The Lazy Chef

When I first started my current job—right out of college—I thought it was a boon to have a Safeway within walking distance.  I could grab a $5 sandwich for lunch everyday: what a steal!

Then my dad showed me that paying $5 for lunch every day is ridiculous...

$5 per day x 5 days per week x 4 weeks per month
=
$100 per month just for lunches at work!

N-to-the-O on that.

So I bring my work to lunch almost every day.  Mostly I eat leftovers from dinner, but if my fridge is empty then I resort to frozen food.

Not those nasty TV-dinner-type frozen meals.  Homemade frozen food, a.k.a. Freezer Cooking!

Freezer cooking saves money by providing a cheap alternative to eating out.  For me there are plenty of times where I only eat out because I'm too lazy, tired, or busy to bother with making myself a meal from scratch.  When you eat out, you are paying for the convenience of someone else cooking for you.  With freezer cooking, you get the same convenience of having someone cook for you because you already cooked for yourself! :)

How to Freezer Cook:

1. Make a big batch of food you like to eat.

2. Divide it into smaller portions.

3. Stick the portions in the freezer.
4. When you can't or don't want to cook and don't want to pay to eat out, take a portion out of the freezer and let it thaw (or zap it in the microwave).
5. Eat your yummy and cheap meal!

I've done this a few times with great success on one of my go-to meals, what I call "Bacon Pasta."  The ingredients are bacon, penne pasta, spinach (I sometimes substitute zucchini), garlic, and canned diced tomatoes.  The recipe can be found here and is very easy to make.  (If you ever attend a potluck with me, chances are you will eat this dish.)

Drool

Once I've made the huge batch of pasta, I let it cool and then cram as much as I can into single-serving sized plastic containers.

 Two pounds of pasta (the bowl on the left did not go in the freezer; that was my dinner!)

Then I write the date on a piece of masking tape, attach it to each lid, and secure each container with rubber bands.

 

These pics are old so don't worry—I do not have this batch from September still in my freezer!

I've found that it takes me about 2 months to go through the amount of food pictured above so I have yet to test the limits of how long these frozen meals last in the freezer without going bad, but here is a list of foods that freeze well (plus some that don't).

Bon appetit!