Freezer Meal Prep

txboymama

I’ve seen this on other groups not sure if we had one already started...I didn’t see one... has anyone found any good freezer meal recipes? I figured we could share good ones here 

bookworm492

I just want to say I like the idea of a thread for freezer recipes we can make before baby shows up--i just haven't gotten there yet.  Give me a few more weeks but this is definitely on my mind to prep before birth!

anniemarie887

I have a document from a IRL mama friend, just need to be at my computer to upload. Had the shopping list and recipes

k_mama91

Somehow I have never ventured into freezer meals despite loving to cook. I’m thinking lasagnas, baked ziti, chili, pulled pork, etc would be freezer friendly. I need someone whose had luck with freezer meals to provide insight for us.

Stac928

I love this thread!  I don't have access to recipes at the moment (I'm bumping at work...shh don't tell). 

One thing I did last time, in addition to some more typical freezer meals, was make a giant batch of sloppy joes and a giant batch of taco meat.  Then freeze them in individual meal sizes for us.  Also my wonderful mom made us brisket (she is so much better at it than I am)  Sometimes I get tired of typical casserole and crockpot freezer meals so having something else already made was great! I think this time I'll also add some chili to the mix (last time I delivered in August and chili seemed not appealing). 

k_mama91

@Stac928 Shredded Mexican chicken would be a good one too! For burritos and soup. I’m not opposed to doing a little meal prep but if I can have the bulk of our meals cooked and ready to go that’ll be a big help.

rjgmcmanus

We do a crockpot white chicken chili pretty regularly and almost always have it on hand in our freezer for fast meals. Super simple:

3-4 chicken breasts
2-3 cans of great northern beans
2 tsps cumin
1 jar salsa verde
3-6 cups of chicken broth (depending on how thick you like it)

Put it all in the crockpot on low, let it cook for 6-8 hours (so perfect while you're at work). Shred the chicken, mix back in with everything else. Serve topped with sour cream, shredded Mexican cheese, cilantro, and a side of chips.

bookworm492

If you have a crockpot there are a lot of "dump " recipes,  where you premixed everything in a container,  freeze it,  then thaw the night prior and dump in crockpot to cook next day.  I'll have to research those,  we do have a crockpot. 

bookworm492

Oh. I also read that bone broths are really good for postpartum.  The collagen in them helps rebuild.  So this fall might be a good time to make and freeze stock. 

jandawg

As I mentioned elsewhere I still need a deep freeze but I'm so for making freezer meals ahead of time. I've done a bunch of bags of applesauce and done butternut squash soup. I'm also gonna be checking out these recipes https://www.brit.co/beginner-instant-pot-recipes/

My friend has a recipe for "birthday soup" that's meant for when you get home from the hospital and you just put it in the crock pot - I'll try to get it from her.

anniemarie887

@bookworm492 the dump type recipes are what i'm really looking at doing - i have a great post from a food blogger about doing them compatible with both instapot or a slow cooker depending on what you own. 

i will share the 2 links i have saved (i can't vouch for the recipes yet) and then my IRL mama friend's excel spreadsheet!

ashorkey

I'm starting to get my life together with this. I have a friend that's due the day after me so we're going to have a meal prep day sometime in November. We're thinking about making the following:

Lasagna
Homemade noodles - so easy to make and only need to boil for like 3 minutes!  They also store better in soup leftovers. 
Taco meat
Apple sauce
Broth / soup - Save your turkey from thanksgiving and make broth from it! And, start saving veggie scraps now in the freezer once you have enough you can add it to your broth / make veggie broth!
Lentils / Beans
Maybe sloppy joes - they do freeze nicely!
Muffins and / or lactation cookies 

something I did with my daughter when I made freezer meals, is that I put them directly into those disposable tin pans with lids and then put those in freezer bags. That way you can pop them right into the oven! I also wrote the instructions with Temp / cook time on the lids so I would have them right there available. 

anniemarie887

Meals I can’t vouch for:
1. https://theeverymom.com/freezer-meals-to-make-before-baby/ <— these are not all dump recipes, but I generally like and trust this site 
2. https://pinchofyum.com/freezer-meals <— these are pretty much “dump” recipes, some have some ingredients to add after/during cooking. I follow her IG acct, and have made some of her stuff, always good, nothing on this exact list. She also has printable stickers with the cooking instructions for both InstantPot and slow cooker

Meals I can vouch for:
Lastly, I think all the links in this should work. Someone let me know otherwise 

bookworm492

@anniemarie887 I'm just looking at the pinch of yum ones now and they look amazing!! 

I should probably use my pressure canner and can some chili and stew.  Normally I don't eat a lot of red meat but it seems like meats are helpful during postpartum recovery so perhaps I'll make beef based ones this time. 

k_mama91

I want to make the recipes on these lists now, yum! 

anniemarie887

@bookworm492 i know! her stuff by far looks the yummiest and easiest. i may test drive some of them over the next couple weeks. 

bookworm492

I forgot I have this link,  which was shared by the pregnancy and postpartum coach at my online gym

https://lilynicholsrdn.com/real-food-postpartum-recovery-meals/?fbclid=IwAR0iRnU98f_qhPLC3PdM46-07o8ddlhT-vbDZ7-4QSZtA9e-Z9oDH6BKZEc

anniemarie887

@bookworm492 i love that she has this whole snack/dessert section. i have never had a sweet tooth like i have pregnant, these lemon coconut fat bomb things look yummmmmmy.

bookworm492

@anniemarie887 she really recommends liver,  which normally I think is gross but my husband has been trying to get me to eat it forever,  he loves it.  Perhaps I'll ask him to make pate. He'd probably be excited.  One of his favorite things to make when he was cooking professionally was head cheese 🤮

anniemarie887

@bookworm492 i've had head cheese once, didn't hate it, but never felt the desire to revisit. i really just had to think, i don't know if i've ever had liver or pate. while i'm game to try anything once... pate just makes me think of cat food tbh.

bookworm492

@anniemarie887 looks like she uses the pate mixed in with ground beef in other recipes to mask it.  I'm willing to give it a try actually!

anniemarie887

@bookworm492 i'm down with giving that a go! i may cheat and just buy pate tho?!

bookworm492

@anniemarie887 oh for sure. I just know this will give my spouse a chance to cook with organ meats again which he hasn't done in forever!

ktmaesim

I’m making a homemade tomato sauce today and it’s so easy and delicious, I figured I’d share it, as it could be used for so many things and easily so defrost-able!


4lbs tomatoes (def would need more for families!)
salt + pepper
zest of 1 lemon
1 cup of Olive Oil


Heat tomatoes & olive oil in a large, covered pot at a medium heat until they start to blister and soften, you will hear them bubbling, (around 15 min)

Mash them up inside the pot with a potato masher

Cook for another 5 minutes or so, covered.

Remove the lid, and let tomatoes cook on low heat, uncovered for about an hour. 

Add zest, salt & pepper to taste, and if you prefer: red pepper flakes & more olive oil.


I use this for pasta nights, chicken parma nights, and just for pizza or dipping. So tomato-y and fresh tasting! 

ninrms

Loving all these recipes!! @k_mama91 I'm like you--I love to cook, but have yet to venture into freezer meals. I'd love to get into this for post-baby, though!

My big question is how does everyone store their food? I like your idea @ashorkey of putting it directly in the tin container! Did you ever have issues with freezer burn? 

I've used freezer bags in the past, but I'd like to find something less wasteful. Before getting pregnant I read about using mason jars, but you have to be so careful with not overfilling so they don't crack when liquids expand, etc., that it sounded like more hassle and fear than I was willing to deal with. 

Stac928

@ninrms I used a combination of tins and bags.  I used the tins for more casserole things or things I would put in the oven.  I put plastic wrap directly on the food to eliminate air pockets then foil.  For the storage bags I used those mostly for dump recipes for the crockpot/instant pot or things to heat up on the stove.  I froze them flat and made sure to get the air out.  They stored very nicely.

We've been switching to reusable freezer storage bags kinda like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Reusable-Gallon-Storage-Bags-Organization/dp/B07SDDVBFG/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1LA48FJ1CK4ZH&amp;keywords=reusable+freezer+bags&amp;qid=1569012842&amp;sprefix=reusable+fre,aps,169&amp;sr=8-4

I only have a few big ones right now but will invest in more soon as we get close to meal prep time.  Then if after this is all said and done I have too many I might use them to give meals to others then they'll have one :-)

txboymama

https://happymoneysaver.com/easy-freezer-meals/

I made the Easy ravioli lasagna recipe the other night for dinner. It was pretty easy and straight forward. I just added some fresh fruit and a simple salad for a more complete meal. 

nsquaredlife13

So my ultimate lazy mom freezer meals involve hitting up Cosctco and grabbing the lasagna trays, stuffed bell peppers and any others that look like they'd last, wrapping them in freezer safe packaging and freezing them. 

ETA: forgot a word.

ashorkey

ninrms I would double bag in freezer bags after and didn't have an issue with freezer burn. We're going to get a small deep freezer for my milk and freezer meals. I brought up the idea to my husband over the weekend and he was immediately on board with the idea! 

jandawg

Loving all these recipe ideas!! 

lamarshall

@bookworm982 @anniemarie887 I have tried and failed with the organ meat. Ugh. BUT I take beef liver pills instead! 

https://www.amazon.com/Ancestral-Supplements-Grass-Liver-Desiccated/dp/B01MSBZYQW/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=2FB1DTQ60RPPA&amp;keywords=beef+liver+capsules&amp;qid=1569262457&amp;sprefix=beef,aps,210&amp;sr=8-1-spons&amp;psc=1&amp;spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExQzZaQ1dTNFRBQURCJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNzkzMzM4MlJIOEU5TFdOTDlXSiZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNzM3MzUyMURCS0oxOVZLMFYySyZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

anniemarie887

@lamarshall oh interesting! good to know

rjgmcmanus

Husband found this link for freezer meals: https://happymoneysaver.com/easy-freezer-meals/

We're going to make a couple this week and get our stash started. 

rjgmcmanus

@txboymama I accidentally just shared the same link. Great minds! 😊

nothingbuttherain

Something I had a little luck with as far as making freezer meals with less hassle is just making a double batch of whatever dinner is going to be, then freezing the other half. I also like making a huge batch of meatballs and freezing most of those because they're a super easy dinner: warm them up on the stove in canned sauce and cook some pasta.