Tips From My Kitchen

• Put marshmallows in with your brown sugar to keep it soft.
• Cut up peppers and onions, and freeze them on a sheet pan. Store them in a ziplock bag in your freezer, and use them in place of dehydrated onions and spices. Make the most of veggies while they’re in season!
• Buy chicken in bulk while it’s on sale. Place thawed chicken on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes- hour, or until they’re up to temp. Let the chicken breast cool, and cut them into bite size pieces. Freeze on a sheet pan, and store in a ziplock bag in the freezer. Makes for an easy addition to meals! I like to thaw it in the microwave, and whip up chicken salad for lunch.
• Cook ground beef in bulk, and season it with taco seasoning. Freeze it in sandwich size ziplock bags for an easy go-to meal. Add it to nachos, or make tacos or taco salad.
• Cook ground beef in bulk, and freeze it flat in a gallon size ziplock bag. Break off how much you need for an easy addition to meals.
• Buy in bulk! Things like yeast are much cheaper if bought in bulk. A 3 pack of yeast usually goes for $1.50 in the grocery store, but I recently bought a 2 lb. package in a bulk foods store for $4.99! It will take me forever to use it all up, but I keep it in a ziplock bag in the freezer. I make bread, rolls, or pizza dough at least once a week, so it makes more sense to buy it in bulk. You could always buy it and split it with a friend!
• Make a large batch of bread dough. Divide it into smaller chunks, and roll it into balls. Freeze rolls on a sheet pan, and store in a ziplock bag. It’s great for a last minute addition to meals. Frozen dough balls can be defrosted in the microwave, and risen and baked like normal.
• Make a batch of cookie dough and spoon it onto a baking sheet. Freeze, and store in a ziplock in your freezer. Bake 1-2 at a time, so you don’t feel like you have to eat an entire batch of cookies by yourself! You can also do this with cupcakes (baked).