Married to the Empire

Friday, May 11, 2007

Emergency meals

I mentioned here the other day that I was extremely sick a few years ago with chronic hives and random swelling. I also spent that entire winter in a constant state of upper-respiratory distress. I was SICK. Being so sick, I rarely had the energy or desire to cook. This posed a serious problem because we had to eat. Dinner too often wound up consisting of Ruf's running out after work to get take-out. Expensive and unhealthy when done frequently.

Once I was all better, I got smart. It's just the 2 of us, so most recipes make way more than we can eat. So, I started freezing our meals. Soups, casseroles, various entrees were divided up and put into freezer-safe containers. This has proven to be such a lifesaver in so many ways! Whether it's a too-busy day or I'm sick or tired, there is always something in the freezer that I can pull out at a moment's notice. Now, if I'm ever hit that hard again with illness, we're prepared in the food department.

As for storage, I prefer square or rectangular containers as they fit more economically in the freezer. I put a layer of saran wrap over the top of the food to keep any air away from it. If I use a ziplock, I buy only the brand-name freezer versions, as I truly think they are the best quality. I just flatten the food out and suck the air out with a straw. The ziplocks stack nicely this way.

For more frugal ideas, visit Biblical Womanhood.

4 comments:

Sherry said...

Always a good idea. I should do it. ;-) I do know that you can also pop the frozen food into freezer bags, or wrap them very well, so that use have use of your pans.

Glad you're better--work on building up that immune system. Those infections are a drag.

A Juggling Mum said...

I have just started doing this too :) It's great for the nights that I'm to tired to even think about dinner.

Rachel xxx
aka A Juggling Mum

Anonymous said...

That's a really great plan for just 2! We used to have chicken soup 4 nights in a row :)

Jennifer

Amy said...

Excellent tip! I started freezing some of our meals last fall and our freezer stash was immensely helpful when my daughter opted to make her appearance from the womb four weeks early. Without those freezer meals & bread/pizza dough, life would have been much more difficult!

Your screen name cracked me up! My husband is a major sci-fi freak too. Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate....the list goes on. He even named our two cats after Stargate characters (Ra & Hathor). We had to go see the last Star Wars movie the day it came out. He owns everything from those three shows. LOL.

I hope you have a great week and are feeling better! :o)