Make-Ahead Fresh Freezer Meals Kids Will Love
As a food blogger, I get more questions from busy parents about how to get meals on the table night after night than anything else. My number one suggestion is a weekly meal plan. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy – I have written more meal plans down on a napkin than I care to admit. The second thing I suggest is utilizing your freezer.
Doing all the chopping and prepping together in a couple of hours can save you so much time, money, and sanity!
I’ve been freezer cooking for years. I started when I was a working mom and realized that I wasn’t going to be able to keep up with cooking for my family in the same capacity I had as a stay at home mom. After a week or two of fast food and feeling yucky, I discovered freezer cooking and would spend a couple of hours every weekend prepping a weeks worth of meals.
These meals are not pre-cooked but frozen raw so everything tastes fresh and not like you are eating leftovers. That would get old FAST!
Freezer Meals How-To
You place the contents of each recipe in a gallon freezer bag, label and date it and add cooking instructions. Lay them flat in freezer to make it easier for stacking. When you’re ready, take them out of the freezer and place in the fridge the day before you plan on cooking them, then just follow the cooking instructions.
Doing all the chopping and prepping together in a couple of hours can save you so much time, money, and your sanity!
Freezer Meals PRO-TIP
One mistake I made in the beginning, was finding all new recipes to prepare, and then making 4 batches of them. This wasn’t a good idea, because it was new-to-us recipes and some of them didn’t end up being our favorites, so I was stuck with a bunch of meals in my freezer that we weren’t crazy about.
Over time I learned which meals we LOVED and was able to make double and triple batches of those recipes which saved us so much money and time in the long run.
The Recipes
Today I am sharing some of our old favorite freezer meals and some new ones that have become favorites. As with any recipe you find, feel free to adjust these according to your family’s preferences.  Just click the orange recipe titles to get each recipe. Happy (Freezer) Cooking!
Slow Cooker Chicken Enchiladas Soup
Slow Cooker Honey Sriracha BBQ ChickenÂ
Crock Pot Cilantro-Lime Chicken
Catalina-Cranberry ‘Dump’ Chicken
You Might Also Like…
- Instant Pot Recipes Your Family Will Love!
- Meals to Bring Exhausted New Parents
- Best Slow Cooker Recipes for Busy Families
This post was originally published in 2014 and has been updated.Â
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Wow!! What a wonderful post! I love “dump” chicken recipes. So flavorful and EASY!
Hello Aunt Bee 🙂
To start I’d like to say Happy New Year! I am a 44 year old woman who met my husband in December of 2013 and married March 2014…I know, quick…lol
Well living alone most of my adult life, I’ve only had myself to cook for. I’m also almost 14 years status post gastric bypass, needles tho say, I eat very small portions and NOT a lot of sugars or carbs.
The man I married has two girls 12 and 10 years of age. We have custody of them both and I’m having such a difficult time finding things to make that they like. Just to get you up to speed, their taste range is extremely limited…all the girls eat is, ramen soup noodles, mac n cheese from a box, spaghettios, green beans (from a can) neither one of them are big on veggies and of course, every fast food under the sun. That being said, they are extremely active and at the appropriate weight for their ages (actually my oldest is slightly underweight). I’m not a “pro” in the kitchen however I’d like to make easy, healthy, as well as delicious meals for us all!
I am a stay at home mom, also disabled…spine issues. Obviously I need some help here any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you gift taking the time to read my email and I look forward to hearing from you. My Facebook page is under my maiden name Lisa Maria Pardi.
Thank you again, enjoy your day!
Lisa Palermo
“Lost in the kitchen with kids on Long Island”
Love the recipes I have seen
How can I get your recipes in my email? They’re great! Thank you!
This would be like having money in the bank after a long work week!
I love this idea! I need to try it soon!
This is such a great idea to get dinner on the table during the week and the recipes sound so delicious!
Such an OUTSTANDING collection!!
What a great idea! I love being able to have something prepped and ready to go. Love the idea of spending a day prepping these great meals and having weeknights be so much easier.
I really should make a few of these. I’ve never been organized enough to make freezer meals, but they sound so simple and quick.
So smart, I need to be this organized! The recipes look really delicious, what a lovely collection!!
I’m usually not this organized, but you are inspiring me! I plan on trying some of these!
I was never much of a meal planner as we usually just grab and make up as we go. As I get older I wish that I would start planning more. It would save on my impulse buys at the store for sure. A freezer meal planning party would be great to get all these together and have fun with friends!
I love having meals ready to do, especially during the week when our schedules are so hectic. This is a great source. I’ll bookmark so I can start planning to make some of these!
I always have such a hard time sticking to meal plans – this would definitely help me out!