Freezer Cooking: 7 Hours, 112 Meals!!
I have always wanted to try that whole Once-A-Month cooking thing. It sounds awesome to me. Cook for one day and have meals for a month? Yes, please!!!
But, um, what do I make? And what do I need at the grocery store? And how does that not cost me an arm and a leg and my sanity?
And then Crystal over at Money Saving Mom (if you’re not already following her blog, go. Do it. Right now.) has been doing a series of posts on freezer cooking – one week to fill your freezer with breakfast foods, another week to fill your freezer with lunches, and another week to fill your freezer with dinners. Cook one meal a day for the freezer, don’t get overwhelmed, and have tons of food ready to go. She even provides the shopping list. Score!
However, sometimes when I get excited about something, I want to do everything THAT DAY. So instead of following her advice to spend a week cooking lunches for the freezer, I did it all in one day.
Let’s just say there’s a reason Crystal suggests spreading it out. Ahem.
Anyway, my friend Bethany came over for what was SUPPOSED to be a day of relaxation after the two crazy weeks that we had both had, and instead I turned it into an intensive work day.
Oops.
But now we both have stocked freezers, and we don’t have to make lunches for our men every day. And that’s pretty awesome. Actually, it’s super awesome. I love it! And the best part?
It only cost each of us $55. That comes out to $1.01 per lunch, thankyouverymuch. That is WAY cheaper than the $2.50 I spend on Lean Cuisines when they are on sale, AND these lunches are much healthier and less processed. Yippee!!
So here’s how we did it…
Have you ever tried freezer cooking a bunch of stuff in one day? What’s your experience been??
Kayse Pratt serves Christian women as a writer + designer, creating home + life management resources that help those women plan their days around what matters most. She’s created the most unique planner on the market, helped over 400 women create custom home management plans, and works with hundreds of women each month inside her membership, teaching them how to plan their days around what matters most. When she’s not designing printables or writing essays, you’ll find Kayse homeschooling her kids, reading a cheesy novel with a giant cup of tea in hand, or watching an old show from the 90’s with her husband, who is her very best friend.
Ok, pb&I takes one minute to make, why go through the trouble and freezer space for that?
Hi Cheryl, thanks for your question! By making things in bulk and storing them in the freezer, it cuts down stress and prep time in the moment. Instead of having to open the bread, get out the peanut butter and jelly, dirty up dishes and make a sandwich each time it’s needed, you do all those steps ONCE and have a stash ready to go. Hope that helps! 🙂
Kayse, we never been tried this before but last week, my husband and I were talking about this freezer cooking, we might try for our meal plan. The downside is that hard to find some recipes that my young ones wanna eat. They are picky eaters. Hoping we dan save money with this method.
jeez this is impressive. With 4 kids and sports I need to do this for my sanity
I love freezer cooking. I love to make up lasagna, french spaghetti and meatloaf. I make the meatloaf in pans that make 8 mini loaves. My all time favorite is crockpot freezer meals. Tomorrow I am going to make breakfast burritos and beef and bean burritos to freeze.
Oh my… these look really good! You opened a whole new world to me sharing that series! I have to get a freezer!! Mine is kind of dinky. I wondered about the PB&J too, but I good call on the PB on both sides…
Awesome idea!! Especially since I will have 6 kids at home all summer break! Just wanted to know if you both ended up with 112 meals or divided it up and got 56 each?
Thanks!!
I have been searching for easy freezer meals and cannot believe that i never considered pb+j as a meal. I think i just had an aha! moment. All along i have been worrying about dinner. Breakfast and lunch can be frozen and ready for you when you need it too! I just have to search my pantry for things i already have. Where have i been? I no longer need 10 different recipes…instead 5 will do. just double or triple the recipe depending on your family size and need. Thank you for reminding me that a meal can be so simple.
I was just wondering if you froze your pb & j sandwiches? If so how did they turn out when defrosted and how did you defrost? I have done this with grilled cheese sandwiches but I found them soggy.
They turned out GREAT – super fresh. I put a thin layer of PB on each side and the jelly in the middle and all is well!
I don’t “all at once” cook, but I do often double recipes I’m making and freeze one of them. Burritos, meatloaf, enchiladas, some sauces – if I plan carefully, we can rotate through so I cook 4 days a week and pull from the freezer the other 3 or so (or pull them for lunches). Also, double waffles and french toast since those freeze well too. Cook those Saturday morning for a fresh breakfast together, and let the kids microwave the frozen ones on the weekdays.
Love this post, thanks for the inspiration!