Freezer Meal Ideas

Earlier this month, Clair at Mummy Deals wrote a guest post with some tips on how you can save a lot of time and money by freezing meals.  After reading her post here, I checked out the posts on her blog about freezing and got some great ideas.  Not content to stop there, I did some Googling and came across the Hillbilly Housewife, a website that you should definitely check out.

The site’s creator, Susanne Myers, has put together a great downloadable ebook called “Freezer Cooking Made Simple.”

It’s loaded with a ton of information and tips on freezing meals that will save you time and money.  Here are some examples:

• Chicken: Buy a large amount of chicken, divide it into freezer bags with the marinade of your choice, and freeze. The chicken will marinade as it thaws and you will have a tasty dish ready. Just add a side salad and some rice.Beans and Rice: Healthy, full of fiber, and filling, beans and rice is yummy frugal meal. No need to make any other side dishes because beans and rice is truly a meal in itself.
• Chili: Prepare a simple chili with cans of beans, onions, garlic, tomato paste and chili seasoning. You can add meat if you like but when it is made right, chili with no meat is very good. You can also add fresh tomatoes and other vegetables like bell peppers. Cook the chili, let it cool, and then just freeze.
• Casseroles: Some casseroles like tuna or broccoli and cheese don’t cost much make and can be frozen with ease. When you make a casserole for dinner one night, make two. Instead of cooking the second one, once it is prepared, put it in the freezer.
• Meatballs: Meatballs are another item is not expensive to make, can be doubled and frozen. You can find ground beef on sale often and can buy it in bulk in wholesale stores. With meatballs you can make different types to freeze like simple ones for spaghetti, honey barbecued, or teriyaki.
• Taco or sloppy joe meat: Who doesn’t love tacos or sloppy joes? Again you can get hamburger meat in bulk. The good thing about these frugal meals is that you can cook them or just prepare them and freeze. It really makes creating fun, great, quick meals simple and very feasible.
• Soups: Some soups like chicken noodle or split pea can be frozen successfully. You want to be careful freezing soups with potatoes or cream in them. These types of soups do not always freeze well and will make for a gummy. Mushy meal for the family.

If you liked these ideas, you should definitely check out all of the other great info in “Freezer Cooking Made Simple” by the Hillbilly Housewife.  And while you’re there, be sure to check out the rest of Susanne’s website.  She’s got a lot of great recipes, articles, tips, and ebooks posted.  You’ll definitely want to add it to your favorites!

Tagged as: download, ebook, freezing, Hillbilly Housewife, hints, Hints and Tips, pdf, save money, tips