This morning I had a grocery order to pick up between 7 and 8. I got a text at 6:40 that it was ready so I went to get it and was back home by 7:10. Can’t beat that.
Every time I post about how I cook, I’ll get comments that some of you don’t do it because you don’t cook as much as you once did but, we all eat, right? Well, maybe some are on some special diet but most of us eat. I also understand that not everyone is going to see the value of this and finally, I understand that I always want everyone to at least try things that I think are amazing. So . . on with the rest of the story.
In my grocery order this morning, I had a package of 6 chicken breasts and a package of two pork tenderloins. I used three chicken breasts to make food for Rita.
The rest of the chicken breasts were sliced in half so they weren’t so thick, seasoned with whatever looked interesting.
A bit of olive oil, lemon juice and garlic were added.
I vacuum sealed four large pieces, which is the equivalent of two chicken breasts, for when Vince is here; and I vacuum sealed two smaller pieces for a meal for myself.
I rinsed and dried the pork tenderloins.
Then I cut those into medallion size pieces (or larger) and seasoned those. I vacuum sealed them into five bags for meals for the two of us and one bag with enough for one serving. I added a bit of garlic and olive oil to those.
There’s enough in the bags that we will have the tenderloins for a meal and there will be leftovers. I’ll thinly slice those and serve them on crusty bread with coleslaw (on the sandwich).
The pork loins cost $9.70. Just counting the 11 meals (5 x meals for 2 and 1 x meal for just me), that’s 88 cents per serving for pork tenderloin. Not bad!
Next I removed the stuffed peppers from their containers and vacuum sealed them.
Next, I filled the empty containers from the other day (with the tight fitting red lids) with gumbo. Three containers are for the two of us to have one meal and one will be two meals for us.
Finally I vacuum sealed the pork I had saved from Christmas. I had already frozen it in zipper bags but prefer the vacuum sealed bags.
I think the pork crown roast was $84 but we ate it Christmas Day, Chad took home enough for 8 meals for the three of them, I froze enough for five meals for the two of us and two meals for me so considering we got at least 14 meals for two adults and two meals for one adult, that means it’s about $2.80 per person. Add in even $2.00 per person for sides and that’s less than $5/meal/person and that isn’t bad or something that tasty!
I did all that and was done by 9 a.m.
That’s 14 meals for the two of us and three for just me.
I’m planning to use the sous vide to cook the pork tenderloin and chicken in their bags, then sear them in a skillet. I’ll also try heating the peppers with the sous vide too. Of course. I’ll report my results here.
One thing I keep thinking about – with all the Covid around, if I were to get it . . since I’m here alone, I would have to eat something. I have plenty of canned soup but if I wanted something more substantial, it would be nice to stick a bag in a tub of water, stick the sous vide in there and have something to eat without a mess to have to clean up.
Helen says
I don’t have a sous vide, but I cook in bulk often times and use my vacuum sealer to store my frozen meals. Tonight we had Halupki (cabbage rolls) that I made last month. I heated them in the FoodSaver© bag in a skillet with enough water to barely cover the bag. I covered the skillet and turned the heat to medium-low. About 40 or so minutes and my frozen cabbage rolls were ready to serve. Sure makes delicious and easy dinner. A vegetable and leftover mashed potatoes and dinner was ready. (Easy cleanup, too.)
Judy Laquidara says
I LOVE cabbage rolls. Sounds like you had a great dinner with not much effort (tonight at least).
Becky Louise Rhodes says
Since my husband has been sick for the last 5 months I’ve taken over the cooking. I appreciate you showing and telling how you fixed this or that so I like incorporate something new or different. Tonight we had clam chowder and grilled cheese. I like to use munster cheese and actually got a compliment tonight that he loved my grilled cheese sandwich! Something so simple – I was very surprised and thrilled!
Judy Laquidara says
I love any kind of soup and grilled cheese. I think I may make Pioneer Woman’s tomato soup this week and have a grilled cheese sandwich. Addie had wanted frito pie so I bought stuff to make chili (mainly the chocolate bar that goes in the recipe I use). If Chad has to leave early, she’ll be back to stay with me til school starts back on January 4.
Barbara says
When my niece and SIL had covid, they lost their sense of taste and smell for several weeks. That loss had a big impact on their appetite, they had little interest in food and just picked at food they made for their families.
It’s good to plan for food in case you get sick, I do the same thing.
I hope your parents recover quickly.
Tee says
I use ‘pot in a pot’ in my Instant pot to heat up freezer meals. I poke holes in the top of the vacuum seal bag, put it in a pan that fits in my IP, add water to the IP and set it for either pressure or steam. It can sit on warm until we feel like eating.
April Reeves says
Since I have Friday off and going back do doing keto, I’m going to order a vacuum sealer now off Amazon and prep food this weekend. Just having it pre-seasoned and prepped is enough for me. I have some cookbooks with a variety of recipes for freezer meals. I will have to do this twice a month to keep up and have enough food ready to just cook when I get home from work.
Linda Garcia says
It’s just the two of us in our household also. Whenever I cook, I usually plan for enough leftovers for another meal. I have an upright freezer that is dedicated to my pre-cooked or prepped foods, frozen flours, nuts and veges. We buy half a beef and a whole hog every year, so I have a chest freezer for our meats. I love being able to just reheat a meal for us and not have to cook around half the time. It takes a while to get a variety to choose from, but I absolutely love having my stash of frozen meals. I can’t wait to see what you think of the sous vide. I might have to get one.
Judy Laquidara says
And cleanup is so much less. I always try to do a whole day of cooking the day before the trash man comes so I don’t have so much stinky stuff sitting and waiting for trash day. It does take a while to get a variety but with just me here, I probably have enough freezer meals that I can eat off those for a month. I have to pace myself so I don’t eat the things I love first. I would eat the cabbage rolls every day til they’re gone!