Cutting Your Grocery Budget

I have a confession.

I hate meal planning.

No really. I hate thinking about what to make for dinner, as it usually dawns on me at about 5:30 that people are hungry. It's not fun. I don't like that question, "What's for dinner?". I usually answer it by saying, "I don't know - what are you making?".

Do you feel the same way?

What happens on nights like these - when you haven't planned, and you're too pooped to come up with some meal? You go grab some take out, right? I must say that we were becoming regulars at Domino's, McDonalds, Papa Murphys and Panda Express (oh I miss you Panda!). It wasn't good for our budget, or for my waistline.

A few weeks ago I told you about how we are working to get out of debt. One of the first things to go, of course, was weeknight eating out. (Ahem, I still get my weekly DATE NIGHT though!). So what does this mean for me - a mommy who doesn't excel at menu planning and cooking?

I found the PERFECT solution. It's perfect for me (and I think you'll love it too!).

A day of freezer cooking.

Now, don't give up on me yet. This isn't just a cooking up a storm all by yourself day once a month. This is FUN STUFF I'm talking about! Just like you're more likely to exercise if you have a buddy, you're more likely to do mass cooking if you do it with FRIENDS! In fact, YOU WILL DO IT! Because they'll be counting on you!

Monica has been doing Freezer Meal Cooking for over 3 years now! She's a PRO! She got us going in January, and I must say, it is one of the best things that has happened to me. I am a much happier woman. And my family's tummy's are full.

In January I paid $85 for 12 meals. An average of $7 per meal. These are nice meals. Like BBQ Chicken Pizza with fresh cilantro, Calzones, Manicotti, and Chicken Enchiladas to name a few. And we had leftovers nearly every night (read: hubby's lunch the next day - saves even more money!).

And what do you think happened as a result of having all these meals on hand? I SHOPPED LESS and I SAVED MONEY! I spent a total of $275 in February. This INCLUDES the formula for my baby! I have SIX KIDS! I fed my family for a month for only $275 (this includes the $85 for freezer meals).

So starting next week, we will have a weekly post telling you how this whole process works. It's can get a little crazy the week of the cooking group - especially if you are the shopper/host. But we're going to lay it all out for you. AND we'll give you some recipes WITH pictures!

Are you already doing this? Do you have a recipe you'd like to share? We'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment or email us at fabulesslyfrugal@gmail.com.

And of course, I just HAD to make a little banner for our series!!

• Starting a Group
• All About Shopping
• Cooking Day!

Recipes Posted So Far:

Chicken
BBQ Chicken Pizza
Shish Kabobs
Honey Mustard BBQ Chicken
Southwest Chicken Chili
Garlic Ranch Chicken
Crispy Southwest Chicken Wontons

Southwest Chicken Wraps
Pineapple Pepper Chicken
Cream Cheese Chicken

Beef
Shish Kabobs
Garlic Herb Burgers
No Mystery Meat Marinade
Taco Rice Salad
Taco Salad

Crock Pot BBQ Beef

Pork
Ham and Swiss Crepes
Pasta Carbonara
Ham and Cheese Braid (a hit!)
Sausage Hash
Pizza Calzones
Breakfast Burrito's

Fish
Shish Kabobs
Salmon Cakes

FabuLESS Freezer Cooking: Getting a Group Together

(Click to see the start of this series with links to all posts in the series!)


Getting A Group Together

There are a couple of ways to do freezer meal cooking.

On your own

Double or triple a meal you are making for your family and freeze one and eat one that night.

Designate a day to cook several meals and freeze them for another day, this can be done at any level 5 meals or 30. Whatever works for you.

With a group

Get a group of about 4-10 people. Get together and bring your recipes. Decide on a menu. Then go home and cook your meals individually. Set a date and exchange your meals.

I have tried each of these and this is what works best for me.

Choose a group size: We have found that a group of 6 works BEST! You may want to start out small with just a couple of friends and go from there. Take caution on a group bigger than six because you may not be able to fit in the kitchen or fit all of the food in the cart at the store!

Serving Size Matters:Find a group of friends with similar family sizes. It does not have to be exact. What matters is SERVING SIZE. You have to decide how many servings your group will provide. Everyone in the group gets the same number of servings. Maybe your husband eats like a trash compactor or your children eat like birds. So you have to decide how many serving sizes you want the group to provide. Then choose families that fit that.
When we started our group my family consisted of me, my husband and our 13 month old. So 4 servings worked great. It allowed for leftovers for lunch the next day. A Fabulessly Frugal idea!
Cathy has 6 kids so her group does there meals in servings of 6.


Picky Palates: You also want to find people with similar tastes in food. You don't have to like ALL of the same things but it is much easier, and you get better variety if you like many of the same things. It is also important to be open minded regarding recipes. You never know if you or your family will hate something until you have tried it!
If someone does not like a meal that we have made they just exchange it with someone for something else.

Does Brand Matter? It does not matter to me, but it might matter to someone in the group. You have to figure out what these things are so everyone can be happy. I am so lucky that my group has ladies that all want the most Frugal choice and are not too brand specific. There are a few things like Baby Ray's BBQ sauce and no thanks on cheap salsa. You just have to figure out what works for your group. For example I was in a group once that liked ground turkey instead of hamburger and I did not really prefer that. Also don't forget to consider ALLERGIES!

Choose a cooking day. We do all of our communication through email, it is so nice because we don't have to play phone tag.

Plan a menu. We usually do about 15 meals. When first organizing a group, you will have to get recipe ideas, suggestions or input from all of the members. The recipes submitted should be ones that your family has not only tried (and liked), but that you know you freeze well too. Then everyone can vote on their favorites, or put the kibosh on one that they know for sure their family would hate. Everyone is given an opportunity to approve the menu so that we will all like the meals. After meeting a few times, you will have compiled a number of good recipes that you can repeat, while adding a few new ones each time. Your friends at Fabulessly Frugal will be posting recipes we have tried and love each Wedensday as part of our Fabuless Freezer Cooking Series.

When making a menu you must consider Which foods are not good for freezing?

Rice- must be undercooked and sometimes still turns out a little mushy.
We usually do not cook rice ahead of time. It is easy to prepare when meal time comes.
Noodles- must be undercooked and sometimes still turn out mushy.
Potatoes- do not freeze raw potatoes they turn brown. Use frozen potatoes for meals like Funeral Potatoes, Sausage Hash and Ham and Cheese Potatoes. When making soups we find that is works well to precook potatoes. Again undercook to avoid mushiness.
Do not freeze- cream cheese, or raw eggs. Cooked eggs freeze fine like in Breakfast Burritos.
Remember: You can freeze your meats twice if you cook them first.


Get your group together! Next week we will tell you all about shopping!

FabuLESS Freezer Cooking: All About Shopping

(Click to see the start of this series with links to all posts in the series!)

How the Group Works

Shopper/Hostess: Picks the date. Finalizes the menu. Makes the shopping list. Goes and buys all the food for cooking day. Works with the co-shopper to assign prep work. Hosts the cooking in her home.

Co-Shopper: Assists the hostess with the menu and shopping list as needed. Shops with the hostess on shopping day. Helps assign the prep work for the members of the group. Puts together the fridge list. (A list that tells how to prepare frozen meals on dinner night.)

Decide how often you want to meet. My group meets every other month. This way you only have to host once a year. Cathy's group is meeting every month, so they get more meals to work with!

Rotation Example:
Jan: Hostess: Megan Co-Shopper: Niki
March: Hostess: Niki Co-Shopper: Amber
May: Hostess: Amber Co-Shopper: Monica
July: Hostess: Monica Co-Shopper: Molly
Sept: Hostess: Molly Co-Shopper: Julie
Nov: Hostess: Julie Co-Shopper: Megan

You always Co-shop the time before you are the hostess this helps you be aware of what items may be left over from last time.



Shopping Day:
We usually do all of the shopping at Winco and Costco. Although we always check for sales on meat which sometimes requires a trip to Paul's or Albertsons.
Hostess and co-shopper go to purchase all of the food. Shopping can take 2-3 hours. This can be purchased by one person or split if one person can not support a $500-600 charge to their account. We usually have the hostess pay for everything. Keep in mind that when shopping at Costco and Winco, you cannot use a credit card (unless you have an AmEx card at Costco).
Make sure you each grab a cart. Shopping for this many meals and people requires a lot of food.
The shopping list should include the number of ounces or lbs needed for each ingredient. The store does not have things measured in cups. If you have not done this ahead of time be sure to bring a conversion table. It is highly recommended to do this ahead of time b/c it is very difficult to do the math in the store on every item.

Things to buy that are not food items:

FoodSaver or Ziploc freezer Bags gallon, sandwich and quart size
FoodSaver bags are great because they get all of the air out. This keeps the food extra fresh and prevents freezer burn. FoodSaver bags can also be customed sized, you cut them the size you need!
Sharpies (for labeling bags)
Foil (Great for wrapping Calzones, Breakfast Burrito's and covering aluminum pans.)
Plastic Wrap (used to cover Manicotti, Pizza or Enchilada's before aluminum foil)
Aluminum Pans as needed. (FoodSaver or ziplock bags are preferred because they take up less space in your freezer. They are also a more FabuLESSly Frugal choice.)
Box- for keeping the left over food items and the above items for the next meeting.
(The FabuLESSly Frugal choice is to save a couple of good boxes from the Costco trip.)

Notify members when you plan to shop so they can plan for time to prep food. Also let them know when you plan to be finished shopping so they can come and pick up their prep food from the hostess.

PrepWork: Most of the chicken is cooked cut , shredded or sliced depending on recipes. Raw chicken is cut too if reciepe requires. Ground beef is cooked with onion or taco seasoning as needed. Vegetables and fruits are cut. Cheese is grated. Items are bagged and labeled.
Try to make it even for all members, but give the hostess a little bit of a break because this is a big month for her. Prep work can take 1-2 hours, depending on the number of meals on the menu. Split meats up among members to utilize everyones CrockPot. Crock Pot is the BEST way to cook the chicken. Grilling chicken before shredding it often leaves the chicken a bit to dry!

Check back next week for all about Cooking Day! If you missed the previous posts about Freezer Cooking check out the label cloud to the right and click on Fab Freezer Cooking!

FabuLESS Freezer Cooking: Cooking Day

(Click to see the start of this series with links to all posts in the series!)

Cooking Day

Things to bring:

Check book
Cooler or Laundry Basket Prep Food
Large Bowls
Large Mixing Spoons
Measuring Cups
Measuring Spoons
Rolling Pin (If you are making; Pizza, Calzones, Ham and Cheese Brunch Braid, or Taco Braid.)
Bag or box for pantry items

Hostess Check List For Cooking Day:

Hostess has pantry food set out and easy to access. If she is really on the ball she can label and divide out all of the pantry items ahead of time.

Print the recipes for each meal

Have a master list of the menu to cross off meals as they are completed

Have working spaces cleared off and sanitized! (That's for you Jen)

Set out bags, foil, sharpies and so on

Time Frame: We usually order a take and bake pizza to eat part way through the evening. Plan for 3-6 hours. Time will depend on the number of meals, difficulty of meals, and how much prep work was assigned out. Cooking day gets faster the more you do it and the more familiar you get with the recipes.

When assembling meals:

Usually work in groups of two on a recipe until it is done

Meals like Calzones and Pizza are done by the individuals to make sure they include what the person's family likes. We always save these for the end.

Make sure to get all the air out when sealing bags or use a FoodSaver for maximum freshness.

Label the bags with a sharpie

Put bagged meals into each persons cooler

Place any pantry items in each persons bag/box

To split the bill: All of the food expense including the take and bake pizza is added up and divided by 6 or the number of members in the group. Everyone pays equally each time. For 15 meals each person usually pays less than $100.

Fridge list is emailed out to the members by the co-shopper. Click here to see what it looks like.
Below are some definitions that will help you understand the fridge list.

On Hand:Items like butter, eggs, milk and rice. Things that are not provided with the group shopping trip that you will likely already have at home

Pantry items: canned items or noodles that are added on dinner
night, but are provided by the group. Things that store well on the shelf or in the fridge. We try to include most everything needed so that you are ready to make a meal at anytime, with out having to do any additional shopping.



Next week we will start giving you some of our Fabuless Recipes. So that you can make these meals and more!

BBQ Chicken Pizza
Ham and Cheese Braid
Salmon Cakes
Sausage Hash



ps - Cathy here. May I just say that we have sooo much fun when we get together and do our freezer cooking? I LOVE it! Here are a few pix from my very first freezer cooking experience. Do we look like we're having fun?

FabuLESS Freezer Cooking: BBQ Chicken Pizza Recipe!

(Click to see the start of this series with links to all posts in the series!)

Here is one of the first freezer meal recipes we'll be posting!

This pizza is soooo yummy! And I was so excited to learn about the crust! For $1.50, you can purchase some already made pizza dough back near the deli at Winco (or use thawed out Rhodes bread loaves and split in half). It makes a fabuless crust and is makes making homemade pizza sooo much easier!

So here is the recipe!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

1 FAMILY
1 pizza crust (store bought or homemade)
2 c. mozzarella cheese
½ Red onion
2 Chicken breasts
2-3 c. BBQ Sauce
Cilantro

6 FAMILIES
6 pizza crusts
12 c. mozzarella cheese
3 Red onions
12 Chicken breasts
12-18 c. BBQ Sauce
Cilantro

TO FREEZE
Cook chicken and cut into small slices or shred. When pizza dough is room temp, roll, or hand press onto foil pizza pan (I love my stone too - so hang on here with me), spread out BBQ sauce, top with chicken and onion; finish with sprinkling cheese and cilantro. Wrap with foil.

TO PREPARE AFTER FREEZING
It was super easy to take my pizza of the disposable foil pan and put it on my pizza stone. Bake @ 400 for 20 min (from frozen).

I wish I had pictures of this beautiful pizza! I just loved it! When we prep the pizzas, we each put our own together, as some don't want cilantro (this makes it delish though!), or I'll only put onions on half, and so on.



Oh guess what Cathy I have pictures.............

This one is right before baking!

We ate half of it before I got a chance to take a picture.

Stay tuned next week for another Fabuless Freezer Meal Recipe!

FabuLESS Freezer Cooking: Ham and Cheese Braid

(Click to see the start of this series with links to all posts in the series!)

HAM & CHEESE BRAID

1 FAMILY:
1 loaf Rhodes bread dough
1 cube butter or margarine
1 envelope hidden valley ranch mix ( not generic):

3/4 lb. thinly sliced ham
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp poppy seeds

6 FAMILIES

6 loaves Rhodes bread dough
6 cubes butter or margarine
6 envelopes hidden valley ranch mix (not generic)
4 1/2 lbs. thinly sliced ham
9 cups shredded cheddar cheese
6 tsp. poppy seeds

TO PREPARE BEFORE FREEZING:
Roll bread dough out into a rectangular shape so its approx. 1/2 inch
thick. Combine margarine and ranch mix. Spread about 5 TBS of mixture on the rectangle. Layer ham and cheese down the center of the rectangle. Use a pizza cutter to cut strips along each side of the dough (even numbers on each side). Starting at the bottom, take each piece, cross and twist. Continue cris-crossing until your pizza is braided. Brush remaining butter/ranch mixture over top. Sprinkle with poppy seeds. Wrap loaf with plastic wrap and then foil. To prepare after freezing: To thaw over night. Place in fridge as is if you wish to cook it on the foil. If you do not wish to cook it on the foil unwrap it and place on lightly greased baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap. Let thaw overnight. A couple of hours before you are ready to bake place it on the counter to continue to thaw and begin to rise. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Note: Photo's are with a wheat bread dough. I would recommend white bread dough.


If you bake it right on the foil there is no mess to clean up!

FabuLESS Freezer Cooking: Salmon Cakes

(Click to see the start of this series with links to all posts in the series!)

SALMON CAKES
1 FAMILY:

3 cans salmon

1 1/4 cups crushed ritz crackers

2 eggs beaten

1/2 red pepper finely chopped

2 Tbsp chives

2 tsp dill

1 tsp Tabasco sauce

lemon juice

oil for frying



6 FAMILIES:

18 cans salmon

7 1/2 cups crushed ritz crackers

12 eggs beaten

3 red pepper finely chopped

12 Tbsp chives

12 tsp dill

6 tsp Tabasco sauce

lemon juice

oil for frying



TO PREPARE FOR FREEZING:

In a small freezer bag combine red pepper, chives, dill, lemons juice and tabasco. Label a sleeve of Ritz crackers and 3 cans of salmon for the pantry.

TO PREPARE: On hand: 2 eggs and oil. In a medium bowl break up the canned salmon with a fork. Add about 1 cup cracker meal and work through the fish. Add the eggs, pepper, chives, dill, tabasco, and lemon juice. If the mixture is too wet add more cracker meal. Form 3-inch patties about 1 inch thick. You should have 8-10 cakes. Fry in hot oil in a single layer until golden, 3-4 minutes on each side. Drain on a

paper towel-lined plate. Really great with salad greens with a lemon flavored dressing.

FabuLESS Freezer Cooking: Sausage Hash

(Click to see the start of this series with links to all posts in the series!)

Now now now, don't let the title scare you! I'll admit, I was hesitant to try this recipe, but since it was recommended, we did it our first cooking night. Let me just say this:

IT IS YUMMY!!!

I didn't think my kids would like it. Guess what -

THEY DID!

I think the mozzarella cheese is the cherry on top! My kids love ketchup and so I put a few squirts of that on as well. Give it a try! I think you'll like it too! (Oh, and it it so easy to assemble for freezer meals!)

1 FAMILY

• 1 Tube ground sausage



• 1 c. shredded carrots
  


• ½ c. finely chopped onion
  


• 3 c. frozen potatoes cubes
  


• 1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
  

6 FAMILIES

• 6 Tubes ground sausage
  


• 6 c. shredded carrots (Only need 1 bag of big carrots!)
  


• 3 c. finely chopped onion
  


• 18 c. frozen potatoes cubes
  


• 6 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
  

TO FREEZE
Cook ground sausage thoroughly in pan. Add onion and carrots and cook for 5 more minutes. Place sausage with onion and carrots in gallon-sized bag. Put potatoes and cheese in 2 separate bags and place in gallon-sized bag. (Hint: make sure the meat has cooled down before you stick the bag of cheese in there... otherwise it melts into a blob!)

TO PREPARE AFTER FREEZING
Thaw meat mixture in fridge overnight (or I pull it out sometime during the day - . Heat frozen potatoes in pan with a little hot oil, and then add meat to pan. Simmer for 20 min. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with cheese. Let melt and serve

FabuLESS Freezer Cooking: Ham and Cheese Crepes

Want to learn how to start your own Freezer Meal cooking group?
Click here to view our series plus more recipes!

HAM AND SWISS CREPES

FOR ONE FAMILY
1/2 cup flour
pinch of salt
3 eggs
3/4 milk
2 tbsp melted butter
2 cups shredded swiss cheese
1/2 pound thinly slice Black Forest Ham

FOR SIX FAMILIES
3 cup flour
pinch of salt
18 eggs
4 1/2 milk
12 tbsp melted butter
12 cups shredded swiss cheese
3 pounds thinly slice Black Forest Ham

TO PREPARE FOR FREEZING:
For the crepe batter, combine the flour and a pinch of salt in a bowl and make a well in the center. Add the eggs, and milk and whisk to combine. Stir in the melted butter.
Preheat a 10-inch non-stick skillet over medium low heat with a drizzle of vegetable oil. Cover the bottom of the skillet with just enough batter to coat, lifting and shaking the skillet to help the batter along. Let the crepe cook and lightly brown on one side. Flip over. Place crepes in freezer bag and bag ham and cheese as well.


TO PREPARE AFTER FREEZING:
Thaw. Place some cheese and ham on top of crepes. Season with a little salt and pepper, then fold the crepe over and cook on skillet until the cheese starts to melt.
Serve with a chopped salad.

Recipe by Heather

FabuLESS Freezer Cooking: Pasta Carbonara

Want to learn how to start your own Freezer Meal cooking group?
Click here to view our series plus more recipes!

PASTA CARBONARA CASSEROLE

1 FAMILY
1 (9 oz) package linguine
½ c. frozen peas
1 (10 oz) container Alfredo sauce
1 c. crumbled bacon
2 Tbsp butter/margarine, melted
¼ c. crushed cornflake crumbs or Ritz cracker
Fresh chopped parsley, for garnish (if desired)

6 FAMILIES
6 (54 oz) package linguine
3 c. frozen peas
6 (60 oz) containers Alfredo sauce
6 c. crumbled bacon
12 Tbsp butter/margarine, melted
1 ½ c. crushed cornflake crumbs or Ritz cracker
Fresh copped parsley, for garnish (if desired)

TO FREEZE
Place peas in gallon-sized bag, along with bacon (place in small bag). Put cornflake crumbs in separate bag and place in pantry.

TO PREPARE AFTER FREEZING
Prepare linguine as package directs, adding peas during last minute of cooking. Drain pasta and peas. Toss pasta with Alfredo sauce and crumbled bacon. Place in lightly greased 1-quart casserole dish. In small bowl combine butter and cornflake crumbs, sprinkle over tope of casserole. Bake @ 350 for 20-25 min.

It is good to add chicken if desired.

FabuLESS Freezer Cooking: SHISH K-BOBS!

These have been a hit! I've never made them because the thought of purchasing and cutting and dicing all the veggies sounded like too much work! Plus most of my family wouldn't eat grilled peppers and onions, so I would end up wasting. NOT WITH FREEZER MEALS! I only bag what my family would eat! So there isn't any waste!

On to the recipe:

CHICKEN & BEEF SHISH K-BOBS

1 FAMILY
2 Breasts (equal to 1 pound) of Chicken
1 med steak (or stew meat is great option)
2 Bell peppers (assorted peppers if desired)
1/3 Onion, largely chopped
½ can Slice Pineapple
1 Packet Italian dressing
Oil
Water
8 skewers

6 FAMILIES
12 Breasts of chicken (6 lb)
6 Med steaks (stew meat for option)
12 Bell peppers (assorted peppers)
2 Onions, largely chopped
3 Cans Slice Pineapple
6 Packets Italian dressing (or use some free/cheap Kraft Italian salad dressing!)
Oil
Water
48 skewers

TO FREEZE
In quart-sized bag place chicken (cut into chunks) - mix Italian dressing in.
Place already cut beef in quart-sized bag (we put a marinade in with this as well)
Chop peppers, onion, and pineapple into large chunks and place in separate bags, then place beef, peppers, onion, and pineapple in large bag. (We have a person chop the onions and peppers before hand, so all we need to do is bag them).

TO PREPARE AFTER FREEZING
Thaw enough to pull small bags out of gallon-sized bag. Soak skewers in water for one hour. Place items on skewers, keeping steak and chicken on separate skewers, alternating ingredients as wish. Place grill on high and put skewers on top rack of grill, off of direct heat, once grill is heated. If grill does not have an upper grill, heat grill on high, once heated up, turn off middle burners and place skewers in middle. Turn often and cook until chicken completely cooked and steak as desired. **May cut down on amount of chicken & beef, as provides several k-bobs. Decrease by one steak, or 2 chicken breasts. If getting stew meat, try to get approx ¾ lb per family (4.5 lbs), if not decreasing amount.

We had some family over one night (6 extra adults and 6 extra kids) - we purchased some grape tomatoes, fresh mushrooms, and I pulled out two more chicken breasts. I baked some potatoes and we had a FABULESS (and so easy) meal! Everyone assembled their own "ka-bobs", we grilled, and we ate! It was so much fun! The tomatoes and mushrooms DON'T FREEZE WELL, so purchase them fresh and use them too! They are sooo yummy!

I was so busy visiting, I forgot to take some after pictures. So all you get is some pix of the frozen bagged ingredients. Seriously - this is a fun one to add to your list. We did it our first two cooking days. I'm sad we didn't do it last time because my mouth is watering for some more!

(See how easy this is? Put the variety of peppers and onions all into one bag. Sooo easy!)

I took a pic of mine. Enjoy!

FabuLESS Freezer Cooking: Crock Pot BBQ Beef

If you haven't checked out our Freezer Meal Cooking Series you must! It is a great way to save money on your grocery budget. We show you how to get a freezer meal cooking group together, how to do your shopping and how to organize your group on cooking day.

CROCK POT BBQ BEEF

ONE FAMILY

8 oz. tomato sauce

1 Tbsp pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 (16 oz) bottle Baby Rays BBQ sauce
3 to 4 lb. boneless roast

SIX FAMILIES
48 oz tomato sauce
6 Tbsp pepper
3 tsp oregano
1 ½ tsp garlic powder
6 16 oz bottle Baby Rays BBQ
18-24 lb boneless roast

PREPARE FOR FREEZING: Combine in saucepan tomato sauce, pepper, oregano, garlic powder, and pinch of sugar, add BBQ sauce. Place sauce in gallon freezer bag.
Place roast in a roaster or pan that can catch drippings and cover with lid or foil. Cook roast at 350 for 5-6 hours. Let cool. Divide if needed and place in freezer bag with sauce and freeze.

PREPARE AFTER FREEZING: Thaw. Warm in oven at 350 for 1-2 hours. Slice and serve on hamburger buns or your favorite bread.


Thanks Heather

FabuLESS Freezer Cooking: Southwest Chicken Wraps

If you haven't checked out our Freezer Meal Cooking Series you must! It is a great way to save money on your grocery budget. We show you how to get a freezer meal cooking group together, how to do your shopping and how to organize your group on cooking day.

Southwest Chicken Wraps

ONE FAMILY

3 cups chopped chicken (4 breasts)

1 cup of your favorite Salsa

1 ½ t chili powder

¼ t garlic powder

1 C shredded cheddar

1 14 ½ oz can of black beans

8 flour tortillas

SIX FAMILIES

18 cups chopped chicken (24 breasts, 12 lb)
6 cups of your favorite salsa
3 T chili powder
1 ½ t garlic powder
6 C shredded cheddar
6 14 ½ oz cans of black beans
48 flour tortillas

TO PREPARE FOR FREEZING: Slow cook chicken in crock pot for 5-6 hours or until it reaches shredding consistency. Combine with salsa, chili powder and garlic powder and bag for freezing. Bag cheese and tortillas for freezing and place beans in pantry.

TO PREPARE AFTER FREEZING: Thaw. Heat chicken mixture on stove over med heat until heated through, about 3 min. Remove from heat, add drained and washed beans and cheese. Serve in warm tortillas and top with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion. Tortillas should be allowed to thaw completely and then can be warmed in microwave or on the stove.

Notes: This is extra good with the raw tortilla's you can buy at Costco.

It is extra frugal if you make your own tortilla! (It's easy!)

FabuLESS Freezer Cooking: Southwest Chicken Chili

If you haven't checked out our Freezer Meal Cooking Series you must! It is a great way to save money on your grocery budget. We show you how to get a freezer meal cooking group together, how to do your shopping and how to organize your group on cooking day.

Southwestern White Chili

ONE FAMILY
3 chicken breasts cooked and cubed
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 oz can green chilies
2 cans white kidney beans

1/2 tsp cilantro

1/4 cup olive oil

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

2 cloves of garlic-crushed
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp ground red pepper

1 1/2 cups Mozzarella cheese

SIX FAMILIES

18 chicken breasts cooked and cubed

3 cup chopped onion

(6) 4 oz can green chilies

12 cans white kidney beans

3 tsp cilantro

2 cup olive oil

9 cups chicken broth

12 cloves of garlic-crushed

12 tsp cumin

6 tsp oregano

2 tsp ground red pepper

9 cups Mozzarella cheese

PREP WORK: Chop onion and garlic if necassary. Heat oil and saute garlic and onions, add cubed chicken and brown.

TO PREPARE FOR FREEZING: Combine all ingredients in a freezer bag

TO PREPARE AFTER FREEZING: Warm over med heat on stove top, until heated through.