Does putting together a full meal on your busy weeknights sound too daunting? If so, consider stocking your freezer with several meal-starters to help save you time and money. Even if you don’t enjoy cooking, making a few treasures for your freezer is an easy investment of your time now that will help later when you need a quick meal for your family. Here are nine meal-starters you can put in your freezer for a busy day.
Smoothies. Don’t pay big bucks for the brand-name smoothie kits in your grocery store’s freezer section. Make your own by combining your favorite fruits, some yogurt, and maybe a handful of spinach (you won’t taste it). Package up your smoothie kits in quart-sized Ziploc bags, and all you’ll have to do in the morning is take one out and throw it in the blender with some water, juice, or milk. Voila! You have a yummy smoothie at the ready.
Burritos. If you like breakfast burritos, cook up a batch of scrambled eggs, add sausage or bacon and cheese, and fold it up in a tortilla. For regular burritos, put a layer of refried beans on a tortilla, add your choice of taco meat, and top it off with cheese. Wrap your burritos individually in aluminum foil and freeze them in a Ziploc bag. When you’re ready to eat one, remove the foil, wrap the burrito back up in a paper towel and heat it in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.
Sandwiches. Get ahead with your children’s lunches by making your own PB&Js and freezing them in individual sandwich bags. Ham or turkey work, too, if you hold the mayo (try a little butter for moisture instead). The frozen sandwich acts as an ice pack for the rest of the lunch but thaws by noon.
Taco Meat. Whether you use prepackaged or homemade taco seasoning, nothing can help get a meal on the table faster than having some frozen taco meat on hand. Think beyond just tacos and serve your Mexican-inspired meat in quesadillas or burritos; on top of chips as nachos; in a salad; or over rice with beans, cheese, sour cream, salsa, and guacamole. You can even throw it in your vegetable soup to add an extra dimension of flavor.
Grilled or Shredded Chicken. Cook chicken breasts in water on the stove or in a crockpot, or fire them up on the grill. Cut or shred the cooked chicken into small pieces, and package in 2-cup portions. These little poultry packages can be defrosted in a hurry and used in any recipe that calls for precooked chicken like a chicken casserole, chicken salad, or white chili.
Meatballs. With meatballs in your freezer, you’re set for a variety of dishes based on the sauce you choose for your meal. From barbecue to spaghetti sauce, from sweet & sour to a creamy Swedish sauce, meatballs can be prepared to suit your pickiest eater. Cook up a huge batch of your favorite meatballs and flash-freeze them: Arrange the cooked meatballs one inch apart on a cookie sheet and leave them, uncovered, in the freezer for an hour. Then, pop them off the cookie sheet and package them up in meal-sized portions. When you’re ready for a meatball meal, reheat one of your packages, add your favorite sauce, and serve them over pasta or rice.
Spaghetti Sauce. Does your family love pasta? Make a huge batch of homemade sauce and freeze it in meal-sized portions. All you’ll need to do on spaghetti night is defrost your sauce, boil some pasta, and throw together a salad.
Shredded Meat. Cook a pork roast in your slow cooker with some garlic, salt, and pepper. Then shred it with two forks and freeze it to use as barbecue or in pork carnitas. Or slow cook a chuck roast with a bottle of pepperoncini peppers, shred it, and freeze the meat to make killer spicy beef sandwiches later.
Marinated Meats. With bottled or homemade marinades, you can fix teriyaki chicken, seasoned steaks, or pork souvlaki for your family at any time. Put your favorite meat in a freezer bag, pour enough marinade to cover it, zip it up, and stick it in the freezer. When you want to use it in a meal, take it out the night before and put the bag in the fridge to marinate while it thaws. Once your meat is fully defrosted, drain off the marinade and grill, bake, or even stir-fry the seasoned meat.
With homemade meal-starter kits in your freezer, you’ll be less likely to go through the drive-thru or to run up your grocery bill with Stouffer’s lasagnas. Instead, when that 5 o’clock hour rolls around and your kids ask that inevitable “What’s for dinner?” question, you’ll look inside your freezer and smile.
Sandi Haustein is a freelance writer and mom of four. She makes a mean quesadilla with the taco meat in her freezer.
Freezer-Meal Resources
Ready to take your freezer cooking to another level? Check out one of these resources for recipes, instructions, and tips for freezing meals:
onceamonthmeals.com
Once-a-Month Cooking by Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth Lagerborg
Fix, Freeze, and Feast by Katie Neville and Lindsay Tkascik
Don’t Panic — Dinner’s in the Freezer! by Susie Martinez, Vanda Howell, and Bonnie Garcia
From Freezer to Table by Polly Conner and Rachel Tiemeyer