Freezer Dinner Recipes

Hi. Chili works well, as does frozen spaghetti sauce. In general, foods in sauces freeze well and don't dry out. Potatoes don't taste too good frozen, though.Good luck!

I've heard that http://www.savingdinner.com/ is fabulous!

We just had a neighbor give us ideas on how to do freezer meals. One that I thought was good was called beef tips. Take 2 lbs. lean chuck roast or I actually used an inexpensive round steak (easier to cut up, cheaper and still turned out tender.)cut into cubes. 1 can cream of mushroom soup and 1 package dry onion soup mix, also 1 cup 7up soda. Place meat in a 2 qt casserole. Do not season. Pour soup and dry onion soup mix over the meat. Pour 7 up on the top Cover and bake in 275 F oven for 4 hours. Remove and let stand 1/2 hour before serving. Can double or triple and freezes well. Serve over pasta, rice or potatoes. I used 2 large round steaks, and I think 3 cans cr of mushroom and probably got 3 to 4 meals out of it, serving between 4 and 6.

Another easy one is italian chicken. Fill your crock pot with chicken breasts boneless, and a bottle of itatian salad dressing. Cook until done again serve over pasta or potatoes, etc. Freezes great.

Lazanaya, enchalata, shepards pie, work good.

I found if I brown the hamburger with onions and then freeze it in 1 to 1 1/2 cup baggies, it is ready to put into spaghetti sauce, or just add seasoning for tacos, or put into what ever other dish you want to make, and cuts the time it takes to brown the meat and cut the onions multiple times. It is also cheaper to get the hamburger in bulk.

A few things that do not freeze well are potatoes and carrots like when they are cooked with a roast. The texture when they come out is not the same.

Good Luck, sounds like a good idea. I just make it my self, double the recipe and freeze it in five or six smaller tins, as I do not care for left overs, and my son is small and my husband and I do not need the big pans.

S.
Mother to Kai
www.HomeWithKai.info

Hi A.!

I used to do this when my kids were small and I loved it! I was talking to my husband about starting again. The other bonus is that you will see your food costs go down. Anyway, I recommend the "Once A Month Cooking" book as well the "Frozen Assets" books. They'll give you all the info, menus, shopping lists, etc. Your local library should have them if you'd like to check them out before buying. I also own "There's a Chef in Your Freezer". This is more centered around preparing sauces, etc. beforehand and then includes quick recipes, including soups, to use them in.

Best Wishes & Have Fun,
L.

My favorite recipe to freeze is ham bone soup.

Aimee- Most things can be made into a freezer meal as long as you remember one important thing. Slightly undercook your noodles (aldente), rice, and veggies or they will become mushy later. Below is a super easy freezer meal. If I make it for dinner, not as a freezer meal, I mix the soup, sour cream, & 1 1/2 cup cheese in a sauce pan to melt; then pour over noodles & ham. Then sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cheese & bake 350 for 20 min. Enjoy.

Ham and Swiss casserole (super easy freezer meal)
1 8oz pkg. wide egg noodles, cooked and drained
2 cups ham,cubed
2 cups swiss cheese, shredded
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream

In a greased 9x13 pan, layer noodles, ham and cheese, mix lightly. In a separate bowl, mix the soup and sour cream together. Pour soup mixture over the other ingredients & mix. Cover with foil and freeze. When ready to eat, defrost in fridge ahead of time, then bake 350 for 45 minutes.

If you need any more freezer meal recipes, let me know; I've got a few of them. Good luck!!

Homemade Eggplant parmigiana freezes really well. You can freeze it before you cook it. When ready to eat you can defrost in fridge for a few hours & then cook at 350 for about 45 minutes. I made a few trays before I went to the hospital to deliver.

Good luck in find other dishes as well!
C.

Aimee - I belonged to a freezer meal exchange when we lived in Maryland and have tons of recipes and ideas. One thing we did as a group was whenever we did our "exchange" we would also give the recipe in case people wanted to make it again. In our group, our request was to have meals that could be prepared from frozen within a few minutes, thus not all of them were completely prepared and had a few directions. We took this idea from the make and take to freeze places (like Super Suppers, My Girlfriends Kitchen, etc.). Send me an email and I will email you the files I have. Have fun with this - we loved it!

I'd be interested in any low fat/calorie freezer recipes. So far, I'm just using lower fat cheeses, whole wheat pastas, etc. So far I've made:

Spaghetti bake - cook the spaghetti in advance, toss an egg a little salt in with it in a baking dish, and pour sauce over the top (I add some cooked ground beef/turkey to the sauce).

Mac N Cheese bake w/Ham & Broccoli. Cook elbow noodles in advance, toss them (drained of course) in the baking dish with a little chopped up ham or turkey (or even turkey bacon cooked and chopped up), with some al dente pre-steamed broccoli (or I guess you could use frozen), about a cup of shredded cheese, cup of milk, and an egg (to pull it all together - keep it from being runny). You can make a 'white sauce' instead of the egg, but I find that part too time consuming. Add a little butter and salt for flavor. You could use a little bell pepper or chopped fresh tomatoes, and I add the liquid ingredients fresh right before baking (i.e. I don't freeze them).

I also have made a ravioli bake a few times which includes the store bought raviolis (either frozen or fresh), a 1/2 cup or so of chopped up sun-dried tomatoes and a bunch of eggs, but I can't remember all the ingredients. Probably milk, salt.?? The tomatoes make it super yummy, and it freezes quite well.

Aimee send me a personal message with your email and I will email you my freezer recipes.
and if you want I have some great ones that make large batches and freeze well as leftovers to reheat for lunches.