Condensed Tomato Soup Substitute

8 oz tomato sauce
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt

If making as a soup, add 1 cup milk and some seasoning salt to taste. If using as part of a recipe you can use as is.

Easy Scratch Salad Dressing

Italian
Dry Mix
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons oregano
1 teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon basil
1 tablespoon parsley
¼ teaspoon celery salt
2 tablespoons salt
For dressing (mix with 2 tablespoons dry mix above)¼ cup cider vinegar
2⁄3 cup oil
2 tablespoons water

Blend well.

French
2/3 cup ketchup
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 small onion, quartered
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Puree until onions are minced.

Sun-dried Tomato & Oregano Dressing
1/4cup (60 mL) drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove , minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp granulated sugar
1/4 tsp pepper
1 pinch salt
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Whisk to combine all ingredients while drizzling oil in slowly.

Tips for OAMC - Poultry

For tender chicken, soak in brine (salt/water mixture - can add alcohol as well) for at least 4 hours. Drain, and then you can either cook chicken immediately or then freeze in meal-sized portions.
Get a turkey (or roasting chicken) at post-holiday sale prices, roast it like you would your holiday turkey and you can get about 1 meal (for 2 people) per pound. I use this for the following recipes:
 - turkey enchiladas/tortilla rolls/quesidillas
 - curried turkey (red or green curry)
 - turkey pasta salad (lemon basil/catalina dill)
 - sweet chili turkey or greek chili
 - turkey casserole (with pasta/rice/potatoes)
 - turkey pot/shepherd's pie
 - turkey stuffed manicotti
 - turkey tacos or taco salad
 - shredded BBQ turkey sandwiches
 - turkey noodle soup
 - turkey stew
 - hot turkey sandwiches
 - turkey salad sandwiches
 - sliced turkey melts

For chicken breasts, add any marinade to the ziplock bag, squeeze out air and close.  Lay flat in freezer just until frozen through, then store as you like in freezer (will take up less space frozen flat). Chicken will then soak in marinade when it is being thawed for your meal.

Bulk Produce

Some recipe links for baking when I've bought produce in bulk:

Bananas:
http://www.food.com/recipe/the-best-banana-bread-or-muffins-39363
http://www.food.com/recipe/banana-buttermilk-pancakes-70632
http://www.food.com/recipe/decorated-bananas-39342
http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/two-ingredient-banana-peanut-butter-ice-cream/
Smoothies
Nutella/Peanut butter sandwiches


*Don't forget, for freezing baked goods, wrap cooled in plastic wrap, then wrap again with foil. Freeze up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature.*

Tips for OAMC - Ground Beef

For Ground Meat Recipes:
In crockpot, cook equal parts ground beef with ground turkey (+ spices), as well as shredded carrots, chopped onions and peppers, for the following recipes:
 - Spanish rice
 - Lasagne
 - Hamburger soup
 - Italian job
 - Sausage salsa potato bake
 - Turkey tacos
 - Taco salad
 - Helper Mac & Cheesy Burger Bake
 - Spagetti Bolognese
 - Leader's pie
 - Chili turkey (chili base)
 - Meat Lovers Pizza/Pizza Salad

For Meatloaf and Meatballs:
Mix 3/4 ground beef to 1/4 ground turkey (+ spices), and to keep moist, mix in bread crumbs instead of crackers, fresh chopped onion in stead of onion flakes, and shredded carrots for more moisture + healthier way to stretch meat. Add an egg for every 1/2 lb of meat and add ketchup or bbq sauce for a little additional flavor. 
Form meatloaves (I find mini-meatloaves best for reheating purposes, just slightly bigger than the size of my fist) and meatballs, bake, then flash freeze (this helps them stay frozen individually and not stick to each other, so not everything has to be thawed together). I wrap the meatloaves in tin foil and seal in a ziplock bag, meatballs I just freeze in ziplock.

Meat for My Meal Plan

This is the meat I bought and how many meals (meals being for the two of us) came of it:
Whole Turkey (roasted myself) - about 1 meal per pound, so (8-9 lbs) 10 meals @ $2 per meal (compare pre-sliced turkey @ 4 meals for $24)

 

Ground Turkey (8lbs)+ Ground Beef (10lbs) - 24 meals @ $4 per meal
Chicken (18lbs) - 17 meals @ $2.5 per meal
Chicken/Turkey Sausage - 6 meals @ $2.5 per meal
Farmer Sausage - 3 meals @ $3 per meal
Beef (steaks/roasts) - 6 meals @ $8.5 per meal (grass fed, high quality cuts)
Shrimp - 7 meals @ $4 per meal
Tilapia/Basa Fillets - 5 meals @ $3 per meal
Tuna (cans) - 8 meals @ $1.50 per meal

This isn't even my whole meal plan, I have 22 weeks worth planned out but I have yet to buy the lamb (4 meals), plus a small amount of pork tenderloin (1 meal), and I also didn't buy the second half of the plan worth of chicken (12 meals) and fish (7 meals).

So, currently, the meat works out to about $3.50 per meal, $1.75 per person!  Not to mention, I was also able to get 6 cups of broth from from my turkey drippings and leftover veggies bits.  I also pre-packaged some of the freezable side-dishes (potatoes/sweet potatoes, asparagus, carrots, yam fries, frozen veggie mix, etc. - Foods That Freeze Well) that would accompany the meats.

This is what my freezer looks like now :)

Almond Butter

I chopped my almonds in a 'slap-chop' first then processed them in the bullet.



With about 40 almonds I ended up with about 1/2 a cup of crushed almonds, I  added about 1.5 tbsp coconut oil and about 1.5 tsps flax seed oil, then about 2 tsps of honey. Pretty easy, made in about 15 min.