Freezer Recipes Needed

[justjulie]

I know you must have some "tried and true" recipes to feed my freezer. I work 1.5 hours from home and dinner hour is truly chaotic. I'm hoping if I feed my freezer with some food maybe my kitchen table will once again become the family meeting place instead of the crazy kitchen it is right now. We're out for soccer 3-5 days a week so I need something that I can simply re-heat - I know chili and chicken pot pie are perfect but I'm wondering if anyone has any other ideas ..... all suggestion or tips for quick fixes are welcome ...

 

[wdw_dine_junkie]

I have taken a couple of large package of ground beef from Sam's and made the following things and frozen them. A pot of chili, spaghetti sauce, sloppy joes, meatballs, pressed out hamburger patties. I also just brown a couple of pounds of ground beef and divide it up for easy thawing for other recipes during the week. You also can make burritos using refried beans and taco seasoned ground beef. Wrap them up and freeze them in plastic wrap and foil. I just take them out of the freezer in the morning and heat them in the oven later. For chicken, I boil chicken breasts and shred them and add bbq sauce for bbq sandwiches. I also try to keep boiled shredded or cubed cooked chiken on hand for salads or wraps. I have also made Cheeseburger Pie and assembled it in an unbaked pie crust and frozen. Black beans with sausage freezes well too. Most of these you just need either some rice or a pasta or buns. But it's easy assembly on a busy day.

I'm not very good at recipes, I'm a little of this, little of that kind of cook. But I'll answer any questions if you have them.

 

[mommytotwo]

I like to marinade things, have them soaked good, and then put them in ziplock bags so that I can just defrost and cook them. I have made teriyaki chicken, miso sesame chicken, lemongrass chicken pork ribs and wings...all of these can be put in the broiler or oven while you are changing or getting the dinner table set.
I have also made lasagna and put it in the freezer where you can just take it out and reheat.
Do you have a crockpot? Maybe one of those or a George Formann grill would be a good idea since you would be able to make nutrious meals without much time.

 

[Rebecca12345]

justjulie have you ever heard of the 30 day gourmet?

http://www.30daygourmet.com/

it is really a great way to fill up your freezer with nutritious meals!

 

[Tiggerkeeper]

30 Day Gourmet has wonderful recipes! And is a great instructional tool for freezer cooking.

I freeze shredded bbq meat (beef and chicken) for sandwiches in a hurry.

We also grill chicken breasts, with different rubs or marinades, to heat up in the microwave at short notice! Usually we grill about 32 breasts at a time! A breast with cajun seasoning can be used for fajitas or pasta dish as well.

Another idea is to keep browned ground beef crumbles on hand for tacos and hamburger helper type recipes. Same thing with cubed chicken...just add to a box of alfredo noodles for a quick meal.

Once you sit down and think about it you can come up with lots of great dishes for the freezer!

 

[Louise-Montreal]

I just bought a book called Frozen Assets. The premise is that you cook for one day and eat for a month. I boiled two chickenn the night before and made spaghetti sauce the night before. The next day I made two large lasagnas, four meals of baked zitis, four packages of meatballs, three loaves of meatlaof, four meals of chicken and broccoli, and four meals of chicken casserole. I used a chopper for the onions and green pepper, and my broccoli was precut. It was a pretty full day, but it is great to have a freezer full of food that I just have to thaw and heat. I usually add a salad to the casseroles and add potaotes and a vegetable for the meat loaf.

My husband is away during the week and I often came home late and we ended up eating out a lot!!!! I am hoping that once I am back at school, this system will work.

I ordered the book from Amazon and found it extremely useful- gives you shopping lists and a plans.

Good luck,
Louise