Lists

I am a list-maker.  It's the way I stay sane.  It's the way I prevent (most of the time:-) that overloaded  brain forgetfulness.  It's the way I can sleep at night so I'm not worrying "Don't forget this, tomorrow."  I keep a notepad near my bed to keep track of these things.  But right on my fridge I have posted two lists that help me save money--my freezer content list and my restock list.

My freezer content list contains all the items I have in my deep freezer, which is especially helpful with the freezer meals I've been making.  I write the item, how many I have, and the date they were made or put in the freezer.  Then, when I take something out of the freezer, I cross it off the list.  This helps me remember and use what I have so that I don't waste money on unused freezer-burned food.

My restock list is where I write down the items that we're running out of.  My husband has learned that if he wants me to buy something, he must write it on the list or I won't remember to buy it!  When I go shopping, I grab the list so that I won't forget something...which saves me money on gas and those "extra" things you tend to pick up when you're just buying milk!

What lists help you save money?

Freezer Meals

I've lately gotten into the craze of making freezer meals.  This is a great way to stretch your dollar and to save time!  This way you will have meals on hand for those days you just don't feel like making dinner, saving you money by not eating out.

There are different ways to go about this:

1. When you make a meal, double it and freeze the extra.  This is by far the easiest, requiring little extra effort.
2. Join or form a freezer dinner group exchange.  Each person makes one meal for however many families are in the group and you exchange.  Nice for new recipes.
3. Have a big cooking day about one day a month, preparing several meals at once.  This works well when you have certain meal themes, such as chicken recipes.  You can stock up on chicken when it's on sale and then prepare several dishes at once.  This also saves money by consolidating cooking your chicken all at the same time, rather than on each day you are having chicken.

Some tips: 

• Freeze most meals in Ziploc freezer bags.  By laying them flat on a cookie sheet in the freezer, you can stack them easily, conserving space.
• Buy extra casserole dishes at garage sales, thrift stores, etc. so all your casserole dishes won't be tied up in the freezer.
• Use adhesive labels to attach to each dish, listing contents, date made, and directions for reheating.
• Keep a paper near the freezer to list the available meals and their dates.  Be sure to cross the meal off once you use it.

Thanks to all my friends who have taught me how to do freezer meals!!

Cooking Schedule and Themes

Anyone who knows me well knows I just HATE cooking!  There are so many things I would rather be doing than making a meal and cleaning up after it.  But food is necessary to sustain life (darn it:-) so it's got to be done.  I realized the hardest thing for me about cooking is coming up with the idea of WHAT to make.  So I came up with 12 dinner themes.  By repeating two themes, I have two-weeks worth of themed food nights, making it easier to come up with a menu (and helping us get out of a dinner rut).  I schedule these on the calendar and pick a meal for each theme.  What saves money is knowing before 5:00 what I'll be making for dinner so we don't fall back on "Let's just pick something up."  Another money saving tip is to create your menu specifically on what you have on hand or what is on sale that week.

For those of you who are interested, here's our Themes:
Italian
Mexican
Asian
Soup/Salad
From the Oven
Something New (to encourage me to branch out from our usual staples)
Family Favorites
Crockpot
Pizza (homemade)
Meatless
Simple (mac n cheese from a box, Ramen, grilled cheese, etc.)...twice
CORN (Clean Out Refrigerator Night)...twice

My husband has appreciated the better meals (and not having to wait so much when he gets home) and I've loved the anxiety-free feeling I have of knowing what we're having for dinner.  So, get your calendars and pencils ready and start planning your menus!  Who knows, you might actually start enjoying cooking every once in a while!-)

Plastic Baggies

A great tip to save money and the environment:  wash and reuse your sandwich baggies!  For ease of cleaning, turn the baggie inside-out and insert your hand into it for easier wiping with a soapy cloth.  Rinse and then hang to dry on any drying utensils.

*I recommend not reusing baggies which have held raw meat or peanut butter (if you have a peanut allergy in the family).

Money Saving Kitchen Tool

One of the best money saving tools in the kitchen is....

drum roll, please...

The Spatula!

I know, pretty basic, right?  But some people don't use it very often.  I use mine for every can or jar I'm just about done with.  For example, by using my spatula, I can usually get out enough peanut butter for an extra sandwich or two.  Why waste food from a nearly empty container when you paid for all of it?

Jamie