Freezer Cooking Week

I’ve always dabbled with the idea of freezer cooking. I never really hit it hard and truly did it though. Earlier this month I did make some of Money Saving Mom’s Southwest Roll Ups and froze half of what I made and served half for dinner. I didn’t mind it and my husband loved it. He had something easy to grab for lunch or snack. He loves roll ups/burritos so that recipe was right up his alley.

I’m planning to make more this month. Except I’ll be doubling the recipe and using chicken thighs versus chicken breast. I want what I make from this batch to last the entire month opposed to only two 1/2 weeks this time.

This month is kind of a test run for me as I plan to hopefully do a great deal of freezer cooking the first week or two of July, considering baby will be here on the 23rd. It would make babies arrival much easier if meals we’re readily available and I think the hubby will thank me later. Maybe if I put my mind too it, we’ll only have to shop for the perishables at the end of July like milk, bread and eggs and will be able to do the rest of the menu plan right from our freezer! Okay…I can wish but we’ll see how far I get with that.

Any way, my freezer menu plan for the month of June is as follows:
Southwest Roll Ups – courtesy of Money Saving Mom
Cheesy Ham & Potatoes - Courtesy Meal Planning Mommies
Ham Steaks and Diced Ham for omlettes, salad toppers etc from left over Ham
Taco Meat – At least 4 lbs of it! We have a tradition of tacos every Saturday.
Pancakes – Some plain, some with blueberries, some with chocolate chips.
Lasagna – I’m debating between testing my own recipe as a freezer lasagna or using the Almost Lasagna recipe and freezing that. I’m also debating on whether to make one or two! We’ll see. Don’t want to overload too much.

I also want to do some muffins but right now, I’m seeking out a muffin recipe that will work for this (that we will enjoy). Or possibly maybe bananna bread. I’d like to throw in one more breakfast freezer option. French Toast Sticks might work as well. We’ll see!

Freezer Meals

Many, many, MANY blogs have written about freezing meals, the best methods, best recipes and the benefits. I can’t deny the benefits, even though I have not done it myself. Though I have eaten plenty of freezer meals that we’re pre-made, specifically at my grandmothers. It was nice to have a bowl of potato soup that she only makes in the winter, in the spring.

With baby soon to be here (August is coming fast!) freezer meals are definitely going to be a go to. And I’d really like to be able to avoid those $12.00, unhealthy, full of preservative meals stocked in walmarts freezer section. It’s time I start planning and preparing. After all, I think my hubby will thank me later. I have a chest freezer, while not ‘huge’ it is a good size. We haven’t plugged it in, in months because our basement does not have an outlet for it and there is no room on the main levels. I think I’m going to have to think up a plan to get back to work because a bunch of freezer meals are certainly not going to fit in my refrigerators poor excuse of a freezer.

A few ideas I have so far:

French Toast – Make it, let it cool, freeze it and it makes a quick breakfast (or dinner!).
Taco Bake
Lasagna
Tater Tot Casserole – Perhaps prepare it as normal but freeze before baking since the tater tots are already frozen? I’ll have to experiment with this one.

My list will get bigger and I’ll probably add-on to this post as time goes along. But hopefully, even with just those 4 ideas, it will lighten the load a bit for both Hubby and I. And less trauma for the toddlers…yes, less trauma, thats a must.