Freezer meals -- what's your strategy (and ideas?)

[kdms]

I've been watching our grocery bill beginning to creep up (from $80 a week to $120 over the last three months) and have come to the conclusion that I just don't have the time or energy to whip up a frugal, healthy meal every night that will satisfy DH's and little kdms's bottomless pits, and still leave enough leftovers for lunch the next day.  DH works a very physically demanding job and has high caloric requirements, and no access to buy lunch (secured work site) so supplementing every day (or any day) isn't possible, even if it was in the budget, which it's not.

We buy primarily from our local farmers because we know it's clean and natural, but I've finally had to admit that we really can't afford the quantity we need at this point in time and have to temporarily go back to the grocery store for bulk purchases until the cashflow improves somewhat (and the farms start producing enough veggies to stockpile and start canning. :)  Breads and pastas I generally make on weekends, between other household chores.

So, getting back to the original question: I'm stopping trying to make whole meals for the freezer (it's driving me nuts and we don't have the space anyways) and would like to try 'batch freezing' -- or prepping and freezing batches of individual ingredients a few times a week.  It takes only a little more effort, for example, to cut up, season, and cook eight chicken breasts than it does to do two, and then freeze the rest. 

What techniques or tips can be shared (especially relating to vegetables) for someone new to freezing ingredients?  I'd love to expand my menu options during the week but just don't have the energy after a 12-hr day to prep everything from scratch.

[Dicey]

Although I rarely visit the site since Trent monetized, and MMM gained world domination, but "The Simple Dollar" has a number of posts on this topic. You're sure to find some "tasty" options there!

[trammatic]

I don't do much in the way of freezer meals, except for making double of a meal and freezing half.  We usually cook Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  Friday is usually pizzas, and the leftovers provide lunches and snacks over the weekends, while Saturday and/or Sunday is for making more complicated food.  I typically double or triple those (mostly depending on what the sales are...if eggplants are on sale, I'll make 4 or 5 pans of it) for the freezer.  Then we use the extra portions for 2 other days in the next week.  So that means, we typically only have two weeknights that require cooking.  We either go crock-pot for those (put all of the ingredients in the crock pot the night before in the fridge, and then put it on low in the morning), or turn to a number of quick meals...raw chicken breasts covered in marinara sauce will bake up in about 25 minutes, or cook quicker in the microwave. "breakfast for dinner" is another easy option...you can cook up some panckaes in 15 minutes and the eggs are just a couple more.  I'd say don't look for convience food at the store, but look for food that prepares quickly.

[twinge]

Beans and brown rice are key mainstays that work well frozen for us.  My approach when I'm in a good rhythm is to make a 2 week batch on Sunday every other week--one for the fridge, one for the freezer and then have them on hand for two weeks for anything we want to eat that calls for them.  (I also make and freeze a bunch of frozen burritos with the beans and rice as those are easy to grab).

Vegetables I only freeze when I have too much of something, then I blanch them and freeze them to eat later. There are lots of vegetables I really don't like frozen.  Though I regularly buy a huge bag of organic carrots from Costco, shred them up in the food processor and then have them on hand to throw into stews, soups etc.  The key thing I've learned doing that is to store it in small containers (e.g., small freezer ziplock bags or reusable containers) so I don't have to hammer away at a big ice  block of chopped carrots.

[strider3700]

http://organizedhome.com/freezer-cooking/guide-once-a-month-cooking

I have a friend that does it monthly.  Coupled with coupons and sales  her food bill for 5 is quite low.  We do similar but only make a week or two's worth of meals in a shot.   It would be nice to plan everything out and grab what's needed then take an afternoon and do it but our freezer meals almost always start with finding a really good deal on some sort of meat at the grocery store.  It's almost always on sale and then discounted due to expiring the next day or two.    It makes for a busy evening but saves us a bunch.

[Alfredya]

The amount of money which I invest in grocery shopping is also huge... food gets more and more expensive. Thanks for the feed the freezer link! It was interesting to read.. and in the end the only thing which helps me is to plan what I want to cook and then shop the stuff which I need and avoid buying other items

[jwystup]

Not exactly what you're looking for, but I really want to share this anyways: Freezer Burritos!!! Yay! Just ate some for dinner and they were great! Here's the deal:

1. Make a HUGE fiesta feast, we did it on cinqo de mayo just because the plan wound up close to it so we figured "why not?"
- Buy craploads of tortillas (we prefer flour, but corn could work too I guess)
- Make a batch or two of taco meat
- Make up some cut up chicken w/ taco seasoning
- Steak strips
- Maybe some seafood if you like
- Black beans, refried beans, mexican rice, guacamole, different cheeses (shredded, queso, the white mexican cheese that I don't know what it's called), fry up some onions, jalapenos, anything else that might freeze okay (no fresh veggies)
2. Eat what you want for dinner. This is the best part because you can have whatever you want!
3.  After dinner, have a burrito making party! For us, that just involves me and my boyfriend but he never cooks and was okay with piling on the ingredients as long as I rolled up the burritos for him.
- Put whatever you like on each of them.
- Roll 'em up and wrap each in foil (similar to how a restaurant would wrap a burrito or sub if you're familiar with how they're rolled up in packaging)
- If desired, label each one as you're wrapping it. I used some address labels I had to write the main meat on each and then we used some gold stars (the kind with different colors) to color-code each for whose burrito it is (for example, all of my burritos had a red star and all of his had a green star), for easy grabbing.
4. Eat them whenever you don't want to cook or for lunch. If you do it for lunch,  letting it thaw all morning or even overnight and then microwaving is good (just take it out of the foil!). I usually do them for dinner though and if you cook it from frozen, it takes about 45 minutes at 375 in the foil plus about 10 minutes w/o foil to crisp it up in the oven. Sooo good!


I also started making huge batches of soup and freezing them in single servings for lunch. My "soup bricks" are awesomely easy, cheap, healthy, and tasty for lunches! Since getting a chest freezer, I intend to do more of these things, it lets me take a break from cooking so much :)

[HeidiO]

   My issue, is I often find frozen food not all that appetizing.  So I will make it, then not want to eat it!  I am really working on eating healthier and less expensive right now, though, so I will probably try it again soon.  One thing I find works well, is freezing for just a few days.  For instance, last night I made bacon beef butternut squash.  I had it for dinner yesterday, will have it for lunch today, and froze a serving for lunch when I go back to work in 5 days. It should still be in perfect condition in 2 days.   I can eat the same food more than 2 days in a row, but, I'd rather cook again on my days off, and not have to think about it when I am working.  I will be working 3 days in a row, 12 hour shifts, so I need lunch and dinner, or 6 meals.
Heidi

[HeidiO]

 Easy, tasty ideas that have worked well for me in the past: 
Pita pockets stuffed w/eggs, cheese, bacon, potatoes.  When you scramble the eggs add a cup of condensed cream of chicken/celery/mushroom/whatever soup.  They reheat w/ a much better texture.  This works for breakfast burritos too.
  Make a big pot of beans, and freeze in 1 cup portions, so you buy the cheaper dried beans, and have the   convenience of the can.  Do not overcook, b/c freezing will make them a little mushy. 

If you have a chicken carcass, or bones from hotwings, save them in a freezerbag in the freezer until you are ready to make stock.  Throw them in the crockpot for 24-36 hours, strain out solids, freeze in little baggies.  Always have homemade broth.
   If youbuy frozen chicken breasts, leaving them frozen seperate them into dinner sized portions into ziploc bags.  Add your favorite marinades to each bag, then put into freezer.  When they defrost they marinade themselves, so you can just put them in the oven w/o making the marinade.  It's called "dump chicken" and there are a million recipes on the net.
   Make 3 or 5 lasagnas at a time.  Bake 1, and freeze the others unbaked.  They turn out excellent.
  I find moist food like chili or soups freeze really well.
Just some thoughts.  Sorry about punctuation, my keyboard is acting up.
Heidi

[kdms]

Thanks everyone for sharing!  Those are great links and ideas, and already my mental attitude has improved for trying new techniques and tricks.

Definitely going to look up 'dump chicken'.  We don't buy much meat these days -- husband usually hunts venison and wild turkey and goose so that's what's in the freezer -- but I really like chicken and buy it whenever I'm tired of the game meat, and the marinade/freezer combo would probably work just as well with the goose, which is a very lean meat that generally needs a lot of time to tenderize.

[cats]

I do both whole meal freezing and ingredient freezing.  If you don't have one already, a slowcooker/crock pot is your best friend in this department!  I will cook a huge pot of beans in the crockpot and then freeze them in 4 c. containers (and then I will also make huge batches of soup, stew, chili, or curry in the crockpot and freeze those).  If I am making something like a quiche or pie for dinner, I will make 3-4x the amount of pastry called for and freeze the parts that aren't getting used, then I can defrost and make pie/quiche for dinner some other time with minimal effort.  I also buy the huge 6lb cans of crushed tomatoes at costco, portion them out into several containers, and freeze, ready for tomato based soups or casseroles, tomato sauce, and so on.

[Cook for Good]

I love feeding my freezer and letting it feed me! For example, I cook two pounds of dried beans at a time and turn them into 20 servings, often of three different recipes. There's an example on day 3 of the Cook for Good Summer Challenge.
http://www.cookforgood.com/blog/2011/7/17/day-3-week-1-bean-tomato-stew-rice-summer-squash-two-ways.html

The easiest way is to keep a Stoup container going, which produces a few free minestrone-esque meals every week or so. And it keeps your fridge cleaner ;-)
http://www.cookforgood.com/recipe/stoup.html

[kisserofsinners]

I pre-carmelize onions, leeks, garlic, and similar veggies. I buy enough for 3mo and cook everything at once. Pre-measure your preferred amounts and do the freezing in muffin tins, this makes them easier to wrap in it's puck shape. I use foil to wrap them. I clean and re-use the foil and keep everything in a single freezer bag that is re-used for this purpose until it tares. Use a marker to label the pucks.

I also use vacuum sealed bags instead of plastic containers to save space in the freezer. Weighted out single and double portions can go from the freezer directly into boiling water to re-heat.

[BonzoGal]

Maybe some farmers nearby would do a trade for some of your venison or other game meat for some chickens?  Just a thought. 

Ditto on the soup bowl.  I have a container in the freezer for bones, veg. peels, etc.  You can toss everything into a pot or slow cooker with some water and a little salt, garlic, and herbs and get a great broth.  Then toss in some egg noodles, a little meat, and it's soup.  (I include the bones off of people's plates after they've eaten the chicken or ribs... people might think this is a little gross, but they get boiled for a long time, so no germs can survive.  Why waste good bones?)

The broth is also great for cooking beans in.  I make a great navy bean soup this way with ham/pork chop bones.

How about putting together some basic casseroles and freezing them?  You can pull out a ground beef or tuna or whatever casserole from the freezer in the morning, stick it in the fridge to thaw, then heat in the over.  (Be careful of the type of  container you use for this-  Pyrex or other glass will shatter if it's fridge-cold and then popped into a hot oven.  I use metal pie pans for this.)

[mm1970]

I love feeding my freezer and letting it feed me! For example, I cook two pounds of dried beans at a time and turn them into 20 servings, often of three different recipes. There's an example on day 3 of the Cook for Good Summer Challenge.
http://www.cookforgood.com/blog/2011/7/17/day-3-week-1-bean-tomato-stew-rice-summer-squash-two-ways.html

The easiest way is to keep a Stoup container going, which produces a few free minestrone-esque meals every week or so. And it keeps your fridge cleaner ;-)
http://www.cookforgood.com/recipe/stoup.html

Ha! I  have so posted the link to your website at least 2 or 3 times on these forums in various places.  Love Wildly Affordable Organic!

[cosmie]

I also use vacuum sealed bags instead of plastic containers to save space in the freezer. Weighted out single and double portions can go from the freezer directly into boiling water to re-heat.

Have you ever used your vacuum sealer with mason jars? Although your method with freezer bags can last a long time, mason jars will outlast them by a long shot (as long as you're not a clutz like I am). And if you have freezer space, it's a really good way to save money by not having to continually purchase vacuum sealer bags or rolls.

If you have the vacuum seal containers, you can use them to seal jars. Or you can buy the actual jar sealing attachments.

It's also useful for resealing store-bought jars so that the food in them stays good longer, but be careful to only use it with good, sturdy jars. If you try to do it with one that's too weak/flimsy/thin, then it could implode under the stress of continual vacuum sealing.