Freezer Meal Ideas - trying for 30 before DS4 arrives!

[3BoysMamma]

Any good suggestions to tried and true freezer meal recipes? I just did meatloaf for tomorrow and went through and did 3 extras because it was super easy!!
Here's the link I used:
http://networkedblogs.com/xbBGW?a=share
I used quart bags bc that was all I had on hand and it still fit in perfectly! As long as you can get past the look of the stuff in the bag, it's great - I'm just thankful I didn't have to actually get my hands in it!!

I am trying to get at least 30 done before July 1st. Now I only have 27 more to go!
I know I can do my homemade spaghetti sauce, and cook taco meat, and I figured I'd cook some ground meat and freeze it for use in Shepherd's pie, but I'm looking for more ideas TIA!

[raisingcropsandbabies]

Yay! With my 3rd and 4th babies, I made 4-6 weeks worth of freezer meals and it was invaluable during my c-section recoveries!

Borrow from the library "Don't Panic, Dinners in the Freezer (1 and 2)"... the cookbooks are amazingggg. By Suzie Martinez, Vanda Howell, and Bonnie Garcia. they have lots of different ethnic foods (not just boring casseroles). A friend and I love most of their recipes and use them often. We've loved:
-Cheesy Chicken Bundles (SUPER easy to make and freeze and all my kids love them)
-Monterey Jack Stuffed Chicken served with their 4 Corners Refried Bean Recipe and Sour Cream Rice Recipe
-Continental Beef
-Savory Sausage Bread
-Their maranades for crockpotted chicken and beef are really good
-Parmesan Chicken
-Pine Nut Green Beans
-Farmer's Casserole
-Quiche
-Steak Dione
-Glazed Ham
-Ham Sandwiches

and more!

The cookbooks are also nice because they triple and x6 recipes for you in a separate column so you don't have to do the math.

For one kiddo, I took 2days and made one a beef day and one a chicken day and knocked out most of the 6 wks. worth of recipes. For the other kiddo, I did 2-3 freezer meal (x2) a week.

The books are amazing and it's much easier to borrow them than to type all their good recipes out. I own them because I've continued with freezer meals because it's sooo handy!

[jbug_4]

I just did this for back surgery. Search online you'll find lots of good recipes. I got both the Don't Panic book and Fix It, Freeze It and Feast I was only able to use 1 or 2 of the recipes due to food allergies. Most of them used milk or cheese. I found this site very helpful, most of our meals came from this one http://onceamonthmom.com/ . I also recommend looking for crockpot freezer meals http://onceamonthmom.com/once-a-mont...-cooker-meals/ . For this list- we tried the ham and green beans, if you try it i recommend leaving the potatoes out. I put them in the bag a froze like suggested, but when I thawed to cook they were rather gross looking so i didn't even cook the potatoes. Instead I took the ham and made a honey mustard glaze instead and cooked it in the crock pot.
http://mamaandbabylove.com/2011/04/0...ooker-recipes/
I highly recommend getting steam in bag veggies, for meals that don't already include veggies or sides. I also froze uncooked sweet potato fries and partially cooked oven potato wedges. Chicken nuggets/tenders, fish fillets for lunch options.

[kismetbaby]

shepards pie, enchiladas, lasagna were my standard freezer meals. pancakes and french toast freeze well.

another great thing is to cook a ton of rice and freeze it in small portions that you can thaw and add to a meal.

[3BoysMamma]

These are great ideas - I was just at the library today, but I'll have to get those books next time I'm in there -didn't read this in time!

I also bought a lot of fruit (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, pineapple bananas, and a mango although I've never done a mango before!) and yogurt and cut and froze all of it (some bananas whole for banana bread, etc; some chopped). I also spooned out into muffin tins the yogurt and froze it then bagged it all.......it will be a quick go to smoothie mix! I've got everything in separate bags so I can just pull which ones I want Keep the ideas coming (I need the motivation!! lol)

[Hungry Caterpillar]

I did this too before my son was born in October. I did:

Chili (3 meals worth portioned individually) with cornbread muffins
Chicken Pot Pies (x3)
Meatloaf (x2)
Southwest Casserole (x4 meals, but in 2 casseroles so we had this twice in one week)
Chicken, Rice, Broccoli, Mushroom Casserole (x4 meals, but in 2 casseroles so we had this twice in one week)
Beef Tamale Pot Pie (x2)
Beef and Cabbage Pie (x2)
Chicken Adobo and Rice (3 meals worth portioned individually)
Pulled Pork (x6 meals portioned individually, for sandwiches)
Breakfast Burritos with Andouille sausage, egg, rice, and cheese(x12, wrapped individually)
Breakfast Burritos with bacon/ham, egg, potatoes, and cheese (x12, wrapped individually)

I did it in steps to make my life easier. One day I roasted 5 chickens and then when they were cool picked off all the chicken and put it into ziplocks, then made stock. The next day I assembled the chicken pot pies and the mush/broc/chick/rice casseroles. One day I cooked a bunch of ground beef and made the southwest casseroles and beef tamale pies. One day I did the breakfast burritos. One day I did pulled pork in the crockpot while I was prepping diapers. On the last day I made the chicken adobo and the meatloafs. My mom made the cornbread muffins and rolls for pulled pork sandwiches and brought them over. I intended to do waffles and pancakes but never got around to it. We also bought a huge bag of string cheese, fruit, hummus and veggies, and salami and crackers to have on hand the week before my due date for snacks. Lastly, I made over a hundred granola bars to have as I was a ravenous beast while breastfeeding.

Let me know if you need recipes.

I second jbug's recommendation for bags of frozen veggies to steam. For whatever reason, steamed peas and broccoli became a favorite snack while breastfeeding. Odd but yummy!

[cbusbaby]

a great idea i kinda want to do this before my baby is here in sept. but we have a tiny freezer

things i freeze are...

yogurt starter (to make more in the crockpot)
hummus (good for snacks w/ veggies and on sandwiches/wraps)
chili w/ cornbread muffins
any kind of muffin (esp. breakfast ones and corndog muffins, just toss a few hotdog pieces in there)
granola bars (can be eaten straight from freezer)
refried beans (which are... amazing)

good luck!! keep us updated with what you make

[Hungry Caterpillar]

Originally Posted by cbusbaby a great idea i kinda want to do this before my baby is here in sept. but we have a tiny freezer

We have a tiny freezer too, predominantly why I did a lot of casseroles, burritos and pot pies - they stack neatly! I had found so many other recipes I wanted to make but if they didn't stack, they didn't make the cut.

[hopetc]

I did this before my last and still cook multiples of meals to freeze for later.

Recently...
chicken enchiladas
bean rice cheese burrittos
pasta fagioli (will add pasta when heating up) - tried =) skinnytaste
turkey chili - tried =) skinnytaste
turkey meatloaf (froze in styrofoam turkey came in wrapped with foil then inside a ziploc) tried =) ww recipe
mexican lasagna

meal starters (not complete but parts): refried beans from dried beans, mexican rice, plain rice, chopped or shredded chicken, browned ground beef. I've cooked dried beans and frozen into can size portions, portioned out shredded cheese.

I also start with costco rotisserie chickens. I could bake my own, but love the taste and convenience of theirs. From one I get about 1lb dark and 1lb breast meat. Then I make enchiladas with it or tacos or whatever else.

I keep the costco frozen pizzas on hand! Love both the pepperoni and cheese. Occasionally add toppings to the cheese - olives and pineapple!

[danner]

I didn't see anyone suggest meatballs. Cooks Illustrated has a nice meatball and sauce recipe you can finish off in the crockpot (that's what I do - I don't have a Dutch oven). Anyway, I lay the meatballs out on a cutting board in the freezer so they freeze individually, then load them into a bag after a few hours. We use them for hot sandwiches, the obvious and quickie individual snacks.