How to Preserve Your Freezer Stockpile When the Power Goes Out

October 29, 2012 By Sarah 1 Comment

With Hurricane Sandy approaching the Northeast today, many people are bracing for a day or more without power.

If you are like me and have a substantial stockpile of food in your freezer, here are some helpful tips to preserve everything as long as possible:

  1. A Full Freezer is a Cold Freezer. A full freezer will stay below 40 degrees for 48 hours, provided you DON’T OPEN IT.
  2. If your freezer is only half full, you only have 24 hours to keep your food safe.
  3. A food thermometer is your friend. Toss any food that registers over 40 degrees fahrenheit.
  4. If the power is out for 2 hours or less, your refrigerator and freezer items should be fine, as long as you keep both appliances closed.
  5. Stick a food thermometer in your freezer right now. If, when the power comes back on, it reads below 40 degrees, you should be safe to refreeze the freezer contents.
  6. When in doubt, throw it out. Food poisoning is just not worth it.

What tips do you have for keeping food safe when the power goes out?

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Meatloaf in a Muffin Tin

October 22, 2012 By Sarah 2 Comments

I won’t lie, we eat healthy in our house, but that includes plenty of hearty meals that include meat.  While I try to schedule plenty of meat-free meals in my weekly meal plan,  my husband and kids love a good meatloaf.

Not so much fun? The 90 minute cooking time that it takes for a regular meatlof.

I love this recipe because it shaves about 60 minutes off the cooking time of regular meatloaf, and it comes in pre-portioned serving sizes. Plus, you’ll also find that this meatloaf is studded with healthy vegetables.

Print
Muffin Tin Meatloaf

Ingredients

  • 3/4-1 lb ground beef (preferably organic, grass fed)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup finely diced carrots
  • 1/2 cup finely diced onions
  • 1 cup bread crumbs
  • 4 tbsp your favorite barbecue sauce
  • salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Combine all ingredients by mixing very thoroughly in a large bowl. No need to be meek here - use your hands for best results.
  2. Spoon into the muffin tin right to the top.
  3. Bake at 400 for 20-30 minutes, checking for doneness.
  4. Have leftovers? Pop them in a freezer bag and then you have single serving meatloafs ready to be reheated whenever you want them!

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Deals on Canning Equipment!

June 5, 2012 By Sarah 1 Comment

A friend of mine posted a picture of her family picking strawberries today, which immediately made me think of one thing — canning! So I did a little sleuthing and found some deals on canning equipment if you need to replenish your supplies or are starting from scratch!

Presto 7 Function Canning Kit – $14.74

Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving - $12.47

Ball Home Canning Discovery Kit (good for beginners!)- $10.47

Ball Regular Mouth Jars with Lids and Bands, 16-Ounce Pint Size, 12 Count – $15.99

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Plan for the Unexpected: How to Make Your Child’s Short-Term Hospital Stay Easier on Everyone

January 25, 2012 By Sarah Leave a Comment

Recently, I had the unfortunate experience of having one of my children admitted to the hospital.  I won’t give you too many of the gory details, but basically my 2 year old was afflicted with a horrendous, yet common, virus that left her dangerously dehydrated in a relatively short period of time.  We were admitted to the hospital so she could receive IV fluids until her levels came up.

When we realized we were getting admitted, there was a whole stressful flurry of activity: making plans for our older child at home (thanks, grandma and grandpa!), getting a change of clothes (for me, paper scrubs from the hospital), and figuring out what we could eat for dinner (a Twix bar).  It occurred to me in the midst of all this that, for our family, at least, a hospital admission isn’t a once-in-a-lifetime thing. Both my kids have asthma and oddly sensitive systems that have required countless emergency room visits.

And that’s when I realized that there were things that I could do to “prepare” for this emergency.

At Home, keep in a folder:

  • List of important phone numbers
  • Household calendar & kids’ schedules to help whoever is watching the kids at home
  • List of medications for all family members
  • Take-out menus and phone numbers
  • At least 3 freezer meals ready to throw in the oven

Pack in a Bag:

  • simple change of clothes for each family member (anything is better than those paper pants you get at the Emergency Department — trust me!)
  • a few books and comfort objects for the ill child
  • a few magazines for the parents
  • an envelope with at least $20 cash in small bills for parking and vending machines
  • list of child’s current medications and medical history
  • bottled water
  • granola bars
  • list of important phone numbers

Of course, if you have a iPhone, iPad, or other techy device, you can put all the phone numbers and medications on there. While you’re at it, download some kid’s books and apps and a magazine or two for yourself.

It will be infinitely easier to grab the bag (kept in the back of a closet) and go, rather than throwing things in the car on the way to the hospital. I know I have my bag packed for “next time.”  If I don’t ever need it, wonderful. But if I do, at least that will be a little less energy to expend on something other than helping my child heal.

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Frugal Friday: One Chicken, 24 Hours, 5 Meals

December 16, 2011 By Sarah Leave a Comment

When I wrote earlier this week about how to make chicken broth from a whole chicken, I promised I would include some recipes for how to use the actual chicken meat to last several meals.

To recap, I purchased one organic chicken for $3.49/lb. It cost me $12.56 (I had a $1 off Wegmans Organic Chicken coupon that I used).  I already made 2 large canning jars worth of broth, so I had to come up with ways to make that $12 chicken last as long as possible.  Here’s what I did.

After I separated the meat from the bones and organs (which I used to make the broth), I set all the meat aside to cool. When it was cool, I sorted it out into 4 ten oz servings, and stuck  3 of them in the freezer.  The fourth I reserved, and tossed in a separate pot (because my broth was still cooking), and left out to make chicken soup with. So here are my meals:

1. Chicken Soup (2 big jars): Fresh homemade broth, chicken, and 1 bag of frozen mirepoix (what can I say, I was too tired to chop veggies by the time my broth had been simmering for almost 20 hours).  I’ll add some egg noodles when I reheat.

2. Chicken Quesadillas: In between 2 flour tortillas, spread shredded cheese, corn from the freezer, and 1 bag of chicken. We were able to make 5 quesadillas with this chicken, which was enough for our family of four.

3. Pasta with Chicken & Peas:  I make a sauce using milk, butter, flour, and parmesan cheese (like a roux), and pour it on pasta. Mix in a bag of frozen peas and 1 bag of chicken.

4. Chicken Taco Soup

So let’s sum up: from one chicken that cost $12.56, I ended up with 2 meals of chicken noodle soup, 2 16oz jars of broth, 1 meal of chicken quesadillas, one meal of pasta with chicken and peas, and one meal of chicken taco soup. 5 meals, 32 oz of broth.  That comes to under $2 per meal for fresh, organic meat. Not too shabby!

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Frugal Friday: Homemade Salsa with my CSA Leftovers

September 9, 2011 By Sarah 1 Comment
It’s funny how, when you put an idea out there — into the vast wide universe — it comes back to you.  Not to get all hippy-dippy, but this weekend I was thinking about making some beautiful fresh salsa with a few leftover tomatillos I had, and later that day, my brother-in-law offered me all the tomatoes I could pick from his garden. Score!

I had to use these up, and I knew I had more than one serving’s worth of salsa here, so I decided to freeze what I made.  
First, I gathered everything from my pantry and refrigerator that could remotely be a part of a salsa. I found:
  • Cherry Tomatoes
  • Grape Tomatoes
  • Jalapenos
  • Small green peppers
  • Sweet Onions
  • Tomatillos

Perfect ingredients for a beautiful, fresh salsa — and all hand picked and organically grown!
Second, I started chopping everything together. I did this in batches, using my Pampered Chef Food Chopper. I seriously love that thing. Of course, both kids loved banging it on the cutting board. It provided a solid seven minutes of entertainment for them before they ran back off to play dinosaurs.
Finally, I seasoned the salsa with a pinch of salt, black pepper, and a touch of cumin, and ladled it carefully into my mason jars. Isn’t it pretty?
I’m so looking forward to opening the freezer in the middle of winter and finding this delicious salsa. It will add a fresh, healthy kick to plain cheese or chicken quesadillas, which my kids absolutely love. 
We only have one more week of our CSA deliveries. I’m glad I’ll have this little reminder of late summer tucked away in my freezer.
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