Want to get ahead of the game this summer? Fill your freezer with these easy and delicious meals that won’t heat up the kitchen.
A freezer-friendly meal is one of my favorite kinds. Cooked in advance and stored in the freezer, it not only helps me save money and time, but it also gives me a feeling of beingĀ ahead of the game.
Meals that reheat in the crockpot, on the stovetop, or outdoors on the grill are the best for summertime. When I can make them a few days or weeks ahead of time, I’m freed up to take the kids to the beach, read a book, or go for a walk — and not worry about what’s for dinner.
If you don’t already have a copy of my book, Not Your Mother’s Make-Ahead and Freeze Cookbook, you might want to put it on your list of summer reads. There are over 100 great recipes in there that I’m not allowed to post online. You’re missing out on one of the best kept secrets. š
(Thanks for your support in buying my book. I get paid a small portion of each sale.)
In the meantime, here are some of my favorite meals to freeze for summertime:
Chicken in Marinades
This trio of chicken marinade recipes: Asian, Dijon, and Spicy SW are always a hit at our house. I buy bulk packages of chicken breasts and divvy them up between many bags of marinade. I can make a dozen meals in less than an hour this way! The chicken marinates as it thaws so that it’s all ready to throw on the grill about a day after I pull it from the freezer.
Chili
Since we’ve moved away from processed foods, the freezer has become more and more important to me. I can stir up a big batch of this Spicy No-Bean Chili and store it in smaller portions in the freezer.
It’s all ready for topping hot dogs, burgers, or chips when you need it. You can reheat it in the microwave, stovetop, or slow cooker without much hassle at all.
Burger Patties
My kids go crazy for burgers. The nearby In-n-Out is hard to beat for taste and pricing. I did a price comparison once, buying quality meat, buns, and frozen french fries at Trader Joe’s. Turns out the kids can really fill up when I cook burgers at home. It’s not a huge difference, but we definitely get more for our money cooking on our backyard grill.
Follow this tutorial for making burger patties for the freezer.
Sweet and Sour Pulled Chicken
I love the ease of tossing a bag of chicken tenders into the crockpot and walking away. I just walk away…. A few hours later, the meal is ready. This recipe for Sweet and Sour Pulled Chicken Sandwiches, with its sweet and sour flavor, can be frozen before or after cooking.
Pizzawiches
These pizza stuffed rolls are good stuff. Recently a reader and I both tested reheating frozen sandwiches in the slow cooker. Success! The texture is definitely softer than what you would bake in the oven, but it works, provided you cook on low for about 4 hours. If you have time to turn them halfway, that’s even better.
You can also reheat these sandwiches in a toaster oven which doesn’t give off as much heat as a conventional oven.
What are YOU favorite meals to freeze?
P.S. Don’t forget to join me for next month’s Freezer Cooking Days.
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I just made shredded BBQ chicken and rolled 1/4 cup of the meat into long skinny burritos with pineapple, diced green pepper, onions, and cheese. The ends were only tucked in about an inch. Freeze them, then reheat individually or as a batch! They’re very soft out of the microwave, so I either pop them in the toaster oven for one minute after the microwave or do a bigger batch fully in the oven after brushing with oil.
I’ve also done the same shape with pizza sauce, pepperoni slices, and cheese. I like the option to heat one or many, and the shape reheats more evenly than a bigger burrito.
Sounds delicious! Thanks for a great idea!
One of my favorites is to freeze burritos made from flour tortillas, refried beans and cheese (add any kind of shredded meat or strips of cooked bacon if you like). I wrap them individually in parchment paper, then put the whole batch in a large Ziplock freezer bag. They can be cooked right out of the freezer, in the microwave, oven or (my favorite way) fry them in a little oil. If frying them when they are still frozen, keep the heat low so the center has time to get hot. To make them extra yummy, add salsa, chopped tomatoes, shredded lettuce or cabbage, and/or sour cream after cooking them. It is so easy to grab just the number needed, and it is really fast, especially if you nuke them. For more complete information on how to make them, check out this blog post. http://modernmothercubbard.blogspot.com/2014/10/quick-and-easy-burritos.html
If you’re not reheating in the oven, you can buy the boxes of deli wrap sheets (like waxed paper) from Costco. Makes it really easy to wrap burritos.
I love freezer meals! I make a big batch of slow cooked shredded pork or beef every few months, and use part of it to make a bunch of burritos, which I wrap individually and freeze, then I use what’s rest to put in the freezer for tacos or pulled pork sandwiches later. Sometimes I make a pot full of pork tamales to freeze. The burritos are perfect to send to work with my lovey, or I can pull however many we need out and put them into a baking dish and pour enchilada sauce over them and bake them. I put cheese on for the last few minutes of baking. I also slice chicken breasts and sprinkle them with fajita seasoning and a bit of olive oil and put them into a quart bag, then slice bell peppers and onions and put them into a gallon bag, with the bag of chicken on top of the veg. It’s a great last minute fajita kit! You can dump it into the slow cooker or even cook it on the stovetop from frozen. I also make sub sandwiches to freeze. I use ciabatta or torta rolls, cut them in half, dip the cut sides in Italian dressing, then layer my meat and cheese on them. I freeze them wrapped individually, and they make fantastic lunches. Just add fresh veggies when you’re ready to eat them. Next up, I’m going to try to do them with olive salad for a type of muffaletta. They’re divine cooked on a panini press! My freezer is my friend!
Great ideas. Thanks!