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3 Ways to Make Freezer Meals (2 That Don’t Take Hours!)

Freezer Meals· Homemaking· meal planning

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4 Jun

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Want to start making freezer meals? Here are 3 ways to do so, 2 of which don't take an entire afternoon of cooking! www.nogettingoffthistrain.com

I never thought much about freezer meals until a couple years ago, right before I had Allison. I made a couple lunches here and there to freeze for when we needed it, but that was it. Before Allison was born, I did research and fell in love with the concept of having a meal right there in the freezer, ready for me to take out and cook! Since then, I’ve done one or two monthly meal sessions and quite a few single meals to help us out. I’ve learned 3 ways to make freezer meals, and I’d like to share them with you to hopefully encourage you busy people to save money by keeping prepared meals in the freezer!

1. Spending 2-4 hours in the kitchen preparing dinners for the week/month. This method does take a lot of time, money, and effort up front. But taking one Sunday afternoon a week, or a month, to prep a bunch of meals, will save you even more time, money, and effort later on. There are so many websites that teach you how and include recipes! I have a board on Pinterest specifically for freezer meal sessions that you can check out, and I hope to include my own post on freezer meal sessions in the future!

Here are some great freezer meal pages I’ve found over the years! I’ve made quite a few of them and haven’t been disappointed.

A Turtle’s Life for Me
Lots of great freezer meals here!
Always Order Dessert
Miget Momma- 16 meals in one hour
HUGE list of freezer meals this mom made before baby #2!

2. Make one batch of breakfast/lunches for the week. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day; don’t skip it! Take maybe an hour of prep on Sunday and have breakfast for your family for the entire week.

Want to start making freezer meals? Here are 3 ways to do so, 2 of which don't take an entire afternoon of cooking! www.nogettingoffthistrain.com

We love to make large batches of pancakes/waffles on the weekend and use them for the next week! We let them cool on a cooling rack on top of a baking pan (or you could probably use just parchment paper on the baking pan), and then place them in the freezer to “flash freeze” them. Once they’re frozen, we put them in a Ziploc bag. Freezing them first ensures that they don’t all stick together in one big pancake clump when it’s time to get them out!

You can also make things like baked oatmeal or breakfast burritos. For lunch, you can do so many things! My favorite recipe is this Santa Fe rice and beans. You can let the chicken cook in the slow cooker for a few hours, then prep the rest of the ingredients when the chicken’s done. Freeze them in individual containers and there’s your lunch for the week! It’s so much cheaper to make these than it is to buy the pre-made stuff at the store.

3. Double a recipe once a week. This is probably the least time consuming way to make freezer meals! It may not even cost any extra; how many times have we bought things like carrots or bell peppers for a recipe but didn’t need all of it, and it went to waste? Instead, use them to double the recipe and freeze half! We do this often at our house, and it’s so nice knowing that we now have an extra dinner in the freezer for emergencies.

Want to start making freezer meals? Here are 3 ways to do so, 2 of which don't take an entire afternoon of cooking! www.nogettingoffthistrain.com

I just did this earlier this week with the Slow Cooker Parmesan Chicken Sandwiches (You can see the recipe here!). There are only 3 people in our family and Allison barely eats anyway, so we had a LOT left over. I didn’t technically double the recipe, but since it makes so much it can double as spaghetti sauce too, so we froze half in a gallon-sized freezer bag and will probably use it in a couple weeks.

No matter how big your family is or how busy you are, you can benefit from freezer meals! Take either a few hours once a month, or maybe a half hour a week, and have meals ready whenever you need it!

Have you ever made freezer meals? What are your favorite recipes? Share with us below!

(Linked up on: The Girl Creative , Little Miss Celebration , Life is Sweeter by Design , Simply Wright Tulips Orchids )

17 Comments

Previous Post: « Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan Sandwiches
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Comments

  1. Robin Follette says

    June 4, 2015 at 6:37 am

    Popping a pancake into the toaster was a great way to make sure my kids had something to eat before they went to school. I add maple extract to the batter so that they taste like they have syrup even when they don’t. A lot of pancakes went out the door to be eaten on the school bus, no drippy, sticky syrup needed.

    Reply
    • Jaime says

      June 6, 2015 at 8:12 am

      That’s an amazing idea! I love the idea of pancakes on the run. =)

      Reply
  2. Vanessa Morgan says

    June 4, 2015 at 8:11 am

    What a great idea. I should do this more often.
    Have a great Thursday.

    Reply
    • Jaime says

      June 6, 2015 at 8:12 am

      It saves SO much time in the kitchen!

      Reply
  3. Leanne says

    June 4, 2015 at 8:13 am

    These are such helpful ideas! I did a bunch of frozen meals for myself and friends when we were off having babies!

    Reply
    • Jaime says

      June 6, 2015 at 8:12 am

      Awesome! Having quick meals in my freezer was SO helpful right after I had Allison.

      Reply
  4. Logan Cantrell says

    June 4, 2015 at 1:40 pm

    This is great! I am all about easy and quick prep!

    Reply
    • Jaime says

      June 6, 2015 at 8:13 am

      Definitely! I love how less frequently I have to cook.

      Reply
  5. Heather Serra says

    June 4, 2015 at 3:13 pm

    Great tips! I never thought to freeze pancakes. I’m all for anything that’ll save time.

    Reply
    • Jaime says

      June 6, 2015 at 8:14 am

      Freezing pancakes and waffles is the greatest thing ever. =P

      Reply
  6. Chelsie says

    June 4, 2015 at 6:50 pm

    These are great ideas! I have only attempted to make a bunch of freezer meals at one time once and it was a little crazy for me because it was so messy and I was trying so many different recipes at once. I have found a few recipes that I love and freeze well since then, so I always make a bag of it to throw in the freezer when I’m making it for dinner that night (doubling the recipe). It does make life easier!

    Reply
    • Jaime says

      June 6, 2015 at 8:14 am

      Awesome! I love doubling recipes; there’s almost no extra effort involved!

      Reply
  7. Aliza B says

    June 4, 2015 at 8:14 pm

    These are some great tips! I don’t like to make a big breakfast every day and cooking extra on Saturday to freeze would be a great way to provide tasty breakfast during the week. I know I hate to have cereal every day!

    Reply
    • Jaime says

      June 6, 2015 at 8:15 am

      Yeah, it’s great to have a hot breakfast already prepped!

      Reply
  8. Shellie Bowdoin says

    June 11, 2015 at 3:57 am

    That’s a great tip to double a recipe once a week! Thanks for joining us on Oh My Heartsie Girl Wordless Wednesday!
    Shellie
    http://www.thefabjourney.com

    Reply
    • Jaime says

      June 11, 2015 at 5:50 am

      Thanks! =) We’re totally benefiting from eating the doubled recipes this week to save money.

      Reply
  9. Sarah-Ann says

    June 11, 2015 at 1:19 pm

    Great post! Anything we can do to cut down freezer meal time is great. Thanks for posting on WW, hope to see you next week.
    Sarah-Ann @ Living Intentionally Simple

    Reply

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