How are you saving money and time in the kitchen?

[Triss]

Based on the recent discussions in the SL, I thought it would be nice to put a topic here in the Kitchen section so we can all talk about our tips and techniques to make the dollar go farther and make our lives a bit easier in the kitchen.  So what kinds of things are you doing to save time and money in the kitchen?

[Triss]

A couple of things I picked up in my reading last night.  I spent 3 hours googling stuff and am so excited to get started on this.

First, once a week I am going to triple one of my meals, eat one and freeze the other two.  Each week using a different meat and after several weeks I will have a bunch of premade meals to choose from to add into my weekly menu. 

Second, I am going to take stock of what I have in the freezer, use anything that is getting old and reorganize it so I know what is in there.  For me that will be an excel spreadsheet that shows in each block, what is being stored on each shelf so I know just what I have in there.  I will add the new things as they go in and cross off anything I use.

And finally, I got a 45 day trial of a program called "Shop 'N Cook Menu".  This program enables me to type or copy in one of my own recipes, and breaks it down into what I need to shop for, and even gives me the nutritional information.  I figure if I actually use it and it works, it would be well worth the $50 is costs to buy it and if it does work, I know I will save that much in buying things I need for meals I am planning instead of buying all kinds of things in hopes I can use them in meals.  It is a recipe keeper, menu planner and shopping list assistant all in one.

[Wrennie]

I buy in bulk or family packs. There are just 2 of us so we arent going to eat 4 lbs of burger or chicken in one night. Then I use my foodsaver to save the rest in the freezer.
The hamburger we make into patties and freeze it that way. If we want spaghetti with meat or tacos, 2 burgers are enough meat for that.
The food saver is great for preventing freezer burn. And the packages last longer than just using a zip bag. And the f.s. bags are washable, reusable, you can microwave or boil-in-bag with them.

[Triss]

I need to get one of those and then make a space on the counter for it so that I USE it!!!  So as you use them, they get smaller right?  Cuz don't you have to cut off the sealed end?

[Wrennie]

Right. Well sort of. You can buy pre-made bags, or rolls where you make the bag any length you want. When I use the rolls I make them longer so I can re-use, instead of having it so short its a one use deal. I also spread out whatever is in it. Ie burgers, so they dont touch. Then you can open one end, take out x amount of burgers and re seal it and right back into the freezer it goes.
Remember its best to pre-freeze for an hour or two so the vaccum doesnt suck all the juices out of the meat.

[Triss]

Well that is sure a good idea.  I would imagine you could pre-freeze and then put wax or parchment between them to freeze them stacked in the bags???

[Tina]

I have an old one without the vacuum. Bags can get mighty expensive. Because of our recent conversations in the SL I have a pork loin roast in the oven for dinner tonight with carrots and potatoes. (Will serve with salad which we can't seem to get enough of right now.
 I also have two 10"X10" lasagnas in the freezer so far.  Now I am cooking up some rice ( I love jasmine rice) to toss with the second half of the ground beef,onions, and peppers that I browned to make the lasagna.
I will add some type of veggie and a cream sauce with that when I figure out what sounds good and will have two casseroles of that in the freezer as well. Then I will hope the veggies will still appeal to me when I pull it out of the freezer later on.
That was just 3 pounds of gr. beef. We are a small family here.
I also will use half the rice I am cooking to make a meatless rice/chili/cheese dish that I learned from a friend. It is much like a rice pudding only not sweet. Mild whole green chilis (I use canned), rice and cheese with an egg and cream custard type mix poured over. Baked. It is reminiscent of chili rellenos. Heavenly!

[Tina]

Tonight's pork roast left overs will be cut up fine for some pork enchiladas to freeze for another meal.
So far I have invested about two hours in all of this. I am timing myself to see. I've had a lot of down time/breaks to look up recipes for fun between activity in the kitchen. So I'm timing the actual work. I have three main dishes complete. I am washing dishes as I go so my kitchen is in pretty good shape for the next thing. I am also labeling things as I go because I haven't always been very good at that in the past. (What is that thing in the bottom of my freezer?) We have had some surprise meals sometimes.

[Tina]

I have been grating my own cheeses and chopping my own veggies. You could use  pre-shredded cheese and frozen veggies for speed and  convenience. I do have shredded cheese for my enchiladas simply because my store had a good deal on and it was cheaper than the  wedges and blocks of cheddar and longhorn and jack on the shelf.

[Triss]

Great start Tina!!! And those meals sure sound good too.  Will Ted help with cheese grating at all?  I cannot get Zack to do that for anything no matter how many times I try to teach him.  I think he will get it one of these days but right now he has a heavy hand with it and smooshes the cheese a LOT.  Patrick and Lys are my graters right now.

[Tina]

Ted doesn't like to TOUCH cheese. No he is not much help. He is just not often interested in food. I have to take the knobs off of my burners because when he walks by he turns them off. "It is much better than turning them ON", I tell myself while relighting things. So while I have the oven going I have mixed up a batch of brownies because John requested them. I bought fresh green beans today so those are cooking up with some bacon. Not my favorite way to eat them but John loves it. The rest will go into the rice/beef casserole.

[Tina]

3 hours= four  main dishes in the freezer and a complete meal on the table. Including dessert. I forgot how good it feels. I still have to bag up the frozen dishes when they freeze. I have them in the dishes that they will be re-heated in with a layer of foil under there. I have the bags ready labeled.

[Triss]

That is just so cool Tina and you are having fun with it so that is even better.  I had all of 3 slices of leftover pork tonight.  I have no clue what I could use it in but will be looking tonight once the kids get settled.

[Tina]

I need to pull the pork for the enchiladas. I've never done pork ones before. Just chicken, beef and cheese ones. I need to say this is the best tasting pork I've had in a long time. I also have more than I need for enchiladas. Maybe open-face sandwiches? I'll have to think on it. I have plenty of drippings, too.
The problem with just freezing leftover meat as-is is that it is subject to freezer burn much too easily and too fast. Even with food savers that remove the extra air.  You need a sauce, gravy or liquid of some kind to help protect it. Or use it up very soon.

[Triss]

Oh I love pork ones the best.  That is what I typically do with mine.  They are best with green chili enchilada sauce instead of the red in my opinion.

What about a BBQ sauce for the pork to make BBQ pork sandwiches.  YUM!  Freeze the portions individually so you could pull out as the desire hit ya, no leftovers that way.

[Tina]

I am using green chili sauce, Triss. I love the stuff. I also take cheapo frozen burrito and fry them crispy in a frying pan with a little oil. Then I pour the green enchilada sauce over them and let it simmer and reduce. My older son loves these and they come out good enough that I'm not embarrassed to be serving frozen burritos to company.
If John liked BBQ sauce, that is exactly what I would do, Triss. But I'm thinking here.

[Triss]

Well I am drawing an absolute blank on what else to do with the leftover pork.  Nothing else is coming to mind at all.

[Tina]

You could do your BBQ pork sandwiches for a couple of people for lunch tomorrow or the next day, Triss. How many are there for lunch, Charlie, Mikey and Jonny? You and Dan? Give the kids pb&j.

[Triss]

There is probably enough for two.  Patrick and I would enjoy it but not the others.  Good plan, I forgot about the hamburger buns tonight so we have those to serve it on.  I even have the BBQ sauce.

[Tina]

See, You have it made. I've got one more thing to get out of the ove, cool and then toss in the freezer. Life is good right now. I really need to dig into the freezer and toss  bunch of stuff. I know those crab legs are inedible now.

[Triss]

Well if you dig out, then you can make room for more things.  Are you keeping a list of what you add do you know what is in there?

[Tina]

I'm not keeping a list. But I am labeling and dating. And I've already done a little repackaging. Like that half box of corndogs was taking up a lot of space. Putting them into freezer bags saved space and is just better packaging than the box with a loose bag around them. I know which packages are frozen rattlesnake. But there are some things that I don't recognize. And some things just too old to eat.

[Triss]

I always love finding stuff I do not know what it is and then trying to figure it out.   

[Tina]

I started today by saute-ing 4 lbs of onions. Sinus clearing time. I needed some for my enchiladas and decided to do a bunch and freeze in bags in the amounts I normally use. Will put the small bags into one larger bag. Now it's time to go pull pork. I rewarmed it a bit so it will be easier and so my hands don't get cold messing with it. Also added water to the drippings for pork (and onion) gravy.

[Triss]

Oh I bet your house smells great Tina, I just love the smell of cooking onions.