Cheap Meals for Babysitting Kids
Babysitting can be a part time or full time job. It can also cost quite a bit and the hidden cost of food might be cutting into your profits. The trick is to cook large amount of inexpensive foods and freeze them for later use.
Here are three simple recipes for babysitters to make in bulk. I will add more recipes as time goes on!
Try packaging your creations so when you pull them out of the freezer, they look like store-bought food. A lot of picky eaters will eat store-bought food before liking homemade stuff. Its odd, I know.
Some kids may want less vinegar, this will take trial and error on your part.
Beans
Pinto beans are the main bean that people use to feed their families in America. They are inexpensive and many people think they taste great.
- 1 onion
- 1 bag of dry into beans
- Salt
- Black pepper
- 1-2 tbs. balsamic vinegar
- Sweet pickle relish
Follow the directions on the bean package for cooking times. Dice the onion up very small as many kids don't like them if they can see them. Add a sprinkle of pepper and salt to the cooking pot.
Allow the kids to use pickle relish, cheese or even mayonnaise to flavor their beans. My family loves pickle relish and sandwich sweet mayonnaise spread.
Freeze smaller portions for later use.
Pizza
- Sliced bread (or make your own pizza dough-pizza dough is best for freezing)
- Tomato sauce
- Italian seasoning
- 1 bag frozen mixed veggies
- Pepperoni
- 1 onion
- Cheese
- Balsamic vinegar
- Salt
- Black pepper
Simmer the onion and mixed veggies (diced works well) in water, 1 tbs. balsamic vinegar, Italian seasoning and a bit of salt and pepper. Cook this until the veggies are tender and taste like a pizza ingredient.
Pre-bake homemade pizza dough for a few minutes before assembling your pizza. Poking holes into the bottom of the dough will help it cook better as well.
Spread enough sauce on the pre-baked pizza dough to cover it well. Too much may make it soggy. Pre-baking helps with this problem.
Spread a thin layer of cooked veggies over the sauce and then sprinkle with cheese and a few small pepperoni.
Cook your pizza until the cheese is melted and the crust is done. Nice and lightly browned on the bottom and the sides is just right.
Whenever in doubt, cook all your meats and vegetables before assembling the pizza. This makes cooking time quicker.
To freeze extra pizzas, give the assembled pizza a light spray of water and then place it on a pan in your freezer. This is as close to flash-freezing as you'll get in a home freezer. After it freezes for about an hour, quickly package it in plastic wrap and store it in the freezer. Do not let it thaw while packaging it.
Once frozen, this pizza is great for a quick meal!
BBQ Sandwiches
- Meat (we like pork or chicken)
- BBQ sauce
- 2 tbs. balsamic vinegar
- Salt
- Pepper
This is EASY. Simmer your choice of meat on the stove or in a slow cooker. Do this by dumping several cups of water in the pan, add your meat, pepper, salt and sauce and then cook for as long as it takes to be able to pull the meat apart with a fork.
Shred your meat and then add a bit more water. Cook this until it become thick like sandwich BBQ.
This recipe works great for cheap cuts of meat that you want to use up. It freezes well and tastes great. You can mix various meat types, like pork and chicken, too. Serve with some veggies cooked in butter and a splash of milk. Mac-n-cheese works well here, too.
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