Thursday, October 29, 2009

Once-a-Month, Once-a-Month Cooking Festival Fast Approaching!

As we near the 1st of the month (Sunday), I thought I would take a second to remind us of the upcoming once-a-month, once-a-month cooking festival right here at Moms In Need of Mercy!  Here's a post I wrote that explains the idea a bit more. You don't have to cook once-a-month to participate; I sure don't! Any experience you have with cooking more than what you need that night counts! Maybe you make two meat-loafs and stick one in the freezer. Maybe you divide chicken up in freezer bags and add marinades then so you can just grab a bag out and throw it in the crock-pot on high for awhile. Maybe you make a several meals at a time (or over a few days) and stock your freezer. Let's share what we know! What tips help you that you can pass on to help others?

We'll share those helpful hints the first of every month right here. Since November 1st is a Sunday, I'll get the post up Saturday night for your convenience.  
You can leave a comment with the info, or link up with a post you've written (new or old will work just fine).
 
See you then! Happy cooking!

6 comments:

  1. Just came across your blog and I'm loving it! One thing I do when I buy ground beef on sale is cook it all up right away and package it in 1/2 lb portions to freeze (you could do any size packages, I am only cooking for two). I cook 2 lb in each pan, one flavored with Mexican seasonings (garlic, onion, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper) and one with Italian (garlic, onion, oregano, salt and pepper). I add tomato sauce to the Italian-style and let it simmer for a while. When everything's done I package it in quart-size bags and freeze. I want to try something similar with chicken breast next time. Looking forward to reading everyone's ideas on Sunday!

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  2. After a meal if you just have a little bit of left overs put them in a container in the freezer then when the container is full put in the crock pot with some stock and make a surprise soup or stew. You can add more meat or veggys if you want more. But I have put rice and potatoes in the container to and it just make for a really good soup. I also was watching Rachel Ray the other day and she made her own bread crumbs by putting the last bit of bread that is getting stale in the freezer then when the bag is full lay them on a cookie sheet to toast them up and then put them in the food processor with seasoning and you have bread crumbls.

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  3. Great tips, Marie and Stacey! Thanks for sharing. I will have to brown meat like that. Usually I just bag it up in 1-lb portions and freeze it flat to do something with later. Adding seasonings and browning it right away would sure help with prep later!
    I like the leftovers in the freezer idea, Stacey. I have leftover veggies that I was thinking I'd have to dump if no one ate them soon, so instead, in the freezer they'll go! Thanks :)

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  4. Love the bread crumb idea. I always save my ends and just throw them right in the bread crumb container. Then If they arent stale when I need them, I toast them a little and grind them up into bread crumbs.

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  5. I like to saute ground beef with onions and Italian seasonings. I then put meat in separate freezer bags and use in Skillet Spaghetti and for Patty Melts later on. Sooo good and so easy!

    I also use Cook's Illustrated Oven Brown Rice recipe and make up a batch then also separate into 2c servings for the freezer. It is so convienient to pull a bag out and put in soup, serve with black beans, etc. I usually do this when I already have the oven going for something else and it's a one-dish deal. :)

    Look forward to other ideas. I'm sure I'll think of more.

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  6. We buy hoagie fixings and make up a big batch of hoagie sandwiches and put into the freezer. My son and I are the only two in our family so we each make our own person ones. Hoagie rolls, lunch meat and cheeses. Wrap in foil (write on the outside what is in it) and put into the freezer. You can throw them into the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes and you have cheesy melty hot sandwiches. This is really nice when I have forgotten to thaw supper and cheaper than running and eating out.

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