My Journey Into the Land of Freezer Meals
And I'm sold!
So, in case you're not a female who has been near a computer (mainly Pinterest) in the the last few years, Freezer Meals are all the rage. The idea is to prepare the food in advance and freeze for when you do actually want to consume. Until the pregnancy, this seemed like a lot of work that I wasn't willing to commit to on a weekend.
Now that I'm expecting a little one any day, this concept has struck me as pure genius. So about a month ago, I scoured Pinterest for some interesting looking recipes, compiled a shopping list, gathered any and all available coupons and spent an entire Sunday making 7 different recipes, which wound up being 13 meals in total. I considered this my experimental head first dive into the freezer meal world.
A picture of my tiny freezer stocked with the meals.
Now, a month later, J and I have eaten all of the meals and have settled on a few of our favorites. But before I list out the recipes, here's a few tips to keep in mind when compiling your recipe and grocery list:
1- Coupons are your friends. Scour junk mail, online sources (coupons.com) and the Sunday newspaper for coupons. But if you're lazy like me (and don't have an issue shopping at Walmart), I highly recommend downloading their coupon app. Just do your regular shopping at Walmart, then scan your receipt afterwards. The app searches all local retailers for deals and will refund you the difference. On average, I'm refunded $5-$10 each trip.
2- Your grocery bill will get cheaper each time you repeat a recipe. (Example: Say the recipe calls for Ginger Spice, you'll have to buy that the first time, but now your spice rack is set for future recipes involving Ginger. This goes for sauces as well.)
3- Say you make 5 different recipes in one day, your grocery bill will be cheaper if the recipes are similar or contain much of the same ingredients (I'm mainly talking about meat here, but, really, who wants a freezer full of only chicken recipes?)
4- Label the freezer bags with the both the food and the date you prepared. I don't know about you, but these meals have a shelf life and 1-2 months is it for me.
5- I chop all the veggies at once and separate between about a million bowls. Then just grab handfuls of the ingredient rather than measure it out. For example, 1 chopped red onion is about 2 large handfuls for me. But prep the food however you like, who am I to judge?
6- Don't be scared to spruce up a recipe! I add celery and double the garlic for just about every one I make...
7 - Last, if you have friends that are into this craze too, start a Freezer Meal swap group that meets once a month. Each participant contributes one or two recipes and brings all the needed ingredients for their recipes. This way, instead of the same old recipes each month, you end up with new recipes for a bargain (Remember what I said about similar ingredients? Well buying the bulk ingredients for 1-2 recipes will save you time and money.)
An "in-progress" picture of what used to be my counter-tops...
Now for a few of my recommended recipes that made the "second round of freezer meals" cut :)
Orange Ginger Beef Pot Roast (Spicy recipe, but you can tone it down my removing the Tabasco/Siracha)
2 lb of top or bottom round beef roast
1 red onion
1 cup orange marmalade
1/3 cup water
2 tbs rice vinegar
1tbs soy sauce
2 teaspoon of ginger spice
1/2 teaspoon of Tabasco (I used Siracha sauce and used probably 3 teaspoons- we like it spicy)
2 cloves of garlic
1 cup of chopped celery
1 cup of baby carrots
1 can of mandarin oranges
Chop all the veggies and split all the ingredients between two freezer bags. Defrosted overnight and cooked on Low for 5 hours, then shredded the beef and cooked on warm for another hour. Serve over steamed rice.
This is by far our favorite recipe. It's just the perfect combination of sweet and spicy that we love!
Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken
Bag of Baby Carrots (I only use about half of a bag)
1 Red Onion
2 large cans of Pineapples
4 garlis cloves
4 chicken breasts
1 cup of teriyaki sauce
1 cup of celery
Chop all the veggies and split all the ingredients between two freezer bags. No need to defrost, just cook on low for 5 hours, shred chicken and cook on warm for another hour. Serve over steamed rice.
This is a solid dish. It's no ginger beef, but it's tasty, simple and the chicken always turns out super juicy and sweet!
Sausage and Peppers (Crock Pot Optional)
1 Pack of Italian Sausage
2 green peppers
1 red pepper
1 large red onion
4 garlic cloves
2 cans of Italian seasoned diced tomatoes (I chose 1 can of Italian, and 1 can of Spicy diced tomatoes)
2 Tbs of Italian Seasoning
Chop all the veggies and split all the ingredients between two freezer bags. Add a drizzle of olive oil and cook on low for 6 hours. I serve with a side of garlic/butter noodles.
Alteration - to be honest, Hubby and I weren't thrilled with the "slow cooked" version of sausage. So the second time I cooked this, I cooked all the ingredients with a little olive oil in a large saute pan. Only took about 20 minutes to cook and the it was light years better!
So there you have it. These three recipes will yield you 6 meals (depending on your family size) and the ingredients should run you less than $60 ($50 if you're savvy!).
Good luck all and feel free to let me know what recipes you recommend as well.
All Our Love,
J
So, in case you're not a female who has been near a computer (mainly Pinterest) in the the last few years, Freezer Meals are all the rage. The idea is to prepare the food in advance and freeze for when you do actually want to consume. Until the pregnancy, this seemed like a lot of work that I wasn't willing to commit to on a weekend.
Now that I'm expecting a little one any day, this concept has struck me as pure genius. So about a month ago, I scoured Pinterest for some interesting looking recipes, compiled a shopping list, gathered any and all available coupons and spent an entire Sunday making 7 different recipes, which wound up being 13 meals in total. I considered this my experimental head first dive into the freezer meal world.
A picture of my tiny freezer stocked with the meals.
Now, a month later, J and I have eaten all of the meals and have settled on a few of our favorites. But before I list out the recipes, here's a few tips to keep in mind when compiling your recipe and grocery list:
1- Coupons are your friends. Scour junk mail, online sources (coupons.com) and the Sunday newspaper for coupons. But if you're lazy like me (and don't have an issue shopping at Walmart), I highly recommend downloading their coupon app. Just do your regular shopping at Walmart, then scan your receipt afterwards. The app searches all local retailers for deals and will refund you the difference. On average, I'm refunded $5-$10 each trip.
2- Your grocery bill will get cheaper each time you repeat a recipe. (Example: Say the recipe calls for Ginger Spice, you'll have to buy that the first time, but now your spice rack is set for future recipes involving Ginger. This goes for sauces as well.)
3- Say you make 5 different recipes in one day, your grocery bill will be cheaper if the recipes are similar or contain much of the same ingredients (I'm mainly talking about meat here, but, really, who wants a freezer full of only chicken recipes?)
4- Label the freezer bags with the both the food and the date you prepared. I don't know about you, but these meals have a shelf life and 1-2 months is it for me.
5- I chop all the veggies at once and separate between about a million bowls. Then just grab handfuls of the ingredient rather than measure it out. For example, 1 chopped red onion is about 2 large handfuls for me. But prep the food however you like, who am I to judge?
6- Don't be scared to spruce up a recipe! I add celery and double the garlic for just about every one I make...
7 - Last, if you have friends that are into this craze too, start a Freezer Meal swap group that meets once a month. Each participant contributes one or two recipes and brings all the needed ingredients for their recipes. This way, instead of the same old recipes each month, you end up with new recipes for a bargain (Remember what I said about similar ingredients? Well buying the bulk ingredients for 1-2 recipes will save you time and money.)
An "in-progress" picture of what used to be my counter-tops...
Now for a few of my recommended recipes that made the "second round of freezer meals" cut :)
Orange Ginger Beef Pot Roast (Spicy recipe, but you can tone it down my removing the Tabasco/Siracha)
2 lb of top or bottom round beef roast
1 red onion
1 cup orange marmalade
1/3 cup water
2 tbs rice vinegar
1tbs soy sauce
2 teaspoon of ginger spice
1/2 teaspoon of Tabasco (I used Siracha sauce and used probably 3 teaspoons- we like it spicy)
2 cloves of garlic
1 cup of chopped celery
1 cup of baby carrots
1 can of mandarin oranges
Chop all the veggies and split all the ingredients between two freezer bags. Defrosted overnight and cooked on Low for 5 hours, then shredded the beef and cooked on warm for another hour. Serve over steamed rice.
This is by far our favorite recipe. It's just the perfect combination of sweet and spicy that we love!
Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken
Bag of Baby Carrots (I only use about half of a bag)
1 Red Onion
2 large cans of Pineapples
4 garlis cloves
4 chicken breasts
1 cup of teriyaki sauce
1 cup of celery
Chop all the veggies and split all the ingredients between two freezer bags. No need to defrost, just cook on low for 5 hours, shred chicken and cook on warm for another hour. Serve over steamed rice.
This is a solid dish. It's no ginger beef, but it's tasty, simple and the chicken always turns out super juicy and sweet!
Sausage and Peppers (Crock Pot Optional)
1 Pack of Italian Sausage
2 green peppers
1 red pepper
1 large red onion
4 garlic cloves
2 cans of Italian seasoned diced tomatoes (I chose 1 can of Italian, and 1 can of Spicy diced tomatoes)
2 Tbs of Italian Seasoning
Chop all the veggies and split all the ingredients between two freezer bags. Add a drizzle of olive oil and cook on low for 6 hours. I serve with a side of garlic/butter noodles.
Alteration - to be honest, Hubby and I weren't thrilled with the "slow cooked" version of sausage. So the second time I cooked this, I cooked all the ingredients with a little olive oil in a large saute pan. Only took about 20 minutes to cook and the it was light years better!
So there you have it. These three recipes will yield you 6 meals (depending on your family size) and the ingredients should run you less than $60 ($50 if you're savvy!).
Good luck all and feel free to let me know what recipes you recommend as well.
All Our Love,
J
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