Do any of you have ideas for meals that can be made ahead and frozen so that you can just pop them into the oven to basically reheat and then serve? I have about 1 month to prepare and freeze 1 -2 weeks worth of dinners for my family. I have 4 small children (oldest is 7) so I need to take that into consideration also. If you have ideas or recipes you could post I would be so greatful.
Need ideas for meals that can be frozen
- Thread starter momto4
- Start date
Here's a few recipes with directions at the end about freezing and how to reheat/cook later.
Fabulous Freezer Meals | Taste of Home Plus
Recipes - Food.com
If you do a google search for "once a month cooking" you'll come up with more! Good Luck!
Fabulous Freezer Meals | Taste of Home Plus
Recipes - Food.com
If you do a google search for "once a month cooking" you'll come up with more! Good Luck!
missyt
Cathlete
I make a big pot of spaghetti sauce and put in small bowls in the freezer. Take one out the night before. put in a pan and reheat. all you have to do you boil the noodles. Within 15 minutes you have spaghetti!!!
Also, you can make up sandwichs on artisan rolls and freeze. Take out the night before. And they taste like you just made them. Add some chips and you have a nice deli sandwich meal!
Hope this helps.
Also, you can make up sandwichs on artisan rolls and freeze. Take out the night before. And they taste like you just made them. Add some chips and you have a nice deli sandwich meal!
Hope this helps.
owltx
Cathlete
As the pp said, chili is a great idea - you can make it different w/different toppings - one night, green onions, avocado & greek yogurt w/tortilla chips, the next night, serve over elbow macaroni w/shredded cheese and diced tomatoes on top.
Lasagna freezes great, imo, and is kid-friendly. Enchilada/tortilla casseroles, in the same vein of lasagna, also freeze up super well and are kid friendly. Great leftovers for lunch the next day too.
Lasagna freezes great, imo, and is kid-friendly. Enchilada/tortilla casseroles, in the same vein of lasagna, also freeze up super well and are kid friendly. Great leftovers for lunch the next day too.
molasses
Cathlete
My freezer dinner staples include:
Cabbage Rolls - my recipe is at home but I'm sure you can find a great recipe online.
Stuffed Peppers - Greek-Style Stuffed Peppers Recipe : Ellie Krieger : Food Network someone mentions to add some tomato paste to the meat mixture in the comments - I do and it tastes much better (I also add hot chili peppers flakes but you may not want to add those for the kids).
Good luck!
Cabbage Rolls - my recipe is at home but I'm sure you can find a great recipe online.
Stuffed Peppers - Greek-Style Stuffed Peppers Recipe : Ellie Krieger : Food Network someone mentions to add some tomato paste to the meat mixture in the comments - I do and it tastes much better (I also add hot chili peppers flakes but you may not want to add those for the kids).
Good luck!
tralaiven
Cathlete
One of my family favorites is to make baked chimichangas.... usually this is a deep fried burrito. But I have modified it to make it healthy.
You can use whole wheat tortillas, a good lean meat (left-over or otherwise), beans and rice. I put a bit of each in the center of the warmed-up tortilla (to make it pliable) and then roll up the tortilla in such a way as to make it closed at all ends.
I place the filled and rolled burritos on a PAM-sprayed cookie sheet and then spray the burritos with PAM as well. I then bake the chimichangas until they are a nice golden and crispy color. I allow these to cool on the cookie sheet, then I place the whole cookie sheet in the freezer with the baked chimis. on it. What this does is allow the chimis to freeze individually. When they are frozen, I then put them in a Ziploc bag. Freezing them this way avoids them sticking together. They don't get freezer burn if I put them in a baggie within 8 to 10 hours.
These are really tasty with some low fat sour cream, a salad and maybe some salsa. And they are so much more healthy than the preservative-laden pre-made freezer burritos you see in the store. And they are so convenient! Generally, if I want to make them for dinner, I put them in the microwave to heat them up quickly and then put them in a hot oven to crisp them up again quickly.
These are also really good with any combination of filling for the ingredients. I have used just left over stir-fried veggies and lean meat, with out the beans and rice. You really can fill the tortillas with a lot of different ingredients, bake them, freeze them, and reheat them for a quick, tasty and healthy dinner with a nice salad.
You can use whole wheat tortillas, a good lean meat (left-over or otherwise), beans and rice. I put a bit of each in the center of the warmed-up tortilla (to make it pliable) and then roll up the tortilla in such a way as to make it closed at all ends.
I place the filled and rolled burritos on a PAM-sprayed cookie sheet and then spray the burritos with PAM as well. I then bake the chimichangas until they are a nice golden and crispy color. I allow these to cool on the cookie sheet, then I place the whole cookie sheet in the freezer with the baked chimis. on it. What this does is allow the chimis to freeze individually. When they are frozen, I then put them in a Ziploc bag. Freezing them this way avoids them sticking together. They don't get freezer burn if I put them in a baggie within 8 to 10 hours.
These are really tasty with some low fat sour cream, a salad and maybe some salsa. And they are so much more healthy than the preservative-laden pre-made freezer burritos you see in the store. And they are so convenient! Generally, if I want to make them for dinner, I put them in the microwave to heat them up quickly and then put them in a hot oven to crisp them up again quickly.
These are also really good with any combination of filling for the ingredients. I have used just left over stir-fried veggies and lean meat, with out the beans and rice. You really can fill the tortillas with a lot of different ingredients, bake them, freeze them, and reheat them for a quick, tasty and healthy dinner with a nice salad.
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owltx
Cathlete
I usually like to defrost my frozen lasagna in the oven overnight, and then bake it. This is mostly because my oven can be really sloooowww when it comes to cooking really cold things. I think you could probably do it either way and have decent results. I think actually if it would work your lasagna texture would be a bit better if you went straight from freezer to oven.
I freeze things in small casserole dishes (bowls with straight sides would work, too). After they have froze, I run hot water over the bottom and run a knife around the edges and the food easily comes out in a solid lump. Than I collectthe lumps in a plastic bag, marked as to what the frozen lumps are. That way I can reuse the casserole dishes and help to keep the freezer organized.
geomom
Cathlete
I am the freezer queen. I freeze almost everything.
Soups freeze really well, anything without potatoes or cream.
Most casseroles like the lasagne mentioned earlier, stuffed shells, chicken and rice, etc.
Bean freeze really well, as do muffins, scones, other quick breads.
Stuff like chicken breasts and hamburger patties, just cook extra and freeze.
Rice
berries, just use in smoothies or baked good as texture with high water content foods like berries does suffer.
Soups freeze really well, anything without potatoes or cream.
Most casseroles like the lasagne mentioned earlier, stuffed shells, chicken and rice, etc.
Bean freeze really well, as do muffins, scones, other quick breads.
Stuff like chicken breasts and hamburger patties, just cook extra and freeze.
Rice
berries, just use in smoothies or baked good as texture with high water content foods like berries does suffer.