Money & Time Savings

One of the things I have learned in recent years is that I must prepare ahead.  This saves time later but also saves lots of money.  Today, I cut up six sweet peppers to freeze.  Three of these were from Aldi. They have produce at really good prices and I have been very pleased with the quality.  The others were from a produce coop (Noisy Rabbit) that we are part of.  I date them and then place them flat in the freezer.  When I need sweet peppers, I just reach in the bag and take out what I need.  There are times when I need peppers that the price is just too high. This helps me always have them available.

I also do this with meat.  I buy our ground beef at Sam's Club.  They have huge tubes of meat that are around $25.  It is better quality than what I usually find at the grocery store.  I would love to take the leap to pasture feed beef but meanwhile this seems best.  Once I get it home, I go ahead and divide it into quart freezer bags.  Sometimes I patty some and sometimes I brown some before freezing.  It saves money and keeps me from needing to buy at current price.

For chicken breast, I also buy the big packs and separate it. Once home, I put them in the rice cooker with celery, onion, carrots, salt and pepper. Put it on the brown rice setting. It goes through one cycle and I let it partially cool (learned this from Martha Stewart) before taking it out. It comes out so tender.  Cut it into bite size pieces and put it into quart freezer bags. Soups, pastas, casseroles, etc are no problem and quick to make.  I love knowing cooked chicken is in the freezer and hate the feeling it I run out.

Hope these tips help you!