Feeding Your Family - Week 6: The Not So Impossible Art of Freezer Cooking

I find it hilarious that this week I am posting on this!  I plan out my series posts a month or so before I even start the series and would you know that Money Saving Mom is doing a Freezer Cookies Series right now on her blog too!  ha!

I am not what you would call a "typical" freezer cooking mom.  A lot of times freezer cooking is associated with bad casseroles.  That is not the case in this house!  In fact I rarely  have a frozen casserole in my freezer.

There are lots of advantages to freezer cooking!  It saves time on your busy nights to be able to just pop something in the oven, or rewarm something.  It saves money when you use something out of your freezer instead of being tempted to get takeout.  In my mind  the little preparation and forward thinking involved is way worth the time it actually ends up saving.

Here are some beginner tips on how you can freezer cooking.

1. Prepare a part of a meal in advance: Make a list of meals you eat often.  Look over that list and ask yourself, "Is there anything I can do beforehand and freeze that would make this meal easier to make?"  For example, if you eat tacos frequently, how about make 5 lbs of taco meat at one time and then freeze it in meal sized portions.  The next time you want tacos, pull out the meat, reheat and there set out all your toppings!

2. Freeze your meats in marinades:  If you grill a lot in the summer why not spend some time mixing up a bunch of marinades and add them to your meat.  Freeze the meats in the marinades and pull them out the morning you are going to use them  to thaw and they are ready at the end of the day to throw on the grill!  How easy!

3. Make Convenient Breakfasts: This has been the freezer cooking that has saved me the most money and time!  In our home the mornings are a bit chaotic.  I try and get all my "at home" work done before Jon leaves for work, so he is in charge of keeping an eye on Addy and getting her ready for the day.  In my freezer I have all of the following is single serving portions: baked oatmeal, breakfast cookies, and healthy oat chocolate muffins.  In the morning we plop one out, microwave it, add half a banana and milk, and breakfast is served.  Healthy food, low cost, super convenient.  I will do my prep one day during the week during her nap or when Jon is home.

4. Double a recipe: If you are making spaghetti for dinner why not double the sauce recipe and freeze half of it?  This is probably the easiest way to stock your freezer because it doesn't take much more time to cook 2lbs of beef as it does 1lb and you were cooking it anyway!

5. Precook meats: I have a LOT of recipes that call for cooked shredded chicken.  Why not cook a BUNCH of shredded chicken in a crockpot, then put it in a freezer bag to pull it out when you need it.  Save a big step in cooking lots of meals.  We have lots of soup, enchilada, and pizza recipes that this has saved us so much time on!!


These are just a few of my tips for getting started with EASY freezer cooking!
I'm going to direct you to Money Saving Mom's Beginners Guide to Freezer Cooking as well!
Here is also the link to her Four Weeks to Fill Your Freezer series she is in the middle of.  Scroll to the bottom of her post to get the links to the entire series.