My mother was great at having ready-to-go meals in the freezer. We had one of those big uprights standing guard in our garage, and on a day that had been particularly hectic, I would be asked to go and “pick something out for dinner”. I can still see myself standing in front of that freezer, and feeling the first burst of freezer air that would explode in my face as I opened the door. The dilemma I then faced was having to choose between my mom’s famous spaghetti sauce, or enchiladas, chicken and rice, pot roast, or other dinner delight. My mother was an excellent cook.

Not much has changed since then, except that most of us don’t freeze meals as often as women used to. Below are 6 great reasons why we all may want to reconsider spending a little extra time in the kitchen in order to “be prepared”.

First: Having meals ready to go in the freezer is the best way to avoid those budget busting trips to pick up fast food or pizza. Studies have shown that the average family spends 6.5% of their income on fast food! If you make $25,000 per year that means $1625.00 per year has gone to fast food. A $50,000 per year income $3250.00 per year. WOW!

Most people would say that they don’t spend that much, but I have not seen anyone who can feed their family for less than $20.00 at a fast food restaurant. Try this experiment, for the next month keep a note pad in your car and record all your fast food purchases. You will be amazed at the money that evaporates through that little drive-thru window.

Second: You can purchase frozen foods that are already made, to keep on hand for a quick meal but they are expensive as well. A frozen lasagna big enough for a family is anywhere from $12.00 to $15.00 and that is before you add vegetables and or a salad to have a balanced meal. You can make two lasagnas for less than half that price. Eat one, and freeze one for later.

Third: Freezer meals are a great way to use produce from the garden or special deals. When you get tired of canning or freezing vegetables put them into a freezer meal and use them later.

Fourth: If you have meals in the freezer you are always ready to help others.

Fifth: When you are having a tough day or you need a quick meal so you can make it to that basketball game, a nutritious frozen dinner is just the fix.

Sixth: You control all the ingredients in your own convenience food.

Set aside a day when you just make meals. You will need the ingredients for your meals so work out a menu ahead of time. You will need freezer bags and/or dishes that are freezer appropriate and/or disposable pans. Go to discount or thrift stores to pick up very inexpensive casserole dishes. I bought my last 9x13 glass casserole dish for 75cents!!

Putting together freezer meals is also a great project for a group of friends. Everyone brings all the ingredients for the meals they choose to make. They bring enough ingredients to make the recipe for all the others who are working with you. If you have three friends and everyone brings ingredients for three meals you end up with nine meals. The other big advantage to this method is that you get to try new recipes and you have a greater variety.

One important tip, never place aluminum foil directly on your food. The foil can leech into the food. Always use plastic wrap first and then top with foil.

Here is an easy freezer Quiche recipe to get you started.

Quiche

1 ½ C flour
½ tsp. salt
1 stick butter
4 T ice water

Combine flour, salt and butter until crumbly. Add ice water 1 T at a time roll out and place in pie plate or quiche dish.

Filling:
3 oz. swiss cheese grated
3 oz. jack or mozzarella cheese grated
4 large eggs
1 C milk
1/8 tsp. dry mustard
1 C diced ham, bacon, asparagus or other meat or vegetable. (optional)

Place pie crust in quiche pan or pie pan. Combine eggs, milk, and mustard and mix well. Place cheese in pie crust. Add other ingredients. Pour egg mixture over all. Gently press meat and vegetables so they are covered by the egg mixture. Place plastic wrap over quiche. Add aluminum foil over the plastic wrap and secure.

Quiche is a great freezer meal. You can use any vegetables you have on hand, although zucchini does not work well. It has too much water in it. You can also add any leftover meats, like Thanksgiving turkey or Christmas ham. Never use raw meat in a quiche. You can also replace the cheeses with any cheese you like as long as it will melt well.

        

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