Some of my favorite freezer meals are lawnmower tacos, broccoli and rice and cheese casserole andenchiladas. I also makeup your red sauce in batches to freeze, meatloaf and meatballs, taco meat and burrito meat.
Jessica Fisher
I love those, too.
@sarahspy
I’ve become SUCH a make-ahead / freezer cooking convert! And a lot of it is thanks to you. Can’t wait to check out your freezer book, as I loved the Good Cheap Eats cookbook.
Jessica Fisher
Ah! Thanks for your support!
Heather @ My Overflowing Cup
I’m a huge fan of freezer cooking, too, Jessica.
I freeze bread, cookie dough, enchiladas, pizzas…. you name it.
It saves a ton of money and more often than not, my sanity.
Thanks for sharing your recipes and tips!
Brenda
Fresh Thyme Market in Cincinnati has 50% off natural chicken this week. I made 2 pkg chicken teriyaki to marinate then grill, baked & sliced chicken breast for pizza or pasta, and 3 pkg chicken & black bean filling for tacos/quesadillas/burritos. I usually do triple batches sloppy joes and taco meat when ground beef is on sale. Scone & cookie dough are other frequent foods in the freeze. Love having these ready!
Carol
When you say to shop your freezer, I have been doing the pantry challenge sine the first of January and it has been very helpful I did not realize how much of a stockpile I had. With that said I am almost ready to do some freezer cooking and was wondering if I could use some frozen meats to put in the kits when it says to have chicken breast or thighs would I thaw them first and re- freeze? I did not think re-freezing was good but did not want to buy more when I still had some. Thanks!
Jessica Fisher
Refreezing is not bad if you’ve thawed under proper conditions. The times that they warn not to is when your freezer has had a power loss and everything has thawed. That is bad.
But, if you want to thaw what you have (in the fridge on a tray) and cook it, you can refreeze it no problem. Just be sure not to overcook and to make sure it cools and chills fully before sticking it in the freezer. Let me know if you have questions.
Stephanie M.
I love having trays of mac and cheese in the freezer for nights when I don’t feel like cooking or when I want it as a side dish to something else. Once in a while I’ll do a little freezer cooking for dinner meals. But I really enjoy having breakfast freezer meals in the freezer. I pack my husband’s breakfast and lunch every night. He leaves at 5:00 in the morning and I really don’t feel like cooking at that hour. He absolutely has no problem taking cereal every day but I enjoy giving him a variety. About 3 weeks ago, I spent the entire morning making a bunch of different breakfast meals. I made French toast, pancakes, turkey sausage, a ham, egg, and cheese casserole, bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast bowls, and an applesauce coffee cake. That was three weeks ago and I’m almost finished with these meals. When they are gone, I will start again; maybe with some muffins this time. Having breakfast meals in the freezer is a good way to make sure I have a nice variety of things to give to hubby.
Jessica Fisher
Life goes so much better at our house when we have some breakfast stuff ready to go. Thanks for the reminder!
AmyG
As we are a small family, freezing meals and meal components from even standard size recipes saves me time and money. Remembering to take the frozen item out of the freezer and put it in the refrigerator the night before to defrost is often the hard part for me. As I was reminded to take the shredded beef out of the freezer while reading your article on freezer cooking this morning (about 12 hours late) I was struck by how simple it is to leave myself an alarm on my IPad (which I do look at while relaxing before bed) to do the night before tasks, rather than rely on my tired brain. I can schedule when I meal plan for the week the tasks that I often forget to do for dinner the next day: defrost meat, sauce, etc., soak beans, make pizza or focaccia dough (I make versions that use a smaller amount of yeast and do a cold ferment in the fridge or on the counter in winter). It may just be me, but I forget and then must scramble in the very early morning or ditch my plan, throw something else together or give up entirely for the day and tell my husband we are going out for hamburgers (he loves to go out but our budget can’t take the hit).
Jessica Fisher
It’s not just you. I forget all the time. Creating a staging area in my fridge freezer has been a huge help since I don’t have to go all the way to the garage to get something to thaw. I transfer stuff on Sunday and then it’s so much easier all week long.
Monique
Thanks for sharing. I’m buying a chest freezer this WEEK and I want to be ready!
pat
Some of my favorite freezer meals are lawnmower tacos, broccoli and rice and cheese casserole andenchiladas. I also makeup your red sauce in batches to freeze, meatloaf and meatballs, taco meat and burrito meat.
Jessica Fisher
I love those, too.
@sarahspy
I’ve become SUCH a make-ahead / freezer cooking convert! And a lot of it is thanks to you. Can’t wait to check out your freezer book, as I loved the Good Cheap Eats cookbook.
Jessica Fisher
Ah! Thanks for your support!
Heather @ My Overflowing Cup
I’m a huge fan of freezer cooking, too, Jessica.
I freeze bread, cookie dough, enchiladas, pizzas…. you name it.
It saves a ton of money and more often than not, my sanity.
Thanks for sharing your recipes and tips!
Brenda
Fresh Thyme Market in Cincinnati has 50% off natural chicken this week. I made 2 pkg chicken teriyaki to marinate then grill, baked & sliced chicken breast for pizza or pasta, and 3 pkg chicken & black bean filling for tacos/quesadillas/burritos. I usually do triple batches sloppy joes and taco meat when ground beef is on sale. Scone & cookie dough are other frequent foods in the freeze. Love having these ready!
Carol
When you say to shop your freezer, I have been doing the pantry challenge sine the first of January and it has been very helpful I did not realize how much of a stockpile I had. With that said I am almost ready to do some freezer cooking and was wondering if I could use some frozen meats to put in the kits when it says to have chicken breast or thighs would I thaw them first and re- freeze? I did not think re-freezing was good but did not want to buy more when I still had some. Thanks!
Jessica Fisher
Refreezing is not bad if you’ve thawed under proper conditions. The times that they warn not to is when your freezer has had a power loss and everything has thawed. That is bad.
But, if you want to thaw what you have (in the fridge on a tray) and cook it, you can refreeze it no problem. Just be sure not to overcook and to make sure it cools and chills fully before sticking it in the freezer. Let me know if you have questions.
Stephanie M.
I love having trays of mac and cheese in the freezer for nights when I don’t feel like cooking or when I want it as a side dish to something else. Once in a while I’ll do a little freezer cooking for dinner meals. But I really enjoy having breakfast freezer meals in the freezer. I pack my husband’s breakfast and lunch every night. He leaves at 5:00 in the morning and I really don’t feel like cooking at that hour. He absolutely has no problem taking cereal every day but I enjoy giving him a variety. About 3 weeks ago, I spent the entire morning making a bunch of different breakfast meals. I made French toast, pancakes, turkey sausage, a ham, egg, and cheese casserole, bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast bowls, and an applesauce coffee cake. That was three weeks ago and I’m almost finished with these meals. When they are gone, I will start again; maybe with some muffins this time. Having breakfast meals in the freezer is a good way to make sure I have a nice variety of things to give to hubby.
Jessica Fisher
Life goes so much better at our house when we have some breakfast stuff ready to go. Thanks for the reminder!
AmyG
As we are a small family, freezing meals and meal components from even standard size recipes saves me time and money. Remembering to take the frozen item out of the freezer and put it in the refrigerator the night before to defrost is often the hard part for me. As I was reminded to take the shredded beef out of the freezer while reading your article on freezer cooking this morning (about 12 hours late) I was struck by how simple it is to leave myself an alarm on my IPad (which I do look at while relaxing before bed) to do the night before tasks, rather than rely on my tired brain. I can schedule when I meal plan for the week the tasks that I often forget to do for dinner the next day: defrost meat, sauce, etc., soak beans, make pizza or focaccia dough (I make versions that use a smaller amount of yeast and do a cold ferment in the fridge or on the counter in winter). It may just be me, but I forget and then must scramble in the very early morning or ditch my plan, throw something else together or give up entirely for the day and tell my husband we are going out for hamburgers (he loves to go out but our budget can’t take the hit).
Jessica Fisher
It’s not just you. I forget all the time. Creating a staging area in my fridge freezer has been a huge help since I don’t have to go all the way to the garage to get something to thaw. I transfer stuff on Sunday and then it’s so much easier all week long.
Monique
Thanks for sharing. I’m buying a chest freezer this WEEK and I want to be ready!
Jessica Fisher
Fun! Let me know if you have any questions.