As I mentioned in my first post, our family has begun living on a budget. A few items that are helping us stay on track include:

• Switching to a super concentrated and eco-friendly brand of cleaning and personal care products
• Paying attention to, and recording per unit prices of commonly purchased food and grocery items
• Making meals in bulk, and freezing

My food budget recently underwent an extreme makeover during a visit from my super-mom friend Val. She taught me how to leverage my freezer to reduce spending, and reduce food waste. It was a turning point. So much so, that I bought a cute little chest freezer from my friend Georgette! Note all of the empty space in there.

My latest mission is to fill my deep freezer with yummy meals that I can pop into the oven or microwave on evenings when I cannot muster the energy to cook.  (This is most nights honestly) I am also reading a great book that has some tips on cooking ahead: http://www.amazon.com/Frozen-Assets-2E-Cook-Month/dp/1402218591/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1359004542&sr=8-2&keywords=cook+for+a+day+eat+for+a+month 

The book is a little agro, but I am using many of her suggestions.  One fabulous one is to just double/triple the recipe of whatever you are making some evenings, and freeze batches for another night.  Brill right?!?!

My mission to cook ahead would be so much more fun with a group. Would anyone on the peninsula like to do a “frozen meal exchange” with me?!?  We could do a 1:1 exchange of both a meal and the recipe.  This will not only give us each a bit of variety, it will expand everyone’s recipe box!

Who is in???