I am in freezer cooking mode for two reasons:
1. I’m out of prepared food in the freezer. All my pyrex dishes are empty and forlorn. They sit stacked and weepy in my cabinet.
2. Spring soccer season is starting, which means that our evenings and weekends will be full, and my cooking time will be very limited. I need food that is healthy, hearty, and ready to put into the oven with no effort.
I want you to join me! Think of it: Together we cook and get ahead. We all save money. We all save time. We all drop kick the stress that comes with busy evenings, full weekends, and hungry families.
The best news:
As we do this, not only will we be making food for our freezers, we’ll be practicing the Cook Once, Eat Twice (or More) method. This means we’ll be making two of everything – one to eat the day we make it, the other for our freezer. You’ll be making tonight’s dinner (something you need to do anyway), and an additional dinner for another day. See how efficient we’ll be?
Is freezer cooking intimidating to you? Do you have trouble being motivated to get ahead in the kitchen? No problem. I’m going to walk you through this process during the next few weeks.
Don’t have time for freezer cooking or getting ahead? Not to worry. We’re not going to spend hours at a time on this. We’re going to break this down into small tasks. You’ll be amazed at all you can do to get ahead when you just do a little bit at a time. That means that even if you have a house full of little ones, even if you work outside the home, even if you really don’t see how you can fit anything else into your day – you can make this work.
I’m excited to walk you through this freezer cooking thing! And I believe we all know how excited I am to use my Pyrex.
I reserve the right to change my plan once I get going with this and hit it hard in the kitchen, but here’s what I’m looking at for the next few weeks of freezer cooking.
Week One ~ Filling the Freezer With Beef Dishes
Week Two ~ Filling the Freezer With Chicken Dishes
Week Three ~ Filling the Freezer With Breakfast Items
Week Four ~ Filling the Freezer With Meatless Meals
See, it just makes sense to focus on one “food group” at a time. If I’m going to brown one pound of hamburger meat, I might as well brown eight or ten. It saves loads of time and energy! That’s why we’ll focus on beef recipes during Week One. And so on.
All of the recipes we’ll use are family friendly, and use basic, real food ingredients. I will choose recipes that are either on my site or in our Let’s Do This! eCourse or {Healthy} Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks eBook. The eCourse and eBook have so many of our favorite recipes, plus many of you already have access to them. Still don’t have Let’s Do This! eCourse or {Healthy} Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks eBook? I just knocked to price down to $5 total for both. A steal of a deal! They are resources you’ll use over and over.
I will provide you with grocery lists and check lists. I will walk you through each step so that you can easily and efficiently feed your family each day, all while you fill the freezer too!
Tonight, I’ll post our plan for Week One so that you can learn all of the specifics and prepare yourself for the challenge. Ready to get ahead in the kitchen?!
Courtney says
I am so excited for this!!! I love doing stuff like this together and although we won’t be in the same kitchen it will still seem like we’re together:)
Thanks
Liz says
Ooh this sounds like so much fun! Thanks for doing this :)
Cindy says
I’m ready! This past week I made 2 casseroles, and made an extra one each time. But I don’t have a big repertoire of casseroles/ideas, so I’m ready for more ideas!
Sheri Beeker says
More freezer ideas sounds great. I made spaghetti this week and had enough leftover for baked spaghetti and is now in the freezer. Also have muffins in the freezer. So, have been taking your ideas and using them…it really helps during the week when I don’t have time or energy to make anything. Thanks!!!
Jennifer says
I did this right before my daughter was born last month, and I’ve exhausted my stash. Another freezer cooking session is in order – let’s do it!
Karen says
What a terrific idea! Thanks for pacing us through this. I’ll purchase the food supplies today.
Bethany says
Just curious: do you ever make pork or fish (salmon, cod, etc) dishes?
Laura says
So rarely. We just don’t have a great source for reasonably priced fish here in Nebraska. I do get frozen fish sometimes, but rarely remember to put it in my menu plan. Usually, I make it on the fly when I decide at the last minute to scrap my menu for the day. :)
Marie says
Oops! Now that I’ve browned all my meat I don’t really have any idea how much = 1 lb. Do you know how many cups of browned ground beef/turkey = 1lb.? I’ve been estimating but don’t have a decent scale to measure on. Thanks for whatever help you are able to offer! (The cheeseburger casserole was a big hit on Tues.! And your Mexican casserole was a hit last night! And there are two in the fridge for the future, Yay!)
Marie says
The Bacon Cheeseburger was Mon. and the Mexican was last night, Tues.
Laura says
I really don’t know exactly. I either divide it into eight equal(ish) portions before storing it, or kind of eye-ball it when scooping it out. Maybe a google search will help out?
Carla says
I am just wondering where I could find Week 1?
Laura says
Here you go! https://www.heavenlyhomemakers.com/the-plan-getting-ready-for-freezer-cooking-week-one