Freezer savings....

Years ago, someone introduced me to "Once A Month Cooking" and I fell in love.  I used to be very good at cooking things up in advanced and having a kind of "freezer food savings account" for those busy days.  Alot of things have changed since then and I have kind of developed my own way of doing things that works well for our family.  One trip through the freezer section at any grocery store ALWAYS makes me realize, just how much freezing things helps our pocket book.  After all, when you can buy frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches now... then you compare that... to what it would cost to do it yourself... then you understand.  Sooooo, ice cube trays and muffin tins have become used for many more things around here than the norm.  This is just an example of some of the things we do.

This is our pesto.  We grow basil every year and ALWAYS have an abundance of it.  So we make pesto, freeze it in ice cube trays, pop it out and put it in freezer bags, and then we have it for later.  We use it on sandwiches, with pasta, and many more things.  It is so nice to be able to just pull it out and use it.  And much cheaper than buying a jar of pesto at the store. 

This is left overs. Roast, carrots and potatoes to be exact.  :)  Since the girls and I are preparing for our long trip without my hubby, we still need and want to take care of him.  After all, all the cooks will be gone.  :)  So we are gradually freezing meals up so that he can just pull it from the freezer and heat it up for dinner.  This was the roast we had over the weekend.  When it is completely frozen, we pop it out and put each "cube" in a cheapo non-sealing fliptop sandwich bag.  Then we will put 3 of those bags in a freezer bag for him to pull out for his complete meal.  Yes, I know I could freeze it in the divider trays, BUT, we don't have that many of those trays, so this is how I am making do.  :)

AND...  here is one of the baskets of food.  Before I leave, I will have multiple baskets in the freezer with an inventory list on the outside of the freezer.  Hopefully, this will help him not have to eat out alot or live on those yucky "cardboard" pizzas.  :)