Now that it’s September, I’ve finally managed to eat every meal from my last freezer cooking session back in July and have another long day of cooking under my belt. I’m not a huge fan of a solid day of cooking, but I sure am a huge fan of never really worrying about what to eat. To help you get an idea of the things we’ve been eating the last two months, and what meals I think are great from your freezer, here’s a list, links and reviews.
Breakfast Cookies – I loved these, Hubby loved these, Colton loved these. My friend liked these, but her kids did not. They’re meant to be eaten right from the freezer, which I think is great, but do get sticky as they get warm, which I think is what bothered my friend’s two kids.
Baked Oatmeal – We liked this so much we made it both cooking sessions! This is a pretty simple recipe, so you can have it plain, with milk, or with fruit. I had mien with blueberries and milk and thought it was fantastic.
Blueberry Muffins – I thought these were delicious, Colton warmed up to them, and my friend’s family wouldn’t eat them. Because they’re made with whole wheat flour they’re very dense, but if you like dense muffins, then you will love them. She gave me the ones they didn’t eat and I’m excited!
Tacos in a Sleeping Bag – A solid, kid-friendly meal. There’s nothing exciting about these, but I enjoyed them for lunch a couple of times, and used them as Colton’s go-to meal when we were eating something he couldn’t have.
Pizza Croissants – These were a hit with kids, husbands and wives alike. We also made these a second time, but decided to quadruple the recipe (for two families).
Pulled Pork – We cooked Boston Butt in the crockpot, covered in a rub my mom created, shredded it, and froze it. A large package from Sam’s made a TON. Both families liked this, but I think next time we need a much smaller cut of meat for us to share.
Taco Soup – We liked this, I liked it even more when I realized I could add sour cream to it. We doubled this recipe, but for two families we probably didn’t need to. Because it made so much and we didn’t have much room left in our pot, we didn’t add the extra water. I didn’t miss it though.
Chicken Tetrazini – This was a good, solid recipe. I thought the addition of mozzarella cheese would be a little strange, but I really liked it. I still thought it was missing a little something – pepper or some other spice I think, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
88 Meatballs – I really enjoyed these, which we used for spaghetti and meatballs. I made these, and I must have made them a bit big, because we didn’t quite get 88 out of them, but it was still more than enough for two families.
Lasagna Casserole – I thought this was fantastic. I wanted more onion in mine, but other than that, I had no complaints with this recipe and would gladly make it again. My friend found her noodles sort of soggy and mushy, but she ended up letting it defrost in her fridge for two or so days, which might account for our vast difference in opinions on this one.
Marinated Chicken – This is another we made again. It’s easy to make on a giant cooking day, easy to fix since you don’t need to thaw it and can cook it in the crockpot, and pretty darn tasty to boot.
Teriyaki Chicken – I cooked this in the crockpot, which I shouldn’t have done, but still thought it was pretty tasty but not very exciting. I probably would have liked it better had I cooked it appropriately.
Taco Pasta – I didn’t think this was very exciting (taco meat, pasta and cheese), but this was Colton’s all-time favorite meal. I felt like it lasted forever, so we must have gotten plenty of meals from it. This might be a good one for families with young children and/or picky eaters, but I would skip it if you like more interesting, “grown-up” meals.
Baked Ravioli – My friend made this for us right after Colton was born. It’s just frozen ravioli, pasta sauce, Italian spices and mozzarella. Nothing fancy, but a good comfort meal that holds up great in the freezer.
Chicken Broccoli Casserole – This was the only thing we made that I absolutely did not like. I ate a bit of it, then decided I would much rather eat popcorn. I thought it was rather salty tasting, and I don’t think the fact that I don’t generally like chicken and broccoli casseroles really helped in my enjoyment of this one. The Hubby ate it though. My friend said she didn’t remember it, apart from you really did have to let it thaw overnight, unlike what the cooking instructions said.
Beef and Bean Burritos – These are a Pioneer Woman recipe, and they are so, so good. The first time I had these I was craving Mexican food something awful, and this hit the spot in the best possible way. A definite recommend.
Chicken Tacos – This was another easy, dump in the bag, freeze, thaw and cook meal. My only issue with it was it didn’t make enough – we all really liked this one.
Whole Wheat Pizza Dough and Sauce – Both of these (I think) came from a site that’s no longer up. I didn’t think the pizza sauce froze well (it got all watery and thin), but I liked the pizza dough. My friend did not, mostly she said because the crust didn’t rise and it was denser than she cared for. None of the whole wheat dough recipes I’ve tried will do that, so I wasn’t expecting it and was happy with the results.
So that’s what I’ve been eating. All-in-all, I enjoyed most of the meals, but I’m hoping to enjoy the fruits of my September labor even more. Do you have any recipes you love that freeze well? Please share!
4 comments
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September 8, 2011 at 4:51 pm
Kim@NewlyWoodwards
Thank you for linking up and sharing your reviews. So super helpful. I really want to try a few now.
September 8, 2011 at 8:03 pm
Erin Dinger
twice baked potatoes freeze quite well. i just prick & nuke 4 potatoes 10 minutes, flip ’em and do 10 more minutes, then cut in half, scrape out most of the insides, mix with 1 cup mayo (you can do sour cream or yogurt to healthy it up a little), 1 stick butter, 1 cup grated cheddar, and a good bit of onion powder and some salt and pepper. Scoop the stuff back into the shells, top with crumbled bacon and some more cheese and freeze! Then bake them like 30ish minutes at 350! SO GOOD! also i bet potato soup would freeze well; just the regular soup trio of celery, carrot, onion, and potatoes and cheese and milk/cream/whatever and you could add bacon or ground beef or whatever to add protein.
one of our favorite meals ever is black beans and rice. we’re not nuts about chunks of veggies so i puree the fool out of some celery, carrot, onion, and red bell pepper and simmer them til soft. then i add lime juice, salt, cumin, and about 4 cans of drained black beans and let it simmer all day. we have it with boxed spanish rice (the kind that says “just add tomatoes!” and we use rotel for a little kick) and cornbread & sour cream. mike could eat this every day.
September 16, 2011 at 7:07 pm
Brittany
Made the breakfast cookies. We love them! Thanks for sharing!
November 29, 2011 at 7:31 pm
Freezer Cooking, Round Two « Longbrake Living
[…] ended up making a few things from our previous session again, since we enjoyed them so much. The repeat winners were baked oatmeal, pizza croissants, […]