Cooking Best freezer recipes?

[WDWAurora]

I'm hoping to get some cooking done this weekend in preparation for our new arrival (I'm due May 4th). I'd love to fill our freezer with some tasty meals that are easy to reheat, but we're both tired of the (few) things I normally freeze, and I've tried some other things recently that haven't frozen well (potato soup). What do you recommend? I'd love to make a ton in disposable pans, then tape instructions to the outside.

 

[rlovew]

Meatloafs tend to freeze very well- I like to add some cresant rolls to the outside at the end of the baking time (last 10-12 minutes).

I have a cookbook called "The Occasional Cook" that is by Cindi something that has a ton of recipes. I have used a few of them and they work very well- she also has a great set-up for the recipes- the whole point is that you can cook meals for a month is 1 day.

Rebecca

 

[cirquelovers]

I have found lasagna, baked zitti and other sauce covered dishes freeze well. I make big batches of chicken/turkey a la king and it frezes really well. Also beef tips and gravy or salsbury steaks freeze well. You can thaw these and then add cooked nodles, rice or whatever your family likes. Of course there is the usual spaghetti sauce too.

You can precook chicken and freeze pieces or shredded and use later. You can precook hamburger meat and then put in 1 pound servings in a freezer bag for easy use later.

Cook a large pork/beef roast in the crockpot and eat part now and shred the rest, add sauce and freeze in portions in freezer bags.

I cut up raw chicken and place in freezer bag with marinade, like teriyaki or Italian, and freeze. Later I thaw it, drain extra marinade and cook, works like a charm!

I have frozen pies and cobblers, before cooking, and they make a nice treat from the freezer.

I've made a bunch of french bread or bagel pizzas and frozen them for later use, so convenient.

That's all I can think of for now. Oh, yes check the library for cookbooks that specialize in meals to be frozen. I had a good one a couple weeks ago.

 

[MazdaUK]

Things with a lot of cream in don't tend to freeze well - that could have been what happened with your soup.

Lasagne, shepherds pie, any sort of stew-type dish (without dumplings) freezes quite well. If you look in the crockpot crazy thread there's recipes for "dump chicken", where you mix chicken with various marinades and freeze in portions ready to cook (works in slow cooker or conventional). If you have a slow cooker there are loads of recipes which cn be quickly put together early morning with stuff out of the freezer and eaten when you're ready (avoiding that "why must the baby cry just as I've dished up" time )And if you don't have a slow cooker ask someone to get it as a baby gift!

 

[piratesmate]

I've also frozen my home made mac & cheese in addition to the standard meatloaf, ziti, lasagna, chili, BBQ/sloppy joes... My family didn't like stews frozen because the potatoes would get weird, but I got around that by making it without the potatoes & adding a couple cans of potatoes when reheating it. Everyone but DH likes the canned ones better anyway. LOL

When I make vegetable beef barly soup, I always make an enormous batch so I end up freezing that. Lentil soup also freezes well, as does turkey rice soup. But by May it might be too warm for soups for you in NC.

You're pretty far along & may not feel like messing with a turkey (even just a breast), but I often make a turkey for the sole purpose of shredding the meat to freeze in broth...for hot sandwiches later. It's also excellent on mashed potatoes. The key is to cover the shredded meat with broth (I cook the bones) so that it remains moist. I do something similar with beef roasts also...again shredding & freezing in the broth I get in the crockpot.