Put it in the Freezer - A Few Simple Tips

Today's thrifty tip is about cooking for the freezer.  Articles on cooking for the freezer abound, both online and in book form (the regular kind with pages).  On Living Large we are going to share a few specific tips every so often rather than overload you with information all at once. Whenever you are cooking for the freezer remember to have plenty freezer bags or other containers to place your items and/or dishes in.

Regular readers of Living Large on Less know that taking advantage of the best possible sale price is a given here on the blog.  With that in mind, how frustrating is it to see a spectacular price on a perishable food item at the grocery store and have to walk away because the amount is too great to use before it perishes?  Worse yet is the sinking feeling that comes when the rotten food item is found in the pantry or frig because instead of practicing good thrift, we were snagged by the "it's such a great buy" bug and purchased something that contained way too much product for our family to use.  If either of these experiences is familiar, then today's thrifty freezer cooking tip will be just the ticket for you.

When bags of onions or peppers go on sale, go ahead and take advantage of the lowest possible price and purchase them; even if the amount of produce is too much for your family to use.  Splitting the bags with friends is always an option, but today we are focusing on another choice, cooking for the freezer.  Chop all of the onions.  Now there is a choice available; the onions can be sauteed, cooled, and placed into freezer bags after being divided into individual recipe sized amounts OR they can be divided into recipe-sized amounts and placed into freezer bags without sauteeing.   Either way works just fine.  Pop the bags in the freezer and viola! whenever you need onion for the dish you are cooking, it is all measured and possibly even cooked up ready to go.  All you will need to do is pull it out of the freezer and maybe reheat it.  Some recipes won't even require that much preparation.  Peppers can also be cleaned, chopped and put into freezer bags. 

Even small amounts of pre-cooking prep work can provide huge savings of both time and finances.  I promise the first time you go to the freezer and pull out a bag of onions and/or peppers to pop into whatever you are preparing, you will be hooked.  Cooking for the freezer, it's today's thrifty tip for Thursday.  Blessed Mama

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