Do you ever have an epiphany or brain wave where you think ,
“I could do this and make my life much more organized!”
Then quickly turn away from that idea with your tail between your legs because the very thought of it seemed too daunting a task?
I used to feel like Freezer meal day preps seemed like too big a task to take on. The thought of collecting recipes, making a grocery list, shopping, prepping and spending hours in the kitchen were enough to keep me from even starting. That was until I came up with a simpler method of stocking my freezer with delicious homemade meals. I have come up with a way to make multiple meals and alleviate some of that daunting mountain of work.
For supper You’re already making 1 meal anyway right? So why not purchase extra ingredients at the same time and make 4 of the same meal at the same time? Serve one and freeze 3. Do you realize that making 4 meals at a time only adds 15 minutes extra prep time? Do you see the concept here?
When starting with an empty freezer begin with simple recipes until your freezer starts to fill up. Then move on to the more complicated and time consuming recipes.
I have been able to complete 4 SIMPLE recipes in 1 hour. Multiplied by 4 equals 16 meals in 1 hour. My average Cost for 16 meals with a range from simple to complicated recipes is approximately $250.
Strategic TIPS
- If you Make up 2 freezer meal recipes a week making 4 batches of each recipe at a time you will soon have a months worth of meals in your freezer.
- 4 weeks x 8 meals a week =32 meals. You will have a variety of 8 different meals.
- It takes approx. 60 minutes to make up 16 meals once shopping and prep is done (4 recipes x4)
- Organizing with a group of friends can be fun to trade for a variety of meals. Groups of 4 or 8 work best. Each person makes 2 recipes multiplied by the number of people in the group. You don’t even necessarily have to get together to do this if that seems too big a task to organize.
- Keep chopped onions, chopped peppers, grated cheese, and cooked ground beef Stocked in your freezer. Measured out by the pound or cup in individual medium size freezer bags.
- Stock up on canned tomatoes, soups, sauces and meats as they come on sale.
- Purchase good quality freezer bags Glad or Presidents Choice brand work best.
Freezing tips:
- Freeze flat then move once frozen
- Thaw in a container in the fridge in case of leakage. Bags do get holes in them. Unfortunately I’ve learned this the hard way.
- Fish is better bought fresh but that’s just a personal preference.
Bagging Tips:
- Instead of bowls you will use freezer bags to both mix and store ingredients. Less Clean up!!! Can I get a shout out for joy here!?!?
- Use plastic storage containers to hold bags open. Or something so you can easily fill bags and prevent spilling as you work.
- When making multiple meals, line up your bags to measure out and make multiple meals at once.
- Your Large Freezer bag will be labeled with recipe name and cooking directions and will hold all medium bags filled with sauce, meat, spices etc. I do it this way for 3 reasons,
- It allows an extra barrier in case of leaking,
- You can keep your meat separate. I find meat mixed in with sauces before freezing tastes more like a warm up or left over meal. But again that is a personal preference.
- Allows you the option to add items like meat, buns, noodles, rice, veggies etc. to your bags to make a complete meal in one bag.