Posted in Organization

Well, it is that time of the year again. The education of our children is in full swing, we are trying to prepare our homes and lives for winter. We are very busy indeed. So, how can we make life a little easier on ourselves without spending a lot of money?

By preparing some food items that we will use on our own, and stocking our cupboards and freezers with them. By doing this, we will save money, energy and time for us and our families. Here are some ideas to get you started.

* Mac and cheese can be made quickly. Add some meats (not tuna!) And vegetables to make this a healthier choice. Freeze in quart size freezer bags in individual servings. Be sure to get all of the air out when freezing anything. You can make numerous boxes of mac and cheese at once, all with the same add-ins or split it into mixing bowls adding different add-ins per bowl. Whatever you do, cook all of the pasta in 1 big pot to save energy and time, and be sure to label before freezing. If taken out of the freezer the day before you need this, they will make great lunches. (I use a homemade mac and cheese recipe that is healthier than boxed.)

* Make an assortment of muffins and wrap them individually with plastic wrap. Bake a bunch of batches, mixing like batches in one bowl. If you have four or more batches being mixed into one bowl, delete an egg. Bake them all at once in the oven to save time and energy costs. You can put the wrapped muffins into gallon size. Get as much air as you can out of the bags, label and freeze. You can take these out the day before you need them. You can have them for snacks with milk, or at breakfast. For breakfast, try these:

1. Muffin, fruit and milk.

2. Muffin, yogurt and juice.

(You can do the same with the pancakes and french toast below.)

* Make up a bunch of batches of pancakes. Freeze in a gallon size plastic bag on its side, between pieces of freezer paper. Label and freeze. You can pull these out as you need them. We sometimes like to top one with apple pie filling, but this is just a treat.

* Make many batches of french toast, flash freeze, cut into thirds and freeze in snack size zipper bags. Then put all of the bags into a gallon size bag. Label and freeze. Pull out to go with your other breakfast items.

* Make freezable casseroles, freeze as individual servings for another lunch choice.

* Freeze leftover vegetables, vegetable and/or pasta water, and meats in separate containers in the freezer. Once in a while, you can pull them out for a homemade soup.

* In the evenings, you can chop and prepare a lot of foods for the next nights dinner. In the morning, you can put everything into the slow cooker and turn it on low. This will make an easy dinner for later.

* Be sure that you make a trail mix for snacks. I put ours into snack size zipper bags with 1 small treat (bagged in the candy aisle). My children are allowed one a day, and can only have the treat if they eat the rest of the mix first. If you do not believe that your children will do that, I would suggest that you do not put the treats in the bag. Instead, if they eat the snack, give them the treat separately. These can be put on a snack shelf.

* Always keep fresh fruits and vegetables on hand for snacks and salads. The vegetables can generally be cut up once or twice a week and stored in individual containers in the refrigerator. I will also make up individual salads every few days to store in the refrigerator.

* You can also freeze lasagna and other pasta meals in casserole pans. Take them out early the day before you will use them, and they can be baked for dinner. Or freeze them in individual servings for lunches.

If you do the things mentioned above, you will have quite the store of prepared foods to make your days easier. You will be able to spend more time running errands, educating your children, and spending time with your family.

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