A great way to save money and cut out the temptation of fast food is to cook meals ahead of time have them in the freezer ready to go. Having meals ready in the freezer eliminates last minute grocery shopping and pizza ordering which we all know is a fast way to spend cash you shouldn't!

Try this recipe for Old Fashioned Beef Stew and see how easy and satisfying it can be to shop, prepare, and freeze food ahead of time.

Old Fashioned Beef Stew

1 pound beef stew meat
3 cups V8 Juice (24 ounces)
1 cup beef broth
1/2 sliced onion
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1 cup frozen green beans
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn
1 cup chopped carrots Pour all ingredients with vegetables still frozen but broken apart as much as possible into a 10-cup freezer container. Freeze.

To serve, thaw. Pour into slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 hours.

I splurged a bit today and took the kids to McDonalds for some ice cream sundaes and an Iced Mocha for me. Yum! I loved it so much I knew I had better find a recipe online to make my own Iced Coffee, or I would be spending dollars I should be saving on those Iced Mochas!

So I found this recipe, and the best part is I can make a gallon and save it in the refrigerator for whenever I feel like a glass.

You'll Need:

1 pot (10-12 cups) strong coffee, cooled
1 can Low Fat Sweetened Condensed milk
4 Tablespoons Sugar Free Hershey's Syrup
Skim milk
1 gallon container (milk container is perfect...washed out of course!)

Pour can of sweetened condensed milk and chocolate syrup into coffee and whisk. Add enough milk to fill 1 gallon container. Serve over ice.

Sounds delicious to me. Can't wait to give it a try!