As the time of Jeremiah’s birth draws near I am stock piling my deep freeze with easy dinners. Dinners that require only a thaw and heat. And even some lunches that require a warm in the oven and are ready to serve. Here are some of the ideas that I have prepared so far –
Popcorn chicken – cubed chicken breasts, breaded them in seasoned flour and baked them at 450 degrees til browned. Then I froze them on a cookie sheet and transfered them to a ziplock bag and they are ready for the oven or microwave.
Burritos – I have assembled several kinds of burritos and placed them in the freezer. Some of our favorites have been beef (hamburger) and refried bean, chicken and rice, and bean and cheese. When we are ready to eat these I just place them on a cookie sheet and warm in the oven until heated through. These can also be done in the microwave.
Cookies – This time I froze them baked and ready to serve. A couple of hours on the counter and these cookies will be as soft as the day they were baked.
Biscuts/Rolls – My family loves bread. If I would make it they would eat bread with every meal. So, I have baked and frozen lots of biscuts and dinner rolls so that I need just throw some on a cookie sheet and warm in the oven with dinner and my family will feel the meal is even better because they will have warm bread!
Sweet breads – Lots of flavors and kinds, from apple to zucchini, with banana and cinnamon too. All ready to be thawed for breakfasts and snacks.
Meatloaf – I baked an extra the last time we ate it for dinner and now it is ready to throw in the oven for dinner some night.
Taco Meat – I have a couple bags of taco meat frozen as well to be used for lunches or dinners.
Chicken Enchiladas – I have a pan of these, all assembled and ready to thaw and warm. I’ll serve some rice with them and dinner will be complete. Maybe some chips and salsa for those that want some “crunch” to go with it.
Soup/Chili – I froze these in containers that can go straight from the freezer to the fridge to the microwave. These paired with some of the cornbread, rolls or biscuts in the freeze will make a great meal when the weather turns cold.
So, this is what is in my freezer now. I still want to make some pizzas, a pan of lasanga, and some baked potato topping between this week and next. Our basement remodel is just about wrapped up and my sister and her husband will be moving in this week. So, I am hoping to have some more time to spend on this project later this week and early next.
Do you have a favorite recipe that you freeze or that you think would freeze well? I would love some more ideas especially for lunches.
Amanda, I also LOVE freezer cooking! Thank you so much for some new ideas. I often find I get stuck in the same meal rut… It’s nice to get new ideas.
Good grief!!! That’s awesome :)
I did the same thing. My baby is 10 days old and we still have a freezer full. I’ve found that chicken spaghetti freezes really well. I also made eggplant parmesan (hoping it would put me into labor) and froze some. It was good straight from the freezer to oven, too. I looked online for an easy ground beef freezer recipe and found one called taco pasta bake. It’s super easy and tastes good, too. Best of luck to you as you continue to prepare for the arrival of your new little one.
Celee
WOW!! I am impressed!! I should have done that!! We tend to eat sandwiches and a lot of easy soups…but the family is not picky..so we manage!!
I saw you loves sam’s we have found a new favorite. They sell boxed pizza crust. I think we get 17 (HUGE) pizza crust for about $14. Any night I am tired we have a easy meal ready. I can throw on anything I have around like onions pepper, or just pepporoni. this has really helped on tired nights and cheaper than a frozen pizza or ordering pizza. and they are HUGE