Freezer Cooking 101
My name is Naomi and I live in Northeast Ohio, somewhere between Cleveland and Pittsburgh. I have three children (8th grade, kindergarten and just turned two) and a husband who works incredibly hard for our family, so that I can stay at home! I blog about our personal life at Donuts and Graham Crackers.
I was homeschooled my entire education (but have chosen to send my children to public school) and grew up in Nebraska. I enjoy cooking and love even more to find ways to make cooking a bit easier on myself.
I go in phases between an obsession with cooking frugally (under $500/month for a family of five), exploring new recipes from different cultures (not cheap, but fun!), cooking healthy (for the sake of our arteries) and cooking so that I don’t get a headache (easy-peasy). I share recipes with a group of great girlfriends at ZaZaZu Cook and often spend WAY too much time online searching for fun and new recipes!
My mother often did freezer cooking and I remember it well, but only recently have begun to experiment with making freezer cooking a habit in my kitchen.
As I’m sure you’re aware, there are lots of make-it-and-take-it kind of businesses whereby you create your meals, then take them home to freeze … but I am here to tell you that it is so much more cost efficient (and really quite fun) to do this on your own!
Grab a cup of ______ (insert favorite drink of choice) and walk with me into my kitchen and let’s talk about the basics!
First, let’s decide what kind of storage to use. I prefer zippered plastic bags, as they seem to store the easiest (as a block once frozen). You can also experiment with various plastic containers (although I have yet to find one that really keeps out the freezer burn and stacks well) or simply using a variety of layers of saran wrap and tin foil on the pans that you will be cooking with on the day of serving. Make sure you have a permanent black marker that hasn’t dried out (if your house is like mine, this is harder to find than you might think!) and a straw (more about the straw later!)
The next thing to do is to set a date for your freezer cooking adventure. If you have small children at home, you will either need to plan a several-day-cooking schedule (during naps), or find a friend to keep the munchkins while you work. In the week or so leading up to your big day, begin to empty out your freezer! Be creative and use up all of those bags of frozen peas and french fries! Don’t overdo it and try to be super-mom. Plan to order pizza/takeout on the days that you are cooking.
One of the near final steps is to decide on your meal plan! You can do freezer cooking several ways. The serious (and sometimes viewed as crazy) way is to do 30 days at a time. I do this once a season.
The more time-effective way to freezer cook is to plan for 2 weeks of meals.
I have several meal plans and complete shopping lists on my very rudimentary Naomi Does Frugal blog and will use one of them during this mini-series on freezer cooking. My next post will delve into the actual recipes, meal plans and shopping lists!
I’ll close with some common myths about freezer cooking:
1. I only have a small freezer that is part of my refrigerator.
2. My family will get tired of eating the same things over and over.
3. It will take me too long to cook everything at one time.
4. I don’t have enough counter space or pots/pans for this.
Stay tuned for my next guest post about Freezer Cooking for the answers to these common myths and some recipes/shopping lists! It’s easier than you might think and will save you time and money!
For more WFMW go to Shannon’s blog.
The idea of freezer cooking interests me, but we are NOT a casserole-eating type of family. Would you be able to incorporate some tips/recipes about types of freezer cooking that do not include casseroles? Thanks so much!
Kara …
You can definitely incorporate foods that don’t qualify as casseroles!
One of my favorites? http://naomidoesfrugal.blogspot.com/2008/08/chicken-marinade.html Talk about an easy way to have delicious marinated chicken ready to grill anytime you are!
My next post will explore various options (that include non-casseroles, such as enchiladas, meatballs, pasta dishes, etc.)!!!
Oh I can’t wait to hear more!! I have done some very limited freezer cooking but would love to do more. The idea of cooking alot on one day and being able to pull something out on a really hectic day sounds great!
I love this. I have a very busy life with three children and a husband. I am also a full time college student at the age of 32!! These ideas are wonderful and they are great time savers
[...] Be strategic. If you know that one meal will make too much - plan to freeze half of the meal. I love frozen meals for those days when you have no time to cook - it has helped save us money on those last minute pizza deliveries or stops at a fast food chain. For tips on how to freeze your food, click here. [...]
Thanks for the tips! I love freezing food, but sometimes does not turn out well.
Thanks for all the freezer cooking tips. You sound really organized about it. My lack of organization keeps me from trying something like this. One thing I do make ahead and freeze are burritos. We make 20 at a time, wrap in Saran Wrap, then put them all in huge ziploc bags. My husband takes one to work every day and has kept it up for over five years!
You may want to check out our blog carnival at the Green Baby Guide–Thrifty Green Thursday. This is just the type of tip we could use!
WOW, great tips! I’m just getting into freezer prep; THANKS.
Blessings, Whitney
Okay, I’ll be stopping back to read more. This does interest me. Thanks for posting!
OOOH!! I can’t wait to read more. I’m a Nebraska Mom to three and could use your tips.
I am interested in this subject. I’ve never tried it, yet, but I keep reading about it. One day, I guess I will take the plunge!
I, too, am intrigued by freezer cooking but don’t know what I would make. LOL I’ll stop back by for more!
Great ideas. What I really love is that you are going to address common excuses, I fit with several of those! Thanks for the details!
Oh you guys are great!! Can’t wait to write the next post!!
My second child is due in about eight weeks, just a few days before Thanksgiving. So I’ve been toying with the idea of cooking a bunch of freezer food in November to last us through the holidays and January.
So I’m very interested in the advice you have to offer!
I’m surprised that I could just use freezer ziplock bags. That would save a ton of space. I was envisioning giant silver disposable baking dishes.
I’m wondering if I should just try to double up on all the things I make from now until the baby is born (I cook about four times a week), so by the time the baby arrives I’ll have a duplicate of everything I’ve made for the prior six weeks in my freezer. Or maybe I should schedule a few marathon cooking sessions sometime in November. Do you thinking cooking a bunch of things all at once is easer?
Great ideas…I’ve done freezer cooking in fits and starts, but not consistently. Also, one of my roadblocks is that once it’s frozen, I forget it’s there. Argh!
[...] post has influenced me just a bit, because I found myself reading Happy to Be at Home’s Freezer Cooking 101 tutorial with interest. Very strange, considering my twin dislikes of bulk buying and thawed out [...]
Re: Kitty …Doubling up on what you are ALREADY cooking is a GREAT idea! So is freezer cooking prior to a new baby!
Re: Sandwiched … I’ve had good luck with simply penciling in my meals either on my calendar, or all in a list on the front of my fridge.
Freezer cooking is so helpful as a way to manage meal. I freezer cook with friends by Teaming Up and started a web site that explains my method. Please come sign the guest book.
http://www.dinnercoach.com
[...] more information on Freezer Cooking, vist here, here and [...]
[...] fluctuate between my “typical” concerning meal planning and shopping. I do alot of freezer cooking and also meagerly attempt to keep track of my attempts to be more frugal at Naomi Does [...]
We love freezer cooking and have often prepped our meals, only 2 weeks, in advance. For us it is the only way to go with our busy schedules. Will love to go through your blog and upgrade our freezer meals. Thanks for sharing.