I come from a long line of cooks and bakers. I have dozens of family recipes and they sure remind me of warm memories where love was felt around a dinner table. While prioritizing family dinners is something I hold very dear, I often find myself wondering if my grandmothers wished people didn’t need to eat 3 times a day since that thought goes through my head every day. I can easily get overwhelmed with the thought of coming up with family meals that everyone will eat that won’t require excessive time in the kitchen. Life with two tweens is often unpredictable and busy, so I love having some homemade healthyish homemade meals in the freezer that I can pull out for myself, or the whole family.
Weekend food preps have been part of my motherhood journey for years. I’ve tried pre-making crock-pot freezer meals, and while they have been known to save the day, I often am gone longer than they need to cook, and they turn to mush before I can rescue them. I tend to use them on the weekends when I’m around a little more and can time it just right.
I’ve found a few recipes that I love to batch cook when I have extra time on the weekends, and individually package and throw them in the freezer. I’ve shared them with friends who have become new moms, are going through a rough patch, or just need to get dinner on the table quickly!
Pre-bagged smoothies
I ran across some recipes for pre-bagged smoothies a few years ago, and thought it was a genius idea. There are dozens of options out there, but I usually go with simple fruit smoothies.
Banana Berry Smoothie (yields 1-2 servings)
- 1/2 banana peeled and cut in slices
- 3/4 cup frozen strawberries
- 3/4 cup frozen mixed berries
- Handful of baby spinach
- 2 cubes of frozen Vanilla Greek Yogurt
- 1/2 cup Almond Milk
- Collagen Peptides
Helpful hints: Pre-freeze the Greek Yogurt in ice cube trays prior to packaging your smoothie bags. I add the Collagen Peptides in mine, but leave them out of smoothies for my kids. I don’t add them in until I am making the smoothie. I bag up smoothies in quart sized bags and pull them out when I need them!
Breakfast for Dinner
I love to make a couple of batches of pancakes (Kodiak Cakes are our favorite higher protein pancake) and freeze them with parchment paper in between to prevent sticking together. It’s a perfect way to have a warm meal in just a few minutes. We like to cook up bacon a pound at a time in the oven and pull out when we need it.
Oven Baked Bacon
Place foil or parchment paper on the bottom of 2 large jelly roll pans and lay strips of bacon (without overlapping) side by side.
Bake at 375 to taste, usually 20-25 minutes.
Pulled Pork
A few years ago, my husband and I did a Whole 30. We discovered several new recipes from the experience. Our family’s favorite way to eat pulled pork is this crockpot Whole 30 approved recipe. We love to eat the pulled pork plain, on slider buns with BBQ sauce, or on nachos. We eat it several days in a row, then place individual sized portions in the freezer to pull out when we need a fast meal.
Pulled Pork BBQ Nachos
- Tortilla chips
- Queso
- Pulled pork
- Honey BBQ sauce
- Shredded cheddar cheese
Spread the tortillas chips in a single layer on a large pan, sprinkle pulled pork, queso, BBQ sauce, and cheddar cheese on it to taste, and bake at 350 for 5-8 minutes.
Tex-Mex Night
When we need a meal with no prep time during the week, I pull out my frozen shredded chicken burritos and throw them in the oven while I go through back packs, pick up, and wipe down the kitchen after work. These are always in my freezer and are 3 out of 4 of our family’s favorite week night meal. I always bake them in the oven, but if you’re in a real pinch for time, you could microwave them. Pour on some queso, and you have an instant hit!
Shredded Chicken Burritos
Rotisserie Chicken (shredded)
- 1 Can Refried Beans
- 1 Can Pinto Beans
- 2 Cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 Tablespoons (1 packet) Taco Seasoning
- 1/2 cup tomato based salsa
- 24, 8″ Tortillas (I use Mama Lupe’s Low Carb, but any kind that size will work.)
Mix all the ingredients together and spoon out the mixture in to the tortillas and fold it like a burrito. These are small burritos, so the adults usually eat 2, but one is perfect for a child. Wrap the burritos in foil and keep in the freezer. I keep mine up to 6 months, but we always run out of them before. Remove foil and bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes. If I’m in a hurry, I will thaw them a few minutes in the microwave prior to baking them to cut the bake time in half. My husband likes to pour queso over the top of them when it’s time to eat.
I’ve discovered that I’d rather spend a little time up front to prepare a few easy meals that can save the day for me or the whole family!
What meals do you keep in your freezer?
