Saving Time and Money

I'm not Martha Stewart and I don't claim to be anything other than a Domestic Diva Wannabe, but last night I was having a conversation with a friend on facebook about ways to save time and money, when it comes to making dinner.

My friend works fulll time and has a 2 year old.  By the time she gets home from work she has about 90 minutes to make dinner, eat dinner and then get her daughter in bed. My position in life is a bit different because I stay at home with my two kids, but I still don't want to spend any more time doing prep work than I have to since I have two "helpers" underfoot and nobody to keep them busy while I'm cooking.  Also, I'm just lazy.

During our brainstorming session here are a few of the things we discussed:

Doing prep work once

*Does your recipe call for only half of an onion? Cut up the entire onion, stick the unused half in the freezer and save for later. 

*Are you marinating meat to put on the grill tonight? Make a double batch of marinade.  Use one batch tonight and fill a ziploc with the other half, stick the meat in it and freeze.  When you go to defrost the meat later it'll already be marinated and ready to cook. This is one of my favorite marinades and I almost always have it in my freezer.

Freeze fruits and veggies when they're on sale

*This goes along with only doing prep work once.  My kids LOVE to snack on red bell peppers.  This year I have been able to buy them in season for 3 for $1. Out of season the same peppers cost at least $1.50/each.  When they're in season, and on sale, I buy about 10-15 peppers and then slice them.  I spread the sliced peppers onto a cookie sheet and freeze.  Once solid I transfer the peppers into a ziploc bag.  Later I can reach in and grab my kids a couple to snack on or throw them into a recipe like fajitas or soup.

*I use this same method with berries.  I wash the berries and spread them on a cookie sheet to freeze.  I slice strawberries before freezing, but leave blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries whole.  Once frozen I put them in a ziploc.  Later I use the frozen berries to make smoothies for my kids or to add to hot oatmeal.

Cook in bulk

*I cook 5-6 chicken breasts at a time. We'll eat two for dinner that night and then I dice the others and freeze them in single serve portions so I can add the meat later to soups, chilis, enchilladas, salads, pasta, etc. In addition to the time savings of having pre-cooked chicken on hand, I'm saving money because I'm able to buy when meat is on sale and I'm only using the electricity to heat my oven once. I am also saving time because I'm only having to do dishes once.

*As one of the original members of the Funky Freezer Girls I am a huge fan of freezer cooking.  You don't have to do Once A Month Cooking or be part of an exchange group in order to make your life easier using your freezer.  If you make your own pasta sauce, make a double batch and freeze half by putting it in a ziploc bag and lying it flat in your freezer until frozen.  If you make enchilladas, lasagna, or another casserole that goes in an 9x13 pan place the recipe in 2 8x8 pans.  Stick one pan in the oven for dinner that night and the other in the freezer for later.  The night before you're going to have your freezer meal, put it in the fridge to defrost and pop it in the oven after work. 


This is, in no way, a comprehensive list, but I pray it'll help you get the creative juices flowing in ways that you can save yourself time, stress and money.  Just because you don't have time to cook doesn't mean you have to eat out or eat processed food!

A Facebook Food Explosion!

Two weeks ago I wrote a blog on the healing power of food.  At the time I wrote it I thought God had taught me what I needed to know in that area.  (You can stop laughing now).  As with all things, the minute I think I have it figured out God shows me how much more I have to learn.   While I've been continuing to process this new found passion and lesson, He has continued to show me how great of a need there is for the power of a home cooked meal.

The day I wrote my last blog I saw a recipe on the Food Tidings facebook page where they said, "This would make a great freezer meal".  I posted a comment about our group, as well as links to our group and my blog.  I am familiar with Food Tidings because our MOPS group has used them for use to coordinate meals for families after the birth of a baby.

A few days after I posted my comment I got a message from Lisa, the co-founder of Food Tidings, asking more about our group.  The e-mail conversation I had with Lisa became a story Food Tidings blog.  The Funky Freezer Girls facebook page added several new friends as a result of that post and Jackie and I were left saying "Wow, God!"   I was energized by those events and was convinced that we'd just seen a glimpse of what God was going to do with Jackie's "crazy little idea".

On Friday, August 26 I saw on my Facebook news feed that a friend "liked" a group called Crock Pot Girls.  The "girls" had about 25,000 "likes" at that time and I was amazed they'd only been on Facebook since Friday, August 19!

After I liked the group I wrote on their wall telling them how excited I was about the idea because some of the most loved meals in our group are crock pot meals.  I shared the FFG Facebook page and by Saturday afternoon we had 1000 likes!  We're up over 2200 likes and my little dream is becoming a reality as groups are starting to form in several cities!

The Crock Pot Girls are seriously exploding on the internet and these 3 MOPS moms who started the site for their family and friends are having their world rocked.  In the time it's taken me to write this they're up over 25k "likes" and, at this rate, will pass 500k within the hour! WOW! ONLY GOD could do something this amazing and this incredible.

As I've been cheering on Crock Pot Girls, and have been watching a friend help them with marketing and media relations, I've been thinking about what has made them such a phenomenon.   I think it comes back to the fact that there is healing power in food and, at the end of the day, we all want to feed our families good, healthy food.  Sitting around the table and sharing a meal with our families is about so much more than filling our stomachs--it's about feeding our souls, strengthening relationships and taking the time to slow down.  Ok, I'm sure part of the popularity of Crock Pot Girls might have to do with the fact there are thousands of crock pots collecting dust in kitchens across America because everyone's got one, but not all of us know what to do with it, but I prefer to think of the Crock Pot Girls as a ministry that is being used to bring families together.

The Crock Pot Girls, Funky Freezer Girls and Food Tidings are all groups started by women and are about helping others provide home cooked meals. Three different groups, but at their root all these groups are grounded in the power of food.  (I've also noticed these groups are all born out of churches and/or mom's groups . . . I don't think that's a coincidence, either).

Instead of thinking I've got this whole "power of food" thing down I'm realizing that I'm just beginning to glimpse the power of food for the nourishment of our souls.  Judging by what's happening on Facebook this week I think the world is starting to realize it, too . .

The Healing Power of Food

Life has been fairly hectic here, not leaving much time for blogging, no matter how much I enjoy it.  I've had a list going of the things I've been wanting to write about, but God hijacked those today and led me to what is becoming an overwhelming passion of mine . . . the healing power of food.

After the Funky Freezer Girls got started I had a dream.  In the past year I have seen firsthand how much it means for hurting families to have a homecooked meal during their struggle.   This spring I read The 10 Habits of Happy Mothers: Reclaiming Our Passion, Purpose, and Sanity by Dr. Meg Meeker, a pediatrician, wife and mom.  I wish I could type out the entire 3 pages of a story Dr. Meeker relates in the book about the power of food in a section entitled, "Food is Friendship" because it is so powerful and touches me in a profound way. In one of my favorite passages from the book, Dr. Meeker writes about WHY we feel the need to take care of others through food:

For many of us mothers, feeding people is our love language.  When we are too intimidated to express our feelings, particularly when sadness is involved, we resort to casseroles.  Bake chicken, cut up carrots, and roll out pie dough.  These are the hand motions of a friend who longs to soothe a mother's broken heart.  And somehow, miraculously they do (pg 28)

Dr. Meeker goes on to to tell the story of the power of food and friendship in the lives of two women, Beth and Lisa.  Lisa's husband was dying of cancer, leaving her with small children and Beth cooked for their family throughout his illness.  Dr. Meeker lets Beth tell the story :

"During those last days, we went to the grocery store a lot," Beth recalls, "because I was in a serious cooking mode then.  I felt so helpless. I wanted to love Lisa the best I could, but words, hugs, flowers, nothing did it.  I don't even know if food did, but I do know one thing, that cooking at least made us all feel that some part of life--maybe the task of keeping alive--was moving forward.  We had to all just keep moving forward." (30)

Dr. Meeker ends the section by writing:

"Food doesn't soothe, but intention does.  Where love stops, chicken pot pies can take over . . . So I will cook for you now, says that friend.  I can pretend that you are with me and that I can make life better for you.  So let me in, says the food." (30)

Earlier today a friend posted this blog on the Funky Freezer Girls facebook page from one woman whose life had been blessed by being on the receiving end of a friend's cooking.

For the past several months a mentor's infant granddaughter has been fighting for her life.  Just after arriving in the world in April this beautiful little girl was diagnosed with a heart condition that required immediate surgery.  In June sweet Stella had to be re-admitted to the hospital because of stenosis and her fight REALLY began.  Stella's story isn't mine to share, but she is a true miracle and this weekend she got to go home after spending nearly 2 months in the hospital.  Because of all I've learned in recent months, once I knew Miss Stella was about to bust out of the hospital for the first time since mid-June I started cooking and asked her Yaya when I could drop off meals for a weary Mom and Dad.  Since then a website has been set up to help them as well and I know they'll have meals covered for a long time, but it just felt good to be able to do something tangible for them.

I'm continually blown away by how God has used the Funky Freezer Girls.  What started out as a group of moms who were looking to simplify their lives a little bit has become one of the greatest experiences of my life.  I started out by being lazy and needing help making dinner each night, but God has taken me on a journey that has changed my heart forever and, in my mind, the least important thing about my freezer group is what I stack inside my own freezer each month.

Among the lessons I've learned on this journey is that blessing others through food is not about being a great cook.  You'll never see me on FoodNetwork and I'll never publish a cookbook.  I'm extremely intimidated when I need to cook for others and I'm not a fan of most cooking websites because I'm not a "foodie".  I can follow a simple recipe, but if it calls for more than a handful of basic ingredients or something from a special market you won't find it coming out of my kitchen.  Despite all that, I've learned that, as Dr. Meeker said, it's about the intention.  Whether I slaved for two days over a pasta sauce and homemade noodles (not going to be happening at my place) or I whip together a casserole in 15 minutes by adding together what's in my pantry, it doesn't matter to the family who is being loved on.  What matters is that food was lovingly, thoughtfully and prayerfully prepared . . .

My love affair with my FoodSaver and Freezer

Before my son was born I saw a FoodSaver at Costco and told my husband I would like one. I few weeks later I was the proud owner of the kitchen appliance that would change my life. I bought it thinking it would be a nice alternative to having chicken freezer burned in ziploc freezer bags. What I didn't know is that the day would come I would consider it the most valuable small appliance in the house (well, except for my flat iron, but that's because of the "gift" my kids gave me of a perpetually bad 80's perm--on HALF of my head)

In the approximately 4 years since that initial purchase my FoodSaver has become my favorite appliance in the house. I use it ALL THE TIME. I use it to store meat/fish/poultry when it's on sale. I use it for freezer meals. Those two uses alone save me HUNDREDS of dollars/year. As I've mentioned in previous posts, I've been stocking up on cod while it's on sale for $2.99/lb. I have purchased about 15lbs worth of fish at this rock bottom price and frozen it, knowing I may never see this price again (normally I'm happy if it's $4.99/lb). I have items stored for over a year and they still taste amazingly fresh. I haven't lost a single piece of meat/poultry/fish to freezer burn in 4 years!

For freezer meals I make double batches and freeze half. We are a family of 4--with two of those members being toddlers. A 9x12 pan full of anything means that's all we'll eat for lunch and dinner for nearly a week. I've learned if I make the same recipe and place the lasagna in 2 8x8 pans instead of one 9x12 I have a healthy, preservative free dinner on a night I'm too tired/lazy to cook. I put one 8x8 pan in the oven, use my FoodSaver and freeze the other 8x8 portion (pan included)! I use this technique for casseroles, lasagna, baked ziti, enchilladas, shepherd's pie, etc.

Besides saving me from lazy days, one of the benefits of making sure my freezer is stocked with freezer meals is that I always have something on hand if I want to help out a friend who is in the hospital, has recently had a baby, etc.

Once I started REALLY using my FoodSaver I wanted a second freezer. In our old house I knew that wouldn't happen because the only possible "home" for it was the garage. I live in a very hot climate and it doesn't make sense to have a second freezer in the garage because the cost of a constantly running appliance + the drain on the freezer's life counteract any possible savings. When we moved about two years ago we didn't have a huge list of requirements for our huge house (we had to have low expectations to be in the neighborhood we wanted, while maintaining our budget), but one of my "wants" was a place to store a freezer.

Our home doesn't have a pantry (I use a linen closet to store my "stockpile") but it does have room in the laundry room for a 22 cubic ft. upright freezer!

Neither my freezer (about $600) or FoodSaver (about $150) were cheap but they are both WELL WORTH the investment and have both paid for themselves many times over.

Sales and Freezer Meals . . . these are a few of my favorite things . . .

Here are a few things I will be buying at the grocery store this week, as well as a freezer meal I will be making.

At Sprouts a 5lb bag of Clementines is on sale for $2.99. Considering how fast my kids go through these I may need to buy one box early in the week and another later on.

I'm really excited about FREE PASTA at Bashas' this week. Barilla pasta is on sale for $1/box and there was a coupon in Sunday's paper for $.55 off of 1 box of Barilla Whole Grain pasta. Bashas' doubles coupons up to $1 so my $.55 off coupon becomes worth $1. I'm not great at math, but $1-$1=FREE! :) While at Bashas' getting my free pasta I will be picking up strawberries because they are 2lbs for $3

At Safeway 93% lean ground beef is $1.99/lb and a 5lb bag of red potatoes is only $.99! I am going to buy about 5lbs of ground beef and a bag of potatoes.

Here's a freezer meal I will be making after I go to Safeway: I will brown all the ground beef and turn all the potatoes into mashed potatoes. I will combine these with ingredients I have on hand already (carrots and frozen peas) to make 5 Shepherd's Pies. I will put one 8x8 pan in the oven for dinner and then seal the other 4 with my FoodSaver and freeze them. I LOVE making double (or quadruple) batches of foods like Shepherd's Pie and freezing them because I have a preservative free meal waiting in my freezer on nights I don't feel like cooking. I don't do "once a month" cooking because I don't want to spend an entire day cooking and doing dishes. By making a large batch and freezing the extras I'm only doing the work once and not spending any extra time in the kitchen than I normally would making dinner on a normal evening.