Comments on Many Little Blessings: A Little Effort Ahead of Time Can Really Save You ...

I put cooked meat from turkeys or chicken I buy on...

2009-12-04T20:06:25.499-05:00

I put cooked meat from turkeys or chicken I buy on sale in portioned bags in the freezer. Then, like tonight- I took out a bag and made BBQ sauce and had BBQ sandwiches for the kids and BBQ baked potatoes for us! Easy!

I keep wonton or other Chinese dumplings in the fr...

2009-12-01T23:53:00.917-05:00

I keep wonton or other Chinese dumplings in the freezer. Usually, they are homemade, but sometimes I buy them. They make a quick lunch or dinner, just bring a pot of water to boil, add the dumplings, and bring to a boil again. Fast and easy (though making the dumplings can be tedious).

I cook huge batches of rice and freeze them in zip...

2009-12-01T12:17:24.938-05:00

I cook huge batches of rice and freeze them in ziploc bags. I also cook a big batch of steel cut oats once a week and we reheat them in the mornings.
I also just started making a large batch of beans each week and keeping them in the fridge. I want to try freezing them, too. Love the sloppy joe idea...yum!

My tip is only helpful if you have a smoker. We h...

2009-12-01T09:31:15.189-05:00

My tip is only helpful if you have a smoker. We have an electric smoker and I love it. We can smoke two chickens at one time, and we eat one for dinner and then shred the other one and freeze it in 1.5-2 cup portions. I use the frozen chicken in soup, pot pies, salads, pasta, whatever. We all love the flavor of smoked meat. I think we paid about 200 dollars for the smoker, but it was worth every penny because it is so low-maintenance. Once you turn it on and set the temperature, all you have to do is add wood chips every 1.5 hours or so.

I actually just started doing this myself. One of...

2009-12-01T09:20:38.944-05:00

I actually just started doing this myself. One of our favorite meals is chicken ziti and the sauce freezes beautifully.
Brown one lb ground chicken and 1 lb chicken sausage in a skillet. Add garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Add 2 jars pasta sauce and 2 bay leaves. Simmer for at least 30 minutes then serve over pasta. Half of this recipe feeds my family of 4 without a problem.