Freezer Meals

DanaOcNy · May 2014

I am attempting this weekend to make meals and freeze them. We need to really stick to a budget for everything when baby gets here so we are starting now. Do any of you ladies make a whole bunch of meals ahead of time and freeze them? Looking for tips, suggestions, recipes, etc!!!

MrsH1027 · May 2014

We have a few that are my go-to's. With my job, I sometimes have to work Turnarounds where I'm gone 14 hours a day and only get every 14th day off. (In a two month long one now!) Before it started, I made a triple batch of Creole. It's not a meal that you can just pop in the oven, but it's still super easy to throw together. I keep a big bag of frozen raw shrimp to thaw and cook really quick whatever night we eat it. The shrimp cook in like 5 minutes if they're small. Just throw some butter in a skillet and saute the shrimp with some cajun/creole seasoning. Then serve the creole over rice or pasta. Wow that was long winded! Let me know if you want the recipe! I also have a super easy crock pot chili recipe that's easy to just throw in the crock pot in the morning or thaw if you made ahead. Veal Manicotti is really my only go-to make ahead meal that I make that you just have to pop in the oven.

mana8503 · May 2014

No, but I want it before lo comes. I pinned a bunch of blogs about freezer meals on pinterest. Now I need a place to put them. We're getting a freezer to put in the basement for that and hopefully breast milk.

catwine · May 2014

I've made chili, seasoned chicken and soups to keep in the freezer. I divided the chili and soups into servings of 2 for H and I and froze them in giant ziploc bags. For the chicken I would season it ahead of time and put freeze it in ziploc bags (maybe throw some cut potatoes in there too).

mana8503 · May 2014

I've frozen baked ziti, tuna noodle casserole, chilli, soup...

DanaOcNy · May 2014

Thanks ladies! @mana8503 I also pinned a bunch of blogs on Pinterest and picked some easy one to attempt this weekend. If it's something we keep. Doing we are going to get a freezer got the basement too!

mana8503 · May 2014

DanaOcNy said:
Thanks ladies! @mana8503 I also pinned a bunch of blogs on Pinterest and picked some easy one to attempt this weekend. If it's something we keep. Doing we are going to get a freezer got the basement too!

Please share if you find good ones!

goatlady12 · May 2014

I hope to do this too for when LO comes. I'm sure MIL will offer to make meals for us, but you all know about the finger licking... Let us know which recipes you liked!

ramstein1027 · May 2014

Seipel12 said:

I hope to do this too for when LO comes. I'm sure MIL will offer to make meals for us, but you all know about the finger licking... Let us know which recipes you liked!

snuff9861 · May 2014

I'm hoping to do some at the end of the month when I start my 2 weeks of vacation before baby gets here!

brainybrunette · May 2014

You could make a bunch of breaded chicken cutlets, and then put them in the freezer. After they're thawed out, you could use them in a number of things. Add some sauce and cheese and you have Chicken Parm or cut them up into strips and you can throw them over a salad. They're so versatile, that you could easily make a ton of things out of them.

WillyH19 · May 2014

I've had good luck with pasta dishes as well as soups that don't contain dairy. But, I also don't eat meat. Quiche's freeze and thaw surprisingly well too.

brainybrunette · May 2014

I second the above.

My grandmother used to send me frozen chicken soup to keep in my tiny dorm freezer. It freezes and defrosts really well. She also used to send me frozen eggplant parm and breaded chicken cutlets that I mentioned before.

I should also add that most casseroles freeze really well too.

aimeek420 · May 2014

Yes, yes, YES! I love to do big cooking days and freeze tons! I'm a real advocate for it - so convenient and really helps you be budget minded and less wasteful with leftovers and scraps. It's almost a game to me, ha! I do 4-5 massive cooks a year where I fill the freezer with 2 person servings and meat, but also make things fresh a few times a week too. Here are some of my freezer staples (found mostly from Pinterest)...

Crockpot Meatball Minestrone (freeze in containers, make pasta fresh when serving)

Italian Basil Sausage Soup (freeze in containers, make pasta fresh)

Crockpot Chicken Noodle (freeze flat in bags to save space; make egg noodles or rice fresh)

Lasagna Soup (freeze flat; make pasta fresh; I also freeze the "cheesy yum")

Tex-Mex Chicken & Rice Soup (freeze flat; make rice fresh. I add black beans to this)

Double batch of turkey chili (per seasoning pack instructions; freeze flat)

Double batch of turkey tacos (freeze flat)

Stuffed shells with either marinara sauce or alfredo (can freeze cooked or uncooked)

Lasagna (can freeze cooked or uncooked)

Crockpot Buffalo Pulled Chicken (freeze flat)

Crockpot BBQ Beer Pulled Chicken (freeze flat)

Marinated chicken breasts (marinate in bag and freeze flat)

Plain chicken breasts (portioned for chicken riggies, chicken tenders, shake n' bake, etc)

Marinated and plain pork chops & pork tenderloin

Cooked ground turkey (or beef) (portioned for meat sauce, enchilada casserole, nachos, etc)

Italian sausages (for the grill, stuffed peppers, pizza, etc)

Frozen shrimp, scallops, fish fillets

I also freeze cookies when I make a big batch and don't want them taunting me. Most, if not all, freeze very well. You can freeze unbaked cookie dough also for times when you want to make just a few!

DanaOcNy · May 2014

Wow Ladies thanks for all the suggestions!!! Can't wait to try some of these ideas and recipes out!

Freezer Meals

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