You wouldn’t think that this meal was a freezer meal, would you? But I marinated the chicken and froze it. The night before serving, I let it thaw in the refrigerator. FishPapa cooked it on the grill while I made up some noodles and veggies. Voila! Asian Chicken Salad with Noodles.
Freezer Cooking is a great way to save time at Dinnertime.
Some of my old standbys for dinner include:
Pizza, Pizza!
Pizza Kits are quickly becoming my new favorite thing. This round of freezer cooking, I bought a huge bag of cheese from Costco and divided it into 1 pound bags. Then, I mixed up multiple batches of Pizza Dough. Based on Aimee’s recommendations, I’ve stored the dough balls in both sandwich bags as well as plastic wrap, then in a larger freezer bag. I’ve found that I prefer the sandwich bags over the wrap as the frozen dough ball is easier to remove from its packaging. I just pull as many dough balls as I think I’ll need and let those rise in a greased dish in the refrigerator.
I also mixed up some of this pizza sauce. Usually, if I’ve got toppings on hand, I prep those as well. I’ve used a lot of shredded chicken lately as well as veggies that I’ve flash frozen, like peppers, onions, and jalapenos. This time, I had hot Italian sausage that I cooked and sliced, cooled, and packed in small freezer bags. We have the basics to make some great-tasting pizzas in the weeks to come.
Freezer Cooking This Month:
In addition to breakfasts, all these ground beef meals and pizza kits, I also marinated chicken breasts and made several loaves of garlic bread with marked down bread. My freezers are both filled to the brim. So, I’m hoping {fingers crossed} that mealtimes will be a little bit easier around here this month.
How did you do?
Share your freezer cooking progress in the linky or in the comments section. Can’t wait to see how it went!
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the linky!
I love the idea of freezing the pizza dough. I will definitely add that to my list of dishes to try with your pizza sauce.
I just today blogged about freezer kits!
I’m going to the store today to get stuff to work on my freezer meals (on vacation last week).
Jessica,
How do you “flash freeze” veggies, especially peppers and onions?
Laura
@Laura Aridgides, Just lay the sliced veggies on a tray. You can line it with parchment or plastic wrap to prevent sticking. Freeze until solid. Then move the veggies to a plastic freezer bag. They’ll be now frozen separately instead of one big chunk.
Okay. That’s it. I think I’m jumping on this bandwagon next month!
@Casie, well, it’s about time!
I made your pizza dough this weekend and the whole family absolutely loved it. I only baked one large pizza and froze the other two dough balls. My question (I am new to all things frozen): when I set out the dough, should I set it on the counter to thaw, does it need to rise or anything like that after thawed or just roll and go?
@Morgan, I usually take mine out of the freezer and put it in a greased dish in the fridge. It thaws/rises during the day and is ready to go by dinner. I have pulled it at noon and let it rise on the counter and that has worked as well.
I’ve been doing a little freezer cooking for years – when I made a casserole, pot of soup, etc., I’d double the recipe and freeze half. But this freezer cooking looks awesome!!! I’ve been planning for the past couple days, got my list ready and I’m shopping for my first big-time freezer cooking day tomorrow! Then my mom and sister-in-law are coming over the next day, and we’re gonna cook till we drop! I can’t wait to have a freezer full of nearly-ready meals! Thanks for the great ideas!
This took me several hours throughout the weekend I made the following: (it’s just me and the hubby)
4 meals of pulled pork BBQ
2 meals of tacos
3 meals of sloppy joes
15 hamburger buns (Thanks for the recipe Jessica I didn’t actually taste one but they looked beautiful!)
10 chicken, corn and black bean enchiladas
2 sides of refried beans
3 loaves of whole wheat bread (already gone since my siblings in law stayed with us a few days)
1 side of black beans
4 meals of carnitas
3 brownie mixes that already got used (I didn’t eat them all I swear)
Plus I cooked a huge dinner for my in laws on Monday night because I’m crazy and felt the need to impress. I’m totally staying out of the kitchen for a few days now!
@Mary, great job! Oh my word! Go put up your feet.
Oh also I don’t know where I read this tip but I freeze the sloppy joes and pulled pork in muffin tins and then put them in a baggie so my husband can pull one out for lunch or a snack since he eats a ton and needs lots of protein.
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