Recipes That I Can Freeze

Stuffed shells (just add extra sauce and a salad)
Meatloaf
Mashed potatoes
Chicken Tenders
Soups
Pasta sauce
Pesto
Cooked veggies

I would suggest freezing items and not whole meals (aside from casseroles). That way, you can thaw and warm a protein, starch and veggie depending on what you are feeling!

lasagne, enchiladas, chicken potpies, stews, pesto, manicotti

Updated

lasagna, enchiladas, chicken potpies, stews, pesto, manicotti

I don't have recipes but I cook 6 lbs of hamburger and chopped onions and then put in quart size zip bags (about a pound each so 6 bags) and use in pasta dishes, tacos, enchiladas, soup, sandwiches, etc.

I also do the same with chicken. I put a large amount of boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the crockpot and sprinkle mild taco seasoning on top. I cool on low all day. Then I take it out and chop up and put in baggies and freeze and use for the same things.

Congrats and good luck!!!

I did the same thing and it's been a lifesaver! I bought the book Don't Panic, Dinner is in the Freezer - Vol. 2. It not only has the recipes but it also give insturctions on how to freeze and different packaging ideas. Great book all around and I highly recommend it!

I do what Faith does...brown up several lbs. of ground beef with onion and freeze it in 1 lb. increments (quart size ziplocs). You can whip up just about anything in no time when your meat is already browned, crock pot recipes especially. I also have a meatloaf recipe I love so I mix up several lbs. of ground beef with all the ingredients in the meatloaf and feeze it in ziplocs. The day before you want to make your meatloaf, just stick it in the friedge to thaw, the day of you're good to go. I also make lots of spaghetti meat sauce and freeze it in quart ziplocs for quick easy spaghetti, lazagna, meatball subs, etc. And you definitely want to get a crockpot and recipe book to go with it. Or allrecipes.com. Best of luck!

P.S. to save $ I buy ground beef at Costco....they sell several (6-8) lbs. for much cheaper than buying 1 lb. at a time at the regular grocery store.

I've gotten some of our favorite recipes out of the following cookbooks.

Don't Panic, Dinners in the Freezer
Don't Panic, More Dinners in the Freezer

The Bombay Curry Chicken and the Chipotle-Chocolate Chili are our favorites!!

Oh, and one of the great things about those cookbooks is they talk about what does NOT freeze well. See if your library has them, or has access through inter-library loan.

If you send me your email address, I can forward some recipes to you. My friends and I do a monthly freezer meal exchange so I've gotten a bunch of goodies.

Here's a copy of a post I made about this a while back. Feel free to let me know if you want my specific recipes.

I do this all the time! Before our daughter was born I made a bunch of extra stuff up ahead of time and put it in our deep freeze..it has been a sanity and life saver! I always have a few things in the freezer for those nights I just don't want to cook!

Getting things packaged right is key to freezing things for longer periods of time. I have a vacuum sealer, but for many of the items I freeze, the sealer won't work. It's not good for larger items or liquids. And you can freeze something like a soup and then vacuum seal it, I don't recommend it...I have had bad outcomes. Before freezing anything, make sure it it is completely cool, this helps prevent ice crystals from forming.

Many soups freeze well. I made up a chicken cheese corn chowder, chicken noodle and spinach sausage. Chili also does well in the freezer. I put them in ziplock bags. I placed the bags in 2 qt juice pitchers and fill them with the soup. I put the pitchers in the freezer and when they were frozen solid, I removed the bags from the pitchers and stored them in the freezer. Putting them in the pitcher helped me with portions and they stored well in my deep freeze.

Baked ziti and lasagna, both do well in the freezer. The recipes I have make large batches, so I split them and got two meals out of each one.(http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Baked-Ziti-I/Detail.aspx) (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Worlds-Best-Lasagna/Detail.a... I store these in disposable pans.I wrap in saran wrap (really wrap...all the way around) and then put tin foil over the top. The night I cook it, I reuse the tinfoil...putting tinfoil over the top will help it heat through without browning the cheese. And often I do wash the toss away pan to reuse for another time (but not when things are insane)

Pot pies freeze well. I find these are easy to make in large batches. I make these a dozen or so at a time. They are my go to food when I don't feel like cooking. they cook better thawed, but more than once I have baked them frozen. It obviously takes a little longer, but if you keep it covered with tin foil, the crust doesn't get overly brown or burned.

I bought a variety of frozen veggies at Sam's to have on hand as side dishes. I also bought some frozen blackened Salmon from Sam's as well. It is surprisingly good for a packaged food.

I have my husband grill up a variety of meats when he has time. Then I vacuum sealed them and froze them, but a ziplock bag would also work. They are definitely better fresh, but with this much chaos, who notices the difference really? These are easy to microwave or reheat on the stove top. I have noticed that pouring a little broth over the meat helps them reheat better, they don't get overly dried out.

Lumpia and egg rolls can also be made ahead of time and frozen. It helps to wrap them in wax paper before putting them in baggies. Fried rice, which can be served as a side or main dish, does well too - although if I am going to add shrimp I do that the night we are going to eat it, I don't freeze it with shrimp. Red beans and rice does well, but make sure to add a little water when you go to reheat it. I store all of these in ziplock bags (vacuum bag have a tendency to rip the egg rolls apart a little bit). reheat these in the microwave usually.

Meatballs for spaghetti and sandwiches can be frozen too. We make our own spaghetti sauce and I have that in our freezer as well. I usually cook up the sauce and then reheat the meatballs by dropping them in the sauce to cook.

I tried to freeze a spinach quiche, but it didn't do well in the freezer, it got a bit grainy.

I also make up dinner rolls, garlic bread and bread bowls and froze them. You just want to bake them for about half the time, let them cool completely and then freeze. They store well in ziplock bags. When it comes time to heat them up, you can throw them in the oven frozen and cook for the remaining time.

Hope this helps!

We eat this about once a week. Just take jarred pasta sauce and add what you like to it. We add browned, ground turkey, and chopped onion, tomato, mushrooms, green/red/yellow/orange bell peppers -- whatever your family likes.

I usually make 4 jars at once then freeze family size portions. When you are ready, defrost and it really tastes just as good as having just made it. If you add lots of veggies and make a whole wheat/grain pasta you have a very healthy and very easy meal - and don't have to take the time to make a veggie.

Almost anything, can be frozen.
even muffins

Just put things in Ziplock bags.

meat balls
lasagne
soup

Don't let the length of the recipe scare you. Use the deli chicken and you skip half of the directions!

This recipe, from Charlotte Skelton's book Absolutely a la Carte (A la Carte Alley, $22.95), is named after a community north of Biloxi. When pressed for time, try the Kitchen Express method below using deli chickens! So good!

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes
Bake: 40 minutes
Yield: Makes 12 to 16 servings
Ingredients
2 (3-pound) whole chickens
1 cup water
1 cup dry sherry
2 celery stalks
1 onion, quartered
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
2 (6-ounce) packages long-grain and wild rice mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine
2 (8-ounce) packages sliced mushrooms
1 bunch green onions, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 (8-ounce) carton sour cream
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
1 sleeve round buttery crackers, crushed (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 (6-ounce) can French-fried onions, crushed
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
Preparation
Bring first 9 ingredients to a boil in a large Dutch oven; reduce heat, cover, and simmer 1 hour or until chicken is done. Remove chicken, reserving broth in Dutch oven. Let chicken cool. Pour broth through a fine wire mesh strainer into an 8-cup liquid measuring cup; discard solids.

Cook rice according to package directions, substituting 4 1/4 cups reserved chicken broth for water and omitting butter. (Add water to broth to equal 4 1/4 cups, if necessary.)

Skin, bone, and coarsely chop or shred chicken.

Melt 1/2 cup butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat; add mushrooms and green onions, and sauté 10 minutes or until tender. Stir in rice, chicken, sour cream, and soup. Spoon mixture into 8 (2-cup) casserole dishes, 8 (5 1/2- x 3 1/2- x 2-inch) mini-loaf pans, 3 (8-inch or 9-inch) square baking dishes, or 1 (4-quart or 15- x 10-inch) casserole dish.

Stir together crushed crackers and fried onions. Stir in 1/4 cup melted butter, paprika, and garlic powder. Sprinkle casserole evenly with cracker mixture.

Bake, covered, at 350° for 20 to 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 5 to 10 more minutes or until bubbly.

To make ahead: Cover casseroles tightly with foil, and freeze unbaked up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in refrigerator. Bake as directed. (Casserole may also be baked frozen. Plan to double the baking times.)

To microwave one frozen, unbaked 8-inch square casserole: Casserole must be in a microwave-safe dish. Cover dish with wax paper. Microwave at HIGH 15 to 16 minutes or until casserole is bubbly, giving dish a half-turn once.

To microwave one thawed, unbaked 8-inch square casserole: Follow directions to microwave a frozen, unbaked casserole, reducing microwave time to 7 to 8 minutes.

Kitchen Express: Use 2 deli-roasted chickens (about 2 pounds each) in place of boiled chickens. Use 1 cup dry sherry and 3 1/4 cups (26 ounces) canned chicken broth to cook rice.

2. http://whatscookingamerica.net/Beef/MeatLoafMuffins.htm

As previously mentioned:

Don't Panic, Dinners in the Freezer
Don't Panic, More Dinners in the Freezer

ARE AMAZING! If you are not wanting to invest in them right away your local library should have copies for check-out.

These "chicken bundles" are really good and freeze well!

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/crescent-chicken-bundles/De...

a good breakfast food is sausage balls....and they are quick to re-heat. My sister made me some after I got home from the hospital and froze them...they were AWESOME!

Good luck!

Taco Soup

1 lb ground meat (beef or turkey)
1 can EACH Red beans, Pinto Beans, Black Beans, Corn, Diced tomatoes, and diced green chilies
1 package taco seasoning
1 package ranch dip mix

Using a stew pot, brown the meat. Add all canned ingredients (do not drain). Stir until blended. Add powdered ingredients and one cup water. Bring to a boil then let simmer 15-20 minutes.
A serving is about 1 cup, so I usually freeze this in several 2 cup storage bowls to get multiple meals out of it.
To reheat, just thaw out as much as you need and heat on the stove. Top each serving bowl with shredded cheese if desired. Goes great with corn bread or bread of any kind.

You can also check out http://ebsfavoriterecipes.blogspot.com/ for other ideas.

We were given spaghetti and chicken spaghetti frozen in aluminum loaf pans with lids. Surprisingly good and the perfect size.

Lasagna, cabbage rolls, soup, meat sauce for spaghetti...