FREEZER MEALS

kp90

I know there was a post about this not too long ago but I figured as we get closer to May some of us may be starting to meal prep and it would be nice to have an organized board to share recipes with things we have successfully made and frozen so far and share with each other.

MEAL NAME:

APPROX PREP/COOK TIME:

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS:

Here is a SUPER simple one I have made lots of times in the crock pot. I double the batch if I plan to freeze half. They make great sandwiches or my SO likes them served over rice.

MEAL NAME: Sweet and Sour Meatballs

APPROX PREP/COOK TIME:   Prep: 5 minutes  Cook time: 4 hrs on high in crock pot or 6 hours on low.

INGREDIENTS:    1 (1lb) bag of frozen meatballs of your choice
                         1 cup grape jelly
                         1 cup ketchup (you can substitute BBQ sauce or salsa for different tastes)

DIRECTIONS: Place frozen meatballs in crockpot, combine grape jelly and ketchup in a bowl, pour over meatballs and stir to coat them evenly. Set crock pot to appropriate time and wait. When ready serve on buns for sandwiches or over rice.
**If you plan to freeze I recommend zip-loc freezer bags. Once cooled place remaining meatballs in bags and get out as much air as possible. Label and place in freezer. When ready to eat again, leave bag out for a few hours or run under hot water until you are able to transfer them back into crock pot and place on high for an hour and serve as desired.
                       
                      

Dantzscher32

This is a great idea. I have a list at home that I did a test batch on over the holidays and they were good. We prepped meals, froze them, and then thawed them and cooked them. Some were for crockpots, but some were also for the oven. I loved it because all I had to do was stick the meal in the oven and I had a meal that tasted like a lot of work went into it yet, I didn't have to do anything but turn on an oven and set the timer!  will post them soon. 

Jparke2

The meatballs are on my list of freezer meals too! I use chili sauce instead of ketchup, its pretty similar though. Super tasty! 

Here is one of the others I plan to make:

MEAL NAME: Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

APPROX PREP/COOK TIME: Honestly I can't remember, but its nothing terribly long

INGREDIENTS: 
-Boneless chicken (I prefer tenderloins)
-Frozen broccoli
-1 can of cream of mushroom soup (can substitute cream of chicken)
-Bag of cheddar cheese, shredded
-Bag of mozzarella cheese, shredded
-Chopped onions
-Toasted breadcrumbs or panko crumbs

DIRECTIONS: Cook chicken and then cut up into bite size pieces. Place broccoli and cooked chicken in casserole pan evenly. Warm up soup in a sauce pan over the stove. Add cheese and onions to soup until melty and blended. Pour mixture over broccoli and chicken. Sprinkle crumbs on top (add some melted butter if you want!) Then freeze. Thaw out before cooking and then bake at 375 degrees until bubbly. 

(Sorry for the lack of measurements, I honestly just kind of wing it. You can add all the cheese or do less cheese or leave some left to put on the top of the casserole. Same thing with the onions, add desired amount, it'll be good either way! Also, I suppose this could be easily adapted to be done in the crock pot, but I've never tried it!)

mumbolino

Great idea! 
Here is a good link to vegetarian freezer meals, there's quite a few recipes, so I'll just post the link. Hope that's ok :-)
https://runinspired.wordpress.com/2012/09/03/post-partum-vegetarian-freezer-meals/

bkjade

@mumbolino those enchiladas sound fantastic! Definitely adding that to my list. 

Delitachan

How you guys can stand being in the kitchen is beyond me. I am NAUSEATED most times when I step into the kitchen! If someone else cooks for me, wonderful.

kbrands7

Beyond super easy things like lasagna, marinara sauce for pastas, crockpot bbq pulled pork, and chili, these are some of my favorite summer freezer meals/crock pot meals that are easy and can also be frozen:

Lemon Chicken with Roasted Veggies: https://thrivinghomeblog.com/2010/07/roasted-lemon-garlic-chicken-with-veggies/

Salmon and Sweet Potato Cakes: https://thrivinghomeblog.com/2014/11/salmon-and-sweet-potato-cakes/

Cilantro Lime Chicken (a bit fancier than salsa chicken): https://thrivinghomeblog.com/2013/10/slow-cooker-cilantro-lime-chicken-recipe/

Cuban Beef: https://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/slow-cooker-cuban-braised-beef-and-peppers-recipe

Coconut Cashew Chicken Curry: https://lecremedelacrumb.com/2015/04/slow-cooker-curry-cashew-chicken.html

Shrimp Etouffee: https://www.gumbocooking.com/shrimp-etouffee-recipe.html (This one I eyeball b/c it's a family recipe,but this link is pretty close to what I do, though I don't bother with a dutch oven and just use a skillet most days.)

Foods like mussels, shrimp, and salmon can also be cooked very quickly on the stove-top with a bit of lemon butter and/or spices like jerk rub, require little attention, and are healthy.

AdorkablePixie

I want to follow this! I will be adding recipes too, but not just yet!

yogahh

I can barely figure out what to make for dinner tonight, let alone 3 months from now. I envy you domestic goddesses!

yogahh

kbrands7 said:

Beyond super easy things like lasagna, marinara sauce for pastas, crockpot bbq pulled pork, and chili, these are some of my favorite summer freezer meals/crock pot meals that are easy and can also be frozen:

Lemon Chicken with Roasted Veggies: https://thrivinghomeblog.com/2010/07/roasted-lemon-garlic-chicken-with-veggies/

Salmon and Sweet Potato Cakes: https://thrivinghomeblog.com/2014/11/salmon-and-sweet-potato-cakes/

Cilantro Lime Chicken (a bit fancier than salsa chicken): https://thrivinghomeblog.com/2013/10/slow-cooker-cilantro-lime-chicken-recipe/

Cuban Beef: https://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/slow-cooker-cuban-braised-beef-and-peppers-recipe

Coconut Cashew Chicken Curry: https://lecremedelacrumb.com/2015/04/slow-cooker-curry-cashew-chicken.html

Shrimp Etouffee: https://www.gumbocooking.com/shrimp-etouffee-recipe.html (This one I eyeball b/c it's a family recipe,but this link is pretty close to what I do, though I don't bother with a dutch oven and just use a skillet most days.)

Foods like mussels, shrimp, and salmon can also be cooked very quickly on the stove-top with a bit of lemon butter and/or spices like jerk rub, require little attention, and are healthy.

I'm going to try the cuban beef this weekend... looks really yummy!

kbrands7

This isn't a recipe, but, the one problem that I've had in the past with freezer meals is that my freezer turns into a stocked disaster area. I'm usually an organized person, so this drives me crazy. I came upon this series of tips and will be using many of them, so I thought I'd share.

There's also this behemoth of a read. I find all of the links intimidating at first, but it's a good place to look for answers to common questions, and there are lots of recipes: The Ultimate Freezer Cooking Collection

js8812

I'm happy that it will be grilling season when all our babies are here.  At least 2-3 times per week in the summer we have chicken breasts and then make a tinfoil pack of sliced potatoes, carrots, peppers, olive oil, and seasoned with pepper.  The best part is there is no clean up other than scraping the grill, washing the grill spatula, and throwing away the tinfoil.  Win.

gorgeousariel

Chicken Noodle Soup: https://www.familyfreshmeals.com/2014/10/best-crockpot-chicken-noodle-soup.html

Chicken Tacos: https://www.mychocolatetherapy.com/2012/01/crockpot-chicken-tacos.html

Honey Sesame Chicken (my all time favorite): https://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/01/slow-cooker-honey-sesame-chicken-recipe.html

Knottie1433777995

I want to test the freezer meals now before making a bunch for after baby comes! We went shopping last night and planned 5 meals that I could make for dinner, double, and freeze half to try later. We started last night with chicken enchiladas, and the rest of the list consists of spaghetti and meat sauce, chicken spaghetti, chicken n dumplings, and sloppy joes! Hoping it all works out

AmmyBelle

@Knottie1433777995 - That's a good idea! 

I plan on making pop tart like breakfasts and breakfast sandwiches from these links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1l26-V1RsI  (Also she has a million 1 mug microwaveable meals that are genius, including a single serving of deep dish pizza!)
https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-freezerfriendly-breakfast-sandwiches-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-215888

Am checking out all the other links posted for casseroles and tacos galore! Thanks!

Edited to add: Oh, and this is probably known to lots of you, but I adore the Pioneer Woman and her stash of recipes: https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking_cat/freezer-food/ 

DanandVan

Resurrecting this thread in the hopes that lots more of you will post your freezer/crockpot meal recipes! Here are my family's favorites! (I am a vegetarian but the rest of the fam eats meat). Some are freezer meals, some are easier to just put straight in the crockpot.

Rootbeer bbq pulled pork:
Pork loin
12 oz root beer
Bbq sauce
Cook in crockpot 6-8 hours on low (4-6 hours on high). Shred with forks and serve on buns.

Chicken Cordon Bleu:
4 frozen chicken breasts
8 slices deli ham
6-8 slices swiss cheese (or cheddar or whatever)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can milk
3/4 sleeve of Ritz crackers, smashed to crumbs
(I assemble in disposable aluminium pans and freeze)
In 9×13 pan, place 4 chicken breasts. Cover each with ham slices and cheese slices. In bowl, whisk together can of soup with milk and pour over chicken. Top with crushed Ritz cracker crumbs. Add pepper but hold the salt, imo. Defrost overnight and bake 350.

Chicken tacos:
4 chicken breasts 
1 jar salsa
1 pkg taco seasoning (although I use only 1/2 but we are sensitive to salt here)
Dump in crockpot and cook 6-8 hours low or 4-6 hours high. Shred with forks and serve with torillas, lettuce, cheese, sour cream, etc.

Mexican baked ziti:
1 box ziti noodles 
1 lb ground beef (or 1 pkg vegetarian "ground beef")
1 pkg taco seasoning (again I only use 1/2)
1 can diced tomatoes (drained) or Rotel if you like a little extra spice (drained)
4 oz cream cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese 

Boil noodles till al dente. Cook ground beef and drain. Add taco seasoning and a few tbl water. Stir in cream cheese and diced tomatoes. In 9x13 pan, mix noodles with beef mixture. Top with shredded cheddar cheese. Cover with foil and freeze. Defrost overnight OR just pop it right in the oven 350°. This one is especially easy to make multiples of!

AdorkablePixie

I'll be adding some recipes I use once I actually get to make any. We move next weekend, so hopefully after that I'll have some time to make some meals!

camillaandcarson

Had zero freezer meals the first time around.  That was a HUGE mistake. 
Won't be making that this time around. 

mumbolino

Made 5 frozen vegetarian lasagnes.... And then? I was lazy. And loved not having to cook. And ate them all last week;-) i wonder how many times I have to start over ;-) 

vinerie

I'm bumping up this thread in hopes that people will share some recipes and go-to dishes!

ayeshaohara

mumbolino said:

Made 5 frozen vegetarian lasagnes.... And then? I was lazy. And loved not having to cook. And ate them all last week;-) i wonder how many times I have to start over ;-) 

This is exactly why I haven't started yet. I basically haven't cooked a proper meal in 8 months. Thank goodness my husband is self sufficient when it comes to his meals so I don't feel quite so guilty. Once I work out what to cook I'm hopefully going to start next week. My mum will be with me for 6 weeks so I'm pretty excited that she can do most of the cooking for me and make some freezer stuff too so I won't have to do too much...just enough to get me through a couple of weeks until she arrives because it sounds like this baby might be coming earlier than planned! 

Also im loving that baby will be here over the summer...I think I'll just BBQ everything. So easy. Less dishes. Everyone is happy 

kbrands7

I used this collection of meals as the main base of my freezer stash (plus a few extra recipes). A few of her recipes I changed based on taste/veggie preferences/meat cut preferences. There's a shopping list provided and it really can be done in less than 3hrs. I did this collection of 30 bags and several other recipe bags in about 2.5hrs https://whoneedsacape.com/2014/06/30-summer-freezer-meals/

nasalot188

This is one of my favourite slow cooker recipes. So easy to freeze as well. Best part is all the various meals you can make which is great, so the family doesn't get sick of it!

MEAL NAME: Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas

APPROX PREP/COOK TIME: 15 mins prep/slow cook for 8 hrs on low or 6 hrs on high

INGREDIENTS:

• 5 lb / 2.5 kg pork shoulder (pork butt), skinless, bone-in (4lb/2kg without bone)
• 1 onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and ribs removed, chopped
• 1¼ tbsp table salt OR 2 tbsp kosher salt or sea salt flakes
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 oranges, juice only (or sub with ¾ cup fresh orange juice)

Rub

• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Rinse and dry the pork shoulder, rub in salt and pepper.
2. Combine the rub ingredients then rub all over the pork.
3. Place the pork in a slow cooker (fat cap up), top with the onion, jalapeño, minced garlic (don't worry about spreading it) and squeeze over the juice of the orange.
4. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or on high for 6 hours.
5. The meat should be tender and falling off the bone. Remove from the slow cooker and let cool slightly. Then shred the pork using two forks.
6. Skim off the fat from the juices remaining in the slow cooker and discard the fat. Then if you are left with a lot more than 1½ to 2 cups of juice, then reduce it (either in the slow cooker on the sauté setting with the lid off, or in a saucepan). Set aside.

To Serve

1. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large non stick pan over high heat. Place shredded pork into the pan and press down and cook until the bottom side is golden brown and crusty.
2. Pour over the juices and serve immediately) 
3. To FREEZE: This holds up great in the freezer. Pour the juices over the pulled pork (pre browning) and store in ziplock bags or airtight containers. Freeze in small batches for convenience. To use, defrost completely before following the recipe to brown the pork.

You can make so much with this!! Tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos and enchiladas. Really pretty much anything you want 

thismakes4

I would love to jump in on the freezer meals. I would need to purchase a giant standalone freezer to feed my family which wouldn't be a problem except our house is so old it's hard to not blow the breaker everyday as it is lol. 

Hopefully, I can get at least a week or maybe two of freezer meals put together for the first couple of weeks at home with baby. I didn't do them with my other 3 children and I still had to cook so that would make life so easy if I can get it together.

KidShrink

That 30 meals collection looks pretty awesome @kbrands7 ! DH is on board to make this tomorrow Have you tried any of the recipes before? 

kbrands7

@kidshrink I've done about half of them before-- I especially like the chicken and beef recipes. For the salsa pork, we do a shredded version to put in tacos and use peppers and onions in it rather than the carrots from the recipe-- either a pork butt or pork chops will shred pretty well once cooked so I just buy whatever is cheaper. 

I definitely found it helpful to prelabel the bags and do the chopped ingredients first, then sauces, then meat (so it can stay cool or frozen if using prefrozen chicken breasts).

kp90

Today I'm trying beef and broccoli in the crock pot served over white rice (make sure your broccoli doesn't fall into the recall brand)

in the crock pot whisk 1 tbsp seasame oil, 1 cup beef broth, 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce, 3 tsp minced garlic, 1/3 cup dark brown sugar. 

Add 1lb sliced chuck roast and coat with sauce. Turn on low and cook for 6 hours. 

After 6 hours, take some of the sauce and mix with a little corn starch and add back to the crock pot to thicken sauce. Throw in bag of frozen broccoli and cook for an additional 30 minutes. Serve over cooked white rice. 

Ill add the link. It's from Pinterest. Double the recipe and freeze half. 

https://www.tablefortwoblog.com/take-out-fake-out-beef-broccoli-crockpot/

yogahh

@bumpadmin can we maybe sticky this? Thought it might be nice as a reference later on

Knottie1433777995

MEAL NAME: Key Lime Chicken Enchiladas

APPROX PREP/COOK TIME: 60 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
  
• 1 can (4.5 oz) Old El Paso™ chopped green chiles
  
• 2 1/2 cups shredded deli rotisserie chicken
  
• 1 container (6 oz) Greek 100 Key lime yogurt
  
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  
• Juice of 1 medium lime
  
• 2 cans (10 oz) Old El Paso™ enchilada sauce (hot or medium)
  
• 12 corn tortillas
• 1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend (2 oz)
  

DIRECTIONS: 

• In 10-inch nonstick skillet, cook onion, chiles and chicken over medium-high heat about 3 minutes or until chicken is warm and onion is starting to turn translucent. Remove from heat; stir in yogurt, 1/4 cup of the cilantro, and the lime juice. Stir in 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce.
• Fill each tortilla with 1/4 cup chicken mixture. Roll up; place seam side down in 3-quart freezer-friendly baking dish. Spread remaining enchilada sauce over tortillas.
• Cover with foil and freeze.
• Take out of freezer to thaw a few hours before cooking, sprinkle with cheese and bake at 350 degrees about 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Sprinkle remaining cilantro over enchiladas; serve warm.

Knottie1433777995

MEAL NAME: Rotel Chicken Spaghetti

APPROX PREP/COOK TIME: 60 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

• 3-4 large boneless chicken breasts (or rotisserie chicken)
  
• 1 can (10 3/4 ounce) Cream of Chicken Soup
• 1 can (10 ounce) Rotel Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 – 8 ounce Velveeta cheese, cubed
• 8 ounces spaghetti, cooked and drained

DIRECTIONS:

• Cut up chicken into bite size pieces. In a large skillet melt butter or margarine. Add cubed chicken, garlic and onion powder. Cook over medium-high heat until chicken is no longer pink and no liquid is left in skillet.
  
• Stir in soup, cheese and Rotel Tomatoes. Reduce heat to low, and cook until the cheese melts, stirring constantly.
  
• Stir in spaghetti and pour into a lightly greased 2 quart casserole dish.
  
• Cover and freeze.
• Remove from freezer to thaw a few hours before cooking, and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until heated through.

mrstmoose

@kbrands7 you are a lifesaver. I'm totally going to work off that list!

Lusitano8

Slow cooker Quinoa Enchilada - healthy and husband approved 
6-8 meals (I divide into 2 bags) 

INGREDIENTS in the bag: 

• 1 pound ground turkey (chicken or beef would probably work too) 
• 1 and 1/2 cups uncooked quinoa
• 1 can (15 ounces) black beans
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 can (10 ounces) diced tomatoes and green chilies
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 cup onion
• 1/2 cup sweet bell peppers
• 1 can (19 ounces) enchilada sauce
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• Garnish with: cheese, fresh lime juice, sour cream, green onions, jalapeno (whatever you have in the fridge) 

Dump bag into crock pot. Add 1 cup water or broth. Cover and cook on high for 3 to 3 and 1/2 hours or until the liquid is all absorbed into the mixture.

Jparke2

@kp90 I've made that crockpot beef and broccoli and I thought it was really good! Definitely recommend it to people! I like to use the beef strips you can buy already cut up. Yum!

kp90

@jparke2 Yeah it turned out really well but I was afraid at first because the beef didn't seem like it was going to get tender so I turned the crock pot on high for an hour and it came out perfect! Will definitely keep this stocked in the freezer.

AdorkablePixie

So far I've made a frozen chicken burritos. They're really good and my DH loves them.

What you need:

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (for however many burritos you want to make, I made 8 burritos, so it used 4 breasts)

Cilantro

Avocado

Shredded cheese (your choice, I've used taco cheese or fiesta)

Flour tortillas (or wheat, or corn, whatever your preference!)

Cook the chicken according to package directions depending on if it's frozen or not. I thawed mine in the fridge then cooked on the stove top, sprinkling it with Old Bay.

One cooked, but the chicken into pieces or strips.

Put chicken into the tortilla, top with cilantro, avocado, and cheese then roll up into a burrito.

To cook: Put a bit of olive oil in a pan and cook  until tortilla is slightly browned.

You can freeze these either after you cook them or before. I frozen mine before they were cooked.

vinerie

I made two dishes worth of these chicken enchiladas the other night. Easy and yummy. (I'm not a fan of canned sauces, so this one you make your own green sauce which I think makes them sooooo much better and sooooo much lower in sodium than using a canned sauce.)

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/marcela-valladolid/chicken-enchiladas-recipe.html

clw617

I made this on Sunday and I'm all about some quiche right now. I'm going to make a couple different ones to freeze. 

https://allrecipes.com/recipe/23389/easy-quiche/

I did spinach, artichoke hearts, onion, and cheese. Good tip: saute onion and garlic in butter for just a bit before adding them in. Yummmmm. I love savory breakfast food. And I did this one in an 8x8 pan, rather than a quiche dish. 

Bake before freezing. From freezer, bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes (do not thaw first). 

DanandVan

Just finished another batch of freezer meals!  Took only an hour to make 8 meals, with my toddler helping. I made doubles of 4 meals. I also added the cost for everything. Spent $45 (at Aldi) for 8 freezer meals - not bad!

Crockpot mandarin chicken:
4 chicken breasts 
1/4 cup sliced onion
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
1 cup bbq sauce
2 tbl soy sauce
Assemble is ziploc bag and freeze. Cook in crockpot low 6-8 hours, high 4-6.

Crockpot Apple Butter Pork Chops:
5 pork chops
1/4 cup sliced onion
1 tsp minced garlic
1 cup apple butter.
Assemble is ziploc bag and freeze. Cook in crockpot low 6-8 hrs, high 4-6.

Crockpot Bbq Ranch Drumsticks:
Chicken drumsticks
1 packet dry ranch mix
1 cup bbq sauce
Assemble in ziploc bag and freeze. Cook in crockpot low 6-8 hr, high 4-6.

Bacon, mushroom, swiss chicken:
Assemble in aluminum pan (I use the disposable lasagna sized pans).
4-5 chicken breasts
6 slices Swiss cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup, mixed with 1/2 can of milk
1 cup sliced mushrooms 
1 pkg bacon bits
Cover with foil and freeze. Defrost overnight OR just pop it in the oven at 350. 


 

kitandcat

@kbrands7 Thank you for that list! It all sounds awesome!!

One of the things I'm struggling with when looking at freezer meals is finding things that are healthy. I don't want to diet right away of course, but I definitely want to eat healthy to get on the right track, and my husband has given into pregnancy and stopped working out with me for awhile too so he needs to get on the health train as well! I can't imagine eating pastas and lasagnas, and so many crockpot meals are filled with bad stuff, too. I love it all and it's normally what I eat, but I feel like it will start me off on the wrong foot to get back into shape!! 

@js8812 I love this idea! Another struggle is finding foods that we're going to want to eat in the summer! It's so easy to make crockpot dishes or reheat frozen meals but a lot of them are very winter friendly and not summer friendly!! I think I will try and buy lots of grilling veggies and cut them up and get them in foil packs and freeze those ahead of time. One of my life struggles is letting veggies go to waste because in the moment they always seem like too much work lol but premade foil packs to throw on the grill with some meats would be easy peasy! 

wamam027

Kit&Cat said:

@kbrands7 Thank you for that list! It all sounds awesome!!

One of the things I'm struggling with when looking at freezer meals is finding things that are healthy. I don't want to diet right away of course, but I definitely want to eat healthy to get on the right track, and my husband has given into pregnancy and stopped working out with me for awhile too so he needs to get on the health train as well! I can't imagine eating pastas and lasagnas, and so many crockpot meals are filled with bad stuff, too. I love it all and it's normally what I eat, but I feel like it will start me off on the wrong foot to get back into shape!! 

@js8812 I love this idea! Another struggle is finding foods that we're going to want to eat in the summer! It's so easy to make crockpot dishes or reheat frozen meals but a lot of them are very winter friendly and not summer friendly!! I think I will try and buy lots of grilling veggies and cut them up and get them in foil packs and freeze those ahead of time. One of my life struggles is letting veggies go to waste because in the moment they always seem like too much work lol but premade foil packs to throw on the grill with some meats would be easy peasy! 

This is me too. I just take classic recipes and make twists to make them healthier. I for instance, make my lasagna with zucchini "noodles" instead of pasta. With shepherds pie I make mashed cauliflower instead of using mashed potatoes. I make a casserole similar to shepherds pie where I brown some ground beef or ground turkey, lay that on the bottom of the pan, add pizza sauce, top with some mozzarella, and top with favorite pizza toppings (I usually use the typical "supreme pizza" topping such as bell peppers, mushrooms, olives). Then I just pair with a quick salad and boom, healthy dinner. They all freeze really nicely as well. 

NinnyJean

Kit&Cat said:

@kbrands7 Thank you for that list! It all sounds awesome!!

One of the things I'm struggling with when looking at freezer meals is finding things that are healthy. I don't want to diet right away of course, but I definitely want to eat healthy to get on the right track, and my husband has given into pregnancy and stopped working out with me for awhile too so he needs to get on the health train as well! I can't imagine eating pastas and lasagnas, and so many crockpot meals are filled with bad stuff, too. I love it all and it's normally what I eat, but I feel like it will start me off on the wrong foot to get back into shape!! 

@js8812 I love this idea! Another struggle is finding foods that we're going to want to eat in the summer! It's so easy to make crockpot dishes or reheat frozen meals but a lot of them are very winter friendly and not summer friendly!! I think I will try and buy lots of grilling veggies and cut them up and get them in foil packs and freeze those ahead of time. One of my life struggles is letting veggies go to waste because in the moment they always seem like too much work lol but premade foil packs to throw on the grill with some meats would be easy peasy! 

Since a lot are more winter type meals, we're marinating and freezing chicken and making some turkey burgers up to freeze so that way DH can throw them on the grill and they'll be more summer type meals but still just as easy since they'll be all prepped