***Give Away Alert! I will be giving away three copies of my freezer cooking cookbooks The Frozen Gourmet Just leave a comment on the blog sometime this week and I will pick three winners – the more comments, the more chances to win!***
I have been posting my progress reguarding my freezer cooking adventures over the past week. Well, I have to say the reaction has been amazing. Everyone I know is looking for solutions to making dinner easier and 
cheaper and this is the plan that works for me. I feed five adult-sized people seven nights a week and winging it is so not an option.
Especially since my freezer looked like this. (Ben and Jerry’s wasn’t even mine. No fair!)
I just want to warn you right now – I am a Freezer-Stuffing Sensi. I am super advanced when it comes to meal prep. I did 51 plus meals this week. Do not try this at home.
However, doing bulk cooking to get yourself ahead a few nights a week is a great idea. Tripling recipes that you already love will help you get ahead and take some stress out of your evenings.
After you have success with your first attempt at freezing and get comfortable with the proceedure, then you can pull out multiple recipes and do it all Ninja-style.
Step 1 – Pick Your Recipe
Today all you need to do is pick your recipe!!
The absolute easiest type of dinner to prepare ahead is a marinade. We do several chicken and pork marinades each time we freezer cook –they are super-easy and everyone in my house will eat them – a double bonus.
So go through your recipes and find the one that your family will love and will be easy to prepare. When you find it – please share it here. I will read through them all and let you know if they will freeze well – I am here to serve.
Tomorrow – I will share the shopping stratagy.
Let me get you started with a Lipp family favorite:
Pesto Chicken
1/2 cup Prepared pesto sauce
6 Boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
6 slices Mozzarella cheese
1. Prepare: Pour pesto over chicken breasts in a one-gallon bag.
2. Freeze: Double bag the chicken. Place the Mozzarella cheese in a separate freezer bag and attach to the chicken bag. Freeze lying flat.
3. Serve: Thaw chicken overnight in the refrigerator. Drain marinade. Place chicken breasts in a pan sprayed with light cooking oil. Place one slice of Mozzarella cheese on each chicken breast. Bake at 350° for 30-40 minutes.
How do you keep track of what you still have in the freezer? Do you just keep a list on the freezer and mark stuff off or is there a better way to know what you have on hand?
Kathi!!
I cooked the Chicken Pesto for the fam tonight and there were loud cheers of delight! They just kept meandering past the oven while it was cooking, hoping that it was ready – it smelled SO good!!
Thanks for the inspiration!
Cleaning out the freezer today! I am so glad we have a spare frige/freezer in the basement!
I so need to get my freezer cleaned out!!!
I do a lot of stuff in the freezer, but struggle with finding recipes that do not contain milk products – does your cookbook have some options and ideas??
These are all great recipes. Gotta get the printer hooked up so I can use them. Thank you everyone. Thank you Kathi for the tips!
Oh, about the non-dairy recipes… I have to do that too, but have found some great alternatives. I use a soy based sour cream, rice milk when cooking, and I can have raw dairy… so I buy organic raw white cheddar from the grocery store, it’s so good! I’ve learned to convert most recipes so that I can have them, it was easier than I thought it’d be.
FREEZER MEALS RoCk!!!
**Thanks for your post I’m ALWAYS looking for new freezer meal recipes**
I purchased “Don’t Panic Dinner’s in the Freezer” last year at the MOPS convention and it has revolutionized my cooking!!!
In fact, my “Cheesy Chicken Bundles” are thawing right now for dinner!
X3 Servings (this is more like 5 meals for my family)
3C Breadcrumbs
1 1/2C Cheddar Cheese, grated
1 1/2C Fresh Parmesan Cheese, grated
1T salt
3/4t pepper
18 boneless chicken breasts
1 1/2 C butter, melted
SERVING DAY YOU”LL NEED
2T Butter & 1/4 C fresh Parmesan cheese grated
**Mix together crumbs, cheese, salt and Pepper. Dip chicken in melted butter, then cheese mix. Tuck sides of Chicken breast under to form individual bundles. Wrap each bundle in plastic wrap and place in freezer bags. On serving day thaw and place unwrapped bundles in large baking dish. Melt remaining butter and pour over bundles. Sprinkle with cheese and back 350 for 1 hour until crispy. YUMMY!!!
Love it! Can’t wait to get your booklet and see what happens. The Husband Project really blessed my marriage so I’m hoping for the same results in my kitchen:)
Here’s my contribution for marinades for chicken:
I cup 7 up
1 cup olive oil
2 cups soy sauce
I’ve frozen this one before and it turned out great. Just thaw overnight and grill for dinner (and yes, women can use a gas grill).
I use and abuse my freezer, and agree that marinading meat before packing it in the freezer is a great time saver, so easy, and economical! I found a pricing error on pork tenderloin at Costco one day, a deal that was 1/2 off their already great price. They honored the price, I bought them out, went home with 30+ tenderloins and we have been feasting on delicious pork tenderloin all summer. I usually make my own marinade, but will occasionally buy a large jug of Costco BBQ sauce, marinade pork tenderloins and chicken in family portioned bags, and add a heavy sprinkling of their Mesquite Seasoning as well. It makes for a tasty grilled meat, and is as easy as it gets!
Great ideas! Thanks for all the tips!
oh! i wish my freezer looked like that! I am excited for this weeks blog!
I just started doing a few freezer meals a month with a couple of ladies. This has taken the guesswork out of dinner. Only one of the ladies has the recipes so I have been looking for a cookbook with some freezer recipes in it.
I am not sure if you can freeze a marinade that includes lime juice but frequently I will thaw some breasts in the morning, then for about 30 mins I will stick them in a big ziploc bag with the juice from one lime (about 1/2 cup). After it is cooked (usually we grill) I shredd it and use it in quesadillas. Super yummy! Also good mixed with rice, corn, tomatoes and green chilies with a sprinkle of cheese on top.
Thanks for the yummy recipe and fabulous tips!!
Thanks for this blog! I am so tired of trying to decide what to make for dinner that we are eating cold cereal and fried egg sandwiches!
Your recipe sounds great. I did up a double batch of pesto and it is already in my freezer:)
Here is a recipe I have not tried yet. It is from Eating Well and says that it is low sodium. I want to try it because most marinades have way too much sodium in them. Do you think this would freeze well?
Flank Steak with Coffee-Peppercorn Marinade
3 tablespoons strong brewed coffee
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound flank steak, trimmed of fat
1. Whisk coffee, vinegar, oil, sugar, garlic, peppercorns and salt in a glass dish large enough for meat to lie flat. Add steak and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 8 hours.
2. Heat grill to high.
3. Remove steak from marinade (discard marinade). Lightly oil grill rack (see Tip). Place steak on grill and cook for 4 to 5 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer steak to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice thinly across the grain and serve.
NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 230 calories; 13 g fat (5 g sat, 7 g mono); 58 mg cholesterol; 4 g carbohydrate; 23 g protein; 0 g fiber; 289 mg sodium.
TIP: To oil a grill rack: Oil a folded paper towel, hold it with tongs and rub it over the rack. Do not use cooking spray on a hot grill.
MAKE AHEAD TIP: Marinated the steak (Step 1) for up to 8 hours.
I love the idea …. but I need a new freezer. Mine is full of staples so I don’t have to pay full price for anything. I buy in quantity when on sale …. Now I have another reason for a new freezer …. to have dinner already made for my boys!!! Yea. Thanks for all the hard work!
Many Blessings!
Tammy
I love how you are breaking this down into baby steps for newbies like me, Kathi. Looking forward to seeing how you pack it all in your freezer!
This is something I am very interestd in learning to do. After we move in next week my plan is to fill the freezer with made up meals.
I used to freeze meals, but I’ve gotten out of the habit. As for marinade, I take the frozen meat out of the freezer, add my seasonings to the bag, and put it in the refrigerator to thaw so it marinates as it thaws. I buy frozen chicken breasts most often.
Love the idea. I’ve done cooking groups before where each of the six participants made six each of four different entrees. Then we would all get together to switch meals so that we came home 24 meals – more than enough for a month considering left-overs and eating out. Makes me think I should get that going again. Looking forward to your posts. Oh, and you’re SO popular now! Over a thousand friends? Wow! 🙂
FANTASTIC! I’m so envous OMG!!
Everyone LOVES this recipe. Try it!
Pasta e Fagioli
1 pound lean ground beef
1 ½ teaspoons vegetable oil
1 28 oz. Can chopped tomatoes
1 medium onion chopped
4 medium carrots chopped
3 celery stalks chopped
½ cup drained canned red kidney beans
½ cup white beans
3 cups beef broth
½ cup ditalini or macaroni
1-½ teaspoons dried oregano
1-½ teaspoons black pepper
¾ teaspoon dried parsley
1 cup spaghetti sauce
1. Cook the ground beef in vegetable oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until browned and crumbly, about 8 minutes; drain well.
2. Add un-drained tomatoes, onion, carrots and celery to ground beef in skillet and mix well.
3. Reduce heat to low. Simmer the mixture stirring occasionally for 10 minutes.
4. Rinse and drain red kidney beans. Stir into the ground beef mixture. Stir in broth, ditalini, oregano, black pepper and parsley.
5. Simmer, covered until celery and carrots are tender, about 45 minutes. Stir in spaghetti sauce. Cook until heated through. Serve Hot with Breadsticks and Salad.
6. This is so worth the chopping and stirring and will last in the fridge all week as leftovers.OR Cool and Ladle into Food Storage bags and freeze flat. Tastes better than the OLIVE GARDEN! Am I allowed to say that?
Just the website I need! I am finally getting back into cooking after having two little girls 20 months apart. Mama is tired of take out and Gerber graduates so I am really looking forward to learning from you! I make and freeze sauce and gnocchis so that is the extent of my freezing thus far. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Warning about Plastic Bag Storage: There is concern that the plastic freezer bags will leach out harmful chemicals into your food. You could invest in glass containers for freezer storage. I would love to hear what other people think about this. Does anyone have experience using glass to freeze things? With marinades, you could freeze it in a wide-mouth canning jar, leaving plenty of room at the top for expansion.
Yummy!! I love the ideal that meals are already prepaired and stress free at the end of the day!!!
WOW freezer meals sound amazing! 🙂 I would like to learn these recipes! 🙂
Hello Kathi,
Can’t wait to try this recipe and look out for what comes next!!
God is good ; )
Since I am the only one in the house who does the cooking (my kids are in kindergarten) I get so tired of having to come up with something yummy every night, so I can’t wait to start freezing meals.
I have a flank steak marinade and am wondering if it will freeze well.
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup water
2 Tbspn brown sugar
1 shot of whiskey
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbspn stone ground or dijon mustard
Just not sure if the whiskey would prevent the marinade from freezing.
Kathi, i’m super excited that you’re going to chronicle your Freezer Mini Project for us!! When we moved to our new house it came with a large chest freezer. I’m good at buying in bulk and having all the stuff, but I wanted to move to the next step of prepping ahead. Perfect timing!! I can’t wait to try the Pesto Chicken. Thanks again and I look forward to seeing more!
Ok – how easy can it get?!?! That sounds amazing. We’re going to try it for sure! Oh, and I really WANT that cookbook. My mom just bought a big freezer for us (it’s in the garage). I’d love to replace all the ice cream she bought to “fill it up” with tasty healthy meals for the family.
Kathi,
Thanks so much for sharing this with us! I look forward to more post about the freezer meals & process! Can’t Wait! 🙂
I love your pesto chicken. Easy is what I need! I would love some low cal, healthy recipes that I can actually eat along with my family. I am looking through my weight watcher cook books for some to share.
I love that your freezer is empty except for the ice cream. Honestly, I would have stopped at that. My family will be happy I’m learning how to make some freezer meals! Thanks, Kathi!
I am looking forward to seeing that freezer full of healthy homemade meals!
Haha, God’s timing is perfect…just a couple of days ago I was telling hubby that I was going to do this again! My mom and I used to do it together, making for a long and fun weekend 🙂
Thanks for the recipe, I love that it’s gluten free!
How long does it take to do 51 meals? Is your grocery bill astronomical?
Your freezer picture looks nothing like mine. Mine is full of mystery. Maybe solving that mystery with a good cleaning out would be a place to start.
Sounds awesome! Where have you gotten all your recipes for all 51 meals? Is there a particular cookbook you like or do you just pick what your family likes? I agree, where do you store all these?!?
This sounds yummy. How long can you keep freezer meals in the freezer? I am always looking for easy and yummy dinner ideas.
The recipe sounds delicious and easy, but the first thing I need to do it make room in my freezer and get rid of the things that are taking up space and not getting used! You have given me inspiration to start with a blank slate and get cleaning.
I want to see how you fit all of those meals in your freezer! What a great idea!
I really want to learn more great recipes for freezer cooking.
This is not a meal. It is a dessert that will win you Kudo’s every time you take it somewhere. Southern Baptist take food to everything!!!
1 bag of frozen berries(thaw & drain)
1 box of Berry Explosion Jello
3/4 cup sugar
1 box white or yellow cake mix
1 stick of buttter (slice into a bunch of slices)
1 cup of water
Layer in order shown above into a 8×8 pan. Bake at 350 until brown.
Hint: If you bake it in one of thoses nice baking dishes you can then place it in a nice basket for serving.
Another benefit wih freezing a marinade would be that this would give the marinade longer to permeate the meat, increasing flavor, right?