{edited 6/7/12 – when I switched to wp from blogger, most of my recipes were unreadable. I have no provided a printer-friendly downloadable version of all of these recipes for you here}
You demanded it, and I aim to please, so without further ado: Freezer Meals Part 3.
You can check out Part 1 here. And Part 2 is here.
And if you’d like to be a part of great discussions about this, join my facebook community!
Mini Gluten Free Pizza Cups
next time, I will be using recipes from Stephanie’s new eCookbook!
directions:
1) make a list of recipes. I used crock pot recipes I already had and love. 2) make an ingredient list and go shopping (don’t forget your freezer bags). 3) gather all of the ingredients 4) Then, chop all of the veggies first. Dice all of your onions, carrots, peppers, and mince your garlic. 5) Label your bags with the directions and 6) THEN add your veggies 7) Add your meat 8) Add your other ingredients. 9) Let out air, seal bag, and lay flat! 10) Freeze and Rejoice! I kept the freezer bags in the directions, but one reader had a great idea of using a reusable container to save on freezer bag costs and help keep them out of landfills. The storage containers I bought are still frozen with food, so I thought I’d use the bags for now so I could give you more recipes!
Every recipe makes 2 separate meals (at least for my family of 3, if you have a large family, they will only make one).
I divide all of the ingredients in between TWO bags or two freezer safe containers.
The night before I want to cook it, I put it in the fridge to thaw overnight.
There should be no worry about contaminated meat. Everything is frozen, thawed, and cooked at the same time and temperature. A lot of restaurants and grocery stores do this for their food prep. If you’re still concerned, make 4 bags per meal: 2 for the meat and 2 for the other ingredients.
All of my cans (unless specified other wise) are your average 15oz cans. I do recommend using fresh, frozen, or cartened products over canned because of bpa, led, and other contaminates.
Using frozen chicken breasts should be okay. I would keep them in the freezer until you’re ready to add them to the bag (at the end). Then just refreeze. They say you can refreeze meat that isn’t 100% thawed, but I never do. But as long as you just add it to your container and pop it back in the freezer you should be good!
I personally, try to use mostly organic, natural, and/or gluten free products for our family. I encourage you to do the same, but realize not everyone does. Just be cautious of chemicals like high fructose corn syrup and msg in your chemicals (I could and probably will write a whole post about how this has changed our family’s health).
Okay, now the fun part:
Strawberry Banana Muffins (12)
Mini Meatloaf Cups
Spaghetti for a Crowd
Summertime Beef Tips (to be grilled)
Cilantro Lime Chicken with black beans and corn
Divine Chicken
What cream of chicken soup do you use that doesn't have msg?
So excited to find this!! I've been looking for healthy crock pot meals. I too LOVE Pacific foods. I use their condensed soups and their organic, low sodium stocks/broths a lot.
I have a couple of questions but first I want to say this is an amazing idea. (: I'm a mom of a daughter that was born Oct 2010. And I have a working husband that I barely get to spend time with. I'm planning meals like this to save cooking and cleaning time and more family time. (:
Anyways first question do you freeze the babies snacks as well…. And second can't you just half the recipe for one container instead of doing two?
Love Freezer meals #3!!! Great job! Can't wait to try these out on my family!!
I love your idea, and I plan to have a rotating "freezer menu" for our busy family of 6…then even my dear hubby or daughters can "cook" that night! I think I'll print the directions for the recipes on mailing labels (since they are larger than address labels), and stick them to the bags to save time on handwriting the direction.
I absolutely LOVE you ideas!! I am a mom of four and full time teacher….These meals free up sooo much of my time!!
Today I chopped diced and sliced! I made the Cilantro lime Chicken – smelled and looked amazing. and I also whipped up the Chiekcn Tery I saw on a previous page. Jaima, thank you so much. Wonderful recipes. Keep it up
where can i get the recipe for the cilantro chicken, its sounds good?
Okay, I LOVE your "simplify" page. I will definitely be referring back to it regularly. Thanks for putting all that great information in one place!
AWSOME STUFF – I WILL BE TRYING!!!
I have a question or two also. Sometimes I see you include the meat in the baggie and sometimes I don't. Is there a reason to include or not include? Have you had problems with frozen potatoes getting mushy? I have in the past but they were cooked when I froze them. Also how many servings do these make? It is just me and my husband (and we don't eat huge portions) should we still only split once (to not have too little in the crockpot) and expect lunch the next day? One piece of advice. I had a friend who had to feed her dogs brown rice so she would make huge batches and freeze it. I would take a scoop of cooked previously frozen rice (that was defrosted in the fridge) from her all the time and it tasted just fine! Great if you don't want to have to wait 25 minutes on rice or have trouble making the right serving sizes.
Super excited about the condensed cream of * soups with no MSG AND all of these recipes! Thanks so much!! Baby nuber 5 is due in about 3 weeks, so I have been stocking up the freezer. LOVE the lunch ideas…I'm always stumped for lunches. Be careful whith the big containers in the freezer, the more air that is in the cointainer, the more frost bite you are susceptible to…now, if you eat them quickly, then it isn't a problem!! I prefer the bags since you can squeeze out all of the air…I also seem to have the issue that whenever I freeze the containers, they end up cracking at some point throughout the process (I have a 12 yr old that could have something to do with it…lol, so I end up throwing them away anyways! Love your posts and am excited to look through the rest of your blog!
God Bless,
Marisa
I just made six bags of freezer meals tonight! Thanks so much!!!
Can you please clarify what size slow cooker these recipes are made for? I have a small cooker (3 quarts). I think most are 6 quarts but I thought I'd better make that clear before I start cooking!
Thanks.
Spaghetti For A Crowd is awesome! My family loved it. We fed 8 people with the recipe (not divided up) & we had enough left over for my husband's lunch. We are loving the freezer bag concept! Something we will continue to do.
Im curious as to how you freeze the meatloaf muffins without the sauce on top getting everywhere?? I'm just thinking if I put these in a bag the sauce will smear. LOVE your blog, I would have never even imagined that cooking could be so easy!!!
As far as the mini meatloaf meals are concerned, I wanted to share something. When I am making the meatloaves, I also make a batch of homemade mashed potatoes at the same time. I use small red potatoes that I don't have to peel or chop, toss them whole into a steamer and steam for 15 – 20 minutes. When they are tender, I take them out and mash them with butter, milk, sour cream, salt and pepper. Make sure to leave them a little "stiffer" than your regular mashed potatoes. Let the batch come to room temperature. Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. When the potatoes have cooled to room temperature I use an icecream scoop to make individual rounded circles of mashed potatoes on the baking sheet. I press down in the center of each mound and add an extra pat of butter. Put the whole baking sheet in the freezer and freeze for 2 hours. Remove from freezer and put into individual bags. I put my frozen mini meatloaves in a quart size freezer bag with one serving of the mashed potatoes. I take out however many servings I need in the morning (we feed 2 – 5 people depending on the day), leave in the fridge to defrost and then just microwave until warm when we get home.
Thanks for this! I'll try making some mashed potatoes tonight!
Your recipes look very tasty! Thanks for sharing. Just wondering if there were a way to make some of the recipes more clear? The ones that are done with the yellow fun font are very small, and I can’t seem to change my view settings to make them more clear. I want to be able to read them and experience the yummy recipes. Thanks!
Thank you for the printable format for the recipes!
you are very welcome. thanks for bringing it to my attention. for some reason, when I switched over a lot of my fonts changed. a lot of them are still not right, but I’m working on it!!! Thanks for sticking it out and checking back.
I’ve seen several people ask, but I haven’t been able to find the answer … how long are these good in the freezer?
I would say 4-6 months, but I always use them up before then!
I really want to make the Cilantro Lime Chicken but I can’t seem to find the recipe. Is there a way you can send me this recipe or post it on the website somewhere? I can see the picture but no recipe
Thanks!
Hi Kindra! At the top of the post, there’s a link to the prtintable recipes in this post. Unfortunately, when I switched my blog over the recipes got all messed up.
I can’t see the recipes for page 3 either….too bad they look yummy too! The other pages worked fine:)
they’re at the top of the post or you can see them here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uMCkmddiKSWgV3PfSIoJNbiDkvohVlrt7HaZklQKX0k/edit
just found your blog thanks to Pinterest – love it! Do you happen to have a google doc made for parts 1 and 2 of the freezer meals? That would be a huge help, thanks!
Hi! I just came across your blog through Pinterest and I have to tell you how much of a godsend these recipes are! I’ve always wanted to do some freezer cooking but A) I’m too busy to put my own recipes together and B) I could never find recipes online that my family would like. With expecting baby #2 this fall, your recipes are PERFECT for my family! They are simple, easy and sound super yummy!! And I love that you cook from organic/fresh perspective. It’s something I’ve been getting more into now that I have children. So thank you! I will most definitely be using your strategies and recipes — and of course, blogging my entire journey through it
I truly appreciate all you do! LOVE that I found your blog!! xo, Carey
So glad you’re here! Congrats on baby #2!
HI! I am excited to try these recipes – I have one question though about the Divine Chicken….do you serve it over noodles or rice? You probably mentioned it, but I can’t seem to find it!
Thanks so much for the great ideas!
I have done it over both and like it both ways! I just use whatever I have on hand
I am so late to this party, but I love what you’ve done! I too have a question about the Divine Chicken, while it does indeed smell divine it is very very very soupy…..normal? or did I mess something up?
what size grape jelly for the Meatballs
I use about 10oz
Have you made it with anything other than grape? My daughter hates grape flavor.
What mini pepperoni’s do you use for the kiddos? We are GFCF and try to stay away from all nitrites/nitrates, etc that are often found in things like pepperoni. We don’t have any large stores like Whole Foods/Trader Joe’s that carry healthier brands nearby. Thanks!
I’ve been considering doing this for awhile, but your post just gave me the kick start I need. Thank you!
Doubled and made Cilantro Lime Chicken w/Black Beans & Corn and Divine Chicken. The Lime Chicken was very good. Should add a bit less corn and black beans it was all I had leftover. Divine Chicken was ok but it was too liquidy. I will add less milk and add peas per my kids request.
I have a question. I’m making gf muffins for a friend and so far the mix looks like cookie dough. Should it be that way? or should it be more liquidy?
Thanks! Love your blog!
how did they turn out?! Shouldn’t have been really doughy…
I had to put some milk because I thought I was gonna get cookies out it
I was thinking maybe there’s an ingredient left out in the recipe?
With the milk (about 1 cup) the muffins came out really soft and yummy yummy! I’ve never tried to make muffins with fresh strawberries but I’m glad I did this time. My 4y.o. secreatly was eating some until he remembered they were for his friend’s mom. lol
Love your blog! We don’t eat any red meat so I will be trying your chicken ideas for sure.
I’d really like some of the recipes from this, but there’s no ingredients list; just pictures
at the top you will see a link to the printable recipes
My daughter is pregnant with her first – twin girls. I am so excited to make these recipes for her since she still works full time and is tired when she gets home. I had her look at the recipes to make sure everything was okay for her “diet”. Her dad and I chopped and created on Sunday and plan to do it again soon. Thanks for a wonderful website.
What amazing parents you are!!! That’s great!!! Sure hope they help her the way they have my family! Congrats on the twin granddaughters! How special!
Jaima
I am having trouble with the muffin liners sticking to my mini pizzas! It almost makes it too hard to eat. And suggestions? I tried spraying them, with no luck. Also, do you freeze these? I didn’t see that. Thanks for your blog!! You are helping make my life easier
Working Mom with 8yr old and 2yr old twins:)
Yes! I use foil liners, because they don’t stick. I do freeze the leftovers, and just reheat for lunches, but make sure if you are microwaving them to reheat that you remove the foil liner!
I am wanting the recipes for Post 3 but it will not load since its in DOC form… all the other post are in pdf and I have no problem loading them. Can you please email me the recipes for Post 3? Sweetmercy23@yahoo.com
I cannot figure out how to print the recipes. What am I doing wrong? Every time I click on any of the Printable Recipes Here, it takes me to a strange Google site. And for Part 3, I can’t find the recipes at all. Help! I love these!!
I have already made some of your meals and LOVE them! I am having difficulty getting the recipes from part 3. when i click on your link at the top of the printable recipies, it takes me to a page that has the first few paragraphs in english, then the actual recipies are all encripted. Do you have another way to post the recipies for us?? Thanks Jaima!
I love these recipes! Just made 4 meals yesterday. One question, I am curious if any of these could be baked in the oven rather than in the crockpot? If I shared some with another family that didn’t have a crockpot for example. Thank you!
This is a great website for a mom of six. Thanks!
Hi, love your recipes. I am having a problem with freezing red potatoes…they turn black, hard and don’t seem to cook even after all day in crock pot?
Thanks so much!
I like these ideas but I particularly was looking for the gluten free mini pizza cups, but the recipe did not appear. Could you email it to me or post on facebook. Thank you!!!
Thank you for these awesome ideas! I love crockpot cooking in the fall and winter and cannot wait to try out some of your recipes. Now to see if I can get a friend to do a crockpot meal swap!
I would love to try some of your recipes but I was not able to click on any of them?
You can find them all on the printable recipe links… or here: http://www.ringaroundtherosies.net/freezer-cooking-2
I came on specifically looking for the gluten free pizza cups. I saw the pic on pinterest. But I don’t see a link for the recipe anywhere.
They are in the printable recipe link here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uMCkmddiKSWgV3PfSIoJNbiDkvohVlrt7HaZklQKX0k/edit?pli=1
I enjoy all of your ideas and I will keep experimenting. Unfortunately, the first experiment went terribly wrong. I made the Divine Chicken. Admittedly, I didn’t follow your recipe to the letter. I used bagged frozen chicken and a 10 oz can of cream of chicken. The milk curdled in the crock pot and it was a very watery consistency. The meal was very bland and no one enjoyed dinner.
Like I said in the beginning, I really do love all your ideas and I will keep trying them out. Thanks for this blog!
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Hello!
I came across your page on Pinterest – and am interested in creating my own site for recipes, etc. I really like the format of your page – what site did you create this through? also, about posting and arrangement of page? Just looking for some tips. Left my email in the box above, thanks for your time. Looking forward to hearing back from you soon.
Best,
Ashley
I can see the pictures, but when I try to click for recipes nothing happens…any suggestions?
I have the same issue. No actual recipes as far as I can tell.
Hello, I was wondering what I am doing wrong I can’t find any of these recipes :/ my son really wants to do the pizza cups but all I get is pics!!! HELP LOL!!!!
At the top of this page there is a link with them.
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I made your Cilantro Lime Chicken the other night and it was delicious!! I ended up “shredding” the chicken and mixing it back in with the beans and corn. We served it in taco shells originally, but I had leftovers today and mixed it with rice and a bit of taco sauce.. OMG.. YUMMM!!!! can’t wait to try the other recipes! I need to clean out my freezer first so I can fit more in there!
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