Freezer Meals!

mauera07 · October 2017

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What are you planning on prepping for once the baby(ies) are here? Share some of your favorite recipes, prep/storage methods, and tips here!

mauera07 · October 2017

I'm always most attracted to crock pot freezer meals because they are quick to throw together and impossibly easy to make. However I have found most of them to be bland and lacking any texture. Have any of you had success with these?
I've found the meals that tend to work best for me are casseroles. I'm adding links to a few of my favorite recipes. I find the best way to make these is to double (or triple+) the recipe, have one for dinner and put the rest in the freezer. It saves a lot of time.

Chicken Quinoa Broccoli Casserole:
https://pinchofyum.com/creamy-chicken-quinoa-broccoli-casserole

Mexican-style Chili Lasagna:
https://wholeandheavenlyoven.com/2016/03/17/make-ahead-mexican-style-chili-lasagna/

Cheesy Broccoli and Pepper Baked Orzo:
https://ohmyveggies.com/cheesy-broccoli-and-pepper-baked-orzo/

I'll add more recipes as I sift through to make my post baby list.

IrishPiratess · October 2017

We have been making 1-2 extra meals per week in order to stock the freezer for leave.
So far we have:
Amish Country Casserole
Coconut Sweet Potato Chickpea Curry (2 bags)
Chicken Pot Pie Filling
Beef Stew (2 Bags)
Goulash (2 bags)

and planned to make over the next few weeks:
Shells and Cheese
Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
Chicken Stir Fry (with sauce in separate smaller bags inside the bigger bags)
Hand PIes
Lasagna
Meat Loaf
Some lactation cookies/muffins and smoothie packets
Meatballs and Sausage in Sauce (to just make spaghetti)
Omelet Muffins
Breakfast burritos

auntieraindrop · October 2017

My freezer really isn't big enough to accommodate freezer meals. Especially since it's not just Byll and I, my brother lives with us, so we have to leave room for him to freeze things too.

bainidhedub · October 2017

@IrishPiratess can you share the Coconut Sweet Potato Chickpea Curry recipe? that sounds heavenly

JuliaGoolia719 · October 2017

We’re buying an upright freezer for the garage to store freezer meals and -fingers crossed- extra breast milk. I’m planning to start cooking in earnest after Thanksgiving since most cooked meats have a 3 month shelf life in the freezer and I want to have things for a while

[Deleted User] · October 2017

I'm a little conflicted on if I want to do these this time. It was so handy to have easy crockpot dump meals, but they took up sooo much room in our tiny freezer, so we couldn't really have anything else in there.

Last time, I did teriyaki chicken, a pizza hotdish, bbq chicken.. having a hard time remembering the rest. When I get my laptop back out later, I'll be back to post the links I used!

chellieblueray · October 2017

Our freezer is too small so we decided against them. I'm kind of glad anyway because I really wasn't looking forward to the massive prep fest that would be.

But, DH will be taking over grocery shopping. I'll just make him a list, he buys the items, I throw in the crock pot and then brainlessly cook. That's our plan for now anyway.

Has any STMs tried regular crock pot meals without freezing or have you just tried not freezing? Did it work okay for you if So?

It sounds like a good plan right now but who knows. It might crumble into a million pieces when the baby is here and DH will eat toast for dinner.

IrishPiratess · October 2017

@bainidhedub
here you go!
https://www.oneingredientchef.com/sweet-potato-stew/

mauera07 · October 2017

@chellieblueray If I know I'm going to have a busy week I will sometimes prep a weeks' worth of crockpot meals and keep them in the fridge. It works just fine!

Shanski70 · October 2017

I have a bunch of recipes in a word document from a freezer meal class I took a while ago. I’m going to convert it to a google document and will share here once I accomplish that task!

em_el · October 2017

I'm planning to do this one:

https://diaryofafitmommy.com/15-freezer-meals-before-your-baby-arrives/

It has 15 freezer meals, the recipes, AND grocery list!

GraceUponGrace09 · October 2017

Before DS I made and froze the following things:
- Lasagna
- Meatballs
- Spaghetti pie
- Chicken breasts with the marinade in a bag, ready to thaw and grill
- Beef and bean burritos
- Meat mixture for a dish we call srrawhats
- Breakfast burritos
- Several types of crockpot meals but like you @maueraa07 we haven't liked them and won't make again.

I'll probably so similar things again this time but won't start until December probably since I'm not due until the end of Jan. I loved having the meals on hand - so nice!

[Deleted User] · October 2017

Ok found my Pinterest recipes! Here are links. I also used some of my mom's recipes and just froze things, so I don't have those handy since they're handwritten and hiding on the top shelf of my cupboard

These were great for breakfasts: https://www.budgetbytes.com/2013/06/country-breakfast-bowls-freezable/

This website has a bunch of crockpot dump meals. I made the cilantro lime, teriyaki, honey rosemary, and BBQ chicken. https://ashleynoelbarnes.blogspot.com/2013/05/10-freezer-to-crockpot-meals.html

This was good for like 3 or 4 meals: https://www.hezzi-dsbooksandcooks.com/2015/10/chili-and-rice-casserole-freezer-meal.html

I did the cheesy taco bake, burritos, and lactation smoothie packs (DELICIOUS): https://diaryofafitmommy.com/15-freezer-meals-before-your-baby-arrives/

907_baby · October 2017

I've been making extra when I make casseroles, and soups/stews then freezing half. Currently we have lasagna, enchiladas, chili, chicken soup, there are a few others in there that I can't remember right now, and can't bring myself to go downstairs and check that freezer... My DH is a decent cook, but he works full time, and has ~an hour commute each way. Some nights we will just need something ready to go.

trudytudy · October 2017

I want to know more about freezer casserole recipes! I'm a lazy cook so I like the easiest option. Also what do you use to freeze the casserole in? We have an upright freezer so I have the space just need someone to put food in there for me. Haha!

bainidhedub · October 2017

IrishPiratess said:

@bainidhedub
here you go!
https://www.oneingredientchef.com/sweet-potato-stew/

Thanks! For freezer prep do you throw all the ingredients together or just get the veggies prepped?

IrishPiratess · October 2017

@bainidhedub I made the recipe as stated and cooked on the stove and cooked it to about 85%-90% done, and then froze it. (I did not make the rice, just the main dish). Because once you freeze it and thaw and reheat, the veggies will cook the rest of the way

conineml · October 2017

@schaze those breakfast bowls sound soooo good!!!

[Deleted User] · October 2017

@conineml they were! And the best part was we could put different veggies on each one to mix things up.

caseyw8784 · October 2017

I convinced DH to buy a new chest freezer solely on the fact that we "need more room for freezer meals and breastmilk (hopefully!)"

I've been using this website mostly... https://newleafwellness.biz/2014/12/17/31-crockpot-freezer-recipes/

She has dozen of other recipes as well (mostly crockpot, but a lot of skillet and oven recipes too), and sells them in "cookbookbundles"...often has sales (i got 100+ recipes for $1) but many/most are free. What I like about this website is that she goes into detail about easy/fast/best ways to prep.

I just went through all of them and plan on making about 20 meals starting around thanksgiving!

ryannenikole · November 2017

I have been cooking too! October was really busy for us, so what I started with was extras of meals I was already making.
Soup.
Spaghetti (sauce only).
I put together a pizza topping pack with sauce and enough ingredients for a couple of pizzas.
Swedish meatballs (only the meatballs, fully cooked).
I have filling for a pot pie.

I feel like I'm missing a few things but its a start! I'm planning on making and freezing a bunch of bone broth for soups and for me to drink during recovery. We have quite a bit of beef left (we buy in bulk). And I also need to make a massive batch of dog food too.

IrishPiratess · November 2017

@ryannenikole
we made bone broths as well We keep it all year, but I just made both Chicken and Beef to make sure we had a few quarts of each on hand. I'll use our turkey carcass from thanksgiving to make more broth then as well.
When I'm not feeling well, hubby will heat some broth up and add a little bit of rice to it, and that makes me happy for a meal

Shanski70 · November 2017

Ladies, I think I figured it out and got the document loaded in to a google document and hopefully have the security set so anyone can read it. Please let me know if it doesn't work.

I take no credit for any of the recipes, these are all compiled by a dietitian at a local grocery store that she uses to host healthy freezer meal prep sessions in the store. As a general rule, they all need more salt...but on the whole these are easy to make/prep and freeze.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSoqxjehh4liQLKQbnErhCobnh51BFrBbf0_zJhil4KirImlrAWZ4nemsdf2cbul24il4jbRay-foHZ/pubhtml

supercoolstephy · November 2017

Saw this today while I was looking through this Facebook group I’m in for healthy freezer meals. Thought it might be helpful for those of us who have an instant pot.

Also, thank you for all the awesome posts. Really got me motivated to pin down what I’m planning to prep and to also decide that the two Friday’s I was planning on taking for random vacations days (use them or lose them) will be used to make these while toddler free since I’m paying for him to be at daycare those days anyway. Haha

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conineml · November 2017

@supercoolstephy I saw a Black Friday deal for an InstaPot...would you say it's totally worth it to buy one?? I'm on the fence but thinking it would totally be useful. Can't decide whether or not to take the plunge.

supercoolstephy · November 2017

@conineml I do think it's awesome. I don't use it as much as I thought I would, but I mostly bought it because I was still going into the office and needed a way to make quick meals. Since I'm on modified bedrest, I've been making meals instead of using my IP. But I do think I'll get a ton of use out of it once the new baby comes.

ambodt22 · November 2017

Hi all! If you're interested, I've attached the word document I compiled with the breakfast/dinner recipes I will be making (lunch I will probably have weight watchers meals). The first 8 pages include the recipe titles, ingredients, and instructions for each and then pages 9-10 have the shopping list broken down into categories. Hope this helps!

conineml · November 2017

@ambodt22 I love organized people! Thanks for being my hero today so I totally do NOT have to think when preparing/buying any of those freezer meals! Seriously...that's amazing.

ambodt22 · November 2017

@conineml Yay! So Happy to help!!

JuliaGoolia719 · November 2017

@conineml I’m a big fan of my instant pot. I️ told DH even if it’s only used for hard boiled eggs and bone broth (stock) I’d consider the investment worth it. Stock is done in 3 hours instead of 24 and the eggs basically peel themselves.
I’ll probably use it 1-2x a week when I’m in the groove, tonight I’m doing a beef stew that will take an hour instead of crock pot for all day. (For me being able to decide to make this after getting to work today and not having to push it off to later in the week bc it’s not already shopped for/in the crock pot is great)
Some things to take into account: it’s not the right tool for all foods, but what it does it does well. It’s not always faster, but it is set it and forget it so on things like risotto you don’t have to constantly watch and tend it, so it’s a win for me. Most recipes don’t take the time the Pot takes to come to pressure into account in the cook time, for example my stew will “cook” for 30 minutes but it usually takes this re I’ve anout 15/20 min to come to pressure. So be aware of that so you aren’t caught off guard.

conineml · November 2017

I'm totally leaning towards it because I never use my crock pot unless I'm home...or will only be gone for a short amount of time or it's a recipe I've done a million times. I have this fear of coming home to my house on fire or burned down..don't ask me why. It's also kinda hard for me since I work 9 hr days and have an hr commute both ways so it's a long time for us to be away and something cooking. So...thinking the Instant Pop would let me do "crock pot" meals and not fear I'm going to lose my house lol

mauera07 · November 2017

@ambodt22 Awesome! So organized! I'm hoping to get to that point soon. I'll share something similar (hopefully) once I get there.

What is everyone's favorite way of keeping track of what's in the freezer? I'm thinking about getting a dry erase board for on the deep freezer so I can easily add/remove items and keep track of what our options are.

supercoolstephy · November 2017

@maueraa07 I really like that idea!!! I have no idea what I'm going to do.

sbishop426 · November 2017

I’m jealous of the organization and planning skills here... I figured we might just live on sandwiches for awhile at this point because I have zero motivation right now to consider this

Shanski70 · November 2017

@Maueraa07 I like the idea of a white board!! My solution is much less fun. I just type up a word document after each prep session, the date of the prep session and name of each meal. I put it on my fridge next to my calendar. As I pull out meals, I cross it off my list-not as exciting but it works for me and helps me to remember what I have in the freezer when I’m planning meals for the week and planning grocery shopping.

KateT10 · November 2017

I have a friend of a friend who is a pampered chef consultant...I went to a freezer meal party in July & another in September & it was awesome! I know I probably paid more than just doing it myself but it was fun to get together with friends & do all the prepping together. We usually eat 1 of the freezer meals per week & it stretches at least 2 meals, if not more. I'm going to host a party in the spring after baby comes before I go back to work.

supercoolstephy · November 2017

I've realized I have no idea how to make freezer meals, like I make them but I don't think I'm doing it right. haha. I started googling how to freeze enchiladas and lasagna and casseroles. I can make these foods but no idea how I'm supposed to freeze them. Partial cook? Cook all the way? Cook none of the way?

conineml · November 2017

@supercoolstephy same!!! I literally felt like a 5 yr old asking questions to my friends the other day...like do you cook that and then freeze then recook it or just mix it up and then cook it later? Just cook the meat? What do you even put that in to make it freeze and reheat ok? I'm also still not sure I got everything down...I will say though some recipes lay it out pretty well.
Also apparently you need stock in foil pans and ziploc bags...and sharpies so you can write yourself instructions for later. I don't know for sure but that's what I hear. Is there a class somewhere we can take for this? or a dummies guide to...

mauera07 · November 2017

@supercoolstephy @conineml A lot of it depends on the recipe. For example, with casseroles, most of them can be frozen once they are completely assembled. So you'd follow the recipe up to the point where it tells you to bake it. So for a lasagna, you would cook the meat and any veggies it calls for, then layer, sprinkle your cheese, then let it cool and wrap it up and freeze it. Then when you take it out of the freezer it's ready to go in the oven. (Some casseroles can go straight from the freezer to the oven, it just takes a long time to cook.) A lot of the crockpot freezer meals everything goes straight into a freezer bag without any cooking. Those meals tend to be soups and meats/marinades. If you're not sure where to start, find a list that is specifically for freezer meals and it should walk you through exactly what you need to do. Or if you have a casserole you make and want to freeze, posting the recipe here would be a good place to start, so others who have more experience could tell you at what point it should be frozen.

trudytudy · November 2017

I made a big pot of beef and Italian sausage spaghetti sauce today. It was my first attempt at homemade sauce. It turned out good. We had a bit with dinner which was mostly leftovers. I made a list of things I want to make... chicken enchiladas, chicken pot pie, cookie dough, to name a few. Last night I made a 9x13 portion of peanut butter bars but put it into two different pans so I can freeze one for later. Like I need to be eating a whole 9x13 pan of peanut butter bars right now... I also plan to make up some muddy buddies with my kids and those freeze well too. Not quite a meal but I like homemade baked goods and will like them when I'm too tired to make them later.

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