September 2016 Moms
KimmySchmidt
member
Freezer Meal Recipes
KimmySchmidt
member
Anyone else planning on cooking up some freezer meals to
make life a little easier once baby comes?
I have never done the freezer meal thing. I have nothing to contribute to this thread, but I'm eager to learn. Any tips or fantastic recipes?
(sorry if this is a duplicate thread from a bygone time. I figured it might be time for one now that people may actually start cooking anyway.)
make life a little easier once baby comes?
I have never done the freezer meal thing. I have nothing to contribute to this thread, but I'm eager to learn. Any tips or fantastic recipes?
(sorry if this is a duplicate thread from a bygone time. I figured it might be time for one now that people may actually start cooking anyway.)
Re: Freezer Meal Recipes
We never really did the freezer meal thing in the past but I may do a couple this go round.
I use gallon ziplock bags to store the meals. Just make sure the food is spread out in the bag and it will take up a lot less room in the freezer and lay flat. Label it and just stack them up!
Pinterest has so many great ideas and recipes for freezer meals.
BFP: 12/29/15 EDD: 9/15/16!! Please be our miracle baby!
I'll post my recipes!
I'm also thinking about making some muffin sizes egg fritattas that I can grab out of the freezer and pop in the microwave for breakfast
I'll steal some recipes if anyone has any to share!
DD #1 3/26/13
Mo/Mo twins MMC 3/31/14
DD #2 3/31/15
DD #3 8/25/16
Here's my (kind of) recipe for Turkey meat balls/burgers (I do the same thing, just form them differently)
1 lb ground turkey (make sure you get the kind that's at least 6% fat, 96% lean, or it will have no flavor)
about 1/4 cup bread crumbs (I've also used almond flour here which works really well and gives extra protein!)
1 egg
pinch of garlic powder
onion flakes
pinch cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
I don't measure any of my spices but the one I put the most of is onion flakes. You could also use fresh garlic/diced onions but ain't nobody got time for that
When we moved in to this house, I was really excited about the fridge on top freezer drawer on bottom setup that we have. But the freezer really isn't that great. There are two bins on either side and a pull out drawer above those that about 1/3 of which is the ice bin. Stacking things makes it hard to find and it's also hard to stack vertically without them tumbling over when drawer pulled. I have no idea how I'm going to put my milk stash in there.
Any tips on this style freezer?
Also.. going to be open to the idea that we might eat a decent amount of frozen meals (stauffers, etc) and take out, and that's just life.
https://www.stockpilingmoms.com/2016/06/20-slow-cooker-freezer-meals-in-4-hours/
Hope that link works.
This time, I'm planning to make...
- Pizza Casserole
- Meatloaf
- Chilli
- Sheperd's Pie
- Lasagna
Ill probably also do a couple soups and some breakfast items as well.
BFP - 01/04/2016; EDD - 09/15/2016 DS #1 - 07/2014
- Soups of any kind... chicken (cook the noodles the night you serve so they don't get starchy), vegetable beef, broccoli cheddar (sometimes with ham chunks - https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/broccoli-cheese-soup/), minstrone, pasta fagiole
- Chilis... either basic beef/bean or this amazing crockpot chicken version - https://www.skinnytaste.com/crock-pot-chicken-taco-chili-4-pts/
- Cheeseburger casserole - https://www.skinnytaste.com/cheeseburger-casserole/
- Basic Italian stuff like baked ziti, lasagna, stuffed shells... Then all I need is a salad to round it out.
You can also order frozen meals from www.schwans.com. They have some TV dinner type options, but on the healthier end of the spectrum and the per person price works out to be really reasonable. (These also make a great gift option for relatives at Christmas time if you're looking for that sort of thing.
Piper, 4/10/10
Connor, 3/16/15
Morgan, EDD 9/22/16
sarahg8r I've had this happen too, it made me sick how much food we had stored in our chest freezer in the garage and we lost it all. It was SO horrible.
From now till delivery, I am trying to make at least 1 thing to store per weekend. This weekend I made two quiches loosely based on this - https://allrecipes.com/recipe/50523/clarks-quiche/. We like to eat these occasionally for dinner, and I can throw in anything I have extra of - meat, veggies, etc.
I've pinned a bunch of recipes on Pinterest, and also want to make some cookies, muffins, etc. for snacking.
We are in the process of organizing our freezer to make it easier to find stuff. We bought crates and have one for bread, for raw meat, desserts, pre-made meals, etc. I am hopeful this will work because the freezer is a bottomless pit right now.
Piper, 4/10/10
Connor, 3/16/15
Morgan, EDD 9/22/16
BUT here is one of my favorite crockpot/oven meals that I always give to neighbors (we have a rosemary bush in our backyard).
Rosemary Crockpot Chicken
Combine four breasts of chicken, a 28 oz can of San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes, 1/4 cup balsamic, 3 TB Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper, 3 TSP chopped garlic, and 3 sprigs of rosemary in a bag. Lay flat and freeze. You can either thaw it over night and cook at 350 for 40 minutes, or you can break it up and drop it in the crockpot on low for 6-ish hours. Serve over Quinoa in a bowl. (The juice from the tomatoes and balsamic is the sauce you get.) **Note, the crockpot version makes stringier chicken-- just a different texture- same flavor.
It is SO good, you guys!
onions to freeze, for some reason, freezing increases the smell like 10x. I put like 6 bags in my deep freeze where my breast milk stash was and it made everything in that freezer taste like onions. I cried and cried thinking DD was never gojng to drink that milk, but she never noticed!
I think there are ways to store them that will hold in the smell, just be aware a zip lock bag won't do it!!
We got a stand up freezer last summer. I decided I wanted to pay $350 for it, it was listed for like $650. I called the nearest PC Richards (a chain in the greater NYC area) and spoke to a manager. I said basically "look, I want a stand up freezer and I want to pay $350." He said "will you take a floor model that has a scratch towards the back?" I now have a great freezer.
Last year in anticipation of being pregnant and exhausted I cooked a whole bunch of meals and froze them. DH did not love it. This year I am taking whatever we don't use from our CSA and chopping it up and freezing it. Then I know I have organic veggies for easy prep.
Sausage rolls for breakfasts. I used this for the dough. https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/pw_dinner_rolls_-_no_kneading_required/
I wrapped about a tablespoon of dough around each cocktail weenie.
Sprayed the pans with cooking spray, and baked them about half way.
Guys, DH and I made 25 meals yesterday morning and I have enough freezer type meals that require little work or just sauce added (like spaghetti that just needs noodles) for another 12 meals!
1. We love chicken enchiladas but I'm concerned about the integrity of the stuffing (the red sauce, cheese, and chicken mixture). When I refrigerate the mixture it becomes "mushy" after a few days. Will it get mushy if frozen?
2. We want to freeze tomato soup and not sure if it will taste good or the same when defrosted. The ingredients include food processed (pureed) onions, crushed tomatoes, heavy cream, and garlic.
3. In general, do casseroles hold up pretty well?
4. Is there any types of foods that aren't good for freezing or storage?
5. How long will meals usually last in the freezer?
I'd hate to prep everything, put it in our tiny freezer, and plan on dinner only to have to find a back up. Knowing our luck a meal will bomb on a rough night when everyone is cranky. Tia!
DD 10/4/02
DS due 9/28/16
ajn092 I can't answer them all but here's a few:
1) For enchiladas, I make the enchilada part with stuffing and tortilla, and then put them in a gallon size freezer bag and freeze that. Then, I unfreeze and put sauce and cheese on top to cook. I've had them both ways and if you freeze with sauce they are more mushy.
2) No idea. Try it!
3) Yes, if you wrap well and eat promptly. If you wrap loosely and leave it in the freezer for a year, not going to be great (dry and covered in freezer burn). I vacuum seal everything I can, but if you don't have that a double tight wrap of foil possibly inside a Ziploc bag works for me.
4) If you google this, you'll find a ton of info. There are some foods that the texture of the food is changed when they are frozen (avocados).
5) Not certain, but we usually eat things within 6 months.
Good luck!
https://therealisticorganizer.blogspot.com/2014/01/organized-slow-cooker-freezer-meals.html?m=1
https://southernstudio.blogspot.com/2012/04/5-quick-freezer-recipes-makes-10-meals.html?m=1
DD 10/4/02
DS due 9/28/16
https://www.passionforsavings.com/chocolate-chip-zucchini-muffins-recipe/
These are SO good, also for those with toddlers/kiddos.. I got a very large zucchini into this recipe of 12 muffins with zero sign of anything but lots of ooey gooey chocolate in the end. Great way to sneak in some veggies!