We just got a new(to us) upright freezer last week. I can’t tell you how excited I am or how long I’ve been waiting for one! I love to freezer cook and get ahead, but felt limited since we’ve moved because the freezer on our fridge is a side by side and doesn’t have a ton of room. Before Abbie was born in January, I froze some meals to make life a little easier once she arrived. It made a world of difference. There are many levels of freezer cooking. I don’t do a full day of cooking. I usually double a recipe and put half of it in the freezer for another time. Most of the time I use freezer bags and make them as flat as possible making sure there is no air in the bag. I also use plastic containers(leave a small amount of space at the top) or glass casserole dishes. Here are a few ideas:
Ground Beef- Something as simple as browning ground beef can save you time in the kitchen. Occasionally I will buy ground beef in bulk, brown it, and then freeze it. One pound of hamburger= 2.5 cups of browned beef. After I brown it I usually divide it and add taco seasoning, pasta sauce, or leave it plain. The meat flavored with taco seasoning I use for tacos, nachos, taco casserole, or taco salad. The meat flavored with pasta sauce I use for spaghetti and pasta bakes. The plain ground beef I usually use in casseroles. This step saves me time and I have one less pan to wash after dinner!
Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast- I also freeze a lot of chicken breast. Most of the time I divide it into portions(2-3 chicken breasts per meal for my family) and freeze them. Then I can pull a package out and use it as I please(chicken wraps, grilled, chicken cordon bleu, chicken parmesean, etc). Other times I cook it, dice it or shred it, and freeze it to use in wraps, quesadillas, casseroles, etc.
Pork Roast-I like to put a boneless pork roast in the crock pot on low for 6-8 hours with a small amount of water and BBQ sauce then shred it and add BBQ sauce to taste. We usually have a meal or two then I freeze the rest. A tip I came across a year or two ago was to fill muffin pans with the meat then freeze it. Once the meat is hardened remove the meat from the pan and place them into a freezer bag. This works great because the size of the muffin cup is perfect for one serving on a bun. Then you can pull out however servings you need for the meal. This also works for sloppy joes, italian beef, or any other loose meat sandwich you may make.
Beef Roast-I usually try to find a chuck roast with as little fat as possible. I do a few different things with these. One is pot roast where I put potatoes, onions, carrots, and a packet of au jus(water included) in with the roast and cook it on low for 6-8 hours. I love this meal because I don’t have any work preparing sides-they’re cooking with the meat! Another one I like is Italian Beef. I got this recipe from a friend in Galesburg, Laura Anderson. It’s three ingredients: the roast(3-4lb), a packet of DRY italian seasoning, and a jar of sliced banana peppers(juice included). You don’t add any water. Let it cook for 6-8 hours on low, serve on a bun or over rice, and if you wish add a little swiss or provolone cheese. Easy, simple, delicious. The other thing I do is shredded beef with BBQ sauce like the pork roast.
These are just a few things to help make getting meals to the table a little easier. I will try to post different freezer meals and recipes at least once a month if not more. Feel free to post any meals you like to freeze!
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