I will warn you right now: This is not the most frugal tip you've ever heard. But, sometimes our families need a meal in a hurry and we didn't plan ahead. Some days are very busy and in our culture people tend to stop at the drive-thru or order a pizza because we don't have time to make anything.
Enter: Zip'n Steam Bags from Ziploc. These bags are available in the grocery store on the same aisle as the rest of the ziploc products and plastic wrap, etc. You can place frozen food in them and have it ready to eat, moist and delicious, in less time that it would take you to stop at the drive-thru -- no kidding.
This package contains 7 large bags. I believe they were about $1.79 (I'm not positive) and there was a peelie coupon stuck to the package to save $0.55 per package. I have seen coupons for them in the inserts as well. The bags come in a medium size (10 bags per package) or a large size (7 bags per package).
Last night I made a frozen pizza for me & my kids. I knew my husband was getting tired of stuff like that, so I pulled out some frozen salmon fillets and put them in the bag. In 6 minutes they went from frozen solid to completely steamed, delicious and flaky. Yes-- flaky. Mine were preseasoned, but you can add whatever spices you would like to the items you are cooking.
These bags could also work for someone who has different diet requirements than the others in the family. My husband doesn't always want to eat a greasy pizza. He was thrilled that he got something healthy instead.
The bag tells you how long to cook things, from meats to veggies and you can season them how ever you would like. You don't need to add any water. Here they are frozen:
And here is the finished product. My husband made fun of me for not removing the skin before I took the photo, so sorry about that. Hopefully you can still see that the fish was perfectly cooked and very flaky. I have cooked vegetables in them also and it works really well. I have even washed and reused the bag once when it was used for vegetables. I am sure the package doesn't recommend that, but it still worked ok.
Just passing on an idea for a quick meal that might help you save on your budget on those really busy evenings when life is crazy!
Thank you so much Natalie for this post! I have passed those over and over in the store and wondered if they truly work as well as they say. I don't want to buy something that might not work.... so now I know! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteSo, I'm still a little freaked out about the "plastic in the microwave causing cancer" thing. I know it's off the frugality subject, but has anyone else done any research on that? I ought to just look it up myself, but I figured I'd see if someone else had already put the time into that.
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