Help with freezer meals.

[semantje]

I'm trying to live on a budget for vacation next month and wanted to start saving on groceries. I have just found out about freezer meals and I love the idea!! It's not a common thing here in my country to prep en freeze almost complete meals so I would love to hear experiences.

How's the quality after freezing and preparing? I'm planning on making a big batch of bolognese and make lasagnas and canneloni with. Let everything cool and put it with the uncooked pasta and cheeses in a dish ready to bake in the oven.

Also I wanted to put together some crockpot meals like chicken fajita's and beef stroganoff. Cut everything up and put everything raw in ziplock baggy's in the freezer untill I want to prepare them.

Thanks for any help and tips

[kristijoy]

Sounds wonderful!

The recipes you suggested sound as if you'll be freezing them 'put together' but you'll be baking/crockpot them the day you eat them. That's one of the best ways to do freezer cooking because you get the best of both worlds: some pre-prep, but cooked fresh the day you eat it.

I freeze lots of other things too. Soups especially. I like to make a big batch and then freeze portions. These are all cooked, so it's simply a 'reheat' kind of meal.

I think part of the 'secret' of freezer cooking is to only leave it in the freezer for a limited time. Most of the places I've seen that talk about freezer cooking suggest cooking for 1 month. Things in the freezer do great within that time frame. It's when it gets longer (like multiple months) that I think you'll see some quality issues (freezer burn, etc...).

Here's my favorite website. They have a membership, but also have lots of 'free' recipes you can try too: https://onceamonthmeals.com/

[semantje]

Thanks so much! It wil def be for a month max. I'm planning to do like 15 meals and cook the other half of the month fresh. Things that don't need alot of cooking time I will prepare fresh such as other pastadishes, seafood and stir fry's.

[kristijoy]

Originally Posted by semantje

Thanks so much! It wil def be for a month max. I'm planning to do like 15 meals and cook the other half of the month fresh. Things that don't need alot of cooking time I will prepare fresh such as other pastadishes, seafood and stir fry's.

Sounds like a great plan. I mix in some fresh meals too like pasta and quick dishes like 'tacos'. Occasionally we have 'breakfast' for dinner too and make omelets & pancakes.

I've found that it's much more fun to cook when you know that it's not *every* day. Plus, I've found that when I have the 'main' dish taken care of in the freezer (like the lasagna) I'm much more likely to prepare a healthy side dish like salad, steamed vegetables, etc.. Somehow when I have to make a big main dish the important healthy sides get forgotten and I pull out some carrot sticks!

Good luck! I'll be sharing dinner with you across the ocean!

[semantje]

Thanks so much for the help Kristi! Going grocery shopping tommorow. Got it all planned and lists ready for my first try!

[klee73010]

I have used Pinterest to post all my freezer meal ideas. I have found, for my family, freezer cooking is best when I make one meal, to simply double or triple the batch, and freeze.... either before or after cooking, depending on the meal.

Another thing we do is "Meatless meal" once a week.

~☆Kristina☆~

[crystalbella77]

I haven't read other replies , but I LOVE LOVE LOVE freezer meals!! Go to newleafwellness.biz She has awesome recipes and you don't have to cook most of them before hand so it's not like they are mushy or anything. It's all cooked the first time at once. I love her recipes too becuase they are yummy! Even my kids have loved most everything I get from her. She's awesome and affordable!!! I do have a freezer meal board on my pinterest (link in siggy).

[semantje]

Thanks so much! I'm going to check it out. So far the pork tacos i made where delicious But the lasagne was kind of soggy when prepared. trying out beef stroganoff tonight.