Tuesday, September 20, 2016

On Stocking the Freezer with Meals


This past spring I decided to stock my freezer full of easy dinners I could pull out and serve. I was hoping that I would be getting pregnant soon and fully anticipating I would have another rough first trimester, making cooking dinner a huge struggle. I researched some meals that would freeze well, but what I mostly found were crockpot "dump" meals. Those aren't always my favorite, because they're either too creamy or just don't have enough of an interesting flavor. Below are links of the recipes I ended up making, if you're interested in stocking up your freezer! We started eating these in June, and I have just a few left. We obviously don't eat them every night, but it's been such a great filler for the days that I've been too tired or too sick to cook! It would be handy to stock your freezer with these if you're pregnant, will be having a newborn soon, have a busy work schedule, or even just for a stress-free dinner!

  • Chicken Spaghetti - I made two pans of this and each pan lasted for several meals for the three of us!
  • Quiche - I made three, which I served with a tossed salad for dinner or had for easy breakfasts or lunches. 
  • Calzones (I used this technique with this filling) - I ended up making 8 calzones, and we found that 1 calzone for each of us was plenty. I wrapped them individually in aluminum foil. When it was time to eat them, I thawed a couple in the fridge for a few hours before baking them in the oven still wrapped in foil. 
  • Chipotle Lime Chicken - I made one recipe of this, which fills two freezer bags, and each bag is enough for a meal plus plenty of leftovers. This crockpot meal is a tried and true favorite of mine!
  • Chicken Squares - I made a double recipe, which is 8 chicken squares. I baked them completely and let them cool before wrapping them individually in foil. To serve, I baked them on a baking sheet still wrapped in foil until they were hot through. 
  • Meatballs in tomato sauce - The recipe I ended up using wasn't my favorite so I'm not linking it here, but it made a ton and has served a good number of meals. Make your favorite recipe and then divide it up into containers. Thaw in fridge overnight and heat on stove before serving.
  • Sloppy Joes - I made one batch of this recipe and then divided it up in several containers. I let it thaw in the fridge overnight then reheated it on the stove before serving.
  • Lasagna - I made my mother-in-law's recipe and divided it into two 8x8 pans rather than one large pan. I assembled both lasagnas but didn't bake them. When I was ready to serve them, I let it thaw in the fridge/counter, then baked it covered with foil until it was hot through and bubbling. 
Hope you find this helpful if you're looking to stock up your freezer and want to avoid a ton of crockpot meals! These meals have been a huge help to me! Now that we're getting into fall and soup weather, I plan on stocking up on a bunch of soups and chilis! Do you have any tried and true recipes that freeze well?

2 comments:

  1. I realized this would be a huge help to me when I'm busy with exams or papers, so when I had a free weekend a couple weeks ago I made a bunch of meals. I did lasagna, chicken pot pie, and taquitos -- putting the recipes below. I'm so excited to get them out of the freezer (though I'm not looking forward to being busy enough to need to do that yet)! I've had some of the taquitos already and they are GOOD. https://bohemianbright.wordpress.com/2015/04/28/a-delicious-gluten-free-lasagna/
    http://www.mealplanningmagic.com/homemade-chicken-pot-pie-make-it-ahead-monday/?fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582&fb_source=aggregation&fb_action_ids=4064917094993&fb_action_types=og.likes
    http://www.kitchme.com/recipes/weight-watchers-baked-chicken-and-cheese-taquitos

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  2. Oh these meals are great ideas! I love taqueria! And that will be so nice to have them when school gets crazy. That reminded me I had also made lasagna ha, I had to go back and add it.

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