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. Here is my HUGE list of freezer cooking essentials.
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)
- 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) – it’s all uncooked ingredients so I can toss into crock pot and cook all day.
- Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos (2)
- Cafe Rio Pulled Pork for Cafe Rio Salads (3) – recipe is in my cookbook!
- 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 hash browns, bacon, eggs 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 you a lot of time.
P.S. I have tons of beginner information on getting started and even tips for advanced freezer meal cooking in my new cookbook called Seriously Good Freezer Meals. Please head on over and order yourself a copy! Inside there are menu plans and 150 of the BEST ever tasting freezer meals I’ve ever created. For reals.
And if you love freezer meals consider joining my private facebook group called THE FREEZER MEAL CLUB. I’d love to have you join us!
—> See MORE of my Freezer Meals recipes here.
And if you do happen to do your 50 freezer meals in a day cooking marathon, take some pictures and share them on instagram with me! Use hashtag #50freezermealsinaday and tag me @happymoneysaver. I absolutely LOVE to see you do your freezer meal cooking!
About Karrie
Food is my love language. But so is saving money. So I like to combine the two a lot and make thrifty make ahead and freeze meals to save time. Because life is busy, and freezer meals can come to the rescue for all of us. And yes, they actually CAN taste good. Read more...
Comments & Reviews
Amanda P says
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.
Karrie says
So happy you love this! Enjoy!
lyndsay says
I love freezing precooked meals but i find pirk and chicken dry out . Any tips?
amanda says
I haven’t tried pork. But I freeze chicken tenders. 1 pack usually has enough for 2 meals plus a few lunches. So I cook the entire pack at once with some chicken base and water. It’s kinda like cooking in broth. And then whatever seasonings I would use on all my meals. When done I set aside what I don’t need to cool(and later bag for freezing) and continue cooking the chicken for that particular meal. So when I’m ready to use the frozen chicken I can thaw the night before so it’s ready to use in an easy dinner/lunch. Or I simply toss in boiling water for a few min.
Jessica Gidley says
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
Karrie says
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.
Connie says
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?
Breyannie says
Hey, for the enchiladas, did you cook those and then freeze, or freeze before cooking?
Karrie says
I froze them before cooking them.
Kelly says
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!
christina says
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.
Karrie says
Thanks so much, glad you like my menu!
Elizabeth says
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!
Jen says
For your breakfast burritos, did you cook everything together, roll in the tortilla & freeze? Thanks for the wonderful menu!
Karrie says
Yes, that is exactly what I do. Cook everything, make them up, wrap each burrito and freeze in ziploc freezer bags.
Kelly says
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!
Karrie says
Wow, thanks so much for the compliments!! So glad you like my menu – happy cooking!
Brooke Haidamaka says
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.)
Karrie says
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!
Trish says
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?
Karrie says
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. 🙂
Ashley says
For the first recipe listed, the honey chicken one, do you actually cook it all and then freeze it?
Karrie says
Yes I do cook it all the way first and then freeze in ziploc bags. Just reheat to serve.
Trish says
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. 🙂
JESSICA N says
Here’s website for seasoning mix for fried rice
http://mixitupcookbook.blogspot.com/2011/09/fried-rice-seasoning-mix.html
JESSICA NIETO says
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 🙂
Karrie says
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.
JESSICA NIETO says
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,
Karrie says
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!
JESSICA NIETO says
karrie i could not bring myself to buy sesame oil. and i found an online recipe for stirfry rice seasoning
Trish says
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!
TexasDeana says
Hi….do you use black beans from a can, or hard black beans….
how much lime juice
how much cilantro
how much frozen corn
how much cooked rice
Thank you . Deana
Rindi says
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.
Karrie says
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.
Rindi says
This is my first attempt at frozen meals. Do you freeze rice as well or prepare it the day of?
Karrie says
I will prepare fried rice all they way first, but if I am making rice as a side I make it the day of.
Debra says
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.
Karrie says
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.
Debra says
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.
Karrie says
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!