Freezer meals

goatlady12 · October 2014

Does anyone have some good freezer meal recipes/tips they'd like to share? December is sneaking up on me quickly and I know I'm not going to want to cook with an infant. Cooking right now is the last thing I want to do as it is. Confession: we've been eating a lot of pizza.

catwine · October 2014

CHILI!!!! you could either assemble all the stuff you need and freeze it in a ziplock bag. Then when you want chili you can just dump the contents into the slow cooker. Or you can make the chili and freeze it once it;s cooked.

I like to cook a bunch of chicken breast and freeze it once it's done. Then I just thaw it to eat.

Soups also freeze well! I make big batches and then freeze individual servings.

sjs1013 · October 2014

Meatballs and sauce. MIL was obsessed with making a ton of them for us before O arrived, but we have no freezer space. She was quite disappointed that she couldn't do it.

I agree with chili. I would definitely make it and freeze it in smaller portions. The recipe that we use makes enough for us to eat for about 3 days (lunch and dinner).

Beef stew would be delicious too.

mana8503 · October 2014

Chilli, baked ziti and soups are my go to's. I usually cook them then freeze.

I just started some freezer meals from my pinterest. I did 5 last week: Spaghetti sauce, black bean chilli, chicken fajitas, sausage with peppers and onions, and a soup. They all just dump in the crock pot for 4 to 6 hours. I think for Christmas I'm asking for a new crockpot with a timer that will set to warm after its done.

I want to get a few more meals made for when I go back to work. I know @DanaOcNy‌ made a bunch before T was born. I hope she chimes in!

Oh and I love freezing muffins. I'm thinking about baking a bunch of lactation cookies and brownies for back to work too!

sjs1013 · October 2014

@mana8503 if you find a good lactation cookie recipe, let me know. I've been looking so I can keep up when I go back to work.

brainybrunette · October 2014

I completely agree with all of the suggestions above. I'll add that if you freeze sauce and soups in ziploc bags, you can freeze them flat and it takes up so much less space than tupperware containers do.

mana8503 · October 2014

sjs1013 said:
@mana8503 if you find a good lactation cookie recipe, let me know. I've been looking so I can keep up when I go back to work.

I found a few in pinterest, I'll let you know! I hope they freeze well. I know with muffins I just pull them out before I leave and they are good in 2 hours.

goatlady12 · October 2014

@mana8503 what is your ziti recipe? I've never had good luck with ziti but I love it. Also do you cook the noodles before you freeze it?

mana8503 · October 2014

@goatlady12 - haha its probably not a real ziti recipe but we like it. I cook the noodles then cook spinach and mushrooms in the sauce. Mix the noodles in. Cover and Bake for 20 mins @ 350. Top with shredded mozerella cheese and bake another 5-10 mins. Then I put it in the refrigerator to cool and freeze it.

aimeek420 · October 2014

Freezer cooking is my jam.

I will buy multiple lbs of ground turkey or beef, cook, and freeze in bags in 1/2lb and 1lb portions for the following recipes:

-spaghetti sauce

-beef & bean enchilada casserole

-yumasetta (this isn't the recipe I use, but it's close)

Next comes bulk packs of chicken. We eat a ton of chicken. I trim and freeze whole, plain breasts for:

-chicken fajitas

-shake n' bake chicken

-marinated chicken (freeze with marinade in bag)

-crockpot white chicken chili (alternatively, I will make this and freeze finished product)

-crockpot chicken and sausage creole (get a pack of smoked sausage while you're at it and freeze that)

-"ultimate" chicken fingers

I'll also toss a bunch of plain breasts into the crockpot and let them go all day in chicken broth to shred. Frozen bags of shredded chicken are great for:

-chicken tamale pie

-chicken enchilada casserole

I also like to cut chicken to whatever size I need then freeze for certain recipes, such as:

-spicy chicken riggies

Once I get a few crockpots and stockpots going, I'm able to make several recipes and freeze either flat in plastic bags or in freezer safe containers. Remember to freeze soups without pasta or rice, as they tend to get funky. Get ready...

-crockpot BBQ beer pulled chicken

-crockpot Buffalo pulled chicken

-crockpot chicken taco meat

-ground beef or turkey chili (I just follow the seasoning packet directions)

-crockpot meatball minestrone soup

-tex-mex chicken and rice soup

-crockpot chicken noodle soup

-italian basil sausage soup

-lasagna soup

Pasta dishes also freeze fantastically, like:

-stuffed shells with marinara or alfredo sauce

-traditional meat sauce lasagna

-white cheese chicken lasagna

-pizza lasagna rolls (includes a great pizza sauce recipe, which yes, you can freeze too!)

Heck, you can even do breakfast items!

-pancakes (pop 'em in the toaster frozen for a quick defrost)

-muffins

-breakfast burritos

-sausage and egg breakfast sammies (this sausage recipe is excellent)

Other items I have in the freezer to pull into meal making...

-meats (burgers, pork chops, tenderloins, chuck roast, hot dogs, Italian sausages to grill or for stuffed peppers)

-balls of pizza dough (one ball at Wegmans is enough for two pizzas for us)

-homemade applesauce or butternut squash

Wow. This got out of hand.

ramstein1027 · October 2014

goatlady12 · October 2014

@aimeek420 thank you for so many ideas! DH is insanely picky so a lot of choices are a really good thing.
For frozen lasagna, do you cook the noodles before you freeze it?

aimeek420 · October 2014

You're very welcome! Usually I cook the whole lasagna and then cut into portions before freezing them, then just warm them up with extra sauce before serving. I use "no boil" noodles for my lasagna because I hate boiling them.

Freezer meals

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