Pre-Made Pasta Sauce

I'm a great cook, but I hate to do it! So when I finally get around to doing it, I like to do as much of it as possible at one time. I cook up a huge batch of ground beef and heat up some pasta sauce. Sometimes I'll just blend a huge can of tomatoes and doctor it up myself with tomato paste, maybe some tomato sauce, and definitely some herbs like basil. I separate them into smaller batches and put them in ziplock baggies. I squeeze all of the air out and put them in the freezer. Whenever I have a hankering for pasta, I grab pre-made pasta.

Always Have Hamburger on Stash

Mix in ground beef with hamburger seasoning mix. Make a round ball and place it between wax paper. Use a salad plate to flatten it out into a burger shape. Individually wrap them to protect them from freezer burn. You can store them in the freezer for up to three months. Pop it out for a quick meal.

Leftover Soup

If you're flat broke, here's a meal idea. Set aside your leftovers and store in the freezer. At the end of the week, throw everything into a pot (bits of meat, veggies, rice, beans, pasta, etc.) with water or chicken stock. Season it with spices, fresh herbs, and cook until heated through. Just be sure to not use this method with fish, which can stink up and ruin the entire dish. Don't expect this meal to be scrumptious. It's just a choice when you're strapped for cash.

Poultry's Shelf Life

Packaged poultry should be refrigerated and used within two days or stored in the freezer.

Diversify Your Pantry Items

Pantry items should be staples that can easily be incorporated into basic recipes. Buy pantry staples that come in cans and have to be frozen. This way if there's a blackout, you can access food from your cupboard, rather than your freezer. However, don't limit your pantry staples to canned products. Freezers work more efficiently when it's completely full, so you save money on your electric bill, too. Plus, if you over clutter your cupboards with canned products, it can create a safety hazard.

Storing Frozen Produce More Efficiently

You can transfer corn or peas into plastic water bottles before storing them in the freezer. They take up less space than the frozen bags they come packed in, an ideal solution for freezer storage efficiency. It's also a great way to re-use your bottles.

Freeze Berries

Wash fresh berries, thoroughly dry them, lay flat on a parchment paper over a cookie sheet, and freeze them until the berries are hard. It'll take about an hour. Make sure that the berries aren't clumped together. Once the berries have hardened, you can transfer them into an airtight container. Once they've frozen, putting them in the same bag isn't a problem. But do this before you freeze them, and you have a beautiful chunk of fruited ice that won't be very usable. Frozen berries will last up to nine months. One more thing worth noting, don't sugar berries before freezing them. Leave that to the last minute. The sugar breaks down the fruit and can make them mushy.