best budget freezer meals

[cjnix29]

having surgery on my foot next week. Going to stock up, make a hge shopping trip at the beginning of the week, and get things ready so the impact isn't so great on my DH. I've never been a gal to freeze a bunch of stuff. Can anyone help? We aren't real picky eaters, but do like to eat pretty healthily.

 

[sunshine74]

Chicken enchiladas freeze well. I even make them in disposable aluminum baking trays for simple clean-up.

 

[lisam427]

here are some links for ideas. hope this helps.

http://www.kids-cooking-activities.com/freezer-meals.html

http://www.recipelink.com/rcpmenus.html

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/frugalfreezermeals.htm

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipes/article/0,28747,1602670,00.html

 

[Taja]

Be sure to minimize the amount of seasonings--particularly salt--when preparing the meals to freeze. The flavours intensify when frozen, for some reason.

 

[MandM-Mom]

Lasagna freezes really good so does stuffed shells and manicotti.
Homemade potpies with chicken turkey or beef are also a big freezer dinner here.
Pulled Pork for sandwiches just add bbq sauce also I keep some pork out unsauced and use in soft tortillas for tacos.
Chili, add the can of beans when you reheat so they don't go mushy.
Mexican bakes like enchiladas or tortilla lasagna

THese are my familys favorite go tos when I stock the freezer! I realized after you said healthy, sorry don't have many of those ideas just some of our favs, good luck on your surgery

 

[apnep]

• spaghetti
• lasagna (I would cook then cut into individual portions so you can microwave in portions)
• quiche
• any cooked meat does well: grilled chicken, country pork ribs, brisket, meatloaf, ground beef
• red beans and rice
• shepard's pie

Good luck with everything!

Ang

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I'm not so big on freezer food, but one thing I do get are frozen precooked shrimp. Often they are reasonable if you get the two pound bag of cooked shrimp. They defrost in about a minute if you put them in a bowl of cold water. From there, I serve them with cocktail sauce. You can buy it premade, but I like to make my own: ketchup and prepared horseradish. Vary the horseradish to taste, but I do about 60/40%. You can also serve them with just about any kind of sauce, honey.

A simple way to cook shrimp is to put them ina saute pan with ajust a little bit of cooking spray or oil and a little orange juice. Add a few drops of soy sauce and mirin if you have some, and maybe a teaspoon of sugar if you like sweet. Don't cook very long, but let the orange juice just reduce a tad (Maybe remove shrimp). It's simple, healthy and low cal. (I serve with rice.)

Frozen fruit is also a pretty good bet, as long as you use them relatively quickly. You don't even have to defrost them this time of year. If you do defrost, berries aren't too bad with a little whipped cream on top. A simple dessert is to serve them over pan-grilled bread (maybe witha little butter). It works best with something like day old Italian bread and cutting off the crusts. but you don't have to do that. You can also add a little sugar, but again, you don't have to. Works fantastic with peaches. It's also good if you let it sit for a bit so the flavors mix.

Oh - that reminds me of one other frozen food I like: crusty bread. If you buy fresh baguettes simply cut into portions you'd eat in one meal (like maybe half a loaf), wrap in foil and freeze. When you want to eat it, you simply openthe foil halfway and put in a hot oven for a few minutes. It helps to turnthe loaf and expose the bottom halfway through. It tastes just about as good as fresh; and it's warm! You could serve some with some pasta. It works with almost any fresh bread, but is best with skinny baguettes.

Give me a baguette, olive oil, tomato, basil, fresh mozerella and I'm in heaven!

One more trick I used to use once upon a time...not freezer food but here goes. On Monday, I'd bake some bone -in chicken breasts. Serve plain with whatever side - maybe baked potato. On Tuesday, I'd add some leftover meat to tomato sauce and serve with pasta. On Wednesday, I'd cook up something like the above orange juice sauce, and add some leftover chicken at the end. Serve over rice. By cooking the meat all at once, it saves quite a bit of effort, but varying what you serve it with makes it not so boring.

Another trick I still use sometimes is to combine home cooked food with carry out: like putting some ofthe above chicken and veggies on a pizza.

I also love taking leftover Chinese carry out rice and make my version of fried rice. It's far less greay than the stuff most places serve. A little bit of sesame oil makes it - especially if you can find toasted sesame oil. But less than a teaspoon will flavor a huge pan of food! Basically, you start with the oil and veggies. Saute in a hot skillet and keep moving. You can use fresh, leftovers, or frozen veggies (corn, peas, carrots). It's great if you can use some kind of onion, but not essential. (even green onion works well.) Add the precooked meat, or shrimp, or both. This works with just about any meat: ham, sausage, chicken, pork, maybe even steak. Add the rice almost last. Add about 1/2tsp. soy sauce and mirin if you've got some. The rice must be COLD, not freshly cooked. If the rice is dry, ad a teaspoon of water. I also like to add scrambled egg - but that may be too much for DH. Really - you just throw everyting ina pan and stir until it's warm. Very easy. Stop cooking before the rice starts to stick.

 

[TiffanyK]

Here is a blog post I wrote about cooking 10 meals for the freezer. There are recipes there and helpful tips on getting it done.

 

[Disney_Ohana]

Teriyaki meatballs freeze & reheat nicely too. I also do the disposable foil pan for easy clean up.

 

[Gigi22]

Frozen stuffed green peppers (yum!); frozen meatballs.

 

[Figment's Girl]

There is a book I recently got from the library called Fix, Freeze, Feast and it's all recipes that are good for stocking the freezer.

 

[lmelandfrank]

We've even frozen soups for my Mom. Wedding soup freezes well. Vegetable soup freezes great!

 

[amylynne01]

I freeze meatballs and meatloafs when I can find ground beef cheap. I bake the meatballs, cool them, and package them in a freezer bag with enough for one meal. I usually don't bake the meatloaf before I freeze, but I think you could do it either way.