Cooking Binge

I went on a bit of a cooking binge over the last two weeks. 

OK, not a little bit.  I cooked and froze over 80 freezer meals and casseroles.

I wanted to lay in a supply of frozen meals to help me get through this summer while the kids are home. 

I don't think I really thought through the mechanics of this before I began.  I had ordered some bulk chicken from our butcher (80 pounds), and I had planned out the kids favorite meals.  I also wanted to just freeze some of the chicken plain in order to make whatever struck my fancy some night.

Between the 80 pounds of chicken and the groceries to make the freezer meals, I spent about $400. 

I put together packages of Pineapple Terriyaki Chicken, Chicken Cacciatore, Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole, and Chicken Taco filling.

I made chicken pot pies.  I made shepherd's pie.  I made White Chicken Turkey.  I grilled some chicken and sliced it into strips to use in salads.

The list goes on, but you get the idea.  I made a lot!  Nothing is fried.  Nothing is sitting in a "cream of" soup.  Well, except for the chicken pot pie, but that's sitting in gravy I made from scratch.  Nothing from a can that is loaded with sodium and mystery ingredients. 

And I froze it all.

Well, except for the pulled chicken BBQ.  We had that for dinner twice over the last week.  Once was the original batch, the second time was for leftovers.  We might have also had it for a couple of lunches, too.

When I think back on it, I did an incredible amount of work in 20 hours.

However, this summer, while the kids are all home from their respective schools, I will have quick and easy meals.  We will either be able to pop them into the crock pot or oven, and dinner will basically be finished with minimal effort on my part! 

BONUS- I'll be able to spend more time WITH my family, instead of cooking and cleaning the kitchen when they're home.  As they get older and move on into their own lives, I really put a premium on the quality of time I spend with them.  Who knows when our next opportunity to spend time together will come along?

If you do the math on my meals, it comes up to $5 per meal.  Keep in mind, each one of these meals is meat-based.  Not bad, especially when you consider that I'll be feeding 4 people with each meal!  (Daughter is a vegetarian, so I don't include her in the count on anything that's been cooked with meat.)