Freezer Cooking

As you know we practice monthly menu planning so taking the idea of monthly menu planning to freezer cooking/once a month cooking is not a huge change. What it means is that you will spend 1 full day cooking and prepare 20 meals so that your family has dinner “ready” and all you have to do is put your meal in the oven or on the grill and dinner is served!

There are a couple of ways to go at the process. You can double your recipes or even triple them and repeat the same dish multiple times in the month. You can prepare a large quantity of meats/vegetables and use them in a variety of dishes. We suggest that you look at the recipes that your family likes to eat and what would freeze well (not mayonnaise or sour cream based foods). Of course in order to do this you do need freezer space and we suggest a food saver (or freezer bags). It is also very important to label and date your food before placing it into the freezer.

In order to be successful you need to be organized, shop one day, prep/cook another. Another tip is to start out small. Try 1-2 weeks the first time and then gradually increase to a month.

Here is a sample plan for 20 meals.

Meatloaf ala Stockpiling Mom – Double

Homemade Marinara – Triple

Pumpkin Pancakes – Triple

Christa’s Chicken Casserole – Double

Christa’s Lasagna Squares – Double

Impossibly Easy Vegetable Pie – Double

Pineapple Chicken – Triple

Country Bob’s World Famous Burgers – Tripled

Most importantly have fun! This truly needs to be a day that you devote to cooking all day. Clean up as you go (and ask for help). Crank up your favorite music and though it is a lot of work, just think about the benefits as you will have dinner prepared for the next month!