{"id":12522,"date":"2014-10-21T16:58:24","date_gmt":"2014-10-21T23:58:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/osbornz.net\/amy\/?p=12522"},"modified":"2014-10-21T16:58:24","modified_gmt":"2014-10-21T23:58:24","slug":"what-i-learned-bulk-freezer-to-slow-cooker-packs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/osbornz.net\/amy\/?p=12522","title":{"rendered":"What I learned – Bulk Freezer to Slow Cooker packs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"whatilearned\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I’m not a person who loves to cook.\u00c2\u00a0 I do it because it is what is best for my family, but it isn’t something I enjoy! I’d much rather be on my computer playing with scrapbooking stuff or knitting\/crocheting.\u00c2\u00a0 But every day I need to come up with at least one meal.\u00c2\u00a0 I menu plan and use various tools but lately it’s been even harder and Hubs has been asked to “pick something up on the way home” more than I’d like to admit! Not good for our budget either!<\/p>\n

Over the years I’ve tried Once a Month plans, freezer cooking, bulk cooking, etc.\u00c2\u00a0 Recently I decided to try producing a bunch of freezer packets for my slow cooker.\u00c2\u00a0 So I did a bit of research and found a couple at http:\/\/www.5dollardinners.com\/<\/a> that appealed to me.\u00c2\u00a0 All the products were from Costco and the meals themselves looked good too.\u00c2\u00a0 Not having much experience with these menus, I bought the $5 version that came with videos and other helps. However, they are also available for $2.49 without a few of those things.\u00c2\u00a0 Now that I’ve done it once, I see I could have gotten away with buying the $2.49 version.\u00c2\u00a0 (FYI, I bought the Gluten Free version<\/a>, but only because I thought the recipes looked good.)<\/p>\n

So, I was determined to go yesterday even though I was homeschooling, working and Sissy only had a 1\/2 day at school.\u00c2\u00a0 Once I finally got out the door to do my shopping, it was 2pm.\u00c2\u00a0 When I got to Costco and realized I didn’t have my list, drove back home and back to store, it was now 2:30.\u00c2\u00a0 I was starting to wonder if I could do this.<\/p>\n

A few items were cheaper at my Costco than the menu author’s but a few were more expensive too.\u00c2\u00a0 Living in California, I am used to our grocery prices being higher.\u00c2\u00a0 The menu author said she spent $161.96.\u00c2\u00a0 My total was $185.16. Not bad.\u00c2\u00a0 Of course, we could add another $20 to that amount as I also bought dinner for that evening as I knew I’d be too tired to cook.\u00c2\u00a0 That was both a good and bad idea – more on that later.<\/p>\n

Had to hit a 2nd store on way home to get a few small things like Coconut milk and rosemary. When I got home, I put all unrefrigerated all over my table. It was now 4:15 and I was getting started processing the ingredients. I don’t have a large kitchen but I made good use of all of my surfaces. I start chopping and slicing and soon I had bowls of various ingredients everywhere! I had potatoes in water in my sink, bowls of onions and peppers on the stove!<\/p>\n

At 5pm, I put dinner in the oven and called my Hubs to come help. I was having serious misgivings about completing this, but it was too late to stop!\u00c2\u00a0 With Eric’s help we assembled 19 meals. I ran out of chicken so next time I will buy more chicken than suggested.\u00c2\u00a0 By 6:30 we were done and I was cleaning the kitchen. I was also exhausted!\u00c2\u00a0 But I learned a lot!<\/p>\n

To summarize, here is what I learned and what I need to do next time:<\/p>\n