Remember that this is just how I did it, and not how it has to be done. I am just showing you one way to ensure you always have a great variety of meals.
One of the things I did at the start of freezer cooking, and have worked hard to try and maintain throughout the years, is to spend a little extra time every couple of months or so, preparing meals. Here’s why.
At the start, I had decided that I did not want to spend one freezer cooking session creating several totally different kinds of foods, I’d rather do it in sessions. So for the first month, I spent the four weekends getting ready. You do not have to do this, but it is what I did.
The first weekend, I created a chicken only session. I chose 15 Chicken related recipes and doubled them. A few I might have doubled twice, because they are favorites, eliminating the need for an entire group of fifteen different recipes. We also spent the week eating leftovers out of our fridge and making some of the quick meals that were in our pantry. (Mac and Cheese, Hamburger Helper, Pasta and Other items). I didn’t record any of the chicken recipes on a calendar at this point, I only had a sheet of paper with the recipe name and number of meals I had prepared.
The next weekend, I did the same thing, only I focused on turkey and ground turkey. I had picked up about twenty or so pounds of ground turkey from an awesome sale, so I had plenty of that to use. I had also picked up a two huge frozen turkeys to use. Each one created several meals. Again we spent the week trying to eat out when kids eat free, using great coupons for ordering in, and simple pantry meals that we purchased on sale.
I continued this exact same method for two more weekends. One with ground beef and one with pork products (pork chops, ham, pork steaks, pork tenderloin, etc.), one week I added some sauces I created for pasta and froze those. At the end of the entire process my freezer was completely full, and at this point we were ready to start eating our meals. Except the work wasn’t completely over yet.
See Freezer Cooking: Meal Planning Advice (2) for more information on my personal experience.
For more of my articles on freezer cooking, please see the freezer cooking section in the frugal living blog or for some excellent recipes to prepare, visit the food blog. I have contributed some exclusively for freezer cooking, however you can use many of the great ones already there!