The JOY of Freezer Cooking

A few months ago, we started using the FREEZER as our go-to appliance in the kitchen. Weird, right? Little did we know how it would literally CHANGE our life.

I soon found out there are many ways to go about Freezer meals. Typically you pick a day, cook for several hours straight, and freeze everything once it’s cooled. Although I use this method every several months when my stock runs low, there are also easier ways. An alternative is to simply cook extra of your normal meals, with the intention of freezing the leftovers. This way is more practical with my toddler running around. I personally have found success using both.

If you want to try a cooking marathon day, once every several months, start with these suggestions:

Buy chicken and ground beef in bulk whenever it goes on sale. Literally you can never have enough. Cook some of it up with taco seasoning. Cook some of it up with peppers and onions and carrots. I usually have between 7 – 10 lbs on hand, some cooked, some not.
As for the following recipes for beef mixes and chicken stock, I have to thank Natalie over at aturtleslifeforme, the blog. It was a great launching point for my love of freezer meals. Thanks, Natalie!

 Basic Beef Mix to have frozen

 Mix 2 lbs. of ground beef, chopped onions, green peppers and carrots into a non-stick skillet and allow to brown. Adding shredded carrots is a *tasteless* way to incorporate more veggies into your diet. I swear you can’t even see them.  Once this is all cooked and cooled, divide into (2) gallon size freezer bags (If you were using more than 2lbs, divide into more bags so that you end up with roughly a lb of meat per bag + the veggies.) We like to add a thawed bag to spaghetti sauce, but you could also make sloppy joes or use it to top nachos.**See my next post for an example of how to incorporate this mix into meal planning.

Basic Taco Mix to have frozen

Cook up 2 lbs. of ground beef and add taco seasoning. Cook till brown, cool and divide up between 2 gallon size freezer bags.  It’s great to pull out for tacos, taco salads, topping for a baked potato, or nachos. **See my next post for an example of how to incorporate this mix into meal planning.

Chicken Stock and Shredded Chicken

  It’s also useful to make your own chicken stock and shredded chicken. Simply put bone-in chicken pieces in a large pot with water. Add a lot of carrots, celery, onions (quartered) whatever spices you like.  I simmer it, covered for about an hour or until the chicken is cooked, but the longer it simmers, the better.  Pull your chicken out, throw away the veggies and let the broth cool.  Once the broth is cool, freeze it in 1 cup increments (Quart size bags) for chicken stock for other meals.  Shred the chicken into small pieces, and freeze the shreddings into quart size bags too. You can make buffalo chicken salad,BBQ it for on top of a baked potato, chicken salad, chicken tacos, or enchiladas.


I make beef mix, taco mix, chicken stock and shredded chicken every few months during a cooking marathon. It usually takes me about 3-4 hrs to end up with 10 or so pounds of beef and taco mixture, 10 or so cups of chicken stock, and 6 quarts of pulled chicken. SO WORTH IT!!!!!!!!!!! Stay tuned for how to use these freezer meals in meal planning.


BUT- say you don’t want to go to all that fuss yet….You can still make freezer meals!

If you make more lasagna (or other casseroles) than you can eat in two days time, take the remainders, slice them into fat strips, wrap in plastic wrap and aluminum foil, and put in a labeled freezer bag. The night before you want them, thaw them in the fridge. Then heat up the slice in a baking pan in the oven, with garlic bread at the same time. Walla! Dinner in a flash. Don’t waste anything you worked hard to prepare. Freeze it instead of putting it in the fridge to be forgotten! That’s a great meal that’s ready on a day you’re just too tired to cook!



I freeze *literally* everything. Just make sure you label and date everything.  Here are some of my freezer staples:

Chopped Onion and celery

Chopped *Stop Light* Peppers (Red, Yellow, Green)

Grated Carrots
Frozen potatoes – French Fries, Hash browns, Tator tots, etc.
Butter Blocks
Shredded cheese – all flavors
Hamburger/Hotdog buns
Loaves of Bread
Cooked Pancakes/Waffles (30 seconds in the microwave and ready to eat!)
Hotdogs
Bacon/Sausage
Pepperoni
Beef Mixtures
Marinated chicken, steak, shrimp
Juice Concentrates
Fruit Puree’s
Casseroles in strips


Most things do just fine in the freezer for 3-6 months, some items can be stored up to a year. Google if you don’t know!