So I've been searching for meal recipes that I can prepare ahead and freeze. Some are fully cooked and just need defrosting; others are prepared up to the point of baking and can just be popped in the oven.
So far I've made:
- Chili (3 meals for 2) (my own recipe) + 1 meal's worth of biscuits (recipe from Muffins and More)
- Bean burritos (1 meal for 2) (my own recipe)
- Spaghetti Pie (4 meals for 2)
- Four Cheese Stuffed Shell Casserole (3-4 meals for 2)
- Breakfast burritos (15 burritos) - I doubt these will last long enough, but I want to see if we like them before making a whole whack. Frozen eggs sounds weird to me, not sure if they'll make the transition well. (To those of you who have been following a while - yes, I'm eating eggs again after a year's abstinence, and not too thrilled about it. I'm buying the 3x more expensive "free-run, organic" ones at the store as I haven't been able to find a local farmer from whom I can buy more ethically farmed eggs. It is a source of major frustration for me. For the newbies, here's why I am anti-eggs.)
- Cheesy Spinach and Rice Casserole (4 half-meals - to serve with a salad, probably)
We also have a LOT of soups that we made over the summer in there already.
Still to do:
- Twice-Baked Potatoes (from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian) - maybe - I make these quite a bit and do get tired of them.
- ???
I'm considering making runzas (a.k.a. bierocks), but have never done them before and am not sure what to fill them with as we don't eat meat, and my husband hates cabbage (the traditional filling has both). While I sometimes use those vegetarian versions of ground round, I'm not too keen on them (soy's a phytoestrogen, not something I want to play a huge role in my diet). Maybe some kind of vegetarian sloppy joe type filling? Pizza toppings? They seem like they'd be a pain to make, but yummy and tidy to eat - great for one-handed lunches.
I'd like to get a dry-erase magnetic board to put on the freezer so that we have a menu of meals & an up-to-date list of freezer contents. It would be nice to be so organized!
Here's where I need your help: I need some more ideas - and recipes! Do you have any favourite meals that are happy to spend some time in the freezer? Though I haven't made much in this line yet, we love ethnic foods (Indian, Mexican, whatever), so bring it on.
I like to make soup in the slow cooker and freeze some (lentil soup is good in the freezer). You could make bread dough to freeze. Maybe Pizza crust, veggie lasagna, rice (I know, weird but it does freeze).
ReplyDeleteI have been doing the same thing since last week but I am afraid all of mine have meat in them. The only things I can think of right now would be beans...my friend just made some black beans and pinto beans that she served over rice, they were both amazing and meatless.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
In case you want to read about the craziness of someone else doing it to :)
http://berteaulife.blogspot.com/2011/01/cooking-marathon-has-begun.html
It's a lot of work, isn't it? I spent 6 hours today on my feet, cooking.
ReplyDeleteI lived on veggie lasagna for qutie a while both before the boys were born and after. My freezer space is very limited so I often bought it. But I never tired of it so cant recommend it enough.
ReplyDeleteWhen people stopped by after the boys were born, I got lots of peanut butter given to me. I'd suggest getting some other types of nut butters (unless you're allergic). And anything else you like as sandwich food.
Get either dried or canned chickpeas for hommus, spreads and stews. And oh yeah, you can premake stirfries with veggies and beans and even the rice will freeze well.
Um, all I can say is WOW. It sounds like you are well on your way; I'm impressed. I didn't have anything in the freezer for any of mine.
ReplyDeleteWe ate pancakes and really simple meals the first little while. Maybe I should think about freezer meals!
:)