Freezer Cooking

My good friend has turned me back on to freezer cooking. We don't do alot of outside activities here right now, but there are those days where I am so worn out, I really do not want to do anything-especially cooking! So, to have something in the freezer I can just pull out and heat up is wonderful-I know this, I do...lol! I did this with my last two pregnancies and it worked wonderfully! It never seemed to fail, that as I was making dinner, the baby would want to eat...then the other kids would be grouchy because they were hungry--or they would want to snack...so I made sure I was ready with the last two babies after they were born.

It doesn't take alot and no, you do not have to have abig deep freeze! It is nice to have that, but if you plan things well, you can easily do this with just the freezer above your fridge! Putting things in baggies and getting all the air out, then laying them flat to freeze helps to make alot of room.

I don't have time for this? You don't? Sure ya do! You can start small with Freezer Cooking, or Once a Month Cooking, and work your way up if you want :) Or stay small-doesn't matter :) I used to just make a big batch of spaghetti sauce. Im already makign sauce, so to just triple the recipe was no big deal--and when I was done, I had atleast 2 more meals to put in the freezer. This can be used for whatever you use your sauce for-spaghetti, an Italian cassarole, lasagna, etc...
Make an extra lasagna or two. SOme folks even make it in a container that fits their crockpot. Line your container with foil or plastic wrap, then place your lasagna in there and freeze. When frozen, take your lasagna out, wrap it well and place back in the freezer. On the day you want it, remove, place in crock pot, and go :) Of course, use the recipe you usually would use for your lasagana.
That is the beauty of freezer cooking...you can find many things you already eat to double or triple and, then freeze for another meal. I am even instilling this idea into my kids for when they are on their own--as well as the beauty of crockpotting ;)

Some things I have done in the past and plan to start up again are :
precooked hamburger meat
burrito/taco meat
ranch chicken
boneless skinless chicken breasts in marinade (buy during a good sale)
sloppy joe meat
meatballs
meatloaf
muffins
pancakes
Chicken BBQ
pizza dough
precooked rice/fried rice
sticky chicken
precooked shredded or cubed chicken
precooked turkey
tortilla soup
chicken chili
regular chili

Im sure there are other things I am leaving out, but you get the idea :)

There are lots if sites that deal with freezer cooking-and many blogs. You can find two in the cooking section of my blog roll on the right. Here are a couple more if you are interested in learning more:
http://organizedhome.com/freezer-cooking-guide (this has a start small section)
http://www.momsbudget.com/freezercooking/index.html
http://www.dinnersinthefreezer.com/
http://snider.mardox.com/OAMC.htm (tons of recipes and great info to get started-plus a YahooGroup to joinand learn more!)
http://www.freezersmarts.com/index.php?pr=Recipes

In my freezer right now, since Im just getting back into this, is a meatloaf waiting for some day this week to be cooked up (I just made the mix with the hamburger and put it into a baggie for another day), lots of shredded turkey, turkey broth for soups, and some beans that I cooked up for chicken chili-I made a big batch of beans, using some for dinner that particular evening and the rest to be saved for future meals.