With the cost of groceries these days, it is so important to use everything you bought. Being wasteful and throwing out food that has gone bad, is not ideal, obviously.

That’s why I love my freezer! I use my freezer often to freeze items that are about to go bad. Or to stock up when my store has a crazy good deal on something that my family loves.

How to use your freezer to save money:

• Buy in bulk: As I mentioned above, I like to stock up on good deals. I buy as much as my budget will allow. But sometimes, I know I won’t be able to use all of it before it goes bad. So into the freezer it goes for another day!
• Use it for freezer meals: This is also a time saver! I like to double recipes so I can freeze the second meal. I often do this with pasta sauce, pulled pork/chicken and taco meat as well.
• Store convenience meals: Not the most healthful option, but I like to always have frozen pizzas, chicken nuggets, frozen appetizers and premade meals in the freezer. This has saved us so many times from getting expensive take out!

As you can see, there are many benefits to owning a freezer.

But let’s get on with the good part. Which foods can you freeze that will still taste great once they thaw? Let’s take a look!

Can You Freeze Dairy?

You sure can! Dairy products are some of the foods you can freeze! But one thing to remember, is that the texture is most likely to change after being frozen. So frozen dairy products are best to be used by cooking or mixing into something else.

• Cheese – Shredded or sliced cheese are best for meal prep. You can freeze a whole block of cheese, but it’s hard to use once it thaws because it just crumbles. (so shredding or slicing before freezing is a smart idea!)
• Butter – Butter is something that I always stock up on when it’s on sale. It freezes great and ensures I always have some on hand for baking or cooking!
• Yogurt – Yogurt tubes freeze well and are a different alternative to popsicles! I have found yogurt from containers work well in smoothies, not as a stand alone snack.
• Cream cheese – The consistency might change on this one. Thaw it slow in the fridge or use it in casseroles that you will be putting in the freezer. I like to use it in my freezer mashed potatoes.
• Sour cream – Again, the consistency would change, but it’s great in casseroles like freezer mashed potatoes!
• Milk – You sure can freeze milk! Freeze it right in the jug, or put it into ice cube trays or measure it into increments for your most used recipes. If you freeze it in the jug, unthaw it in the fridge and shake often.
• Cream – You can freeze and unthaw cream the same way you would with milk.

Can you freeze produce?

This might be an obvious one, but there are some produce items that aren’t so obvious!

• Berries – Raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and cranberries all freeze well for smoothies or for sauces.
• Bananas – No matter how you freeze bananas, they are so good for smoothies and banana bread or banana muffins!
• Fruit – Cherries, sliced peaches, watermelon, cantaloupe, grapes, and even sliced lemons and limes freeze well. Make sure to freeze them on a baking sheet in a single layer and then add them to a freezer bag so they don’t all freeze together in a big clump!
• Avocados – You can freeze ripe avocados! Freeze them whole, halved, diced, sliced and even mashed (guacamole). This is amazing because they can be so expensive!
• Vegetables – Peas, onions, peppers, shredded zucchini, squash and mashed pumpkin all freeze well in freezer bags. Vegetables like asparagus, green/yellow beans, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, corn and carrots freeze well after a little blanching.
• Spinach – Since spinach can get slimy fast, it’s great to know you can put some in a bag and freeze it! Now, it won’t be good to use in a fresh salad, but in a smoothie, lasagna, or casserole…yum!

Can you freeze meats and poultry?

Of course, after you find a good deal in the meat department, you probably go home and freeze most of what you stocked up on, right? This is another no brainer, but with some sneaky protein sources thrown in.

• Beef – I like to freeze uncooked steaks, roasts and ground beef in freezer bags. A vacuum sealer would be ideal if it’s in the budget! Sometimes, I’ll make up a batch up meatballs and cook them part way, then throw them in the freezer.
• Chicken – Freeze chicken uncooked or cooked. Pre-cooked rotisserie chicken is also excellent for freezing after you debone and shred it up.
• Pork – I usually buy pork in a club size pack so by freezing it into smaller portions, I can get a few meals out of one pack.
• Lunch Meat – I’m not sure how the deli meat from the deli counter would freeze, but I know that the lunch meat that you purchase in the packages freeze well. Pull them out a day or two before you need them so they can thaw in the fridge.
• Hot dogs/smokies/sausage – I almost always throw these in the freezer right away because they aren’t eaten on a regular basis here. I take them out on an as needed basis.
• Eggs – Yes! You can freeze eggs! I have frozen scrambled eggs in breakfast sandwiches, breakfast burritos and egg muffins with success.
• Fish/seafood – This is another thing that a vacuum sealer would be great for!
• Cooked beans/lentils – If you make a big batch, freezing extras can be such a time saver for another day!

Be sure to always freeze in meal-sized portions so you don’t thaw too much and have to worry about using it up before it goes bad!

Can you freeze baked goods?

I’m a huge fan of freezing baked goods! Nothing like pulling out some cookies to serve impromptu guests!

• Cookies – After baking, allow them to cool completely, then place them in a freezer bag to pull out as needed!
• Muffins/cupcakes – Again, once cooled, I like to wrap these individually in plastic wrap, them add them to a freezer bag.
• Granola bars – This reminded me that I used to make these delicious homemade granola bars that I would take to work! I would cut them up, then wrap them individually in plastic wrap, put them in a freezer bag and pull one out every day.
• Bread – Either store bought or homemade, throw them in the freezer. For homemade bread, I would wrap really well in tin foil then place in a freezer bag.
• Tortillas – I buy mini tortillas from Superstore and they go straight into the freezer for taco night. You could also prep from burritos or quesadillas for lunches.
• Bagels – Because we like bagels but don’t eat them often, I keep a bag in the freezer so we can pull one out to toast.
• Pancakes/waffles/French toast – I always make these from scratch and the leftovers always go in a freezer bag so I can pull them out and heat them up in the toaster for easy breakfasts.

Other things you can freeze

• Flours – I often freeze flours especially when I buy a big bag on sale. When we were exploring food sensitivities with one of my daughters, I always put the specialty flours in the freezer because they can be expensive and I didn’t want them to spoil!
• Nuts – whole or chopped, nuts freeze well.
• Poppy seeds – I use poppy seeds for one recipe, Raspberry Poppyseed Dressing, so when I buy a bag, it goes into the freezer.
• Flax/chia seeds – Freeze these right in their bag. Once opened, add the original bag to a freezer bag for added protection.
• Herbs – If you have a garden, then I’m sure you have an abundance of herbs. Freezing them can be a great way to preserve them.
• Soups – Freeze soups in mason jars or freezer bags. Soups with potatoes will most likely change consistency. (the potatoes get grainy.)
• Sauces – Like soups, freeze sauces in mason jars or freezer bags.
• Freezer meals – As the name suggests, there are so many recipes out there for freezer meals that you can make at home. Lasagna, chili, shepherds pie, pesto chicken stuffed shells and so much more.

There you have it! A great big list of things you can freeze! What else would you add to the list? Let us know in the comments below!

Looking for a simple dinner solution to get you through the summer? Enter… freezer meals!

I don’t know about you, but I want to spend time creating amazing memories and moments to cherish forever, than sweat away in the kitchen during the summer months. I’d much rather spend an hour in the kitchen getting a bunch of meals pulled together, than not have to think about or worry about what’s for dinner at the end of an exhausting day of summer fun.

It’s about more than time too…it’s about money. I know, for me, the temptation to hit the drive thru is much higher in the summer months. And that gets expensive, fast! I want your meals this summer to be simple and easy, and I know you do too.

That’s why I think you should take a look at the 100 Days of Summer Freezer Meals page that MyFreezEasy put together!

You’ll find 100 amazing recipes that go from the freezer to the slow cooker, Instant Pot or grill!

Every step of the dinner process can be time consuming. From deciding what to eat, shopping for the ingredients and finally preparing the meal, so much time is spent on meal time. Never mind the cost of groceries these days!

MyFreezEasy is here to help you “Fall in Love with Dinner Again.” They are having a two day sale on their freezer cooking memberships!

If you join today, you will get organized, spend less time in the kitchen and spend less money on groceries.

With your membership you will get:

• Access to Web, Mobile and Tablet Apps
• 12 Themed Monthly Meal Plans
• Printable PDFs
• How-to & Instructional Videos
• Access to Facebook Group

With this sale, you can join monthly for $10 a month (normally $12/month) or pay only $96 for the annual membership (normally $120/year).

So if you really want to get dinner time under control, try freezer cooking with MyFreezEasy!

Sign up here.

Valentine’s Day sale ends February 17, 2019.

Are you up for a challenge? You are officially invited to join in the first ever Cook Smarter Challenge from MyFreezEasy!

What You Get:

• Cook Smarter Challenge Freezer Meal Plan
• Freezer cooking tips and tricks
• Cooking support from the Freezer Cooking Society Facebook group

Cost: FREE! 🙂

When: June 14-18th – this weekend!

Where: Comfort of your home sweet home!

Just click right here to get started.

It’s been 3 whole years since Erin Chase started MyFreezEasy! To celebrate, She’s dropping prices over on the registration page of MyFreezEasy. Head over there and get yourself signed up! There are plenty of Instant Pot recipes there for you, plus many other cooking methods. Get your freezer stocked for the summer and save time, money and stress!

Find MyFreezEasy info & sign up here: MyFreezEasy.com

There’s a Monthly, Quarterly and Annual membership plan to choose from , all at discounted prices.

If you aren’t quite ready for MyFreezEasy membership, check out the Summer Meal Plan Bundles.

(Note: The links in this post are affiliate links. Read the disclosure policy here.)

Make “Fast Food at Home” with the Dump Dinners Challenge from MyFreezEasy! Sound interesting? Here’s How the Challenge Works:

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a freezer full of delicious meals that you can easily pull out and have a home cooked meal in no time flat? Especially with holidays creeping up?

That’s where the Make One, Freeze One challenge come in. Starting October 16, you can get a great start on filling your freezer with this 5 day challenge. Here’s How the Challenge Works:

Step 1 – Pick Your Meal Plan (either Traditional, Freezer to Slow Cooker, or Freezer to Instant Pot)

Step 2 – Go Shopping (you get a Shopping List!)

Step 3 – Make One Meal, Freeze One Meal Next Week

Step 4 – Enjoy Delicious and Simple Meals from the Freezer!

Sounds good right? You can sign up and pick your meal plan here to participate.

Tips for Great Freezer Dinners

When it comes to tricks to help save time, money and stress, freezer cooking is at the top of my list. Freezer cooking can completely change the dinner time hour in your home. With a little bit of planning ahead, you can have have delicious, healthy meals for your family from the freezer instead of taking a spin through the drive through… again.

Do you find yourself constantly overwhelmed at dinner time? Help tame the dinner time madness with these tips for great freezer dinners!

Make a menu.

You hear it all the time, but that’s because it works. A menu means you can shop once and do prep work as you put the food away. You’ll probably find that you don’t have to look inside the fridge multiple times a day only to decide that thinking about what will be for dinner is just too much, again.

While I like to plan a week’s worth of meals, you may want to just plan enough meals to get you until your next shopping day. I recommend planning to double 1 – 2 meals so that you can put the extra into the freezer. Perfect for days when you don’t have time to shop or prepare a meal from scratch because of activities.

Prep before putting food away.

The fastest way to create many meals for the freezer at once, is to go shopping in the morning and spend the afternoon completing the prep work. This is great for working parents or families with a lot of activities during the week.

Chop all of the ingredients for one meal and load right into freezer bags for a complete recipe.

I’ve got a big list of freezer meals here that may interest you. Now you can pull out a bag and toss right into the slow cooker, Instant Pot, Air Fryer or oven.

Put dinner time on autopilot with MyFreezEasy!

Cook double.

When you are cooking and baking, double your recipes to cook once but eat twice! This is a great way to reduce your workload because you can cook once and clean once.

This works really well for casseroles, tomato based sauces, cookies and muffins, and soups. I love to make a big batch of spaghetti sauce and freeze the extras. The same goes for taco meat.

Cooking double is the least stressful way to build a large stash for your freezer with very little extra effort on your part. No all day cooking or menu planning but you will be building a stash of meals for busy nights.

Protect from freezer burn.

While freezer cooking is amazing for saving you time and money, you will find that things may get freezer burnt causing unnecessary waste.

To prevent freezer burn, remove air from packaging and use multiple layers around your food to keep it fresh longer. Never let air get into your packaging. Label your meals well so you do not need to open anything to find the meal you want.

Related Posts:

• Freezer Meal Planning Part One: It’s Not All or Nothing
• Freezer Meal Planning Part Two: Tools of the Trade
• Freezer Meal Planning Part Three: The Finish

I’d love to know your tips for great freezer dinners! Let me know in the comments. 🙂

This Chicken Broccoli Alfredo is easy, easy, easy! Easy to put together, and easy to cook! My favourite kind of meal. 🙂 It’s a family-friendly meal that goes from the freezer to the slow cooker, making dinnertime a breeze. The recipe calls for a bag of frozen broccoli, but I find a bag of broccoli and cauliflower is just as good! It’s delicious served over pasta or rice.

Here’s how to make Slow Cooker Chicken Broccoli Alfredo:

Print

Slow Cooker Chicken Broccoli Alfredo

These ingredients make enough for one meal that feeds about 4 people.

Ingredients

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 jars of Alfredo sauce
• 1 bag of Frozen broccoli florets
• 1 Green Pepper diced (optional)
• 1/2 cup real bacon

Instructions

• Place all ingredients in a large freezer bag.

Freezing and Serving Directions:

• Freeze in a freezer bag for 3 months in a refrigerator freezer or 6 months in a deep freezer.
• To serve, defrost in fridge then place contents into slow cooker.
• Cook on Low for 6-8 hours or on high 4-6 hours.
• Serve over pasta (with parmesan cheese if you like), with a salad and/or veggies.

Freezer Friendly Shepherd’s Pie Recipe

This freezer-friendly Shepherd’s Pie is one of those easy to prepare comfort foods. It’s a simple meal that uses ingredients that you usually have on hand. It’s perfect for the freezer to cook another day, or you can make it ahead and refrigerate until you’re ready to cook it for dinner. This recipe includes the use of beef gravy or Shepherd’s Pie gravy, which adds a delicious touch of flavour to the Shepherd’s Pie and keeps it moist and tender.

Here’s how to make Easy Freezer Friendly Shepherd’s Pie:

Print

Easy Freezer-Friendly Shepherd's Pie

These ingredients make enough for two 8x8 baking pans that will feed about 4 people each.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ lb. lean ground beef
• 1 bag mixed frozen vegetables
• 1 small onion diced
• 1 clove garlic minced
• About 10 medium potatoes
• 6 Tbsp butter
• ½ cup milk
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 package Shepherd's Pie gravy mix prepared as per instructions
• 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded

Instructions

• Peel and cut potatoes.
• Cook in salted water until tender, about 20 minutes, drain.
• Add butter, milk and mash then set aside.
• In a large pan, add ground beef, onion, and garlic and cook until browned.
• Add bag of frozen mixed vegetables, heat through.
• In the meantime prepare gravy mix as per instructions.
• Stir gravy into meat and vegetable mix.
• Transfer to freezer safe baking dish.
• Top with mashed potato mix and sprinkle with cheddar cheese, if desired.

Freezing and Serving Directions

• Once assembled, cover freezer safe baking dish really well. Place in freezer.
• To serve, defrost, then preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Bake for 30 minutes covered. Then bake uncovered for an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Other Freezer Meal Ideas:

• Freezer Mashed Potatoes
• Chicken Pesto Stuffed Pasta
• My Great Big List of Freezer Meals/Starters

Normally, potatoes don’t freeze well, but because there’s all sorts of yummy additions, these freeze very well! They also pair very nicely with the Maple Pineapple Slow Cooker Ham I have here.

The added sour cream, cream cheese, butter and salt & pepper make for a really delicious combination of flavours. Sometimes, they don’t even make it to the freezer before we eat them 😉

Here’s how to make Freezer Mashed Potatoes:

Print

Freezer Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

• 10 medium russet potatoes diced
• 4 ounces Cream Cheese
• 4 ounces Sour Cream
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
• 2 tablespoons Butter
• Shredded cheddar cheese to cover top optional

Instructions

• Boil potatoes until cooked through.
• Drain water and smash potatoes until smooth.
• Add in cream cheese, sour cream, salt, black pepper and butter.
• Mash and combine until fluffy.
• Divide among two 8x8 aluminum freezer pans.
• Sprinkled cheddar cheese over top, if desired.
• Cover, label and freeze.

To Serve:

• Bake at 350F for 30 minutes.

I’ve got another Fill the Freezer February recipe post for you! This time it’s for a delicious maple pineapple ham that can be made in the slow cooker. I actually changed this recipe up a bit from the one available in the Fill the Freezer February pack. I wanted to use what I had on hand and so I omitted the brown sugar (mine was rock hard) and used some canned pineapple instead. This actually makes me happier, because I feel like there’s less sugar that way!

I’ve made a very similar version to this several times in the past and it’s always a hit with everyone. I whipped up two batches of freezer mashed potatoes to serve with this.

Here’s how to make Maple Pineapple Slow Cooker Ham:

Print

Maple Pineapple Slow Cooker Ham

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1/3 Cup Maple Syrup
• 1 Small can of Pineapple with Juice
• 1 Pre-Cooked ham

Instructions

• Place Dijon mustard, maple syrup and pineapple and juice into a bowl and mix well.
• Place ham into a large freezer bag.
• Pour sauce over top of the ham.
• Seal Bag. Freeze.

To Serve:

• Place ham and sauce in a slow cooker. (Can still be frozen)
• Cook on low for 6 hours.

First up in my Fill The Freezer February task, is these delicious Chicken Pesto Stuffed Shells! (I sincerely hope my photography skills only improve with each meal I make…my apologies.) These are so delicious and are actually quite simple to put together! They were a hit with everyone in my family and I need to make another batch because I planned to make two for the freezer, but only one made it there! I served these with a caesar salad and some carrot sticks.

I also love my KitchenAid mixer so I try to do as much as I can with it in the kitchen and these proved that I can create the whole “stuffing” part with the mixer. Including shredding the chicken! That is a win in my books, especially when I’m working with a stiffer food thing. (Saves my wrists.)

These Chicken Pesto Stuffed Shells could be quite versatile. I think they’d be great with spinach added, as much pesto as you’d like and I’m sure most variety of cheeses would be wonderful. You could even try adding a bit of tomato sauce.

Here’s how to make freezer friendly Chicken Pesto Stuffed Shells:

Print

Chicken Pesto Stuffed Shells

This recipe makes enough for two pans of stuffed shells that will feed about four people each.

Ingredients

• 1 box of jumbo pasta shells
• 8 oz cream cheese softened
• 2 cups fresh grated Parmesan and/or mozzarella cheese + extra for topping
• 6 Tbsp prepared pesto homemade or store bought
• 4 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• In a large pot, bring water to a boil and cook pasta shells only until al dente. (The pasta will finish cooking when the dish is baked.)
• Drain the pasta shells and set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients, except the extra cheese for the topping.
• Fill the pasta shells with the filling.
• Freezing and Serving Directions
• Place stuffed shells in an aluminum baking dish.
• Sprinkle the extra cheese over shells.
• Cover well.
• To serve, defrost, then preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake shells uncovered for 35-40 minutes or until shells are bubbling hot and cheese melts.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!

The time is quickly approaching for our new baby’s arrival! Baby is due to arrive around the middle of March so I’ve dubbed the month of February as “Fill the Freezer February”. Clever, right? 😛  Last month during the January Declutterathon, I made a bit of room in our freezers so I can fill it up with plenty of freezer meals to keep us well nourished for a while.

Preparing meals isn’t one of my favourite things to do at the best of times, so I know I have to make it as easy as possible for myself once the baby is born. I want to avoid as much eating out as possible but I also want well rounded meals.

So today, I present to you, Fill the Freezer February with my Ultimate Before Baby Freezer Cooking List! My plan of attack is to make the meals I have picked throughout the entire month of February. I want to avoid a big one day cooking session because my body is just not handling extra standing as well these days. Once I create the meal, I will do a post for you with a photo and the recipe.  How does that sound?

Whether or not you have a new addition arriving in your family, I’d love for you to join me. After all, in the long run, freezer cooking can be a great money and time saver.

If you’d like to join me, today I will provide my list of meals and snacks I plan on making plus, a free downloadable Ultimate Freezer Cooking pack. The pack includes a grocery list, recipes and labels!

Here’s what I have planned to fill my freezer. All recipes will be included in the Freezer cooking Pack unless otherwise noted:

Breakfasts

• Waffles (1 batch)
• French Toast (1 loaf)
• Maple Oatmeal packets

Lunches:

• Chicken Noodle Soup (2 containers)
• Cream of chicken soup (1 container)
• Hamburger soup (1 container)

Dinners:

• Pizza (I plan on buying a few frozen pizzas)
• Lasagna (I can’t make a decent lasagna for the life of me so I will buy 2 President’s Choice Lasagnas, they’re yummy)
• Pre-made bought meals from a local store (4 – 5 meals)
• Perogies & Sausage (These will be bought)
• Balsamic Roasts (2 bags)
• Ham with Brown Sugar Maple sauce (2 bags)
• Teriyaki Chicken (1 bag)
• Spaghetti sauce (2 bags)
• Turkey Pot Pie (My mom made us a turkey pot pie so I don’t have to)
• Meatballs (2 bags)
• Slow Cooker Chicken Broccoli Alfredo (2 bags)
• Pesto Chicken Stuffed Shells (2 pans)
• Shepherd’s Pie (2 pans)
• Freezer Mashed Potatoes (2 pans)
• Cream cheese chicken taquitos (1 batch)
• Cooked ground beef (for taco night) (2 bags)

Snacks:

• Soft Pretzels
• Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Banana Muffins (1 batch)
• Bran muffins (1 batch)
• Banana Bread (3 loaves)
• Smoothies (I may throw some fruit and spinach into freezer bags to make it extra easy)
• No-Bake Energy Bites

That list should give us over 30 meals, taking care of breakfast, lunch and dinner for a while. Plus, there are quite a few snacks. Since I am not making everything in one day, I didn’t have a budget in mind, because I will pick things up while they are on sale with my regular grocery shopping.

Get the downloadable Ultimate Freezer Cooking pack here.

Also, I bought a set of these Hands-Free baggy racks. They are so handy!! The best purchase you can make if you want to up your freezer cooking game.

I’d love to know what your favourite freezer meals are. Let me know in the comments!

With summer wrapping up and the back to school rush beginning, there’s no better time to get the dinner time chaos under control. Give this Slow Cooker Freezer cooking plan a try and have 9 meals ready and waiting!

I really wanted to try to get dinner time more under control and I know for me, having prepared meals (homemade and store bought) in the freezer really help me out.  While store bought foods, (think frozen pizza, perogies…etc.) are okay with me once in a while, I love to have homemade meals on the table most nights.

I’ve been seeing freezer cooking posts all over Pinterest lately and knew I had to jump on that band wagon.  Freezer cooking is a great solution to my problem and I haven’t intentionally stocked my freezer with meals since before my daughter was born.

Another one of my favourite things is using the slow cooker.  I love the ease of just throwing things into the slow cooker, turning it on, then coming back at dinner time to dish up!  Sure makes that 5pm toddler crazy time more bearable. 🙂

So, with those two things in mind, I created a plan for 9 slow cooker freezer meals that I’d love to share with you all!

The plan consists of some of our tried and true favourite family meals.  Here are the meals you will be making if you so wish to join in:

• Peanut Chicken
• Beef Roast and Carrots
• Chicken Tortilla soup
• Honey Garlic Chicken
• Meatballs
• Chicken Vegetable Curry
• Beef Stew
• Baked Beans
• Chicken Broccoli Alfredo

I hope you’ll enjoy them just as much as we do!  (It’s actually 10 meals because the size I roll meatballs makes that recipe enough for two meals)

Click here to download the grocery list, recipes and labels.

All told, everything cost me under $100.  The cost could be much less since I didn’t purchase any of the meat on sale.  I also purchased everything from the Real Canadian Superstore for the sake of time. I think you’ll have many of the ingredients on hand already which also makes the costs go down.

Since nothing in this freezer cooking plan has to be cooked beforehand, I think the best use of your time would be to chop the veggies and meat first. Then for any recipe that requires a sauce, mix those up.  Finally, throw all the veggies and meat into a freezer bag and pour the sauces over top!  Simple as that!

As for the labels included in the plan, simply cut them out, then place them on the freezer bags and use clear packing tape to cover.

Click here to download the grocery list, recipes and labels.

So what do you think?  Will you be trying this out?  What are your favourite freezer meals?

Freezer cooking is a great way to save if you’re on a budget and short on time! Head on over to Midget Momma to see how she prepped 16 freezer slow cooker meals with fresh ingredients in about an hour!

Visit Who Needs a Cape to find a list of 30 Summer Freezer meals that they made up in just three hours!

How do you simplify summer meals?

What are some of the things you like to freeze to save time and money?

In case you’re interested, here’s my great big list of freezer meals and starters!

When I was planning my freezer cooking meals, I loved finding lists on other websites of what others have made for the freezer with success.

So, I thought I’d share my own list of everything that I made!  The list includes completed meals, meal starters and snacks.

• Slow Cooker Basic Shredded Chicken
• Cooked ground beef
• Slow Cooker Meatballs
• Spaghetti Sauce
• Cheesy Beef & Rice
• Shepherd’s Pie
• Shredded Beef (a friend actually made this for us, it’s for on buns)
• Lasagna
• Crockpot Chicken Vegetable Curry
• Chicken Pot Pie
• Mac & Cheese (this one is actually a freezer experiment)
• Taco Chili
• Potato Soup
• Chicken Noodle Soup
• Banana Bread
• Bran Muffins
• Buttermilk Biscuits

What are you favourite foods to freeze?

There are plenty of great one-dish freezer meals out there, but there are just as many recipes that simply help you prep certain parts of the dinner. The hamburger for tacos, marinating meat for the grill, veggies for a stir fry – they’re elements, not a meal.

I have to admit, I mostly avoid these recipes. The recipes that appeal to me most are the ones that I’ll just need to add a side of rice to, or pasta – quick sides with little work involved. You can make this process even quicker by making a large pot of rice at the start of the week and working through it as the week progresses – it keeps perfectly and is no worse for wear for being heated up. I cook batches of pasta and simply pop it in boiling water for one minute to reheat – it tastes fine too.

In the past few years though, our family has discovered the joy of eating fresh, raw fruits and veggies with dinner. I grew up in a household that ate only hot foods for dinner. Lots of shake and bake chicken, pork chops, mashed potatoes and gravy. Now, I keep an airtight container with compartments in the fridge with fresh fruit and veggies cut up. Once the main dish is ready, I pop the fruit and veggie tray on the table for sides and we’re ready to eat. It’s also handy for healthy snacking too.

I hope the tips and tricks I’ve shared in these three guest blog posts will give you the confidence to attempt a freezer meal cooking day. Send your spouse out of the house with the kids, put on a Molly Ringwald marathon and have fun!

More posts in this series:

• Freezer Meal Planning: It’s Not All or Nothing
• Freezer Meal Planning: Tools of the Trade

Sarah Deveau is the author of Money Smart Mom: Financially Fit Parenting. She blogs about money at Yummy Mummy Club and at Money Smart Mom.

Being prepared with the right tools is critical to enjoying the process of a freezer meal cooking day. Here’s what you need.

Great Recipes

It’s so disheartening to dig into a freezer meal you put a lot of effort into making on a freezer meal day, only to discover no one in your family likes it. It’s even worse when you remember you made six of those meals! After suffering through four of the most awful pizza casseroles that no amount of added cheese could liven up, I now test drive a single family serving of each meal before I commit to adding it to my next freezer meal plan.

Check out my favourite websites, Onceamonthmom and Everythingmom for tried and true freezer recipes, or pick up a copy of The Big Cook or Don’t Panic – Dinner’s in the Freezer: Great-Tasting Meals You Can Make Ahead. Many of your family’s favourite recipes are likely freezer friendly already.

Containers

Whenever possible, I use Ziploc freezer bags, as they’re sturdier than no name brands for meals. It’s easy enough to place them in a large bowl to stand it up to fill, them lay them flat on cookie sheets to freeze. Some things are easier to freeze in the pan, but there’s a trick to not sacrificing your pan to the freezer until you’re ready to eat that meal. Simply wrap the pan or casserole dish in aluminum foil before assembling the meal inside. Freeze, then pop out the meal and wrap tightly in another layer of foil. When you’re ready to bake that meal, just remove it from the freezer, drop it into the correct size dish, and bake! When freezing individual lunches, I usually use the small square Ziploc containers – though I do find leaving them frozen for more than a month or two invites freezer burn.

You can freeze in glass – just don’t forget to let the dish cool before popping it in the freezer, or warm up before placing in the oven.

Label it!

Regardless of the container you’ve used, you’ll want to ensure everything is labelled. Don’t trick yourself into thinking you’ll remember what’s in a specific container – trust me, three months later you’ll barely be able to name any of the recipes you made.  Be sure to include cooking instructions.

If you’re super keen you can print adorable labels from Martha Stewart but the truly frugal will simply write on the bag or foil with a sharpie, or slap a plain label on the bag or container.

Sarah Deveau is the author of Money Smart Mom: Financially Fit Parenting. She blogs about money at Yummy Mummy Club.

I love to cook. I love browsing through boutique kitchen stores, and not much thrills me more than selecting a gorgeous new cookbook and burrowing into a comfy chair with it at home, dreaming of dinner parties. I have invested in fantastic tools over the years, sometimes discovered at thrift stores and garage sales – vintage Le Crueset dishes, my wonderful Kitchen Aid mixer, and perfectly sharpened Global knives.

So you’d think getting dinner on a table every night would be a snap, right? Not so much. I work full time at my day job and for myself from home 10 to 20 hours a week. And of course, I’ve got a few kids too – three girls under the age of six.

After having my first daughter, I took up meal planning after my husband and I were guests on the Food Network Television show Fixing Dinner. It helped me add structure to my day to ensure I had great food on the table every night. However, as my schedule got busier, I often found I didn’t have time even when I tried to stick with my tried and true meal planning routine.

I turned to freezer meal planning. What a difference! For the past few years, I’ve used freezer meal planning to handle feeding the crowd in our house.

There are two main ways I’ll handle making our family’s freezer meals.

1. Super Prepared
   This method involves being, well, super prepared! I look at my schedule and choose two days when I’ll have a lot of time to prepare. The first night I’ll set aside three hours to browse flyers for sale items, select recipes, write out the plan for how many times I might double or triple the recipe, and write a grocery list. Then I’ll head to the grocery store, bring everything home, and sort it on the kitchen table and in the fridge by recipe.The next day, I’ll follow my notes of what to prepare when, to ensure there are no long waits in the process wile meat is cooking or the oven is full. By the time I’ve put in five or six hours, I’ll usually have between 20 – 30 meals prepped and ready to freeze. Some meals are made big for sharing with guests, others might be small – just enough for my husband for dinner and his lunch the next day. My kids are still pretty picky, and I keep a container of grilled chicken and plain pasta in the fridge at all times in case they’re not interested in more than the obligatory bite of the main meal.
2. Slacker Method
   If I just don’t have the time to set aside for a big cook, I’ll use the slacker method. A few nights each week I’ll double or triple the meal I’m making that night, and freezer the others. After a month of doing this, I might have 10 – 12 meal stashed away in the freezer.

Regardless of the method you choose, even the busiest parent can fill your freezer with fantastic meals that will save you money by taking advantage of buying items while on sale, and save you even more money over ordering take out in desperation.

Sarah Deveau is the author of Money Smart Mom: Financially Fit Parenting. She blogs about money at Yummy Mummy Club and at Money Smart Mom.

Are you wondering how long the food in your freezer will last?  Here are some guidelines I found on Real Simple:

• Chicken or turkey pieces, uncooked: 9 months
• Fruit pies, unbaked: 8 months
• Fruit: 6 to 12 months
• Steaks, uncooked: 6 to 12 months
• Butter: 6 to 9 months
• Lean fish: 6 months
• Roasts, uncooked: 4 to 12 months
• Chicken or turkey, cooked: 4 to 6 months
• Chops, uncooked: 4 to 6 months
• Shellfish, uncooked: 3 to 6 months
• Hamburger: 3 to 4 months
• Bread and cake: 3 months
• Cookies, baked or dough: 3 months
• Meat casseroles, cooked: 3 months
• Fatty fish: 2 to 3 months
• Soups and stews: 2 to 3 months
• Ice cream and sorbet: 2 months
• Ham, cooked: 1 to 2 months
• Bacon: 1 month

According to Real Simple:

Times are based on a freezer set at 0 degrees Fahrenheit or colder. Storing and eating frozen foods past these deadlines isn’t dangerous, but flavors and textures will begin to deteriorate.

Image from here.

**I’ve just finished freezing 20 pounds of peaches, so I thought I’d bump this post up for those wondering how I do it!** Originally published August 11, 2010.

It’s that time of the year!  Peach season!  I have yet to can any peaches, but since my husband is such a smoothie lover, he prefers them frozen anyways.  They make the smoothie colder he says.  Nonetheless, I love freezing our local peaches because I find it much more economical than buying canned peaches or the frozen ones from the grocery store!

I thought I would write a step by step tutorial for those of you who would like to know how I freeze them.  It’s a bit of a process, but the results are good!

First of all, you want to have all your supplies in order.  Peaches, a saucepan of boiling water (don’t fill it too full!), a bowl of ice water (again, don’t fill it too full!), a slotted spoon,  a small bowl of lemon water or Fresh Fruit ascorbic acid, a cutting board and finally, all your cookie sheets.  The following process is called the blanching process and it makes it really easy to peel those peaches!

Step 1:  Place a bunch of peaches in the boiling water for about 30 seconds.  Remove with a slotted spoon and place in the ice water.

Step 2:  Remove the peaches from the ice water and place on your cutting board.  I like to cut around the entire peach right about now from one end to the other end so it’s cut all the way through.

Step 3:  Now you’re ready to get peeling.  The skin should practically fall off after the boiling water and ice water treatment you’ve given them.  Grab the peaches on the seam where you’ve cut and pry them apart.  I like to cut each half into quarters at this point.

Step 4:  Place the peach slices in the lemon water or Fresh Fruit mixture then transfer them to your cookie sheets .  Place them in a single layer.  The cookie sheets can be lined with parchment paper but I don’t bother.  Also, putting the peaches in a single layer on the cookie sheets rather then straight into a freezer bag, eliminates the big clump of peaches that will be impossible to separate later!

Step 5:  After the peaches are frozen, transfer them into freezer bags.  Enjoy all winter long!

Don’t forget to enjoy a couple of bowlfuls of the fresh peaches to reward yourself for all your hard work!  Mmmm!