Who’s ready to cook all day long for a month’s worth of freezer meals?
When you tell your family you’re having frozen dinner do they run the other way and only the dog looks happy? Maybe it’s time to introduce them and yourself to homemade Freezer meals. Cooking a month of meals for the freezer all in one day makes for a stress-free and often quick meal time for busy families.
Once upon a time, long, long ago, I used to make a few month’s worth of freezer meals all in one day. Not having to cook for a month was heavenly and I didn’t miss working every day in the kitchen. It has been a few years since those cooking adventures, and I was itching to do it again. Having four children all in after-school dance and sports programs, life is very busy. There are some nights that we don’t get home to eat dinner together until around 7 or 8pm. Last week when I looked around the dinner table and saw everyone eating Cheerios for dinner I decided it was time to do some freezer cooking. 
I know the idea of cooking a month of meals in one day seems impossible or crazy but it can be done. For those of you who don’t want to spend the whole day cooking here is a helpful hint: For Freezer cooking you can try to just double or triple your recipes all the time, eating the one you made for dinner and freezing the others for later. This way you are constantly building your meals.
The other option is you can put on the apron, roll up your sleeves, kiss the kids goodbye, and do freezer cooking all in one day like I did. To take the load off some people even create freezer meal groups with friends, making meals and meeting to swap freezer meals so everyone comes home with a variety of meals. This would be really fun , however I have never done it myself (hint to all my friends out there).
Having a stockpile of Freezer meals is invaluable especially when you get sick for a few days or weeks, have a baby, or just have a hard day and don’t feel like cooking.
The key to Freezer cooking is preparation. If you are prepared it can make all the difference in your busy day.
COOKING FREEZER MEALS IN A DAY PROCESS
Step #1 – Go through what you already have. Time to use up some of the food you have on hand to save yourself money. Then you can go through all the sales ads for the week and find things that are on sale or seasonal. After taking those things into consideration make your list of meals you want to make. List them all out! On another sheet of paper list each ingredient you need for each of those meals x how many items.
Step #2 – Go shopping, get all your supplies.Don’t forget to get freezer bags and containers for big dishes you might want.
Step #3 – Clean your kitchen, prepare your freezer (make room), make sure you have enough dishes & pots. I like having a couple sets of measuring spoons and cups on hand.
Step #4 – Decide on paper the order in which you will cook your meals. This will help you stay focused when you are doing a ton of things at the same time.
Step #5 – Clear your schedule for a day – then cook all day long!
Step #6 – Clean your kitchen – it will be a huge mess, so be prepared….(or better yet, make your spouse do it – it’s only fair…)
I have a regular freezer and a deep freezer. This smaller freezer only held about 30 meals and the other 20 are in my deep freezer.
Here are the FREEZER FRIENDLY meals I made and quantities:
- Honey Lime Chicken (3)
- Homemade Pot Pie (3) or this recipe is great too
- Fried Rice (5)
- Slow Cooker Broccoli Chicken Alfredo (3)
- Twice Baked Potatoes (3)
- Sweet & Sour Chicken (2)
- Honey Glazed Pork Chops (2)
- Chicken Parmesan Pesto Shells (3)
- Beef Barley Stew (3) – its all uncooked ingredients so I can toss into crockpot and cook all day.
- Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos (2)
- Cafe Rio Pulled Pork for Cafe Rio Salads (3)
- Homemade Hamburger Patties (3) – just mixed bread crumbs, Parmesan, garlic, and onion powder + 1 egg in large batch hamburger. Shaped into patties, layered between freezer paper.
- French Dip Sandwiches (2)
- Stirfry Meat, Veggies + Sauce (3) – I had a bag of stir fry veggies already. To a second bag added raw chicken in slices and a stirfry sauce.
- Chicken Enchiladas (3)
- Lasanga (3) – my own recipe!
- Pulled BBQ Pork for buns (2) – slow cooked pork roast, shred and add bottle of BBQ sauce
- Chimichangas (2) – shredded chicken, spanish rice and cheese added to large burrito, and folded. These are bagged up so they can be fried.
Grand Total = 50 Meals all cooked in one day
I also made homemade breakfast burritos – using hashbrowns, bacon, egg and cheese. Those will be perfect for some quick breakfast meals.
Making a ton of freezer meals all in one day can be extremely rewarding and save a lot of time. If you have made freezer meals what are your favorite freezer friendly recipes?
See more of my favorite Freezer Meal Recipes.
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{ 115 comments… read them below or add one }
Good job! 50 meals done is awesome. You definitely gave me some good ideas for helping to stock up our freezer meals, those recipes look delicious. Thank you for posting!
You’re welcome Kelli – Happy freezer cooking!
I’m eager to try this.. but are there thawing instructions?? I’d hate to make all these meals and have them ruined because I thawed or warmed the meal up wrong. Thanks!
Hi Anna, I usually just grab one out and stick it in the fridge in the morning or the night before, so it thaws in the fridge all day. Of course on some of the meals you don’t have to thaw, like Lasanga for example. You could just stick it in the oven frozen and bake – but it would take 2 hours instead of 1 hour. If you thawed it it should only take an hour or so.
My breakfast burritos I just stick in the microwave frozen to heat up.
Crockpot type freezer meals are best thawed the night before in the fridge, but everything else I just take out in the morning to thaw in my fridge. Good luck!
Thank you for sharing! This menu looks soooo YUMMY! Much better than other menus I’ve seen for freezer meals. I will definitely be trying this!
Do you bake the lasagna & pot pies before freezing?
Hi. No I do not bake them first. For the lazanga I don’t personally like the no boil ones- I never get it right…its either too dry or not cooked enough. I boil the noodles..and make my lasanga like normal. Then I cover it in foil and freeze. For the pot pies I make a homemade pie crust, put it on the bottom of the 9 x 13 pan..add the filling, then add a pie crust on top. Cover with foil and freeze. Bake frozen or thawed at 350 for 1-2 hours depending on how frozen it is.
Thanks so much and I dont like the the no boil noddles either for the same reasons. I cant wait to try the recipes.
I am SO excited to try this! Let’s hope I have as much motivation as you!
So excited to try this. I’ve never done my own freezer meals.
This is one of the better menu’s I’ve seen. I will be doing a variation of this based on what I have in my pantry : ) I’ll post back. This was a lot of work for you to put together. The menu is the hardest part. Thanks!
Hi Karrie! This looks like such an awesome freezer meal menu
I’ve never done a freezer cooking marathon before, but I think that you may have just inspired me to give it a try! Thanks for sharing the link to my homemade pot pie too 
Have a great day!
Thanks Mindy, you have just gotta give this a try – its so awesome!
I have been wanting to this for a long time, but my husband has this idea that all the food will be dry and old. Does the food taste better fresh or is it the same?
I find that it is pretty close to the same. I think of course fresh is best, but for all the time I save it is worth that little tiny bit of difference. Maybe try once to double or triple one of your recipes, freeze it and then after a week make it again with your frozen one and see if you or he notices the difference.
Everything looks so good! I’ve been dabbling in freezer meals – I love saving time during the week! I just have one quick question – how did you freeze the fried rice (in a bag or foil pan)?
I have done both – this time I ran out of 9×13′s so I bagged them. I do like warming them in the oven though so I will prob micro for a few minutes on defrost and add to a 9×13, cover and bake.
Great sounding recipes! I did something similar last year at the beginning of January. In my job we work 60+ hours a week during January so the beginning of the month I spent a weekend making freezer food. I’m a soup person, so I basically made several kinds of soup, chili and a large pan of lasagna. Since I live alone I made the lasagna then froze it in individual portions. The only soup that didn’t freeze well was the potato/cheese. Something about freezing the milk based soup with the cheese already in it just didn’t work. The potatoes turned to mush and the consistency was very grainy. The other soups – chicken/rice, beef barley, ham and bean – all came out great.
Maybe I’m dumb or something, but what do the numbers mean that are next to each menu idea?
It means she made (3) Three or (4) Four of that particular dish.
Thank you for sharing this! I’m really new to cooking and freezing ahead but as life gets busy I know I’m going to need to start doing it more. I’ve been freezing chili, tamales, doughs and breads. I have a question about freezing pasta though.
Are there any tricks to keeping the noodles firm? If so what are they? I’ve done some frozen soups with noodles and it was horrible, does pasta hold up better?
If it is a pasta in a soup, do not freeze it, just add to when cooking/reheating. If its a casserole type, cook the pasta about half way done, same with rice, there should be enough moisture in the meal to finish cooking the pasta or rice while cooking the meal to eat.that is my experience!
We did this at the end of my pregnancies planning for new baby…just made things easier having meals made. Thanks for the reminder. Not sure we have the time or the freezer space to do so many, but definitely could do some.
I LOVE the convenience of freezer food! We have three kids (4, 5, and 6) and both of us work full time (and side jobs as often as possible) with a 25+ mile commute from our home to work, so ANYTHING convenient is often utilized. UNFORTUNATELY our convenient routes are not always the healthiest, and I hate the guilt of using pre-packaged, high fat and high sodium foods (or worse- FAST FOOD!!) in place of real, whole ingredients. I like to cook extra meat, or extra bread or extra beans and soups, but never thought of making a full meal specifically to freeze and reheat! We’ve been limited to our tiny fridge top freezer (that’s ALWAYS TOO FULL!) but we now have access to a full sized stand up freezer! Now I have menu ideas buzzing around in my head instead of plans of frozen pizzas, microwaveable meals, etc!! I’m super excited to get started on this!!
Last December whenever I made a meal that I knew would freeze well I would double it and put a portion in a freezer container. I then gave a box of assorted meals to a friend for Christmas. Most popular gift EVER.
How long will these meals last in the freezer? I don’t want to wait to long to cook them and have them expire.
It depends on the dish…Here is what I found from the book: Don’t Panic More Dinners in the Freezer.
Meals
Meat and poultry, cooked, in sauce:s 5-6 months
Meat and poultry, uncooked, in sauces/marinades: see raw meats
Pasta dished: 2-3 months
Side dishes: 2-3 months
Spaghetti sauce, chili, soups, stews: 5-6 months
Quiche or egg dished: 3 months
Raw Meat
Chicken: 10 months
Fish: 2-3 months
Ground Beef: 3 months
Pork Chops, ribs: 2-3 months
Roasts beef: 7-9 months, pork 4-6 months
Steaks beef: 7-9 months, pork 2-3 months
Turkey parts: 4-6 months, whole 6 months
Baked Goods
Muffins: 3 months
Pizza Dough: 5-6 months
Quick breads: 2-3 months
Yeast breads/rolls: 2-3 months
Desserts
Cakes: 2-3 months
Cookies: 3-4 months
Frozen desserts: 1-2 months
Fruit pie or pie filling: 6 months.
How did you freeze the sweet and sour chicken and orange chicken? Fully cooked?
this is what I’d like to know too!
I have done it both ways, I like frying all the chicken up first and then freezing with the sauce in a separate bag. It just saves so much time. But I also have done it where I have dipped the chicken in flour and then frozen in the bag so all I had to do was fry it. Works either way but I prefer the chicken already done.
Thank you for posting this! I am happy to say that I went grocery shopping and bought ingredients for 34 meals on this list!!!! I was shocked I only spent $222.22 on everything I needed…..today I have started and I have got 2 menu items completed and cooling to go into the freezer! Beef Berley Stew and the Honey Lime Chicken…however….I don’t know how well we’ll take to the Honey Lime chicken….it seems too sweet/citrusey. But we’ll see!
I’m off to make up some more freezer meals!!!
Thank you so much for your hard work you put in to this!!! I sure hope you put up another menu soon!!!
This is a great idea! However, I was wondering if you’re putting everything in the freezer uncooked or cooking it then freezing it. Do you defrost the meal fully before reheating it? For the pot pies did you put the filling into a pie crust and then freeze it or keep it separate?
Sorry for all the questions! I only cook enough for two because I don’t know how to go about freezing food to eat later.
Hello Debra, some of the meals I pre cooked and others I didn’t. For example the pot pies I put the filling in the pie crusts, and then froze it. So it was kind of like a pot pie you would buy in a store – just ready to put in the oven for an hour. Basically I want all the hard work done so that all I have to do is pull it out and add to crockpot or put it in the oven. So for the orange chicken I did cook the chicken up and made the sauce in a sep. bag – but froze them together. So all I have to do is toss the chicken in the crock pot and pour the sauce over it and it will be done in a few hours. Hope this makes sense, if you have any other questions let me know!
thanks! I wrapped stuffed shells with a layer of foil, then plastic then foil again. I did the press n seal wrap then foil on my pot pies do you think this is sufficient wrapping? Turns out I didn’t buy big enough freezer bags so I can’t just slip them into the bags.
Absolutely – I usually just wrap mine in foil..eek! Probably should do more like you did. Problem is I like to just grab it out of freezer and stick in oven most of the time, so I don’t add plastic wrap. But if you thaw it before you bake it would work well with plastic wrap, and probably keep it a lot fresher tasting.
This is my first attempt at frozen meals. Do you freeze rice as well or prepare it the day of?
I will prepare fried rice all they way first, but if I am making rice as a side I make it the day of.
Also, for the recipes you provided, are metrics for one meal or for the quantity of meals you indicated above? Just trying to figure out for my grocery list if I need to triple the ingredients for the Honey Lime Chicken, for example.
The numbers are how many of each meal I made. Duplicates save time. So I will make 3 full dinners worth of Honey Lime Chicken – separated into 3 ziploc gallon bags.
I’m a bit confused about the sides. IE when you do rice as a side do you make the rice as well and freeze it or you make that the day you’re serving it.
Also the baked potatoes is that a meal or a side?
Please help
I usually make rice as a side the day of – ( I love the minute rice…lol). The twice bakes potatoes are totally made up and frozen, then baked the day I am serving it.
Karrie:
Thank you, I actually found a site where it tells you how to freeze rice. I’m thinking all I want to do is simply pop something in microwave or oven and make a salad. Lol lazy, yes,
So true, I think that would be easier to just warm it up even as a side. Maybe I will do that next time too!
karrie i could not bring myself to buy sesame oil. and i found an online recipe for stirfry rice seasoning
I’ve recently started doing this. We call it “fiesta rice” – cooked rice, lime juice, cilantro, black beans, frozen corn all mixed together and frozen into portions big enough for 1 meal for my family. I just pull it out when I want it, defrost just long enough to get it out of the plastic wrap it’s in, then continue heating it in a glass bowl in the microwave. (I drizzle a little water over it before heating – maybe a teaspoon?) It comes out great!
Here’s website for seasoning mix for fried rice
http://mixitupcookbook.blogspot.com/2011/09/fried-rice-seasoning-mix.html
I am using so many of these recipes for a Freezer Cooking Day I’m doing in 2 days with my SIL, and I am so grateful for the work you’ve done here! My question (and I feel a little silly for asking): For the beef barley soup, do you throw all the uncooked ingredients together into the freezer, then toss them (thawed or frozen) into the crock pot the day you want to prepare them? Or do you cook it as soup, cool it, then freeze it? Maybe it’s my tired Mama brain, but I think your comment “its all uncooked ingredients so I can toss into crockpot and cook all day.” is throwing me off. Basically, to rephrase: What do you do in advance? Thank you again!! I’m going off now to finish my shopping list and Pin you for the world to see.
For the first recipe listed, the honey chicken one, do you actually cook it all and then freeze it?
Yes I do cook it all the way first and then freeze in ziploc bags. Just reheat to serve.
For the beef barley soup, do you throw all the uncooked ingredients together into the freezer, then toss them (thawed or frozen) into the crock pot the day you want to prepare them? Or do you cook it as soup, cool it, then freeze it?
I throw all the uncooked ingredients into a freezer bag (all except the carrots, they never turn out if I freeze them.) So I add all the ingredients, then toss into freezer. The night before (if I remember) I take out the bag and thaw in fridge, or if I dont remember I just stick it in there frozen and let it go. I add carrots the day of as well and stir a few times throughout the day.
I cannot wait to be home and start doing the cooking. My last day of work is this Friday and this is so going to come in handly with two little girls. Thanks for sharing such great stuff! If I come accross anything that would be a good freezer meal I will surely post for everone too. Here’s to being a new stay at home mom. Wish me luck! (The work force will just have to do without me for a while.)
That is wonderful Brooke, it is really nice to be a stay at home (well, most of the time..ha!) So glad you liked my menu, and for sure please share any other great freezer meals you love. Congrats on getting to be a new stay at home mom!
You are a lifesaver! My baby is due in a few weeks and I am in graduate school, and have been trying to figure out how I am going to be able to cook for my husband and I in that first month when I am sleep deprived and busy with baby and my studies. I have scoured so many freezer recipes and this is the best collection I have found!! I don’t need to look any further; can’t wait to go shopping for the ingredients!
Wow, thanks so much for the compliments!! So glad you like my menu – happy cooking!
For your breakfast burritos, did you cook everything together, roll in the tortilla & freeze? Thanks for the wonderful menu!
Yes, that is exactly what I do. Cook everything, make them up, wrap each burrito and freeze in ziploc freezer bags.
I love freezer meals but I’ve yet to make for a full month. I will actually be doing this this Oct as I’m due with baby 9 in med December. I have learned it is soooo helpful to have those meals on hand after having a baby, and with this many now it is a total life saver! My plan is to freeze 30 suppers and 15/20 breakfasts. I’m pretty sure it will take me more then a day unlike you. lol But it’s worth the time. I’m looking forward to trying out some of your recipes too!
I have recently started making freezer meals. Many of the web sites i have visited have some good idea’s but not all of the meals fit my taste or my families taste. This post is the first post that I have read where each meal/recipe sounds delish! I will follow this map for my November meals.
Thanks so much, glad you like my menu!
Thank you so much for the great ideas! I’m so excited to try these, I was looking for a helpful website for freezing meals and this is by far the best! I didn’t realize there was so much you could freeze well, I’ve always just stuck to lasagna and soup
Thanks! I’m having a baby soon and can’t wait to stock up our freezer so we don’t starve when he is born!
Hey, for the enchiladas, did you cook those and then freeze, or freeze before cooking?
I froze them before cooking them.
Just want to make sure I understand about the Twice baked potatoes…..you actually freeze them? How do you get them to not get grainy or the texture to go icky?
With your freezer meals, I don’t know but did you put expiration dates on your meals? Like how long they will last in the freezer?
Thanks
You could absolutely do that if you like, but usually I don’t. I will sometimes add the date that I made them like 10/2012 or something like that.
I love freezing precooked meals but i find pirk and chicken dry out . Any tips?
I LOVE this, thanks for posting! My parents are older and can no longer get around the kitchen easily (or get worn out before a meal is finished) and I work nights so am not much help. This will let me make up everything at once and freeze with cooking instructions on the container so they can just pull it out and pop in the oven. Thank you so much for posting this, it will take a lot of stress off of me so I can sleep easier and be more awake for work.
So happy you love this! Enjoy!
Thanks so much for this help Karrie. I am in the UK and am so interested to see the differences of what you cook and freeze over The Pond as opposed to us Brits!
I am doing a major freezer cook for the busy Christmas period, especially as my lovely son is home from University and I don’t want to be glued to the stove. Also I am an online retailer so Christmas is sooo busy.
One quick question – what I would really like to know is what foods can be cooked from frozen? – you know for those days when your planning goes awry and you end up with nothing ready to eat in the fridge when you get home so need to depend on the freezer or – dare I say it – a take away!
Any help would be much appreciated as I am a little worried about food poisoning if I cook the wrong thing from frozen!
In the UK we have a cheap frozen food retailer called Iceland who is on the TV advertising roasted meat joints that you can cook from frozen. I am not sure how they do this and if any joint can be cooked this way – I always wonder if they are coating/adding some chemical or procedure to their foods to allow this to be done safely.
Cheers
Eva from cold North London, UK!
Eva
If you page up, you will find a list of how long to keep things in the freezer before quality begins to degrade. You can keep things longer, but they might have a bit of freezer burn.
As to what you can freeze — walk into any Tesco or Sainsbury and look in at the frozen food. In general, if they can do it, so can you.
There is a site called Recipezaar (well, actually it is now food.com) that has many frozen food recipes. Search for OAMC and you’ll come up with 653 recipes (as of today). Some are simply prepared, then frozen so you must defrost then bake or simmer. Others are fully cooked and you simply pop the food into the microwave.
No worries about food poisoning due to cooking from frozen — that’s not how food poisoning happens. Unless you are cooking already-poisoned food, of course. If the food is raw, you must generally defrost and then cook it or it will not cook all the way through. But go to food.com and look through their recipes.
Also do a “google” search for OAMC Plans, Freezer Cooking Plans, Investment Cooking Plans, Once A Month Cooking Plans. You will find a large variety of plans rather than individual recipes. Makes shopping and planning easier, but then you have to translate from American into British.
Diane
I am going to try doing all 50 meals next weekend. The number after the name of the recipe: is that how many meals you got out of if or how many times you made the recipe. Example honey lime chix (3). 3 meals or do I need to triple the recipe to get three meals?
Hello Katie – The number after the recipe is how many meals I made – so if there is a (3) after a recipe I tripled the batch so I could get 3 meals out of it. Good luck!
I freeze dinnners for my husband, who works in the oil fields and can be gone up to
two weeks to a month. Am always looking for good freezer meals!
Hello Karrie,
I am new to doing freezer meals and sort of feel like I’m unsure on a lot of my families favorite recipes whether it will freeze well. I like to make a lot of soups, and I like to make creamy soups a lot. How well would something like that freeze that has a lot of milk? My second question is – do you spend as much money as you save just buying the dishes, containers, and wraps that you use to store it all? I always feel like that stuff is expensive.
Creamy soups are hard, because they can separate when thawed. Especially items with dairy like cream and milk. Feel free to try it once on your paticular recipe to see if it works though – and if it mixes back up as you reheat then it’s a winner. As for the dishes/containers usually I just either use ziploc bags (which aren’t too expensive) or the 9×13 foil pans, which I can find 3/$1.00 at the dollar store. But if you don’t want to buy the 9×13 foil pans (I do it so I don’t have to wash dishes afterwards..) you can totally use your own 9×13 glass or metal pans. Just make sure to thaw before you put into the oven. Usually I spend around $10 extra for all these freezer bags/foil pans, and I am more than happy to pay it to save me time. If I didn’t have freezer meals with my busy schedule I would turn to quick dinners (like cereal or fast food) which are not as healthy. So in the long run the $10 pays me back in the better health of myself & kiddos. Hope that makes sense. Good luck on your freezer meals cooking day – you can do it!!
On the sweet and sour chicken do you cook the chicken and sauce first them freeze in a 9×13 pan or put it in freezer bags?
I fry up the chicken, then freeze in a single layer on a cookie sheet. The sauce I cook up and put into a baggie and freeze. Then when its time to cook, I thaw them both, pour the sauce on top and just bake it.
Wow, thanks for something different. I went and bought all the food came home got started and realized, I am making 3 bathes of a recipe I’ve never tried before, LOL I did lots of taste testing along the way and everything seems amazing. I am 18 weeks pregnant, just took a role as an executive member of the board at my daughters preschool and I woke up from a nap and the kids were eating dad’s new meal of rice a roni suprise….rice a roni with cut up hot dog ummm gross and unhealthy ! I got through 30 meals, it took four days (and my daughter got puke sick during one of course) I feel so much more relaxed knowing there is food and I can rest if I need to! Thanks!
That is SO Awesome Christina! The first time you make freezer meals it can take longer, but is so worth it. I can’t believe you did the freezer cooking even with a sick child, that is hard to do (you superwoman you!) I know what you mean about the quick meals, and that totally made me laugh (the rice a roni with hot dog surprise…sounds like something I have made..lol). Enjoy those freezer meals!!!
For your Chimichangas do you freeze them in the buritto or add the mix to a fresh buritto when you are ready to eat it? I love your menu- I have been looking for a good month menu and I found it! THANKS!
Hi Dawn, yes, I freeze them in the burrito. And so glad you love my menu!! I am getting down to my last week of freezer meals in my freezer..time to do another big day of cooking!
Do you have a shopping list?
I would be interested in a shopping list as well
Just discovered this site, and am loving it!
My stepmom died in October, leaving my dad alone. I thought I could use some of these ideas to make meals ahead and then put some into containers for him to eat whenever he wants.
One question: I saw in the comments above that for the crockpot meals you usually freeze the prepped ingredients so you can put them in the crockpot whenever you want. Have you tried freezing the meals after they have cooked? Just wondering how well some of these things would reheat.
My rule of thumb is only freeze stuff once. I find that it is never as delish if its frozen twice. So you can make it at home without freezing it and then freeze it into smaller portions for his dinners, I used to do this for my grandmother too sometimes.
I made home made frozen pizzas using sauce bought on sale, shredded a cheese blend, a chunk of pepperoni cut into dices and put it all on onion buns. Made 16 frozen pizzas in no time and they taste great…the onion buns work perfect!
I would LOVE your pizza crust recipe!! That would be so frugal and easy to add into my freezer meals. Please share Jason!
This is awesome. I just had a baby less than 2 weeks ago and even though she sleeps a lot I still dont have time to focus on cooking multiple times a day for meals. Since its just my husband and I, one of your recipies will make 2 meals for us:)
My kids are grown and I live alone, but I still go freezer cooking every couple of months. I get the 3pack of aluminum pans with paper/foil tops at the Dollar Tree. I package my meals in these, writing the contents and date prepared on top before putting in freezer. This way I have nutritious meals available for myself – or ready made meals to take to a sick friend, elderly parents, etc.
Lasagna, or lasagna rolls work great this way. I also do Tater Tot Casserole, chicken and rice casserole, baked spaghetti, pot pie…. So many choices. After packaging I do wrap in additional foil or put in ziploc bags just to stave off freezer burn.
Good luck to those trying freezer meals for first time – it is fun and a great way to insure your family is getting good meals even with busy schedules!
How many servings does each meal serve? I am very interested in giving this a try, you described my life:-) I just need an idea of servings/serving size so I know what to do… THANK YOU for sharing…plan to get started soon as I hear from ya!
Hi Christina,
Most of the recipes in my menu I make sure are enough for my family (2 adults, 2 teens, 2 younger kids). I usually do a double batch of the honey lime chicken per freezer meal, because my kids really eat a ton of it with rice. But the Barley soup recipe is just the right amount for one dinner for my family. My family used to eat just one small pot pie, but with the older kids getting bigger appetites I will start making on 9×13 size pot pie. I think it just depends on how big your family is and how they eat. If the freezer meal you make ends up leaving you leftovers, then just take it for lunch the next day or have it again for dinner. The first time you make freezer meals will be a learning experience for you..and after your first time you will have a better idea of how much of each meal your family will eat up. Good luck – let me know how it goes!
Hi,
Can I fix any recipe and freeze it this way and it be safe to eat at the end of the month? Or are there only certain meals that are good for freezing this long? Thank you in advance!
Most meals you can freeze, yes! I avoid some dairy/cream soups, lettuce and other fresh vegetables like cucumbers ect.
Thanks for posting all this, you’ve got me really excited!! We’re gearing up to have our 5th baby and I’m getting some good freezer recipes together to make life easier after she’s born. Looks like I won’t have to look much further than your site! =)
This look amazing! I can’t wait to start this. One question if you could. For these recipes about how much did you spend?
Karrie,
Posting to say thank you!
One of my closest girlfriends just had a baby. I flew in for the weekend and filled her freezer with your menu (plus omelettes, pancakes, french toast casserole, and other breakfast goodies).
Thank you *SO* much for taking the time to organize this list. We taste-tested everything before sealing the food fresh bags, and everything was awesome. Such a variety!
We spent $80 on meat and were able to make everything else from ingredients she already had in her kitchen. My friend says her life has been changed regarding her ability to plan dinners, and I thank you for helping me to help her!
How awesome!! I am sure your friend will totally enjoy having all those freezer meals – and will allow her to enjoy more time with her baby. Thanks so much for your comment, it is so nice to hear you liked my menu!
Awesome recipes. I like to do a bake-a-thon with my bread maker and make a few loaves of bread in one day… Then jellies another day. Most breads and jellies freeze awesome. In fact, I just took out Zucchini bread that I made with some Zucchini’s we got from a friend at the end of the season last year. Shredded zucchini itself doesn’t freeze well but the bread does and muffins too!! We also bake extra cupcakes occasionally to put in the freezer, those thaw out super quick in the microwave or on the counter. We have 6 kids and run a business so fast meals are a must most days. I can’t wait to try some of these recipes–getting together a grocery list for next week!
Thank you SOOOO much for these freezer recipes! You are a life saver.
You are very welcome. So glad you like them!
What a great Idea! healthy, homemade, and only have to cook one day a month! I love it!
Hi! My friend and I were inspired my by this and we cooked for several hours today… bagging up 8 meals each and a few week’s worth of breakfasts.
I had to laugh when I read in one of the comments that you made your own pie crust. Kudos to you girlfriend! You really go all out.
Thanks for your inspiration!
I don’t always make my own pie crust, it depends on how I am feeling.
Sometimes I buy the premade crusts too. So happy you did freezer cooking, it is a time saver for sure. Hope you enjoy!
Karrie,
I am interested in making sandwiches ahead and freezing them for the week. Do you have some insight for this?
Karrie, I love the good ideas. Do you have some insight on making a weeks worth of sandwiches for lunches ahead of time? Thanks.
Usually I take some bread, meat and cheese with no condiments and individually wrap each one in plastic wrap. Then I freeze them. I only have trouble with using condiments because when they thaw it can make your sandwiches kind of soggy.
Looking forward to trying your recipes
I’ve been loving your blog for a long time, and this is a great post to run across with baby 4 on the way. I wish you lived next door!
Aweee, thanks so much Susan!!
Thanks for sharing these freezer recipes. And cooking tips.
how can I download all of these they look so yummy
What a great collection of recipes. I like to freeze favorites that take time in the oven. I usually triple my potato wedge and make 3 flavors Tex mex, italian herbs and Parmesan cheese. I bag them in family serving and then they just need heated.
I also make 3 cottage pies. One with carrots , one with frozen peas and one with frozen sweetcorn. Great for a “sports practice night”. oh and don’t forget to cook a family size pack of sausages. wrap in a little parchment paper to stop them sticking in the freezer and then you have a quick sausage in a bun when a crowd of teenagers descend on you!
Love your recipes! Just a quick question though. Do you freeze your meat dishes after you bake them all? Then when you are ready to use them you just defrost and reheat? Does it come out mushy at all?
I like a lot of the recipes but see the link out to other sites that are not freezer meal recipes. Do you have instructions for freezing some?
The Sweet and Sour Chicken for example, do you freeze after adding the sauce? Before and then heat it with sauce?
THANKS!