The last two and a half weeks have been a non-cook’s dream. Our first week home from the hospital my mom was here and prepared every single meal. Once she left, generous friends picked up and we’ve had another week and a half of delicious meals delivered to our house. Now, I guess it’s time to start getting my feet back underneath me. Luckily I have about another week before I really need to get serious about making dinner thanks to filling up the freezer before Kailtyn arrived.
Here’s a peek into what we have stocked…
Chicken Enchiladas (x2) (let thaw in fridge overnight then cook as recipe directs)
Rustic Wheat Pizza Dough (to freeze: coat unrisen pizza dough ball with oil, put in plastic bag, squeeze all the air out and freeze for up to 3 months. To use, thaw in fridge overnight and allow to sit on the counter for 30 minutes before rolling it out.)
Emily’s Black Bean Burgers (x6)
Spinach & Ricotta Stuffed Shells (thaw in fridge overnight then cook as directed)
And for Hailey, some DIY Uncrustables
Once these are gone, I suspect there will be quite a few quick and easy meals around here, but in all honesty, I do look forward to cooking again. However, finding the time should be an adventure!
Thanks Jenn for hosting WAIW!
What are your favorite freezer meals?
Links welcomed!
Jaclyn @ BumpSweat says
Love this! I’ve started freezing meals here and there. My all-time favorite freezer meal’s a beef & veggie coconut curry I have yet to make yet, but that’s on my list.
Marjorie says
I freeze a lot of stuff, even without a newborn (including your black bean soup, which did great in the freezer, btw). It helps when my week turns out more hectic than I anticipated. Those freezer meals can be a life saver! I make my own pizza dough as well, but I have never thought to freeze it. Genius! I am SO going making a double batch next time I make pizza so that I can put one in the freezer.
Christy says
This isn’t exactly a freezer meal, but I’ve been living off of Amy’s organic breakfast burritos. The tofu and veggie one is fantastic! I’m up with my younger baby at 5 am and have a little snack, but by the time my 2 yr old wakes up, I’m starving!! These get me through the morning and are, obviously, very quick and easy.
Staci says
I love this post, thanks!! I’m due with my first baby in September and will be returning to work part-time in December and full-time in January, I think the crock-pot and the freezer will become my two favorite appliances!!
Ali says
That’s so nice!! My favorite freezer meals are chili, hamburger soup and lasagna I think.
Becky@TheSavedRunner says
It was such a smart idea to make freezer meals in advance! I will remember this for the future. 🙂
Lindsay Ingalls (@NaturallyFamily) says
I’m on a mission this month to do a bunch of freezer meals. With baby #2 on the way and my husbands new job/commute I know we are going to need some easy meals.
Christina says
I made your enchilada recipe a few weeks ago, and we ate one batch right away and froze the other. I recently defrosted it and popped it in the oven, and it came out perfectly! I also love making chili and turkey meatballs in the crockpot, then freezing them in smaller portions for easy meals. And at least once a week I cook a big batch of whole grain waffles (I love the Bob’s Red Mill products) and freeze them for my daughter’s breakfast during the week.
Brittany Dixon says
Awesome- I’m so glad the enchiladas worked out well for you! And great idea about freezing in smaller portions, too. Smart!
Ana says
May I ask what enchilada sauce you use? I’m pretty easy to please but I’ve yet to find one my husband likes other than home made. But sometimes I need the convenience of a can when all the other parts of assembly are so hands on… Ha! Thanks! Can’t wait to make them!
Brittany Dixon says
Ah, I’ll have to look closer next time because honestly I’m not sure. I get it from our local health store and I remember that it looks like a more authentic Mexican brand. I’ll look next time!! I’m all about convenience sometimes too 😉
Sarah says
I am determined to make a bunch of freezer meals before my baby girl arrives in two months. I keep changing my list of meals I want to make; I should probably just dive in. How far in advance do you think meals can be made and frozen?
Brittany Dixon says
I feel like 3 months is a max for how long meals are good for. I know it changes by each meal and how you store it (for example, if you have a deep freezer), but that’s my feeling on most of them. So for me personally, I waited until the month before I was due to have some flexibility of when to eat them once she arrived. Congrats on your baby girl on the way!! Hope you’re beating the heat 🙂
Beth says
We don’t have a lot of freezer space in our tiny NYC apartment’s kitchen, but whenever I make homemade soup, I reserve a serving or two for a quick meal later. Same for tomato sauce, pesto, stock, etc. It always comes in handy when the pantry is getting bare and I think THERE’S NOTHING TO EAT. I’ve also frozen leftover rice & pasta – I just throw them in boiling water for a few minutes & drain. I’m a big fan of made from scratch beans and love having a stock in the freezer. The last week, I decided to do a bag of beans a day and now have black beans, chickpeas, pinto beans & kidney beans ready to go. From that, I was able to freeze half and make something with the rest. Canned beans are so great, but I think the flavor of homemade is so so good. I read recently to season your cooking beans like you would a soup and they’ve been even better – garlic cloves, chunks for celery & carrots, onion slices, dried herbs, dried seaweed and a healthy pour of olive oil. The broth leftover then can be used for soup bases or for cooking grains – especially the chickpea stock. Thanks for sharing your ideas.
Oh, and we just made Angela’s burgers that I bet would freeze really well. Wouldn’t know because we ate them too quickly:
http://ohsheglows.com/2014/05/16/moroccan-yam-veggie-burgers-with-cilantro-lime-tahini-sauce/
Matt @ Runner Savvy says
I want those stuffed shells!
GiselleR @ Diary of an ExSloth says
I love to freeze chili and burritos. I’ve never considered freezing pizza dough but it sounds like an amazing idea. I always want pizza when I don’t have time to make a crust myself so it’ll be good to have it on hand!
Thanks for sharing 😀
DrunkMom says
My husband stocks the 5 freezers we have with wild game meat. We have bear, moose, deer, rabbit, trout, pheasant and turkey. We also have seafood freezers which are separate and they have 100lbs of crab, salmon, halibut, rockfish and blackcod.
Then MRE’s in the man cave of his.
Kerry says
I plan on doing this next time round as I’l have a toddler to feed so we can’t live on ready meals and junk like we did last time! (nor do I want too) 😉