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My intentions were high for the weekend; I had planned on being in the kitchen most of the day on Saturday to work on Fill Your Freezer February (new? Read the intro here).
Unfortunately we had a death in the family and I was not in the mood to dance around the kitchen cooking.
I did manage two things to add to the freezer while doing my normal cooking:
Chicken Stock. My (bone broth) recipe here shows the three ingredients I always add to my broth!
I use my 8 quart Instant Pot. I used the Pressure Cook setting on High for 2 hours. Slow release.
After draining and left to cool, I poured it into a freezer safe container. Wrote chicken stock on the lid in dry erase marker. I let it cool in the fridge overnight. Then moved into the freezer.
I did one large container instead of many small containers. When it’s time to defrost, I will use this up in a few meals over the course of a week.
Meal ideas- stroganoff, chicken and noodles, replace water when cooking rice, make a soup, cook garden fresh green beans in broth, use in mashed potatoes instead of milk, bulk prep shredded chicken in Instant Pot.
Cottage Pie (Shepard’s Pie).
A meal like this is a labor of love when it’s made from scratch. To save time for our future selves- that makes it the perfect time to double the recipe to fill your freezer.
I made this for Sunday dinner and had one pie pan that I cooked (cooled and froze) for future dinners for hubby when he travels for work. There’s nothing like a good, homemade meal while traveling!
Cooking for my husband is not only important to me personally; it keeps him healthy while traveling and not hitting the drive thru – which also helps our food budget.
What were you able to add to your freezer this past weekend?