Freezer cooking

kristaelaine86 · March 2015

With our third baby I had made and froze a few casseroles for our first few days home, and it was well needed by my poor DH who had to look after all of the household duties ( including me, baby and our two older children and their busy sports schedules) while I was recovering. I regretted not making like a month's worth of quick suppers. This time I plan on doing just that and have started a mission of making double batches of things I can freeze, or taking a spare afternoon to make a few casseroles or soups. Just wondering if anyone else plans on doing this? What's your system? How far along in your pregnancy did you start? Any tips or good recipe suggestions?

Timswife910 · March 2015

I am. I made about a months worth of food last time around and I will make about 35 meals this time. The only suggestion that I have is to find recipes where you don't precook the food and then freeze it. If it all goes in the freezer raw (like meats and veggies) then it will come out tasting fresh vs. tasting like reheated meals. I have found a TON of recipes on Pintrest and a bunch that I can cook in the crockpot or grill. (I ❤️ grilled chicken!!) I also wouldn't make a bunch of things you've never tried before. I made that mistake last time, even doubled some of the recipes, and then we were stuck with multiples of things no one liked. I am 33 weeks and will start shopping this weekend and have a day or two of prepping next week. I hope this helps!

ldmw · March 2015

We started last month. We've froze chili, unstuffed peppers, and then a variety of cooked meats - pulled pork, hamburger, etc.

justkeeptrying · March 2015

I've slowly been cooking over the past few weeks. I think I have about 12 casseroles in the freezer right now, plus some snacks (banana loaf, muffins, etc)

I am hoping to still make a bunch more casseroles. I've been doubling recipes and then freezing in disposable containers.

The only thing I made a point of doing was having variety. Different meats. Some without dairy. I'm thinking I'll crave the variety and also you never know if your LO will be sensitive to any foods.

louloutte87 · March 2015

My husband does all the cooking. Score!

If I was in your position, I would be making double of everything easy to reheat over the next few weeks. Can't ever be too prepared!

princesslockness · March 2015

Pintrest is a Godsend for freezer meals. I make a list of about 20 recipes, shop one day, prep the next. I only do crockpot meals though, as they are less prep all around. Make the recipe in a gallon bag, freeze, thaw the night before, throw in the crockpot on low 6-8. I even buy the crockpot liners so there is less cleanup.

marthaudani · March 2015

I'm going to make sure we have a couple pork shoulders in the freezer. Those can just be thrown in the slow cooker overnight with some liquid smoke and salt and the next day you have a ton of pulled pork for sandwiches. It keeps well in the fridge and microwaves nicely.

I plan on making a few casseroles and freezing those. Also bread, sandwich meat, fresh deli cheese and sliced tomatoes and lettuce are good to have on hand for a quick bite to eat.

I'm not gonna lie. I'm going to stash a couple Stouffer's lasagnas and some premade frozen pot pies in the freezer too.

ashleylane66 · March 2015

I regularly ziploc fresh ingredients and use my crockpot like three times a week so that we avoid eating crap or eating out on busy nights.
I do some Asian style(meat cashews pineapple veggies and teriyaki sauce), Mexican style (meat veggies like corn and hominy and black beans andsalsa) and then Italian style(meat veggies pesto and then a red sauce or white sauce) ...or meatballs in red sauce. I serve the Asian over rice, the Mexican with tortilla chips, the Italian over pasta, and the meatballs on buns. I empty a frozen bag into my crock pot in the morning on low and by afternoon it's ready. And then my hubby or I cook a bit of plain pasta or rice (only takes ten minutes) depending on the meal and it's ready. Honestly has saved us in so many ways!!!

FeroceFamily · March 2015

I really wanted to do this but have 0 freezer space. We have a teenage son and a 20 year old niece that take up a huge portion on both regular size freezers. (we bought a new fridge with a bottom freezer and have the old fridge on the patio). We don't have money for a deep freeze. Any thoughts on low freezer space?

kristeenbutler · March 2015

How are you ladies freezing the cassaroles

CanadaMom17 · March 2015

FeroceFamily said:
I really wanted to do this but have 0 freezer space. We have a teenage son and a 20 year old niece that take up a huge portion on both regular size freezers. (we bought a new fridge with a bottom freezer and have the old fridge on the patio). We don't have money for a deep freeze. Any thoughts on low freezer space?

Just focus on pre-cooking/making the meat portions of the meals - like mini-meatloaves, the pulled pork, leftover roasted chicken to use in easy recipes, some homemade spaghetti sauce with meat & such - or any recipes that are finicky. It's pretty quick to steam or boil up the veggie portion of the meals, toss dressing on bags of pre-made salad, etc. to go with them. I'm finishing eating up my leftovers from post-Christmas for lunches, etc. now, and then starting as I make new things next month I'll freeze up a 'fresher' batch. I did freeze some sundried tomato pesto bacon wrapped meatloaf rounds last week, since they are a bit of a time sink to make (but delicious), so I have a bunch of those to look forward to!

And, the bright side with it (hopefully) being nice weather - it will be bbq season, so grilling up something fresh will be a good change from freezer meals too. Pre-make some burger patties, and get some sausage, etc. perhaps?

FeroceFamily · March 2015

Thank you @CanadaMom17

katielyn1 · March 2015

I plan on doing this and I might just start a list right now since I can't sleep!

Rosiethird · March 2015

Another way to save space in the freezer is to use ziploc bags and freeze single or double portions. That way they can be stacked and clearly labeled and don't take up too much space.

kristaelaine86 · March 2015

Wow so many great ideas!! Thanks ladies- much appreciated! That's exactly how so felt about just looking up recipes on Pinterest, we would have to try them out beforehand. DH can cook he is just not overly creative in the kitchen and likes a recipe or some direction. It was also so so hectic when our last baby was born that it was more of a time issue than his lack of cooking skills! Lol I had hemorrhaged during delivery and required surgery to repair the tearing, which made a rough recovery (couldn't even walk for two weeks). That's a whole other post! Lol Just trying to plan to make life a little easier this time around! Even scheduled a house cleaner for a month which should be a huge help too. I think I will probably shoot for around 35 meals as well. So far I've done chilli in and froze in individual reusable containers, lasagna that just needs to be popped in the oven. Was thinking of making the pulled pork in the sauce this week and just freezing in a large ziploc bag. Also maybe meatballs in sauce, and some kind of chicken in sauce, maybe a beef and vegetable soup in individual bowls as the kids can bring it to school for lunches this way. I was wondering if you can freeze rice? Like if I made a jambalaya how that would be after freezing?

marthaudani · March 2015

Rice freezes pretty good especially if it's part of a soup or a recipe with lots of liquid.

I make fresh rice every night in the rice cooker so I never ever freeze it by itself.

HSTeacherHeidi · March 2015

Making the pulled pork and then freezing it after pork is shredded and bbq sauce added does well in the freezer?? I haven't given this a try yet-but will if anyone's done it and it comes out well for basic pulled pork sandwiches after defrosting in fridge??

I just made a bunch of enchiladas and boilermaker chili today and froze (the best chili recipe from allrecipes.com!! I've won multiple chili cook offs with it if anyone is wanting a new chili recipe)

CanadaMom17 · March 2015

I would likely add the sauce after you defrost it - it might go a little watery otherwise. Or, plan on draining a bit of the water off and then adding a wee bit more sauce.

lishaell · March 2015

I am just making extra when I cook dinners to freeze or cooking 1-2 times a week. Otherwise I feel like it would be a nightmare with my little girl trying to cook a bunch of meals in a day or two. I have already made breakfast burritos, waffles, fajitas, taco meat, and spaghetti meat/sauce. I am also going to try and do: chili, salsa chicken, cashew nut chicken, chile verde, cilantro lime chicken, and sweet pork. I also want to grill chicken and veggies and make little servings for lunches. I can add noodles or rice later if I want. My daughter has severe allergies and so I am trying to make all dairy/soy free meals.

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