Today I wanted to share a little of what I have been cooking up lately. I have only recently gotten back into weekly meal prep and really trying to get my freezer stocked. This pregnancy has been a little rough and I didn’t get the 2nd trimester “relief” or energy back with this time, at least not to the extent I normally do. But now that I’m down to the final weeks before baby #5 arrives I’m trying to kick freezer cooking days into overdrive now versus spending hours on my feet and in the kitchen after baby comes when I should be resting and snuggling!
I do have other freezer cooking posts over the last couple of years, like my Fill Your Freezer February posts if you want to see more recipes and ideas, but today I wanted to give some Freezer Cooking Tips to have success on your freezer cooking adventure! With a mixture of freezer cooking and some weekly meal prepping (even if it’s simply washing and prepping fruits and veggies) has helped a lot with getting meals on the table quicker (and with less mess!) because it cuts down on the daily prep work too, making weeknights or busy weekends just that much smoother.
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I wanted to share a few tips/tricks with you, hopefully a few money saving, time saving, and new ideas. Or at least, a refresher course even for those of us getting back into meal prepping and freezer cooking.
1. Have some easy snacks ready.
Have some easy snacks around today, especially if you are like me and have kids home and running around the day that you are cooking and prepping! Ideas include: granola bars, fresh fruit, trail mix, or do like we did and set up a big plate of apple nachos!
2. Double Up.
The trick is to plan on making a double meal for one of the meals for the day. If I hadn’t actually planned on making a batch of these corndog muffins to eat for lunch I would have had to cut into my freezer batch to feed the kids if lost track of time or didn’t want to stop the work flow to make something else entirely. I will plan and buy enough knowing I will make a batch specifically for lunch at the same time I am getting them ready to freeze! {Make one/ Freeze One Method of freezer cooking!} Even if you aren’t in the kitchen for hours, using this method for dinner or perhaps the next days meal by simply prepping leaving in the fridge overnight will save you time and energy.
3. Have an easy dinner!
By all means take the advice from #2, put an easy dinner in the slower cooker before you get into freezer cooking, or just have sandwiches! You put in a lot of work for your future self today, so pat yourself on the back, and if your kids are like mine they will be happy to eat some peanut butter and jelly for dinner without anyone complaining!
4. Don’t buy convenience, DIY.
I am completely okay with buying frozen pizzas, ready made dinners, frozen lunch items but it’s not a long term solution for our family- both nutritionally and financially. But I admit it means keeping up on your pantry inventory and freezer/meal prepping. Here are some examples of items I make instead of buying.
For instance I am getting ready to make a big batch of cookie dough. I will add extra post-partum nutrition (like flaxseed) but can be used as a treat for the kids to eat also. The great thing is I just freeze by the spoonful instead of taking the time to bake all the cookies before freezing, which cuts down prep time but making the same amount of mess. Nothing like the smell of baked cookies to make them just a little more enjoyable when the time comes to actually eating them. Pop them on a cookie sheet frozen while your oven preheats and then bake approximately 15 minutes at 375 degrees!
Trail mix. I know it’s convenient to buy but we like to DIY Trail mix because normally they are made with peanuts (which are not as nutritious as other nuts) and I can also buy ingredients on sale and make a bigger batch. The kids like helping to make this and coming up with different flavors. A lot of time I have most of the items already in my pantry or already on my grocery list. The “recipe” I always think as I mix a batch up is- something crunchy (nuts/pretzels), something sweet (chocolate chips, mini marshmallows), and something chewy (rasins or other dried fruit).
Muffins are also a great item to have a big stack of in your freezer. Making muffins vs bread makes it easy to take out only what you need for a quick breakfast or a snack. I have used my grandma’s recipe for over 10 years and simply switch out the main ingredient to make a variety of flavors. Click here for that recipe!
I also have the pizza dough recipe I have been using for years also (recipe here). I plan on getting a few of thes in the freezer also since we normally have a pizza/movie night at home once a week. I just freeze the dough in a light oiled gallon bag before I let it rise and take it out the morning of (or night before and put it in the fridge) and set it in a bowl to let it defrost and rise most of the day. Dough doesn’t actually take that long to mix up but again, skipping the step of prep/clean up helps when you are in a busy season of life!
