A man Lunchable

-The man Lunchable
-A grown up's TV dinner
-Food

These dishes have been called many things in the last few weeks around my house.  I prefer to call them convenient, simple, and frugal (after initial purchase).

Troy works two 24 hour shifts (1 paid, 1 an unpaid internship) back to back, and has to have two days - six meals worth of food when he leaves the house.  In the past, the morning of his departure, we're scrambling to find enough food to keep him fed without having to go purchase something during a shift.

I had conceptualized a "homemade TV dinner" kind of tray, but couldn't find any that I liked that were a) not plastic b) freezer-proof c) oven and/or microwave-proof.  Enter Pyrex's new 6 cup glass containers
These containers are a) glass b) made in America (I knew there had to be something we still made!) c) freezer-proof and d) airtight.  I got the containers at Target during a sale for $17 for each 3 pack.

I had thought about the Snap Tight package you can get from Costco, but ruled them out because they can't be put in to an oven.

Spending $38 on dishes was not initially my idea of frugal living.  I'm sure if I searched long enough I could find a few things at Goodwill that worked.  But, I bit the bullet and shelled out the money for a few reasons.  For one, in the time it took me to find 6 containers in good condition that fit all my needs, we would have shelled out $38+ in dining out meals for Troy.  And most importantly, I didn't feel like I would be able to find 6 truly airtight glass containers used.

So, now, Troy brings these home from a shift, and we fill them right back up.  Well, we clean them first of course. Two breakfasts, two lunches, and two dinners.  If he actually gets to be home for a day before going back to work, these get popped in to the freezer.

Behold, a breakfast version of the man Lunchable:

1 homemade breakfast burrito, 1 muffin (made by my awesome aunt and shared with us!), and 1 whole peach split and frozen.  When they thaw out, the skin peels right off and the fruit tastes totally fresh.  It browns a little, but it is still delicious.

I always remind Troy to eat his fruit and not to trade with any of the other EMTs for their Gogurts.

Lunches usually consist of a sandwich with a little container of salad.  Dinner is usually something I made for dinner that week and then froze leftovers.  A veggie goes in there, and of course a little dessert.  The best part of TV dinners were always the desserts!  Troy has really been in the lemon bars I made a few weeks ago, so I like to put a little square of that.

I've shared this over at Monday Mania.