Freezer Meals...Tried & True

Happy Monday! 

This weekend FLEW by--probably because I spent most of Saturday shopping for, and preparing, my freezer meals.  After working all day during the week, the last thing I want to do is come home and figure out what we're going to eat.  So a few months ago, my coworker told me how much she loves doing freezer meals.  I had been seeing it all over pinterest, facebook, and every other social media site you can think of but never thought I would be able to do it.  WRONG.  If you're thinking that right now, you are WRONG.  I'm not going to sugar coat it though--it takes a lot of prep, time, and patience.  But once you do it you'll feel like you just won the lottery.  OK, not really, but close enough.  I don't even have kids and this has saved my life!  However, my coworker has young children and she said that this has saved her life as well.  So, whether you're cooking for 1, 2, or 30, it works. 

I have done freezer meals 3 times, and this last one was by far the best.  Here is my secret:



This is my personal opinion only, but I've found that wholesale shopping is the way to go.  I have tried other options in the past and ended up spending WAY more than I wanted to. 

So, you know my secret.  Before you go to the store though, you need a list.  Ughhh the dreaded shopping list.  Half the time I make lists and then leave them at home so I end up having to go by memory.  Then I got smart and started using the notes app on my phone to keep track of everything.

Anyways, Step 1: THE LIST.  Start by deciding what meals you would like to make.  It takes a few tries to get recipes that are healthy, quick, and tasty, but it IS possible.  The first round of cooking, my husband and I decided that we needed things with more flavor.  Most of the meals were way too bland for us--especially for him, the man who dumps truckloads of hot sauce on everything.  Obviously that's not an option for GERD sufferers, but I do like a little more taste in my food.  So we quickly crossed those meals off for next time.  We also decided that we don't like anything in the crockpot except for meat.  If you like mushy zucchini and undercooked potatoes, by all means go for it.  The hubby doesn't even eat veggies, so I found myself gorging on almost pureed carrots so as not to waste them.  But that's just us--you might like it. 

My advice?  Go through cookbooks and recipes you already like.  It's so easy to partially make them and freeze most of them.  I'll share some of my favs at a later date.  Here is my list from this weekend:

Most of the igredients for sauces and stuff I already had on hand.  So if you don't have that you'll have to add those things to your list.

Step 2: Go shopping!  This part is painful.  You're going to spend a lot of money so it's better to just prepare yourself before you go.  Keep reminding yourself that you won't have to make a big trip like this again for at least a month.  I spent around $160 this time, which is the best I've done so far. 

Step 3: Labeling.  Ok, so if you're a type A personality like me, this is the fun part.  I love labeling and organizing things.  I use freezer bags for most of my stuff but I also have those disposable casserole containers for other things.  Label each bag or container with the date, what will be in it, and directions for cooking it. 

Step 4: Prep the kitchen.  Make sure you have counter space cleared and lots of room to work.  I usually start by making all the sauces for one kind of meat and putting them into their corresponding bags.  Most of my current recipes use a lot of the same ingredients in different variations so I just left them all out the whole time.  I also rinsed and re-used the same bowls as to cut down on dish washing time.  After all your sauces are done, just add the meat.  This has become my new favorite thing and here's why: Does anyone like to marinate their food in the morning before work?  No.  Does anyone even think about doing this?  I don't.  So, I do it all on one day, pull it out of the freezer the night before we want to eat it, and it marinates all day in the fridge while it thaws.  Then you can cook it however you want--grill, bake, fry, crockpot--the sky's the limit.

Some things I pre-cook completely.  This a genius idea and I cannot take credit for it.  I found it here: http://www.ringaroundtherosies.net/2012/02/freezer-cooking.html  She also has some recipes on her site.  I fry up some ground meat (turkey or chicken) and then add various seasonings.  So I made 1 lb with garlic, onion powder, basil, oregano, S&P to add to spaghetti, lasagna, and other italian dishes.  I made another with cumin, oregano, garlic, onion powder, S&P, chili powder, and ground red pepper flakes for tacos.  Throw these in freezer bags and you're done!  I also boil chicken and shred it in my stand mixer.  I've used that for chicken salad, fajitas, soup, BBQ chicken sandwiches, EVERYTHING.  In the past, I have frozen the leftover chicken broth in ice cubes trays, but this has just become an extra step #lazy.  Last time I pre-made some casseroles but by-passed it this time.  Even without those, I ended up with a whopping total of 26 meals!

Minus the shopping trip and breaks to take the dog out, I spent a total of 6 hours in my kitchen.  I know, I  know, it's too long.  But that includes prep and clean-up so it's not TOO bad, right?  My back was hurting and I smelled like soy sauce and dijon mustard but it was totally worth it. 

Last night we had slow cooker orange chicken.  Check out the recipe.  Warning: it is very orange-y!  I altered the original recipe and used a little under 4 oz. of OJ concentrate but I would use even less next time.  Overall my husband and I put this on the "make again" list, with a little less OJ. 

Slow Cooker Orange Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
•  1/3 cup flour
•  olive oil
•  1/2 Tbl. salt
•  1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
•  3 Tbl. ketchup
•  4 oz. frozen orange juice concentrate (thawed)
•  4 Tbl. brown sugar
•  1/4 tsp. ginger
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes

Combine and  mix the orange juice, brown sugar, vinegar, salt, ketchup, ginger and red pepper flakes in a bowl. Pour the flour and the chicken in a freezer bag.  Shake to cover chicken with flour.  Pour sauce in a separate labeled bag.

Cooking Directions:

Pour a small amount of olive oil in a skillet and brown the flour-covered chicken.
After the chicken is slightly browned, put the pieces in the crock pot. Then cover the chicken with the sauce.  Cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 2-3.

Next on the menu: Crockpot Mongolian Beef