Freezer meals

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nikki_dw
nikki_dw Posts: 126 Member
in Recipes
I'm off work for another week and want to use this time to stock the freezer with healthy and filling low-cal dinners before heading back to work in January. What are you favorite make ahead or freezer-friendly meals? My weakness is eating take out in the evenings because I'm too exhausted/tried/cranky/pissy to want to cook anything, so I need readily available meals! :)

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  • Ultima_Morpha
    Ultima_Morpha Posts: 895 Member
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    Spaghetti sauce to eat over spaghetti squash, white chicken chili, curry, taco filling (we make several iterations but have a nice tofu, black bean, and corn that is the healthiest), mashed sweet potatoes, brown rice freezes pretty well, chili, butternut squash soup, pot roast. We freezer leftovers of anything...we've even done chicken salad and it thawed okay.
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,089 Member
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    I really love rice. Its so versatile. You can cook up a batch of rice, then add in tons of veggies and whatever meat you have on hand. Or skip the meat and you can add in beans instead. Its a filling dish that is great tasting. You can season each individual dish differently to mix things up. I like sazon ! ( look in the Goya section of your local store )
    Another filling easy favorite is soups!
    I start with veggie broth, and add in elbow noodles, veggies and beans . you can freeze it and then warm up for lunch ! Quick and easy and tasty !
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,413 Member
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    Legume soups: Bean soup, pea soup, lentil soup. I make it very plain (the legume, sauteed onions, water, a little salt) then freeze it in pyrex dishes with snap-on lids that are the right size to thaw for a serving or two. Thaw time is when I doctor it up - add veggies, flavorings, etc., for variety. Squash, pumpkin or sweet potato soups and chili also freeze well (potato ones, not so much). Batches of healthy muffins. Rice or other grains that take time to cook. Prepared pasta dishes, like lasagna (again, in portions in the freezer). Quiche (mini crust-less ones are especially good).

    This is a good sweet potato soup I like to freeze: eatingwell.com/recipes/sweet_potato_peanut_bisque.html
  • jen81uk
    jen81uk Posts: 177 Member
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    I always have soup, chilli, spag Bol (the ragu part), double baked jacket spuds for lunches and maybe a beef stew in my freezer, sauces are always good too, then just quick boil some pasta X
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
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    Chili, pulled pork/chicken, Italian stew (spaghetti sauce with a ton of veggies), stew, Brunswick stew, frittata/quiche, etc. Lots of things freeze well.

    I'll also cook a ton of chicken and shred it and freeze it to add to various dishes as needed (salads, tacos, etc).
  • nikki_dw
    nikki_dw Posts: 126 Member
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    auddii wrote: »

    I'll also cook a ton of chicken and shred it and freeze it to add to various dishes as needed (salads, tacos, etc).

    Does the shredded chicken thaw nicely? How long does it keep in the freezer?
  • MelaniaTrump
    MelaniaTrump Posts: 2,694 Member
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    Have you ever considered a crock pot? You can just throw in food and it can be ready when you come home.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    I freeze soups, stews, casseroles, things like lasagna and enchiladas pretty regularly. I also cook a bunch of chicken breasts in the crock pot, shred and freeze those, or in the summer time I grill and slice them, and I cook up 5-6 lbs of hamburger or ground turkey and portion it into 1 lb freezer bags. Then I have cooked ground beef for tacos, chili, spaghetti - makes for much quicker meal prep after work! Also when I go shopping if I buy pork tenderloin I might add a marinade to it then put it in the freezer, so that when it thaws it is already marinated and ready to cook, that's done in about 20 minutes.



  • nikki_dw
    nikki_dw Posts: 126 Member
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    Thanks! I'm going to make a double batch of chicken pot pie soup tonight and will cook a chicken to shred and freeze this weekend.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    nikki_dw wrote: »
    Thanks! I'm going to make a double batch of chicken pot pie soup tonight and will cook a chicken to shred and freeze this weekend.

    I'm eating chicken pot pie as I read this! I always make double batches and freeze one whenever I can. I also wanted to mention that there are tons of ideas on Pinterest for freezer meals and prepping meals ahead of time. I have also been meaning to peruse my local "meal prep" place for their monthly menus to get ideas of foods that can be made ahead of time and frozen. I've tried their service a couple of times and found it expensive and food not that spectacular - I always left thinking, "if I were more organized I could just do this myself".
  • CaytieKangaroo
    CaytieKangaroo Posts: 5 Member
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    You should invest in a crockpot to cook these meals in. Super easy and non involved way to make a lot.

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