cookbook - one of my favorites!)
- Sloppy Joe meat

- Chocolate Chip Walnut Banana Bread
- No-Bake Energy Bites

I was ambitiously hoping to also make shredded barbecue chicken and my favorite black bean burgers, but I lost steam by evening and opted for a break instead.

I set out to work, and was amazed at how smoothly everything went with my plan in hand.  I rarely take the time beforehand to think about the order that I should cook in to make sure things get done in a good order, which leaves me frustrated later that something is cold while another thing still has hours left to bake.  My take-away from my freezer day was to continue planning out my cooking/freezer days with this method.  For me, planning = a much higher degree of success!

 After adding 5 new meal options, it seemed like I needed to have some way to keep track of what I have in my freezer so that it actually gets used! Until I can think of a more creative method, I have started a list on the side of our freezer that lists the number of each thing that we have in our freezer for quick reference.  That way, when I use something, I can cross it off and know how much I have left for the next time.

It feels so good to be organized!