In the daily things of life, I’m always trying to find something to celebrate. Well, I don’t have to look very hard if I know I don’t have to cook dinner on a particular night.
We don’t eat out very often so if I don’t want to cook for an evening, I look to my freezer. Usually, I have anywhere from 2-7 main courses all ready to go, only needing to be warmed or baked.
How I Build My Stash of Frozen Meals:
- I plan all my meals for an entire week at a time. Often, I’ll take into consideration what is in my pantry or use what is on sale for inspiration.
- Every week, I plan on one of the meals I am making to be something that I can double and then freeze half of it. (We usually consume one of our frozen meals a week also, so it is an even exchange. I am especially thrilled if two of the weekly dinners can be frozen, that way I get ahead.)
- Have a massive couple days of cooking. When I was pregnant with Sweet Girl and anticipating how desperately sick I would get, I spent two and a half days cooking. I froze 17 meals that lasted us past the morning sickness period. What a lifesaver from making my husband and son eat fast food or take-out all the time.
I haven’t done that many meals at one time since, but I have bought ground turkey in bulk and made a lot of meals from that (seasoned taco meat, meat for chimichangas, turkey burgers and meatballs). You’ll probably think I’m silly, but it was so much fun filling my freezer and fondly thinking ahead of cook-free days.
Tips:
- Store as much as you can in flat gallon freezer bags. It will save room.
- Label and date everything.
- Two Books I have used and suggest are: Don’t Panic – Dinner’s in the Freezer: Great Tasting Meals You Can Make Ahead
and Don’t Panic – More Dinner’s in the Freezer: A Second Helping of Tasty Meals You Can Make Ahead
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In Part Two, we’ll talk about Co-Op Freezer Cooking with your friends. This is a wonderful way to have a great variety and a full freezer with one day of cooking.
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(This post contains an affiliate link. For more information, please see the About Page.)
My name is Kristen. I'm a former Wedding & Event Planner blogging about fun ways to celebrate each and every day and the special occasions of life. Here you'll find inspiration for family fun, children's activities, party planning and a faith-filled life. 
