Staring into the abyss of the refrigerator or freezer will not make dinner for you, but if you actually have something in there ready to go, it will. I love to have some freezer meals on hand that I can pull out if my menu plan blows up for some reason or if leftover night has no leftovers. I think it is crucial to have something on hand when on a special diet because it curtails the expense of going out and you will not risk taking a wrong turn on your diet. This is not to mention that eating at home is healthier most of the time. I have compiled some easy ideas for freezer meals to guide you to get started with a freezer meal or two. These ideas are not time-consuming, yet easy enough to get you started with freezer meals. As you become more experienced with freezer cooking, you can prepare soups, casseroles and many other complete meals to keep in your freezer.
Marinades
Look through your pantry for marinades, dressings, sauces and seasoning packets you have collected. Use these to marinate cuts of beef, chicken, fish and pork. These are very quickly put together. Simply place the meat in a bag and pour in the bottled marinade. Massage the marinade into the meat and label the bag with the contents. This is the easiest type of freezer meal to put together and only takes minutes.
Ground Beef
Ground beef is useful in a number of freezer meals. Three of the easiest are:
Spaghetti sauce – Make your favorite spaghetti sauce and allow to cool. You can do one of two things to store the spaghetti sauce in the freezer: 1) Place sauce in freezer bags in portion sizes and flash freeze flat, or 2) Portion spaghetti sauce into plastic containers with lids. Make sure to label the containers or bags.
Taco meat – Taco meat is versatile. Of course, you can use it for tacos, but also for taquitos, nachos, casseroles, soups and many other dishes. Cook taco meat as you normally would; then, portion it into freezer bags or food storage containers just as described for spaghetti.
Hamburger patties – Keeping hamburger patties on hand in the freezer makes a very quick meal. Season and shape the patties as you normally would. Place in a freezer bag with parchment squares between them so they do not stick together. You can find these squares at the grocery store or you could make your own.
Shredded Chicken
This is more of a meal helper than a meal by itself. I like to buy a couple of rotisserie chickens from Sam’s or Costco to debone. I keep the shredded meat in the freezer to use in casseroles, soups, stir fries and many other dishes.
Chuck Roast/Pork Roast
I usually buy two roasts and place them in a crock pot to cook slowly all day. Before the lid is placed on it, make sure you season the roast well with salt, pepper, garlic and any other versatile spices to give the meat a lot of flavor. When the roast is done, shred it with a fork. At this point, you can portion the meat into freezer bags and place it in the freezer to use in tacos, fajitas, sandwiches, casseroles, soups, BBQ, salads, nachos or any number of dishes.
