A Miracle for under $200: 40 Meals for 40 Nights--in one day!

By the time summer rolled around I was in no mood for making dinner, especially when it came to hot stoves and so forth. Sweltering heat and slaving over the burner? No Thanks! So I came up with this nutty idea that I would make 40 meals in one day and freeze them. That way I wouldn't have to cook for the majority of the summer.  Oh, and I planned to spend only $200 for everything!

Mom and me-chopping like the wind!

Having no knowledge of what or how to freeze, I went to my favorite friend, the internets. Many of these recipes come from others' posts (don't worry, I cite my sources.) My mom, (Denise) and sister, (Lucy) decided they wanted to join me in my  endeavor. Having said that, it is possible to do 40 meals in a day, and I'm glad we did it! I don't know if I can say the same for Mom and Lucy.

Here's how I prepped for my freezer meal project:

   1) Considered all the the different meat groups, beef, chicken, pork, etc.
   2) Came up with 20 simple recipes, then doubled them. Here is what I came up with:

Freezer Meal Plan (based on 4 large servings)

FROZEN BAGS O’ CHICKEN	SHREDDED COOKED  CHICKEN	RAW BEEF CUTS	RAW PORK CUTS	GROUND BEEF	MISCELLANEOUS
(15 lbs. aprox.)	(15-20 lbs.)	(10-12 lbs.)	(10-12 lbs.)	(6 lbs.)
sweet asian chicken (for grill)	cilantro lime chicken w/ black beans and corn	beef fajitas	mu shu pork	lasagna or spaghetti	French toast casserole
sesame chicken	enchiladas	stroganoff	bbq ribs	shepherds’ pie or sloppy joes	breakfast burritos
teriyaki chicken	chicken pot pie	pot roast or French dip	shredded pork café rio style salad or burritos	hearty beef veggie soup	*French bread sliced & buttered
divine chicken	bbq chicken sandwiches				*rice-cilantro lime rice/regular
	chicken a la king				*twice baked potatoes

*Optional sides 

   3) Stocked up on meat as it went on sale. (Be careful though because you
       cannot freeze, unfreeze for prep. and then freeze again, it will be nasty.) Here is the 
       complete shopping list:

SHOPPING LIST

(Each meal is approx. 4-5 large portions, so you may need to adjust accordingly.)

PRODUCE	DAIRY	FROZEN	MEATS	SPICES	CANNED	MISCELLANEOUS	PANS/BAGS
3 red onions	1 gal milk	green beans	6 lbs. ground beef	italian seasng.	88 oz. diced tomatoes	1 loaf French bread	ginormous mixing bowls
1 very large white or yellow bag onions	10 eggs	peas	25-35 lbs. chicken (15 lbs. frozen bags o’ chicken)	ginger	4 cans d. tom. w/chilies	soy sauce	plastic wrap
1 bunch green onions	2 pkg. butter	corn	10-12 lbs. beef	garlic powder	24 oz. tomato paste	sesame oil	4-6 casserole tinfoil pans 6 tinfoil bread pans
5 large bags baby carrots	3 c. cottage cheese	tator tots	10-12 lbs. pork	onion soup mix	2 cream of chicken soup	olive oil	lg. freezer bags-45 or so
5 regular carrots	2 c. sharp cheese	3 pkg. pie dough or puff pastry		chili powder	cream of mushroom soup	2 c. teriyaki sauce	small bags
5 green peppers	1 carton sour cream			red pepper flakes	2 cans diced green chilies	16 oz. apple juice	tin foil
3 red peppers	1 cream cheese			sesame seeds	2 cans dr. pepper	1 c. pecans
bulk bag o’ garlic	½ c. parm. cheese			poultry seasoning	2 cans pineapple	worch. Sauce
2 c. cilantro	1 1b. sliced moz. chz			vanilla	bamboo shoots	hoisin sauce
cabbage	2 c. half & half			cinnamon	150 oz. or 3 jumbo cans chicken broth	2 c. salsa
celery				bay leaves	2 cans mushrooms	cooking oil
8 potatoes				nutmeg	1 can v8	1 c. honey
1 bag limes				garlic salt	chipotle chilies in adobo sauce	ketchup
4 c. broccoli				cumin	9 c. beef broth	cornstarch
ginger						brown sugar
1 cup spinach				dry parsley	2 cans black beans	white sugar
1 pkg. mushrooms				dry mustard

Total Cost: $175 (No silly coupons, but I did do some price/ad matching at Wallie World.)

    4) Made my base sauces: marinara meat sauce, and white sauce
    5) Browned my hamburger
    6) Cooked and shredded chicken and pork by throwing them in a crock
        pot (separately) with salt, onions, etc, to give it flavor.

Freezer Fest 12' had arrived by 8:00 am, but with most of the cooking out of the way, it was just a matter of chopping vegetables and assembling meals. Dr. Pepper-in-hand, we decided it would be easiest to each take on a meal and assemble it for all three ladies and work our way through the list.

Side note: Lucy had the idea of adding all ingredients in one large bowl, and then dividing it evenly between three gallon size freezer bags, rather than adding each ingredient separately to each baggie. Brilliant!

Another Side note: Mom suggested that next time we do this, ( wait...there will be a next time?) we should include two more of my sisters, each taking on 4 meals, (doubled) making enough for the five families in our own kitchens, then meeting for a meal exchange. The work load would be more evenly distributed as each person would come up with their own recipes and less chaos in one kitchen. The end result would be again, each person taking home 40 meals. Genius!

We slaved away until about 7:00 pm, completing each and every meal, after-which we went out to eat for a celebratory dinner. Frankly, I was surprised we ended that soon. Job well done, hit the showers.




Cilantro lime chicken

Chicken a la King



Beef fajitas



Put some mussle into it, Denise!

A little friend to help out.

Getting pans ready for chicken pot pie!

Savory Beef Stew

Teriyaki Chicken

Lovely Lucy!

Sweet Asian Chicken (for grilling)

Chicken pot pie

Hooray, a freezer full of food!

Here is a link to all recipes used: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RLws5KaIDrOr3d7ruTHKbfyMTHZ5BqVoJiEWJmtJIkU/edit

Below are some links that inspired and guided me:
1. Freezable Foods--great particularly for vegetables:
    http://www.simpleorganizedliving.com/2011/02/10/freezable-foods/

2. Interesting web-site, this woman claims to have made 46 meals in 4 hours for $95:
    http://www.aturtleslifeforme.com/2011/06/freezer-meals-on-cheap.html

3.  A blogger's experience with freezer cooking:
    http://melissafallistestkitchen.blogspot.com/2011/09/freezer-cooking-slow-cooker  %20meals.html

4. Another blogger's freezer cooking:
    http://mamaandbabylove.com/real-food/other-freezer-bulk-cooking-meals/

5. One more helpful freezer blog:
   http://www.ringaroundtherosies.net/2012/02/freezer-cooking.html