Meals to prepare and freeze for later.

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belldandy1
belldandy1 Posts: 264 Member
in Recipes
Hey have found that I never have time or energy during the week to cook lunch or dinner. If I don't prepare food in advance I end up eating out,. I keep my calories in check, but I really can not afford to be eating out all the time. Any ideas on recipes that I can cook on the weekends and freeze for the future.

Replies

  • emilyfh
    emilyfh Posts: 291 Member
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    Make large amouts of; lasagna, chili, turkey burgers, and buy a crockpot with that your meal will be ready by the time you get home.
  • sarahsmom1
    sarahsmom1 Posts: 1,501 Member
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    stew and chili does well. I make enough stew for 4 meals 1 the first night and freeze the rest in 3 other portions. As a matter of fact i'm having one of them to-night. Also like a chicken pot pie creation with out the crust
  • bpesano
    bpesano Posts: 7
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    Look for healthy meals that you can cook in larger batches in advance. Freeze them in 1 portion sized containers or freezer bags, and label them with the name,date and calorie count of the meal. You can find tons of stuff online, and can either browse websites or join a mailing list that focuses on healthy cooking. If you google your favorite meal/recipe, such as "lasagna" or "soup" and include the word "healthy" in your search, you'll get all sorts of hits. Using the word "healthy" will probably also get you a lot of hits that will include calorie count, fat and fiber count, etc. in your results. If you're looking to join a mailing list of healthy recipes, Yahoo Groups and Google Groups are both good places to look.

    Good ideas are turkey or vegetarian chili, all kinds of different soups or stews, pasta dishes using whole wheat pastas, beans and greens, pasta fagiole, goulash using healthier ingredients, stuffed peppers or cabbage, etc. :happy:
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
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    stew and chili does well. I make enough stew for 4 meals 1 the first night and freeze the rest in 3 other portions. As a matter of fact i'm having one of them to-night. Also like a chicken pot pie creation with out the crust
    Care to share your chicken pot pie creation?:wink::tongue:
  • cindydufield
    cindydufield Posts: 50 Member
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    I just googled that and found a diet blog... and gave some helpful hints about preparing ahead and quick tips. Also after countless ours of food network.. one thing i have learned is that precut vegatables and fruit may be more expensive, BUT if your buy whole veggies and fruit thinking you will find the time to cut but only end up throwing them away cause they go bad then guess what they are the better value... just a thought.:flowerforyou:
  • shinybonnie
    shinybonnie Posts: 357
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    I like to make meatloaf to freeze and prepare later:

    1.5 lbs ground beef
    1 can tomato soup
    1 cup Quaker Oats
    1 egg
    salt n peppa to taste

    Mix it all up. line a loaf pan with aluminum foil. Pat the meat into the loaf pan. Lift out the aluminum foil with the meatloaf inside and wrap in another sheet of aluminum foil, then put in the freezer. Take it out of the freezer and put it in the fridge the night before you want to have it for dinner. By that evening, it should be mostly thawed. Put it back in the loaf pan and cook, uncovered, 350 degrees for at least 1.5 hours. check to make sure it's no longer pink before you finish cooking it.


    I also do stuffed pasta shells. Cook the shells according to the package. Stuff them with some kind of filling (I like ricotta, moz. and parm cheese mixed with italian seasonings). Put however much you want to eat that night in a pan with Ragu or other pasta sauce poured over. Bake at 350 for about half an hour or til the sauce is bubbly. You can put some shredded moz cheese on the top if you are crazy like me.
    Wrap the rest of the stuffed shells in foil and put the foil package in a freezer bag. When you want to cook it, put the frozen aluminum foil packet into a shallow backing dish and cook it at 350 for about a half hour. Then take it out of the aluminum foil, put it in the dish and pour pasta sauce over it and cook another 30 mins.

    I often make big batches of pancakes and put 2-3 in sandwich-sized ziploc freezer bags. I might have 5-10 freezer bags of pancakes in the freezer at any time. These are great for kids.

    I love having frozen meals ready to go in my freezer. Makes me feel so very accomplished! haha!

    Hope that helps!!
  • shinybonnie
    shinybonnie Posts: 357
    Options
    I like to make meatloaf to freeze and prepare later:

    1.5 lbs ground beef
    1 can tomato soup
    1 cup Quaker Oats
    1 egg
    salt n peppa to taste

    Mix it all up. line a loaf pan with aluminum foil. Pat the meat into the loaf pan. Lift out the aluminum foil with the meatloaf inside and wrap in another sheet of aluminum foil, then put in the freezer. Take it out of the freezer and put it in the fridge the night before you want to have it for dinner. By that evening, it should be mostly thawed. Put it back in the loaf pan and cook, uncovered, 350 degrees for at least 1.5 hours. check to make sure it's no longer pink before you finish cooking it.


    I also do stuffed pasta shells. Cook the shells according to the package. Stuff them with some kind of filling (I like ricotta, moz. and parm cheese mixed with italian seasonings). Put however much you want to eat that night in a pan with Ragu or other pasta sauce poured over. Bake at 350 for about half an hour or til the sauce is bubbly. You can put some shredded moz cheese on the top if you are crazy like me.
    Wrap the rest of the stuffed shells in foil and put the foil package in a freezer bag. When you want to cook it, put the frozen aluminum foil packet into a shallow backing dish and cook it at 350 for about a half hour. Then take it out of the aluminum foil, put it in the dish and pour pasta sauce over it and cook another 30 mins.

    I often make big batches of pancakes and put 2-3 in sandwich-sized ziploc freezer bags. I might have 5-10 freezer bags of pancakes in the freezer at any time. These are great for kids.

    I love having frozen meals ready to go in my freezer. Makes me feel so very accomplished! haha!

    Hope that helps!!
  • Beleau
    Beleau Posts: 143
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    stew and chili does well. I make enough stew for 4 meals 1 the first night and freeze the rest in 3 other portions. As a matter of fact i'm having one of them to-night. Also like a chicken pot pie creation with out the crust
    Care to share your chicken pot pie creation?:wink::tongue:

    Hi, ditto...on the chicken pot pie...

    Thanks

    B
  • shinybonnie
    shinybonnie Posts: 357
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    sorry, didn't mean to post that twice... I remembered another thing I love: buy those 10lb bags of frozen chicken breasts. Put one or two in the crockpot with about a cup of italian dressing. Turn it on low before you leave for work and you'll have some yummy chicken when you get home. You can use barbeque sauce instead of italian dressing, shred the cooked chicken and serve on a bun! mmmmMMmm getting hungry now...
  • sarahsmom1
    sarahsmom1 Posts: 1,501 Member
    Options
    stew and chili does well. I make enough stew for 4 meals 1 the first night and freeze the rest in 3 other portions. As a matter of fact i'm having one of them to-night. Also like a chicken pot pie creation with out the crust
    Care to share your chicken pot pie creation?:wink::tongue:

    Hi, ditto...on the chicken pot pie...

    Thanks

    I basicaly just make stew but with chicken Just boil your chicken no skin. I just use the liquid for my stock instead of purchasing it. Shred, pull apart, or cube chicken. Throw in what veggies you want, I use broccalli,baby carrots, green beans, peas, corn and a potatoe and celery. I add a little milk when every thing is done, then thicken with either Wondra or flour and water. You can salt and pepper to taste. I really wish this had spell check. Enjoy

    B
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
    Options
    stew and chili does well. I make enough stew for 4 meals 1 the first night and freeze the rest in 3 other portions. As a matter of fact i'm having one of them to-night. Also like a chicken pot pie creation with out the crust
    Care to share your chicken pot pie creation?:wink::tongue:

    Hi, ditto...on the chicken pot pie...

    Thanks



    B
    joyrobles

    I basicaly just make stew but with chicken Just boil your chicken no skin. I just use the liquid for my stock instead of purchasing it. Shred, pull apart, or cube chicken. Throw in what veggies you want, I use broccalli,baby carrots, green beans, peas, corn and a potatoe and celery. I add a little milk when every thing is done, then thicken with either Wondra or flour and water. You can salt and pepper to taste. I really wish this had spell check. Enjoy
    [/quote]
    (joy, I just did this so I could find it easily and not miss it when I went looking for it, thanks so much!!)
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
    Options
    stew and chili does well. I make enough stew for 4 meals 1 the first night and freeze the rest in 3 other portions. As a matter of fact i'm having one of them to-night. Also like a chicken pot pie creation with out the crust
    Care to share your chicken pot pie creation?:wink::tongue:

    Hi, ditto...on the chicken pot pie...

    Thanks



    B
    I basicaly just make stew but with chicken Just boil your chicken no skin. I just use the liquid for my stock instead of purchasing it. Shred, pull apart, or cube chicken. Throw in what veggies you want, I use broccalli,baby carrots, green beans, peas, corn and a potatoe and celery. I add a little milk when every thing is done, then thicken with either Wondra or flour and water. You can salt and pepper to taste. I really wish this had spell check. Enjoy

    Thanks for your recipe joyrobles :flowerforyou:
  • maestrachistosa
    maestrachistosa Posts: 202 Member
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    Hi there. You are preaching to the choir on this issue. I literally just bought a new refrigerator to increase my freezer space to do just what you are talking about. I basically take any recipe and make the full amount. But, since I live alone, I just freeze the remaining portions to eat later. Another tool that might be helpful is a vacuum sealer. I have used one for years and it really helps the frozen meals retain their freshness.
  • shinybonnie
    shinybonnie Posts: 357
    Options
    Make large amouts of; lasagna, chili, turkey burgers, and buy a crockpot with that your meal will be ready by the time you get home.

    Emily - do you just take the meal out of the freezer in the morning, put it in the crockpot and cook it all day?
  • ischmelle
    ischmelle Posts: 203 Member
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    one thing i have learned is that precut vegatables and fruit may be more expensive, BUT if your buy whole veggies and fruit thinking you will find the time to cut but only end up throwing them away cause they go bad then guess what they are the better value... just a thought.:flowerforyou:

    Priceless advice! I wish I could have back all the money I wasted throwing food out because it went bad before I got to it! I just spend the extra and buy the precut. To me, I am paying for the time it saves me and we all know that time is money! :bigsmile:

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