Freezing Meals
 

Good evening everyone! Like everyone else in the world, I feel like I have no time or energy for anything anymore, so I want to get into the habit of making a few meals on the weekend and freezing them into single serving containers, so I can just grab something from the freezer to make for dinner. What I was wondering is if anyone has any healthy ideas/recipes to make and freeze?

Aubrey

I'm trying the same thing right now so I am also interested in responses. My SIL gave me a big pan of vegetarian lasagna so I sliced it into single slices and froze it. I'm hoping that it will turn out ok. I’ve heard that it freezes really well.

When I was in college my mom would make me burritos and freeze them so I could cook them in my toast oven later. She would cook the ground beef mix it with refried beans and add some cheese then roll it up in the flour tortilla. Then freeze in a pan. To cook I would just take them out of the freezer, put on a pan and put salsa on top and cook for 10-20 minutes until they were warm. You could make it healthier by using ground turkey or chicken, fat free beans, and 2% or fat free cheese.

I cook a LOT and I can give you some pretty good tips. The burrito thing is a great idea, and here are a few others. When you get chicken breasts, pound them out pretty thin and freeze them seperated. The same can go for other meats like some lean beef and pork cuts, then you can whip up a quick marinade for what your mood is and give it 10 minutes and cook it in another 10-20, or if you want to go general make the marinade and let it sit 10 minutes before freezing and give it a chance to thaw before you cook. Also buy frozen bagged veggies and you can take out however much you want and cook in a pan or microwave. And if you like to stirfry, you can prep everything you need and put your stirfry sauce in a seperate baggie or use a premade bottle kind, then put it all in a bigger one and take it right from freezer to pan by putting all your frozen stuff in and the heat can thaw and cook. Any meats can also be taken out that morning, but remember that if you want to marinate something that morning to cook that evening, leave out acidic ingredient like citrus juice and vinegars until you get home and add it about 10 minutes before you cook (like walk in the door, add the acidic portion and get your stuff put away and change) because acidic ingredients will begin to cook a meat after a while and make it tough.
I have a great general use marinade..
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped or put through a press
1/4 to 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, optional (depends on if you like things spicy)
a tbsp each of your favorite fresh herbs, or a tsp of dried like thyme and parsley
1 tsp coarse salt
1 tbsp dijon mustard

whisk the liquid portions together first, it will be creamy, then add your seasonings and whisk to combine. Give meats 10-30 minutes, or put on pieces of meat in baggies and let sit 10 minutes then freeze. It is also great to multiply or divide. This recipe is my little variation of a Rachel Ray recipe.

I also came up with a quick sauce for chicken or pork you can use after a quick cook in a skillet or the oven
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp dijon mustard
t tbsp brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Whisk together before your meats go in to cook and season to taste, then warm it up and serve over it, but don't use too much because it's a little strong. This is also great to multiply or divide for however much you need. You can also add a little to the skillet if that's your cooking method and let it heat up, then take the meats out and spoon a little over it when serving.

And another thing to keep in mind, a room temperature meat cooks faster than one straight from the fridge so if you have time, let it sit out for 10 minutes before cooking...I know people say it is super dangerous, but 10 minutes isn't long enough for something dangerous to start and you are cooking it right away so it's okay.

I hope this stuff helps :D

I'm a huge fan of taking a Sunday with my slow cooker and making huge pots of stew, then I freeze them in 1 cup portions (I use the 1 cup serving ziplock plastic containers).

I will cook large quantities and freeze in small quantities the following:
Chicken breast/Steak/Pork Chops (I don't bread any of my meats, I prefer marinade)
Pasta sauce
Stone baked mini pizzas
Pasta of any kind
Condensed soups
Block Cheese (you'd be surprised! It crumbles better this way!)

Basically anything that isn't fresh (like veggies), but I do like to freeze fruits.
It's all about taking that 1 day and just cooking up a storm, having all your burners going, your oven on, and a slow cooker if you have it (which I feel I would die without mine!).

Good luck! It's a great idea, it works for me, and I know it works for others!

I thought of something else this isn't a totally frozen meal but it is quick. I make meatballs and freeze them. You can pull the meatballs out in the morning and they will thaw by night. Then I warm them up with pasta sauce and make spaghetti.

I make chili and spaghetti sauce to freeze. They freeze well and are filling.

I just cooked up a big pot of chicken noodle soup to freeze. That's pretty much the only thing I cook in order to freeze and eat later.... Soup. You might think it gets boring, but there are so many different kinds of soups to make out there! Oh, I do make big pots of pasta sauce to freeze for later.