What are you having for dinner tonight? How about tomorrow? What’s the plan for the next day when you’re working late and the kids all have to be in different places? Sound familiar? This is the all too common reality facing so many people each week. The never-ending question…”what’s for supper?” You know what helps? A Freezer Meal!

photo by Heidi Jirotka Photography

Day after day, week after week, people are faced with this dilemma. Meal planning definitely can help with that by figuring out what you’re eating each week and buying the groceries required. It cuts down on time and often money. There are also freezer meals which typically involve a big cook day…or morning…or even an hour…to prep and/or cook a few different meals that you can then put in the freezer. This requires a bit more planning but the benefits of it are huge!

I used to do a fair bit of batch cooking of meals I would put in the freezer but have really gotten away from it, in part due to my weekly Meal Plan Monday posts here on the blog. However, last weekend I did a freezer meal cook day and got a lot of really positive feedback on it. People are looking or solutions to the problem of getting a healthy meal on the table every night. Some nights there’s just not time and that’s when we’re most likely to hit up a drive-thru or grab a pizza on the way home. That works once in a while, but should be a treat more so than the norm.

There are several things you can do to make sure your Freezer Meal Cook Day is successful. If you’re going to invest the time and money into making this happen you want to be prepared so it goes as smoothly as possible. Here are some things to think about before starting a big cook day.

1. Check your freezer and pantry for any ingredients and space

Take a lot at what’s in your freezer as far as ingredients and also make sure you have space to actually store your meals once they are done. My freezer tends to run on the “full” side and if I am planning a freezer meal cook I need to make sure I have enough room for everything.

2. Check the flyer to see what is on sale paying attention to meat and produce items

This is important and will you save money. When I did my last freezer meal plan, chicken breasts were on sale that week and therefore made up the base of several of the meals. I looked for the cheaper cuts of meat that were on sale to see if I had any recipes that would work well and went from there. I planned my freezer meal plan pretty much the same way I do any regular meal plan.

3. Pick out your recipes

Selecting recipes is an important part. I tend to pick recipes that I know will freeze well and that our family enjoy. This is probably not a good time to experiment with a new recipe. You also might want to think about a variety of different meals. On my recent big cook I choose 2 soups, 1 chili, a frittata, and prepped a couple slow cooker meals. You also need to think about how you are going to package these and make sure that will work with the space you have. If you are planning on making three different soups, and would like to freeze them in mason jars, you may need to re-think that if you don’t have a lot of freezer space.

4. Make your grocery list

photo by Heidi Jirotka Photography

This is an important step! There’s nothing worse than getting in the middle of a big cook and then realizing you’re missing a key ingredient from a recipe. Trust me…I know! I would suggest writing out every ingredient required for all the recipes, then crossing off what you already have at home and make a master list of every other ingredient required. Then double-check it. It’s worth it.

5. Make sure you have packaging supplies

This is another important step that you don’t want to leave out. There are varying ways to pack and store your meals and you have to decide what works for you. I tend to use a combination of freezer bags and containers. I have used mason jars in the past and glass containers, but they tend to take up more space. My preferred is a freezer bag as they will mostly lay flat and are easy to store and defrost. I highly recommend you use a good quality freezer bag and even still doing a test to make sure it’s adequately sealed. When I did my last big cook I laid everything out on the table to cool and then noticed when I picked it up, one of my bags was leaking. The last thing you want is for a bag to leak…and then freeze…in your freezer. You also should have a permanent black marker or labels so that everything is clearly marked. You might think you remember what everything is, but trust me, after items are frozen things start to look different.
6. Shop

Once you have your list all set, now you can head out and shop! I prefer an early morning shopping trip because if you are in search of some of the sale items, that is the best time to make sure they are still in stock. Double check your list before you leave the grocery store to make sure you have everything you need. You’ll be glad you did.

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7. Cook!

Pick a time of day that works best for you and depending on how many meals you are preparing, block off 1-4 hours or so. I am an early morning person so I started my last cook day around 7:00am. I had everything prepped and cooked by 10:30am, but I had to wait until almost 1:00pm before everything was cooled enough to package. It’s a good idea to look at your recipes and make a plan. Making a slow cooker meal? You should start that one first. Have a few that take ground beef? See if you can fry it all up at once. Maybe you want to chop all your veggies up and have that part done? It will be helpful to number your meals in which order you want to make them to keep yourself on track. Better yet, grab a friend and cook together, splitting the meals or each taking certain ones.

8. Package

Once everything is cooked and cooled, or prepped, now it is time to package it up. I covered the basics of the materials required up above, but package it so it works for your family. If you made a big pot of Vegetable Beef and Rice Soup, you may want to freeze some in smaller jars/containers for lunches as an option to freezing it all together. It’s also helpful to put the date on the package so you will know how long it has been in the freezer.

9. Freeze

Put everything in your freezer in as organized a fashion as you can. If you used freezer bags, try to lay them flat so they will freeze that way. Most meals you can take out the night before and defrost overnight in the fridge but be sure to check the instructions on each recipe.

10. Make an inventory list

If you’re anything like me, the meals you have eaten, and haven’t eaten will start to blur together. I like to make a list of what meals are in the freezer and put it on the fridge, crossing each off as we take it out and eat it. It’s also a great reminder of how much you have left and when you might want to plan your next freezer cooking day.

11. Relax and enjoy!

It’s quite common for people to have a pizza on hand to enjoy at the end of a big cook day. After doing all that cooking and cleaning, the last thing you want to do is think of another meal. Then just enjoy the feeling of knowing that you have some meals prepped and prepared and will be able to put dinner on the table in very little time. The peace of mind from doing this freezer meal prep will be so rewarding and beneficial. You may start to wonder why you haven’t done it before. Enjoy!