My 2nd attempt at 'Once a Month Cooking'

After my first time trying the whole "Once a month" cooking thing, I realized that I loved what I was able to pull out of the freezer with next to no notice.  But that it took A LOT longer than I expected.  We had a free night last Saturday (which never happens) and I wanted to try a couple new recipes that I had found for freezer cooking.  I put together 4 meals in under 1 hour and I was thrilled.  I have never made 3 of them and one my kids adore but I have never frozen it before.  Can't wait to try it!!

Then I saw a post on facebook of a young mother who is pregnant with her 4th and is extremely ill asking for help.  She really doesn't feel well enough to make dinner for her family.  I was so thrilled that I had 2 meals in my freezer that I can take her right away.  Now I know why my evening was free and I decided to make some meals for my freezer :)

Here are a couple of the recipes I tried and will add photos when I get them out and cooked.

The "4 Freezer Marinades for LAZY PEOPLE" screemed my name from www.eatathomecooks.com.  I made two of the 4 marinades, put 1/2 a bag of frozen chicken into 2 large GLAD freezer containers I just bought and covered each with a marinade.  Frozen chicken covered with a marinade; how will this ever work.  It took me 5 minutes to prep that.  I can't wait to take them out of the freezer tonight and have one tomorrow.  Here are the two I tried:

Chicken with Italian/soy sauce marinade

Italian Dressing and Soy Sauce Marinade
Mix 1/4 c Italian dressing, 1/4 c soy sauce and 1/4 c sugar together. 

Lemon Juice and Garlic
Mix 1/2 cup lemon juice with 1 tsp garlic salt. Season with salt and pepper.

Directions:
Pour over frozen chicken breasts. Close lid and shake to coat.  Label container.  Put back into freezer until ready to use.  Pull out of freezer to thaw and grill to your hearts content.

Goulash recipe I tweeked
and the first thing I pinned on Pinterest!

Next I made Goulosh from a recipe I have made before and froze for the first time.  Here is that recipe:  My Goulash recipe


Then, I made something called "Lawnmower Tacos".  It was super easy and I had everything on hand:  Lawnmower Taco recipe from Life as Mom

My favorite part of freezer cooking is using everything that I have on hand.  I always have hamburger, sausage and chicken breasts frozen in the freezer.  This way I am using up what I have and making easy to prepare meals using everyday ingredients my kids will eat. 

The biggest thing I have learned about freezer cooking is find what works for you.  Recipes that are easy to put together and your family loves are my favorites.  Make sure you have your staples stocked and be prepared to run to the store if needed.