I cannot say enough good things about freezer meals. Seriously. They are the bomb dot com of savings and easy food prep. They are just perfect for those nights when you don’t feel like cooking. You make them when you’re actually motivated and you cook then when you’re not. They make meal planning a snap! You don’t have to sacrifice your health by getting a pre-packaged meal {they easily take the place of convenience foods, or totally blow your budget by dining out. There are just so many benefits to freezer meals!
But I know a lot of people are overwhelmed even thinking about freezer meals or cooking in bulk. Your kitchen will be a disaster, there’s a large upfront cost to consider and you’ll be a slave to your kitchen all day. Trust me when I say, once you fill your freezer with easy to prepare meals, there’s no going back. You’ll be hooked. And also, just so you feel better about the process, I once cooked 100 Freezer Meals in 5 Hours and lived to tell about it! But for those of you who have never conquered a large {or small} freezer meal session, here are some tips for you beginners!
Make a plan: Go big or go home I say! Because I’m already stuck in an apron for hours and my kitchen will be a disaster anyway, I make it count. I like to prepare as many meals as possible in one day. But you can start small and just make a few recipes with double batches. The important thing is that you research your recipes, have all your steps planned out, write out your full shopping list and then check things off that you already have on hand and your ingredients on hand, shop, prep and then go to town. You’ll need to cook according to your recipe, allow time to cool and then prepare the meal for freezing.
Decide what to freeze: Full meals are great, but there’s so much more you can bulk freeze! You can check out my Complete List of Freezer Meal Recipes here. There are pretty pictures for all you who need to see what you’re about to make {that’s so me!}, so you can decide if a recipe even looks delicious before clicking through to the recipe. I lean towards one-dish meals and casseroles, and I always think of how a dish will freeze before adding it to my list. But in addition to all those main dish meals, you can go crazy and freeze desserts, smoothies and cinnamon rolls in a snap!
Another big time saver is prepping and freezing meats and sauces and in advance. It’s nice to be able to throw a bunch in the Crockpot and season, chop and shred it in preparation for future meals. I’ll just have that cooking on the counter while I prepare other meals. So in addition to having already fully prepared meals, I’ll save myself tons of time by having the meat completely ready for other non-freezer meal recipes!
Enlist help: Many people like to bribe friends, spouses or kids to help them. I say if they are ever going to benefit from eating one of those tasty freezer meals, they can roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty! Plus it helps to pass the time faster. And if you don’t trust them to cook, you can always enlist their help with the cleanup! It’s also fun to make a girl’s day out of it and get a freezer meal group together to bust out a ton of recipes!
Gather your supplies: I’m not talking food items for your recipes; that is covered in the “make a plan” section. I’m talking all the necessary items you might not have on hand to store your freezer meals in. I stick mainly to freezer bags and foil pans {I buy mine at Costco, but I’ve heard some dollar stores sell them as well}. I like the foil pans because you can’t freeze in glass {so no Pyrex dishes, Mason jars, etc.} and I love freezing in plastic bags because I’ve perfected the art of freezing and stacking those bags to utilize space. They are pretty dang good about keeping freezer burn out as well. Always avoid Rubbermaid-type containers. My experience with them is freezer burn every time!
Prepare for later: Once you’ve cooked and packaged everything, make sure you have a Sharpie on hand to clearly mark everything you freeze. I put recipe name and date. Then I like to make a list of all the freezer meals {and quantities} that I have on hand and place it near the fridge. That way I can easily make a menu for the week and then cross meals off as I use them. I also like to print out the “cook after freezing” instructions for each meal to have for quick reference {and for those times when I travel and I don’t want the boys left behind to starve to death!}.
And there you have a few great tips to get you started. Are there any questions you’d like answered before you begin? Ask them in the comments and I’ll make sure we answer them. Also, if you are a freezer meals pro, I’d love to hear your tips!
Freeze on!
~Mavis
You can check out my Complete List of Freezer Meal Recipes here. There are pretty pictures for all you visual peeps like me, so you can decide if a recipe looks delicious before attempting it.
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Alice says
Very appropriate post for this time of year!
When my kids were little, I did a lot of this but now that they are gone I am a bit more relaxed in my cooking style. That really can be bad though when hubby and I get home from work and are wanting to eat and nothing is ready. That is where my pressure cooker comes in so handy. I still have to plan a little bit my thawing out the meat I want to use. But I can throw it all in the pressure cooker, in layers and racks, and by the time everyone is done showering, the dinner is ready. Oh, our grown son lives with us 50% of the week so he gets what we’re having.
I still do a lot of planning out of our meals and because I know what is in the freezer, the plan works well for us. I do have a few freezer meals and lots of individual meals for our son who works out of town 50% of his time. Every meal that we have leftovers go into individual containers and are frozen for his choices in the weeks to come. He needs three breakfasts (usually oatmeal), three lunches (he makes his own tortilla with ham, turkey and cheese wraps), and then three lunches from what he have frozen for him. It works so well and I know he isn’t going out for fast food!
Alice
Deborah says
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Awesome post. I’m going to have to try these. I did miss seeing Miss Lucy though.
Tammy says
Awww, I miss your neighbors. LOL
I used to have a chest freezer but we sold it when we moved. I only have the freezer above the refrigerator. I make it work but one Costco run and I’m playing freezer tetris!
Deborah Burket says
Mavis,
I freeze and can as much of our home grown produce and meals as I can. And I freeze in glass most of the time. I don’t know who told you that you couldn’t freeze in glass but you can! Canning jars are made for both canning and freezing.
I also use Pyrex to freeze in. They make a great square and rectangle shaped glass storage container.
I garden organically and wrapping my produce in plastic is just not right!
I’ve alway used glass for storage ( 40 some years) but I know there is a big movement to get away from plastic right now. There are websites devoted to Zero Waste that can enlighten people on how to get started with the concept and sources for alternatives to plastic.
Rebecca in MD says
I also have frozen in glass mason jars without any problem. It is important to allow room for expansion, because as the food freezes it will expand.
Your comment about wrapping organic produce in plastic was enlightening – – – I am going to resolve to put my homegrown garden produce in glass!
Deborah Burket says
Rebecca, good for you! I now have an unhealthy addiction to glass jars. Mostly the clip type!
Denise says
I love the French “Le Parfait” and Italian “Fido” jars with the clips. I get them at thrift stores all of the time and absolutely love the way they look and function. I used to use the old white and blue bail top canning jars for my dried goods but they are harder to find so I have switched over to the clear glass. I’m with you. No plastic needed.
Mary says
OK I am curious….how long will food last in those aluminum trays with the papercard tops? It seems like there isn’t a true seal on those….how fast will they get freezer burn? Or will they be fine? Thanks!
Mavis Butterfield says
We have always made a point to eat them within 6 months.
Heidi P says
I love freezer meals but often forget to pull them out of the freezer to thaw before cooking and then end up dining out instead.
Can I cook them frozen? What do you do Mavis if you forget to thaw your freezer meal ahead of time?
Taryn says
I once heard the rule, cold meal, cold oven. Meaning that you put the frozen meal in the oven and then pre-heat it. Once it comes to temperature you can cook it for the normal amount of time. I’ve had really good luck following that rule.
Heidi P says
Thank you for your reply Taryn. I will definitely give that technique a try.
Taryn says
Great! I hope it works well for you.
Mel says
It depends on what it is, but in general, yes, you can cook things straight from frozen. Casseroles take more time but will cook (never heard the cold oven thing–I normally just do a lower temp to start). You can reheat completely frozen soups on the stovetop (add a bit of water or broth, which will mostly evaporate anyway). For small items like sauces or partially frozen things, you can thaw (or finish thawing) by putting it in a bowl (I use a plastic file bin to save room) of COLD water in the fridge for 30-60 minutes (less for small stuff)–make sure the food is wrapped to not allow water in (like ziploc-ed). Depending on the container, microwave defrosting is also handy. I do that for things like baked beans and sausage gravy.
I also like to make a variety of things that can go straight into the oven from the freezer for nights I forget to thaw something–French bread pizzas or calzones, breaded chicken or pork chops (pounded thin but raw, they broil in 15 minutes), scones or biscuits (for breakfast for dinner), etc.
And I like to package things in ways that cuts the thaw time (freeze two small lasagnas instead of 1 large, freeze all the mixins for meatloaf but add the meat later, freeze pot pie filling but add the crust later, etc.)
Hope this helps!
Mavis Butterfield says
I just pop the freezer meal in the oven and turn it on. Yes, it takes a little longer to cook from frozen, but I’d rather do that than have to figure something else out for dinner after a long day. 🙂
Rebecca in MD says
Regarding freezing food in mason jars, I just learned that only straight-sided jars can be used. This would include 4 ounce, wide mouth half pint, pint, and 24 ounce Ball jars, but does NOT include quart or gallon jars. Here are two articles on the topic:
https://www.foodsaver.com/blog/archive/2015/september/how-to-seal-and-freeze-jars.html
https://www.fillmorecontainer.com/blog/2013/06/13/freezing-in-canning-jars-101/
Any jars that have a shoulder are not safe for freezing. Hope this information is helpful.
Christy says
I also have frozen food in Pyrex for years with no problems. Mavis, what do you do with the tin containers with cardboard tops after they have been used once? With the environmental crisis the world is in right now, using single use storage items, including plastic bags, can no longer be an option. It is the responsibility of all of us to make the effort to change our long standing habits to help the planet.
Christy
Susie says
Christy, I totally agree! And I do my freezing a bit differently: I freeze casseroles, lasagnas, crock pot “dump” meals, etc. in glass Pyrex dishes or even metal baking pans lined with freezer paper. When they are frozen solid, I will take out the frozen block of food & wrap them in the freezer paper, using more if I need to. I can then stack them (marked with a Sharpie, of course) and they take up less room than using the actual pan or dish. It also frees up my baking dishes so they’re not all stashed in the freezer. When I want to cook one of the frozen meals, I just unwrap it and pop it back into whatever dish I originally froze it in.