I’ve made use of freezer meals for a long time. Busy work weeks or deadline season, working and going to school and most recently, having a baby, have all been reasons for me to stock the freezer with instant chow. Thaw, heat and enjoy!
By far the most freezer meal prep I’ve done was in May of this year, knowing that our Wee William was just weeks from making his grand entrance. It turned out he decided to do so 15 days early, so I was glad I’d decided to get my freezing done well in advance! By the time I was done I had a buffet of items in both the deep freeze and fridge freezer to choose from. I thought I’d share the recipes that worked the best for me. Here they are, along with any suggested tweaks!
Spring Rolls. You can even freeze and reheat the dipping sauce.
Tortilla Soup. Leave out the toppings and freeze. When you reheat, break out the toasted tortilla strips (you can make a bunch and store in an airtight container for a few weeks) avocado, cheese and lime.
Stuffed Shells. Use the recipe right off the box. Or do like I did and cook up a pound of sausage and stir that into the stuffing.
Beef & Broccoli. Undercook the broccoli a bit. Serve over rice. Not a stellar freeze texture wise on the sauce, but all the flavors hold up.
Lasagne. Recipe is great as is. Freezes like a champ! For the record, I did NOT use Kraft “parmesan” cheese. I don’t know what that crap is. I bought a huge chunk for a discount at Whole Foods (how often does that happen?) and grated a boatload of it one afternoon. You can freeze it that way for months. I just bagged it up in about one cup portions and pull out a bag as needed.
Kalua Pork. Stir the gravy into the meat before freezing. Serve over rice. (And as I mentioned before ….you really do not need to cook it for 16-20 hours. Depending on the size of your roast, 8 to 10 is fine.)
KKF Jambalaya. A KKF version of old fashioned Jambalaya. See below!
KKF Taquitos. Check back next Monday for the recipe. (Yeah, I’m cheeky like that!)
Meatloaf Minis. These were surprisingly delicious. Top with steak sauce, barbecue sauce, etc. Throw in a few veggies and you’ve got yourself a winner. (Modification: I did not use Crispex (gak). I substituted panko breadcrumbs and they were awesome.)
There are lots of great freezer meal recipes out there – feel free to share your favorites in the comments!
KKF Jambalaya
2 T coconut oil
1 large onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
6-7 garlic cloves
½ red pepper, diced
4 ribs celery
16 oz tomato sauce
20 oz chopped tomatoes
2 7oz jars tomato paste
2 ½ – 3 cups chicken stock
2 T creole seasoning (I used this one.)
1 c cooked ground sausage
2 links chorizo or Andouille sausage (about 1/3 pound), cut into chunks
2 c cooked shredded chicken
1 ½ c small shrimp (cooked)
Sauté onion, garlic, peppers and celery in oil til soft. Add 1 jar tomato paste, tomato sauce, chopped tomatoes and seasonings. Cook the heck out of it. Add meats and shrimp. Add second jar of paste and chicken stock until you get the desired consistency. Heat through. Serve over rice.
kitchenkungfu.net 