As you can tell from this blog, I looove me some freezer meals. Our basem*nt freezer was almost empty (gasp!) so I made 10 freezer-friendly recipes to stash away for our weekend meals. It took A LOT oftime, but I figured it was worth it since I could buy everything at once, make a big mess in the kitchen at once, and then not have to worry about weekend meals for a long time.
Don’t have a lot of room in your freezer? You could always give some ofthese to families with a new baby, someone who’s having surgery, or even invite some friends over for a prep party. Split up the ingredients so everyone buys what you need, then make a day of making all the recipes (optional: add some wine to your shopping list! 🙂 )
Here are the 10 recipes I made (and qtyof batches I ended up with):
Creamy Onion Lasagna (2)
Fiesta Chicken (2)
(3)
Buffalo Ranch Chicken(1)
(15)
Cheesy Ranch Pork Chops(1)
Chicken Taco Soup(3)
Loaded Baked Potato Soup(5)
Best Ever “No Recipe” Recipe Chili(3)
Mother-in-Law’s Famous Meatloaf(2)
And here’s the ginormous list of ingredients and supplies I needed.
First I stopped at the dollar store and stocked up on freezer bags, foil pans for the casseroles, spices like chili powder, and a few canned veggies like corn, beans, and tomatoes. Then I went to the grocery store to finish up the rest of my shopping list.
10 Freezer Meal Shopping List
- Servings: -
- Difficulty: -
DAIRY
16 oz cottage cheese
16 oz French onion dip
3 packages of cream cheese
6 c. shredded cheddar cheese
4 c. shredded Swiss cheese
4 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1 1/3 c. milk
1 1/2 c. cream
2 sticks butter
6 eggs
SPICES/SEASONING
Kosher salt
chili powder
garlic powder
1 packet taco seasoning
2 envelopes dry Ranch dressing mix
cornstarch, if needed, to thicken soup
PRODUCE
minced garlic in a jar
4 cloves garlic (or just used minced jar)
2 onions
1 bunch green onions
7 large potatoes
MEATS
1 lb. ground turkey
2 lbs ground beef
5 turkey bratwursts
4-6 pork chops
approx 4-6 lbs. chicken breasts
BOXED PASTA
4 c. uncooked penne pasta
2 pkg no-boil lasagna noodles
CANNED GOODS
2 large jars (45 oz each) pasta sauce
1 can corn
1 can diced tomatoes
4 or 5 cans of tomatoes for chili (various types: stewed, diced, chopped, Italian-style, etc)
2 cans black beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can refried beans
3 or 4 cans of beans for chili (variety of black beans, kidney beans, chili beans, red beans, etc)
1 can enchilada sauce
1 can green enchilada sauce
16 oz sauerkraut, drained
1 can (10-12 oz) chicken breast
2 jars (approx 16 oz ea) of salsa
SOUPS
2 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
4 cans Cheddar Cheese soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
11 c. chicken broth (or bouillon cubes to make broth)
2 envelopes onion soup mix
FOR STORING/FREEZING/LABELING
permanent marker
two 9×13 foil pans
three 8-in square foil pans
freezer-safe soup containers (I used 11 alltogether)
paper towels (I used 15 individual paper towels to wrap burritos),
roll of heavy duty foil
pop-up foil wrappers (for individual burritos) OR just use roll of heavy duty foil
gallon freezer bags (I used 20 alltogether)
jumbo 2.5 gal storage bags(I used 3 alltogether)
CONDIMENTS
2 Tbs. spicy brown mustard
2 Tbs. yellow mustard
12 oz bottle Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Wing sauce
1/2 c. ketchup
MISC
16 crushed saltines
15-20 flour tortillas (8-inch)
slow cooker liners
OPTIONAL IDEAS… for when you eat the recipes, so I wait to buy these (or get the non-perishables now and the fresh items later):
Individual burrito toppings: black olives, lettuce, sour cream, salsa, lettuce, shredded cheese, tomatoes
For chili: bread bowls, toppings such as sour cream, crackers, shredded cheese, Fritos/corn chips
For loaded baked potato soup:bread bowls, toppings such as bacon bits, sour cream, crackers, shredded cheese, chives
For buffalo chicken sandwiches: buns, toppings such as provolone cheese, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, Ranch dressing, feta, blue cheese. For buffalo chicken salads: shredded lettuce, Ranch dressing, onions, tomatoes, feta, blue cheese.
Toppings for chicken taco soup: shredded cheese, tortilla chips, hot sauce, sour cream, avocado
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I split the preparations into two groups. The first day I made:
- Chicken Taco Soup and Loaded Baked Potato Soup (so they could simmer while I worked on the other recipes)
- Buffalo Ranch Chicken (just put everything in a freezer bag)
- Cheesy Ranch Pork Chops (just put everything in a freezer bag)
- Turkey Bratwurst and Sauerkraut Casserole
- Best Ever “No Recipe” Recipe Chili and Mother-in-Law’s Famous Meatloaf (since they both needed ground beef)
The second day I made:
- Creamy Onion Lasagna
- Fiesta Chicken (I just put everything in a freezer bag while the burrito mixture simmered)
Have any questions, comments, or suggestions? Feel free to let me know! This was a big project and I’m sure I left out something or need totweak some instructions, etc! 🙂
