I Am Not Lazy, I Simply Use Time Economically

I am a little jealous of people who can buy meals from the stores that are pre-made or prepped ahead for a quick or easy dinner.  Ironically, I am jealous of the same people who wish they had the time to make dinner from scratch and not have to buy the pre-made or convenient food.  The fact is, this is a grass is always greener situation.  I want the convenience meals but I can't buy foods that my family I can't eat, while others want the homemade food that I feed my family without spending the time they may not have making it.  What do you do?  Well, I don't know about you, but I try to find a way to have both.

There is a misnomer that just because I have gone to culinary school, that means I do everything long, complicated way.  Well, that simply is not true.  To quote an ex-boss "if I can find a way to make something quicker and easier without ruining the integrity of the food or the final product, I am going to do it".  That pretty much sums up how I look at cooking.

Like, I have said before, I am a busy Mom who likes the idea of convenience food, I just don't like the way that big brands make it.  Besides there are several health concerns in my family which make some of these meals impossible to serve to us.  So after my big monthly shopping, I make my own convenience foods.  Ones devoid of preservatives, gluten, excess carbohydrates, too much sugar or salt, or any thing I don't want my family eating.  They are convenient foods made with real product at the ready whenever I need them.  How do I do this?

I do this three ways:
1. I make freezer meals.  When I say freezer meals I mean the meals are either completed and just need to be reheated, such as a casserole, or everything is combined in one Ziploc bag or container and just needs to be cooked, usually in a slow cooker or oven. (Like my Chili or my Orange Chicken).

2. I also do what I call frozen prep.  These are not meals but are actually components of a meal that are uncooked but are prepped to the point of cooking, usually I even put them in disposable aluminum pans so that I can just put them straight in the oven (I get all of mine at The Dollar Store and they save me so much time on clean up, it is worth the extra $20 a month on pans, tin foil, and plastic wrap).  These may be main courses or side dishes but they are not full meals ready for a final heat.  These usually need things added.  This also includes "kits" I keep in my freezer, which simply means meals that have all the ingredients in one place but still need to be cooked. (For example my "Spaghetti and Meatball Kit" will include fresh or dried pasta, a package of homemade precooked meatballs, a package of my homemade sauce, and a packet of fresh grated Parmesan (because my daughter will eat all of the cheese if it stays in the refrigerator)).

3. I make my own packaged mixes.  Pancake mix, muffin mix, cornbread mix, cake mix are all made at the beginning of the month by combining all the dry ingredients and placing them in storage bags for my later convenience.  I will place each single batch in a quart zip top bag label them, then place all of one kind of mix in a large bag with a card that has directions of what to add and how to cook.  Now I have my own baking mixes ready to go.

I know this sounds like a lot of work, and it is, but I have found ways to cut back on time so I can do a months worth of cooking over three days, only cooking about 4-6 hours a day.  The rest of the month I have delicious, nutritious meals waiting for me that work into my time schedule (or lack there of).

I haven't completely figured out how to do Mock Rice A Roni or Hamburger Helpers yet, but I have found a company that sells dried products and powders that don't have any of the things on my "NO" list, so those are not out of the realm of possibility.  I will let you know.

(And yes I plan to show you how I do all of this but that has to wait for my big shopping trip on the first.)