We would make freezer meals for each other. There were eight of us with similarly sized families, and we would meet once a month to exchange meals.

The ‘meal’ was the main dish, usually a meat, that came in either a tinfoil casserole dish or a gallon sized ziploc bag. The supervisor of the group would print off the recipes and cooking instructions for everyone.

For example, I would make 8 8×8 lasagnas, freeze them, and take them to exchange. I would come home with tater-tot casserole, pork roast with tortillas (for pork tortillas), chicken with rice, etc. etc.

I would throw it in the freezer and use it either as a ‘cop-out’ meal or plan around it in my weekly menus.

I really miss it, actually. I wish I could get something going like that, as well. We based our idea off of a chain of stores called ‘Let’s Dish’ where you make 8 or 12 meals for freezing.

I also make double of things and freeze them–lasagna, enchiladas, etc. Yesterday it was pea soup. I figure a little bit of extra effort when I’m all ready doing it is going to make a day in the future much nicer. It is really nice to have things that just have to be heated up.

I also love my crockpot. It is one of my favorite kitchen appliances because it allows me to think about dinner during another meal (breakfast or lunch) and take care of it then.

Hooray for the return of Tip Tuesdays!

What I do is make list of 7-9 meals and get whatever they call for. Then, as the day goes on and I can see how I feel and how much my daughter and dog have been driving me crazy, or simply what sounds good to me, I’ll pick one of the meals. Or, if I don’t feel like cooking, we’ll have leftovers. Or one of our quick meals. So the 7-8 meals I listed int he beginning lasts two weeks. And then it takes me a week to actually start the process all over again. *sigh*

I plan my meals all a month in advance and then shop a week at a time. I do one big Costco run at the beginning of each month, but the rest is just weekly grocery trips, and I try not to do any mid-week trips (I spend way too much that way.)

I try to always have the stuff on hand for a few of our favorite quick-n-easy meals in case the day doesn’t go like I planned or I realize I forgot to buy a key ingredient. The simpler ones are grilled cheese and tomato soup (if you use homemade bread this one can taste good enough to be considered a “real meal” and not just a cop-out), chicken nuggets and tater tots/french fries, quesadillas, and tuna noodle casserole (which my hubby just loves – I try to save this one for nights when he’s out of town.) Then there’s the ones that I’ve sort of invented along the way, like rice and chili – I serve the chili over rice to make two cans feed five people, and we usually sprinkle cheese on top and have cornbread to go with it. It makes a fairly decent meal out of stuff that I pretty much always have on hand. Or spaghetti with my “special sauce”, which is a can of diced tomatoes warmed up with a little garlic and green peppers if I have them on hand, and then with a little heavy cream stirred in. Or I’ll oven bake nachos (4 minutes at 400 degrees) and mix a can of chili with a block of cream cheese for a yummy chili-cheese dip.

In the summer we eat a lot of salad with stuff from our garden. It’s easy, fresh, and tasty.

I like this Tip Tuesday idea!

Most of my tips are already listed, such buying in bulk, and breaking out into meal-sized packages.

A couple extras that I do? I make extra casseroles, and line my pans with enough foil to wrap the whole she-bang, write the name and cooking instructions, and freeze 3 or 4 at one time. Once frozen, I slip them out of the pan, and can do a different recipe the same way!

I also am a HUGE believer in meal-planning, and LOVE the “Once a Month Cook-book”…it takes you through the planning, shopping lists, and provides recipes and freezing tips.

I also adore the Homemade Gourmet products…it’s a direct sales company that is focused on “bringing families together again”, and they offer the seasonings and mixes, so all you do is add your fresh and/or canned ingredients…best thing is you can make it low-sodium, low-fat, somewhat vegetarian, and it’s cheap, you can buy it as you need it, and they have a TON of recipes that use real food that I keep on hand!

Otherwise, I fall back onto my good friends that I call “recipes I grew up on”.

Thanks again for sharing, and please, please keep up with Tip Tuesday again this time around!!!

But my best quick-tip has to be my George Foreman Grill! You can even put frozen meat on it, and it’s tastily grilled everytime.