Cooking From Scratch

One of my friends asked "Can you tell me when you have time if you make things from scratch every night or freeze stuff and heat up? Is it cheaper?"

Well, I almost never have time, but I'll take the time anyway to answer this important question. How is cooking from scratch important to home food storage? Besides being cheaper and thus insuring that you have some extra coin to get a reserve going, it's healthier for you and it will help you eliminate waste and spoilage through rotation.

Yes, I cook from scratch almost every night. When I am not struggling with organization, I also freeze stuff and heat up...but not in the "make a casserole and freeze it" sort of way. What I like doing is buying my meats and immediately upon getting home, I separate them into bags, plop in some kind of marinade (from scratch-hardly ever use bottled stuff) and THEN freeze. To use, I simply remove a bag of marinated goodness from the freezer in the morning, set it on the counter (I know, I'm bad) and then grill or bake for dinner. Add a can of veggies and maybe some potatoes or rice and that's it. Now, being the busy and lazy person that I am, I have to qualify this some: I prefer to do this every time I go to the store, but have to admit I sometimes get lazy on the front end and pay for it when I wish I had something fast to throw together. But I still force myself to defrost something and cook from scratch, why? The answer is simple: economics. We'd have starved to death long ago if I was trying to buy mixes and boxes. Here are some recipes in my personal collection that I use for marinades:

Orange Glazed Chicken
Honey Glazed Dump Chicken
Caribbean Dump Chicken
Spiced Citrus Dump Chicken
Herb Wine Dump Chicken
Oriental Chicken

When I have a little extra time, these Stuffed Chicken Cutlets are divine and perfect for individual freezing on a jelly roll pan, then pop the frozen bundles into a big Ziplock for one at a time dispensing.

Yes, I know. We eat a lot of chicken. But we also eat pork when it goes on sale and these recipe's all work well on pork. Marinades are easy! Sometimes, I just start dumping things in. I buy bags of lemons and limes at Sam's and I just go crazy with the spices and oils. Anything you marinade this way will turn out really well because it gets to really penetrate the food since it gets to be in contact with it for so long! I also sear the outsides of roasts and add in my braising liquid prior to freezing for positively delectable pot roasts!

I ALWAYS try to buy in bulk, it's cheaper in the long run, helps us eat healthier foods, and I always have something on hand...somewhere, which means fewer trips to the store. It's a proven fact of marketing that the more time you spend in a store, the more money you spend at the store. I get a whole lot of mileage out of my Sam's Club card and I also frequent a store that sells overstock merchandise and things that are nearing expiration. I can buy 10 yogurt cups for a dollar. I can buy 3 boxes of Bunny Grahams (Annie's Organic) for $1. (reg $3 each) I can buy ground beef for .99 a pound and my kids and I were just thrilled when I got packages of Cheese Dogs for $1 each. The thing with the meats is that they are usually frozen and hamburger is in a 5-7 pound chub. Here are some recipes to use for ground beef:

Salisbury Steak but I make meatballs, then cook, add gravy and freeze.
Mini Meatloaves Again, individual freeze and reheat.
And of course, I usually keep a big bag of frozen ground beef on hand that has been browned with onion, garlic, salt and pepper. It is a perfect start to about 101 different casseroles, burritos, sloppy joes, and even as a mix in for that wonderful standby: Mac and Cheese.

Now, this is where lots of people start needing to breath into a paper sack, cooking from scratch every night is a lifestyle change. For most, this change will occur gradually as you build your food storage program, so if you are smacking down McD's 3 times a week and Hamburger Helper is your BFF, I want you to consider why you are in this habit. Is it because you simply have nothing on hand and are too tired to make stuff to eat when you get home? Would it help you to have something to serve on short notice, even if you had to micro-defrost it? Would it make you feel less guilt to have something decent to eat without a trip to the store or a drive-thru? I will guarantee that with a small investment of time each week, you can free yourself from pre-packaged, sodium laden boxes and Fat Food Drive-Thru non-food FOREVER. You will feel better, you will look better, and you will be richer...or at least, less poor. ;O)

With just a bit of planning, you can have at least 6 different chicken varieties on hand with only about 30 min invested. Here's what you do: make up several marinades in advance. Put them in gallon size Ziplock bags. Go to the grocery store. Buy several packages of chicken, thighs and legs, breasts, whatever is on sale...and if it's marked down for quick sale...even better. When you get home, open up chicken packages, rinse off the meat, remove skin (or not), and then put as many pieces as it takes to feed your family into each Ziplock. Smoosh the Ziplocks around some, (or employ a three year old to help you carry them to the freezer) and pop them in the freezer. You're done. You just cooked dinner for at least 6 nights. In UNDER 30 minutes (not including shopping time). I know it's technically not "cooked" but it will be, most chicken cuts cook very fast, and truthfully, many of these cook up just great in the crock pot too! Plus, you'll be looking forward to trying your creations instead of groaning about having to come up with something for dinner. And the next time you make something, make a double batch: freeze one, serve one. With a little time and discipline, you will be eating better and cheaper than you ever thought possible and building your food storage AT THE SAME TIME!!! YEAHY!

Stay tuned for a post later this week on canning meats and soups! I have two bottles of chicken (surprise! lol), a bottle of ground beef and two quarts of chicken soup...and I took pictures and video as I went so you can join in the fun! Until then, happy storing.