Utilizing My Best (Appliance) Friend

When we bought the house we bought a freezer for the garage. Until recently it was largely a place to store meat purchased at rock bottom prices. This fall I slowly started taking it over and I'm loving it.

Right now in addition to meat the freezer holds 3 casseroles, freezer jam, whole wheat flour, cooked beans, burrito filler and some shredded zucchini from the garden. I've accepted that on most weeknights I don't have the energy to say no to the temptation of fast food. This fall the Huz and I ate way too much take out and I'm working to break the cycle.

With the caseroles I make a double batch of our favorite recipies on weekends where I'm feeling particularly energetic/domestic. I put them in the fridge before work and into the oven when one of us gets home.

This weekend I made a bulk version of my favorite lazy dinner, which will take the laziness factor to a whole new level. The weeknight version is a can of black beans, a can of tomatoes, chopped onion, and whatever other vegetables we have around cooked together for 10-15 with some spices. The ultra lazy verzion- 3 cans of tomoatoes, 4 cans of black beans, a few carrots on the verge of looking scuzzy, shredded zucchini from the freezer and spices. I stored it in burrito sized portion so either of us can defrost, wrap in a tortilla, and have dinner.

At some point last year (November maybe?) I made 2 big batches of beans using this recipe from the Crockpot Lady. If you have a crockpot and don't know about this blog head on over. It's my husband's favorite recipe site. I honestly can't remember the last time he made something other than pasta on the stovetop. I've made quite a few yummy recipes from the site, but bean recipe is my favorite. It's cheaper, less pantry space, and most importantly- they taste better. They're not super salty or too mushy (unless you leave them too long). I've done this 4-5 times with lots of success each time.

None of these things has taken more than an hour of my dedicated time. Which is nice, even on the less frenzied weekends. I'm embracing the lazy.