Head on over to Life as MOM to download this month’s FREE Breakfasts-on-the-Go freezer cooking plan. It’s a great companion to my cookbook, Not Your Mother’s Make-Ahead and Freeze Cookbook, helping you get a bigger bang for your buck.

Have you missed the other FREE cooking plans? There are already SIX in the collection:

• Protein-Style Dinners - a menu plan filled with paleo and Whole30-friendly recipes
• Cold Weather and Company Dinners - get cozy at home with your folks or invite people in, this cooking plan has you covered
• Cozy Winter Breakfasts - stick-to-your ribs oat dishes, granola, fruit-filled energy bars, and a variety of baking mixes
• Holiday Baking – a plethora of cookies and quick breads as well as a Pretzel Berry Cheesecake
• Busy Nights – lots of casseroles and one-dish dinners to make supper times easy on busy nights

Download FREE Breakfasts-on-the-Go Freezer Cooking Plan is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

Each month on Life as MOM, I share a freezer cooking plan that you can download and cook from. Grocery list is included.

This month’s plan is suited for Cold Weather and Company Dinners.

Here are plans from the last few months in case you missed one:

• Cozy Winter Breakfasts - stick-to-your ribs oat dishes, granola, fruit-filled energy bars, and a variety of baking mixes
• Holiday Baking – a plethora of cookies and quick breads as well as a Pretzel Berry Cheesecake
• Busy Nights – lots of casseroles and one-dish dinners to make supper times easy on busy nights

FREE Downloadable Freezer Cooking Plan is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

View more videos at: http://nbcsandiego.com.

Gives new meaning to the phrase, TV dinner.

We had a TV Dinner Tonight is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

Today is the 31st day of this series, 31 Days of Freezer Cooking. If you missed a post, I’ve got them all catalogued right here. I’m stunned how quickly October has flown by.

If you’re new to freezer cooking, welcome! You will want to join me each month on Life as MOM when I share Freezer Cooking Days. Or daze, depending on how you look at it.

I’m coming off the heels of a mega cooking session, so I’m feeling a little woozy. Woozy, but glad that the freezer is filled.

On the first Friday of each month on Life as MOM, I post about my month’s freezer cooking adventures while readers share theirs. It’s a great time to swap notes, share recipes, and generate more good ideas to keep the freezer filled and our tummies happy.
Come by Friday when I share my latest adventure in freezer cooking that resulted in over 20 meals for my family to enjoy throughout the busy holiday season. I’ll even be sharing a free downloadable cooking plan featuring recipes from my book.

31 Days of Freezer Cooking

For more ideas about how to make freezer cooking work for you, follow along with us here in October as I post 31 Days of Freezer Cooking. You can see past posts here.

For even more Freezer Cooking how-to’s you can also buy my book, Not Your Mother’s Make-Ahead and Freeze Cookbook.

Don’t want to miss a post in this series? Subscribe to 31 Days of Freezer Cooking by RSS oremail.

Join Me for Freezer Cooking Days is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

Years ago in my couponing days, I found these pasta kits that came with all you needed to create a full dinner. No doubt you’ve seen similar kits for tacos, burritos, or even pizza.

Why not make your own kit and stash it in the freezer?

I did this yesterday, creating taco kits complete with seasoned taco meat, tortillas, and shredded cheese. We’ll thaw a kit in the fridge, reheat the meat, supplement with fresh lettuce and salsa. Voila!

Dinner is served.

You can make kits for pizza, tacos, burritos, and stirfry. Simply package the components individually and combine them in a larger freezer bag. Be sure to label it so that the fam can prepare dinner on their own on the night when you’re out.

31 Days of Freezer Cooking

For more ideas about how to make freezer cooking work for you, follow along with us here in October as I post 31 Days of Freezer Cooking. You can see past posts here.

For even more Freezer Cooking how-to’s you can also buy my book, Not Your Mother’s Make-Ahead and Freeze Cookbook.

Don’t want to miss a post in this series? Subscribe to 31 Days of Freezer Cooking by RSS oremail.

Make a Freezer Meal Kit is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

I spent the day in the kitchen doing some massive bulk cooking for the coming weeks. I started out with my prep list, chopping and slicing all the different ingredients that I would need during the day. It was a lot of chopping onions!

The prep list is so helpful in being efficient in your cooking session. You want to maximize your time and not repeat unnecessary actions.

Here are some tips to help make that prep work go smoothly:

• keep a bowl handy for trash and trimmings so you don’t needlessly walk back and forth to the trash
• save a measuring spoon that you’re going to reuse over and over again. Wash only if they get wet or if you’re switching between savory and sweet
• sharpen your knives
• make sure you have lots of clean kitchen towels
• empty the trash and recycling as soon as they get full

31 Days of Freezer Cooking

For more ideas about how to make freezer cooking work for you, follow along with us here in October as I post 31 Days of Freezer Cooking. You can see past posts here.

For even more Freezer Cooking how-to’s you can also buy my book, Not Your Mother’s Make-Ahead and Freeze Cookbook.

Don’t want to miss a post in this series? Subscribe to 31 Days of Freezer Cooking by RSS oremail.

Freezer Cooking Prep Work is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

I spent time this weekend finalizing my freezer cooking plan as well as getting some shopping in. BIG batch cooking is on the agenda this week.

While I still shop at a number of stores, Costco is often my go-to spot for groceries when bulk cooking. There are some great deals to be had, though their meat prices are not as competitive as they once were.

If you’re wondering what you might want to grab at Costco, here’s my list of good deals:

• cheese
• some meats
• bread
• milk and other liquid dairy
• butter
• canned tomato products
• spices
• baking supplies
• beans
• pasta
• honey and maple syrup
• processed snacks for cooking day

31 Days of Freezer Cooking

For more ideas about how to make freezer cooking work for you, follow along with us here in October as I post 31 Days of Freezer Cooking. You can see past posts here.

For even more Freezer Cooking how-to’s you can also buy my book, Not Your Mother’s Make-Ahead and Freeze Cookbook.

Don’t want to miss a post in this series? Subscribe to 31 Days of Freezer Cooking by RSS oremail.

Freezer Cooking & Costco is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

When critiquing freezer cooking, lots of folks will say, “but we don’t like casseroles.” And to a point, I get that. Especially if those casseroles are filled with metallic-flavored, canned cream of something soup. It can get a little trite if all your casseroles come from the same sauce or feature the same flavor profile.

But, I know from much experience that a casserole is cozy, filling comfort food. It’s also easy to delegate to someone else in the family to cook up. If I’m gone at dinner time, my husband would much rather pop a lasagne into the oven than have to prepare a three-course meal — even if I’ve already made those three courses in advance.

Casseroles, depending on how they’re constructed, can be one-dish dinners. You can serve a salad and bread on the side, but you don’t have to. This makes for super easy serving and clean-up, perfect for mom’s night out, or when the chief cook just wants to put his or her feet up.

I’ve created my November cooking plan (available next week in an easy download) to involve mostly casseroles and one dish dinners for this reason.

Here are some of our favorite casseroles for freezing:

• Fresh Basil and Garlic Chive Lasagne
• Lawnmower Taco
• Turkey and Black Bean Enchiladas
• Chile Cheese Bake
• Chicken Enchilada Casserole
• Easiest Mac and Cheese
• Chicken Divan with Cheddar Crust*
• Creamy Chicken Enchiladas*
• Spinach and Feta Manicotti*
• Shepherd’s Pie*
• Bean and Cheese Nacho Bake*
• French Toast Casserole*

* indicates a cookbook recipe.

31 Days of Freezer Cooking

For more ideas about how to make freezer cooking work for you, follow along with us here in October as I post 31 Days of Freezer Cooking. You can see past posts here.

For even more Freezer Cooking how-to’s you can also buy my book, Not Your Mother’s Make-Ahead and Freeze Cookbook.

Don’t want to miss a post in this series? Subscribe to 31 Days of Freezer Cooking by RSS oremail.

The Beauty of Casseroles is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

Today is National Pumpkin Day. Who knew, right? In honor of that noble squash, I present some of our favorite pumpkin recipes that can be made ahead and frozen. Yeah!

• Pumpkin Onion Rolls
• Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Pumpkin Spice Scones
• Spiced Pumpkin Bread
• Butternut Squash Brownies (use pumpkin puree in place of squash puree)

Stash pumpkin (or other squash) puree in the freezer for later baking. Details here.

31 Days of Freezer Cooking

For more ideas about how to make freezer cooking work for you, follow along with us here in October as I post 31 Days of Freezer Cooking. You can see past posts here.

For even more Freezer Cooking how-to’s you can also buy my book, Not Your Mother’s Make-Ahead and Freeze Cookbook.

Don’t want to miss a post in this series? Subscribe to 31 Days of Freezer Cooking by RSS or email.

Fill the Freezer with Pumpkin Love is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

I confess. I have a sweet tooth. And I’d much rather indulge it with homebaked goods. I might have liked storebought in high school. Heck, storebought might have been tasty back then. But, today? It’s usually a disappointment.

Homemade is better. And if you’re watching what you eat, it’s better for you, too. I like to make my calories count. I’d much rather eat a slice of really good pie than half a mediocre one.

That said, I can’t be baking in the kitchen every day! The solution is to make a mess of desserts to freeze for another time. Consider these freezer-friendly desserts:

• Fruit pies and crisps – Freeze unbaked. Bake unthawed. Great flavor in half the time. You can also freeze the crust, filling, and topping separately and combine them before baking. You’ll have to thaw to do that.
• Brownies, cakes, quick breads – Freeze as a mix or go ahead and bake the whole thing. Cool completely, wrap well, and freeze.
• Ice cream pies, sundaes, and sandwiches – Prepare as you normally would, wrap well, and freeze.
• Cookies – Freeze them unbaked or baked. Go here for directions.
• Ice cream and sorbet – Prepare and freeze.

31 Days of Freezer Cooking

For more ideas about how to make freezer cooking work for you, follow along with us here in October as I post 31 Days of Freezer Cooking. You can see past posts here.

For even more Freezer Cooking how-to’s you can also buy my book, Not Your Mother’s Make-Ahead and Freeze Cookbook.

Don’t want to miss a post in this series? Subscribe to 31 Days of Freezer Cooking by RSS or email.

Freezer-Friendly Desserts is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher