Freezer meals

[NYEmomma]

Care to share your favorite freezer meal recipes? I do really well with meal planning, pantry eating, creatively using leftovers, but it would be nice to have some meals I can just pull from the freezer and either stick in the crockpot or the oven.

I know pinterest is my friend & I do have several meal ideas pinned but I'd prefer to hear from people that have actually MADE the meals and know it works/tastes good rather than something pinned that just looks good.

 

[GatorMama]

These are a favorite here!!
http://www.budgetbytes.com/2012/09/roasted-vegetable-burritos/

She is delicious. I also make her red beans and rice and freeze the leftovers in ziplocs like I'd freeze soup. So so good.

 

[LJSquishy]

I find just about any meal can be frozen, really. Helpful, I know. LOL I freeze homemade soups in wide-mouth mason jars, and things like spaghetti squash lasagna I cut into single portions and freeze.

I've done lots of different recipes from both 100daysofrealfood.com and Skinnytaste.com

I also make whole wheat tortillas (100daysofrealfood.com), whole wheat English muffins, various healthy muffins, waffles, pancakes, etc and freeze them all. I make & freeze personal sized pizza crusts (made from cauliflower, cheese, and egg whites...no grains) and those are my go-to quick dinner in a pinch because they can be used as either pizza crusts or folded in half taco-style if you want "fajitas" or my personal favorite is to stuff with thinly sliced steak, cheese, and sautéed onions, mushrooms, and peppers. Occasionally I will cook and freeze ground beef/ground turkey/shredded chicken breast so I have a portion of the meal ready to go in a pinch.

 

[chris31997]

Chicken and alfrado sauce w/mushrooms
Chicken and soy sauce w/pinapple
Roast w/onion soup packet, carrots, onions and potatoes
Chili: have over fritos, noodles or rice
Pork w/bbq sauce: makes yummy pulled pork sandwiches

I usually cook all over these in my crockpot.

Learned new trick take lasagna and freeze in "small" disposable pan loaf. One noodle is the size of the pan. Make lasgana as normal. Cover with foil and freeze one and eat one

 

[brennicksmom]

When I make certain meals I will double the recipe and then I have it to freeze, such as pulled pork in BBQ sauce, and roast and gravy. Both are easy to make sandwiches after warmed up. I make in crockpot or pressure cooker and then pack into individual meal packs and freeze.

I do the same thing as the PP: I will boil or use pressure cooker to have chicken precooked and ready to make a quick soup, chicken alfredo, chicken wraps, etc. I just freeze them in individual meal sizes.

I also precook ground beef and freeze in about 1 lb packs, easy for taco night, chili, beef vegie soup, homemade pizzas, etc.

Another thing my family likes is baked spaghetti. I make 2 batches. I don't freeze the second batch, I usually just use it a few days later. I never have leftovers of that. I make it with precooked ground beef or turkey, sauce, penne noodles, and mozzarella cheese mixed in. I bake it until the cheese melts.

I will make 2 or 3 meatloaf's at a time and freeze all but one. Easy to heat up.

I also will make a casserole dish of chicken and rice with some type of cream based soup. Make one, and freeze one. When I pull it out of the freezer I add chicken broth as it cooks so it doesn't dry out.

 

[Osugal9]

My family loves chicken tacos and they freeze well. I just throw a regular size package of boneless skinless chicken breasts (1-2lbs) 1 jar mild salsa, 1 jar medium salsa, and taco seasoning in a crock pot on low for 8-10 hours. Then shred the chicken after it's done. We get at least two meals out of it so I will just freeze half for another night.

 

[bearzabout]

I just heated a frozen eggplant parmesan dish from Micheal Angelos. The family size is available at Walmart and some of their line is in Sam's club. The larger size packages cost only about $8 and taste great. Considering how much time would be spent making it from scratch, the frozen dinner is the way to go.

My guess is other items in their line are good also, but I always get the eggplant parm.

Their website emphasizes quality ingredients and it really shows. This is not your typical frozen dinner.

 

[KKB]

I have pinned a ton of freezer meal ideas there! (Can't get it to load for me right now)

 

[Sadie22]

I used to do two dutch ovens full of chili con carne at a time, which I would package in meal-size portions for the freezer. Lately I've been using two slow cookers to make chili or beef stew.

I will also prepare and freeze taco filling, seasoned ground beef for spaghetti sauce or pizza topping, etc. I will make four to six pans of lasagna at a time, and a dozen mini meat-loaves. I also make vegetarian chili, bean soup, chicken soup.

 

[JanaDee]

http://www.mommysfabulousfinds.com/2013/10/easy-crock-pot-freezer-meals-2.html

From that link, I have made almost all the recipes at one time or another. The favorites are teriyaki pork chops, sausage and peppers and the southwest chicken chili.

I read a brilliant tip the other day that I wished I would have known sooner. When filling a gallon-size freezer bag, use a gallon size pitcher to put the bag in to keep it upright.

 

[NotTheBatesMotel]

I make this pizza dough frequently. It makes 2 pizza doughs and my family only eats 1, so I always freeze the extra. Freezer instructions are on her website. My family/friends always rave about this!

http://www.annies-eats.com/2010/04/29/perfect-homemade-pizza-crust-tips-and-tricks/

Like others have already suggested, we do the crockpot salsa chicken for tacos (freeze extras), I just made a huge batch of English Muffins last weekend and froze most of them.

 

[AnnaS]

We freeze just about anything that is cooked. I actually bring some frozen meals to my mom when I have leftovers. Two things come to mind that we do not freeze - steak and hamburgers/hot dogs. But anything else is game.

 

[pampam]

Pretty much any meal that your family enjoys can be frozen. Do they like roast beef dinners? Just take the leftovers, portion them out on plates and freeze. Is your family into casseroles? Just make what you like, either in a crock pot or oven, and when cooked, portion it into microwavable containers and pop into the freezer. Do they like homemade pizza? Just make extras and freeze.

We eat a lot of casseroles, chili, soup, etc. and most of it is pre cooked and frozen for convenience. I have a lot of casserole dishes that go from the freezer to the oven or microwave. It sure helps.

Sometimes for example, if I buy a lot of meat, as I am cutting it up for the freezer, I might marinade some with the seasonings needed and then freeze, or perhaps I might cut some into roasts, steaks , stew beef, slice thin for chineese food etc.

I'm sure most of your favourite recipes can be either frozen, or adapted to freeze and put the bread crumbs , eggs, cream etc into the dish when it is thawed.

 

[amyy]

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Taco-Seasoning-I/Detail.aspx
Might be too simple but this is my current favor. I cook up hamburg, add 3 T of the seasoning mix, some water (I think 2/3 cup) and a small can of tomato paste. It freezes well and when we are ready to eat we add lettuce, chopped tomatoes, onions, and homemade guac.

 

[McKelly]

I make this casserole with leftover chicken. Casseroles are not one of my family's favorites, but they eat this one. It makes two, so we eat one on the day of and then I freeze one for later in the month. It's pretty good...tastes like chicken pot pie.

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/chicken-tater-bake

 

[luvsmickeymouse]

I make this casserole with leftover chicken. Casseroles are not one of my family's favorites, but they eat this one. It makes two, so we eat one on the day of and then I freeze one for later in the month. It's pretty good...tastes like chicken pot pie.

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/chicken-tater-bake

Thank you for this recipe, it looks good. I am going to try it this week!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I buy several of the Costco or SAMs rotisserie Chickens each trip. I pull the meat and freeze in meal portions. Then I thaw for casseroles or soups and it makes the meals so flavorful. Then I make my own stock from the carcass and freeze in mason jars to be pulled out as needed.

I also freeze homemade soup leftovers in mason jars for single size portions later. I do the same with dinner leftovers. Then we can pull them out for dh's lunchbox as needed. It is like a frozen meal but tastier and healthier.

 

[MAJPLO]

Meatloaf, uncooked, just assembled and frozen
Meat sauce for spaghetti - cooked and ready to go or sometimes if I just chop the onions, garlic, etc, and freeze that then at least it makes it a little faster
Chili -cooked then frozen
Seasoned pork tenderloin ready to defrost and cook
Chicken breasts or thighs seasoned and frozen so once they come out of the freezer all the prep is done already.
Last weekend I got twelve freezer meals done. With school starting last week and back to the kids' activities there are nights when we are barely home for a half hour. Having something fast is so much easier. Just cook rice or pasta and a veggie and the protein prep is already taken care of.

 

[redcubfan]

As many PP have said, I do a lot of double and triple batches when I cook, then I freeze the fully prepared meals for later (chili, taco meat, spaghetti sauce, etc). But I also prep a lot of meals while the meat is still frozen. For example, frozen chicken breasts or breast tenderloins usually come in a big zip-top bag, so I make up a marinade, pour it in the bag of frozen chicken, toss it around to coat all the pieces, then put it back in the freezer. When I'm ready to use it, the meat marinates as it thaws and I just have to cook it as normal. (This is great for fajitas...throw in chopped peppers and onions with a southwest marinade then grill it all when you're ready to eat it.) This method also works with other cuts of meat, just put a marinade over the frozen meat in a ziploc bag then keep in the freezer until you're ready to fix it.

 

[Eureka]

For the people who talk about freezing homemade pizza, do you bake it first or not? When I froze unbaked homemade pizza this last fall, when it baked, the crust was very soft and soggy. We prefer a crispy crust, so I make it thin to begin with, but something just didn't work out. Would much rather make homemade pizzas to pull out when we need one instead of buying them. (Plus I just got a kitchen aid and am dying to try out the dough hook!). Thanks.