PLAN IT, BUY IT, AND COOK IN BULK - YOU WILL SAVE MONEY...AND EAT BETTER.

If you have seen the "Food Nanny" on BYU TV - she has a hard time competing with our own Food Nannies Joanne Poulsen and Esther Davis. Last night at Cooking 101, we were shown how to create a few great dishes our family enjoys, and then preparing, and freezing these meals for times in the month we are strapped for time. Esther cooked 6 large Chicken Pot Pies from a large chicken she has pre-cooked in the crock-pot. She had then stripped off about 3 1/2 cups of chicken for her pot pies. She uses pre-made pie shells and tops, and large bags of frozen vegetables to which she added sauted onions and celery. She then freezes these pies, and pulls them out early in the day to unthaw and cook for dinner that night. The great taste and look of her Chicken Pot Pies made you think she had "worked on it half the day" - and it didn't taste like those little chicken pot pies I remember as a child! One thought I had was that Esther would be ready to take a delicious home-cooked meal to any family in need on an hour or two of notice.

Joanne makes huge quantities of very thick ground beef spaghetti sauce, then she seals the mixture in large-mouth Mason jars, and puts in the freezer. When she takes one out to thaw, she adds a couple of cans of diced tomatoes and tomato sauce, and it has that wonderful freshly made taste. Sealing and freezing in the mason jars works great, and maintains the initial fresh taste. If you have a large family you use a couple of quarts of the sauce - But if you are cooking for only two or three people - pint size jars would works with the addition of tomato sauce and diced tomato.

In anticipation of this class, Esther had a whole month of meals, planned out on a calendar. She had a couple of days crossed out when they ended up buying pizza - because they were running late or she was tired, but she spoke enthusiastically of how much money she has saved, and how much time and energy she has saved by planning better, and buying and cooking in bulk. Both sisters said that they only mess up the kitchen the day they bulk cook and freeze, and then it is just a matter of thawing and cooking.

Two closing thoughts: Never eat before you go to Cooking 101 and I will make a few copies of the recipes for those interested this coming Sunday.