Planning for Fall Freezer Cooking...

[AuntJamelle]

I've been working hard on my plans for batch cooking to fill the freezer this fall! My goal is to have about 40 meals in the freezer by the end of October.

Many of the recipes will be divided into two batches - so instead of one 9x11 pan I'll freeze two 8x8 pans. Then I'll plan on eating one in Nov and one in December.

I use the heavy duty aluminum foil method of lining my dishes, freezing, then popping out to go in a ziplock bag.

Thought I would share my list and see if others wanted to chat about they might do this year! It really saves a great deal of time for me to have our meals tucked away - at least most of them!

 

[AuntJamelle]

This year’s Fall Freezer Plan (Not including Cookies or Appetizers for Christmas Party):

Shepherd’s Pie
Crockpot Beef and Mushrooms (No Cooking on Freezing Day)
Stuffing Meatloaf (Will cook, freeze, then thaw and reheat day of serving – adding toppings then)
Crunchy Topped Swiss Chicken Bake
Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
Poppy Seed Chicken (New one I’m trying this year!)
Chicken Stuffing Bake (Made before but first time freezing)
Creamy Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas
Swedish Meatballs with Dill (Just making ½ batch as this is another new one)
Beefy Mushroom Gravy (Served with Swedish Meatballs)
Ricotta Meatballs
Butternut Squash Lasagna
PW Chicken Spaghetti Casserole
Lasagna (Freezing for Christmas Eve!)
Extra Lasagna Sauce for Spaghetti Nights!
Cheese Ravioli (another new one I’m trying out!)
Veggie Stuffed Jumbo Shells
Chicken Alfredo Lasagna Roll Ups (New!)
Baked Penne Pasta (Have made before, first time freezing!)
Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Funeral Potatoes
PW Mashed Potatoes (Will make extra when I make Shepherd’s Pie – will thaw and serve with Crockpot Beef and Mushrooms)
Cheesy Garlic Bread
Polish Egg Roll Filling
Way Out West Wontons
Baked Buffalo Chicken Rolls
Breakfast Strudel

Okay, so in looking at this list, it seems a bit long. HA! Ah well, now I need to look at my daily planner for Sept/Oct timeframe and figure out which days I'll make what.

I'll also be looking for recipes with some of the same ingredients to make at the same time. I have everything in a spreadsheet so I can sort and play with it that way to help me plan.

If anyone wants recipe links, etc. just let me know! I've posted some of these before but not all!

 

[Minta]

AWESOME list. Thanks for Sharing. I want to try this but on a much smaller scale. Things on my list to make and freeze are:

Lasagna
Stuff shells
Chicken stuffed shells
Chili
Chicken Enchiladas
Pot Pies (the kind with the crust on bottom/top)
May do a few casseroles too.

Goal is to do these on one weekend on Sept and then do another batch in early Nov.

 

[luludou]

I was just going over my freezer list for Fall yesterday! I need to menu plan for Fall 1st and then I'll add to my list. Thanks!

I don't usually make the whole dish but do ingrédients that just need mixing together at the last minute - like diced cooked chicken or ham, and I've done a few crockpot-dump recipes this summer which are great!! I know I've decided I need to make 6 big freezer bags of soup that will be dumped in the crockpot for cold days.

My list, up to now, includes:
spaghetti sauce, chili, diced cooked chicken, diced cooked ham, cooked ground meat with onions, meatballs, cooked breakfast sausages, cooked italian sausages, ...

Off to find out what funeral potatoes are

 

[luludou]

oh and I'm on the lookout for smaller glass dishes for casseroles, since we are now mostly 2 or 3 for dinner only.

 

[AuntJamelle]

FUNERAL POTATOES - Also know as Cheesy Potatoes!

1 FAMILY
6 c. frozen grated potatoes

It works really fast and easy to mix the item in a bag individually rather than using a few large bowls and having to disperse the mixture evenly.
Place cornflakes/ ritz crackers in a separate bag to place in pantry.

TO PREPARE AFTER FREEZING
Thaw and place ingredients in casserole dish. Mix cornflakes/crakers and melted butter, sprinkle over top. If still frozen, bake at 400 for 1 ½ hours, uncovering the last 15 min. If thawed, bake @ 350 for 45 min, uncovering last 15 min.
Sometimes I will add ham or sausage to this dish if I want to serve it as a main dish rather than a side dish.

½ c. butter
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 ½ c grated cheddar cheese
¼ c very finely chopped onion
2 c sour cream
¾ c corn flakes or Ritz crakers crushed
¼ c melted butter

TO FREEZE
Divide into 2 Ziploc Bags
Each Ziploc Bag Contains:
3 c. frozen grated potatoes
1/4 c. butter
1 can cream of chicken soup
3/4 c grated cheddar cheese
1/8 c very finely chopped onion
1 c sour cream

** Alternate toppings instead of crackers or cornflakes mixed with butter are either French Fried Onions put on the last 5 minutes or so of baking or even crushed potato chips. I've seen it done all those ways and they are all good!

 

[AuntJamelle]

luludou - I've seen sets of glass bakeware dishes with plastic lids that come with pans slightly smaller than an 8x8 - which I think is what you are looking for?

I've also used glass pie pans in the past when wanting to freeze something in smaller portions.

But for me, lining whatever dish I'm using with heavy duty foil and then lifting it out after it's frozen allows me to stock the freezer without tying up all my dishes! I just have a few dishes I know I've frozen things in - mostly my 8x8's and I just pop the frozen meal back into the pan before baking!

 

[FrostyShimmer]

I'm going to have to look up some of these recipes. I want to get a few weeks of meals in the freezer before the baby comes so we don't end up eating eggs and sandwiches all month. I've only done lasagna and Shepherd's pie in the freezer with any success. Guess I'll need to widen my horizons and give some of these a try!

 

[tanya]

Freezer cooking is something I have never really gotten into. With just the 2 of us I was not sure it was worthwhile. I do freeze soup into single serves that I just defrost as I like. This works for me as DS is not a soup fan and soup tends to make a big pot which is far too much for me in one serving.

Lucie I like your idea of having things ready frozen to just make up into meals as needed.

 

[Minta]

I also need make and freeze double batches of pancakes, waffles, breakfast burritos and muffins at the end of August before school starts so the kids have options other than cereal for breakfast. My oldest like to eat while walking to school so the burritos and muffins are perfect for her.

 

[luludou]

Thanks for the recipe AJ! And yes, the dishes are what I'm looking for. I might try the foil way too

 

[Ahorsesoul]

I printed off the potato recipe. I can make a gluten free cream soup and use something else for the ritz. Haven't checked to see if there are gluten free corn flakes. But almost any cracker crumbs soaked in butter will taste great.

I do miss the French's Fried Onions. I haven't found anything gluten free that tastes as good.

I do use foil when freezing items in a baking dish. Once frozen I also place the packet in a freezer bag that is labeled and dated. I write what it is on the very top of the zipper part because I stack my items on their edge (like a filing system) so I can see what I have. When I stack them one on top of each other it's too hard to find things since I have a chest freezer.

 

[teachermomof2]

Those are all great ideas! THanks for sharing. I made the Funeral potatoes for the shower. Everyone loved them! I didn't put ritz on the top though, I topped it with shredded cheddar.

 

[missjane]

I did this last year and was so glad I did. Thanks for the reminder that I need to start planning for this. DD19 rarely came home from college last year and it was so nice when I came home from work to feed DH and myself so easily. I'm a collector (unfortunately, lol) of baking dishes and have several that are the right size for just the two of us, so many recipes I divide into 4 meals instead of 2. Then, if I need more, I simply take out two containers instead of one. I, also, do the lining of the pan and then taking it out into a ziploc bag.

I make pulled pork, pre-cook roast and slice it for roast or for French dip sandwiches, and cheesy chicken spaghetti, as well as many already mentioned by most of you.

 

[missjane]

I just realized we call the "Funeral Potatoes" Hashbrown Casserole. Sometimes, I use 1 can of cream of celery soup and one can of cream of chicken instead of 2 cans cream of chicken.

 

[missjane]

Link to many of AJ's previously posted recipes for those interested. Lots of good ones on there!
http://198.12.95.74/~magical/forum/showthread.php?t=32254&page=2

 

[AuntJamelle]

Yes! And I am happy to post any other recipe I've listed or link to it if anyone would like to take a look!

After reviewing my daily planner for Sept, Oct and first weekend of November I've figured out when I'm making what!

I also went ahead and plugged in all the freezer meals into my planner for the months of November and December - so I know when we'll be eating what! What I found by doing this was that I can skip making 4 of the items on my original list.

When I make a big meal we almost always eat the leftovers the next night. Monday nights are ALWAYS leftovers because I usually cook a lot on Sat and Sun. Then I make something Tuesday night and we have what's left on Wednesday. Thursday I cook again and Friday is "fun food night" or appetizers + leftovers.

After plugging all the meals in this way I realized I would have too much. And almost ALWAYS there are nights that don't go as planned - we eat out, we're not home, etc. So now I'll have at least of handful of nights in Nov/Dec that I don't have a meal planned for and that gives me some wiggle room to juggle things around as needed.

BUT I should have 90% of the dinners for those two months sorted - once I get my freezer batch sessions done!

So here is what my breakdown of sessions will look like:

Saturday, September 3, 2016/Sunday, September 4, 2016

o Way Out West Wontons
o Breakfast Strudel (1/2 batch – 2 strudel)
o Lasagna Sauce, Extra
o Cook all chicken and sausage 1st day;

Saturday, September 10, 2016/Sunday, September 11, 2016

o Shepherd’s Pie
o PW Mashed Potatoes (Pie + Extra)
o Broccoli Cheddar Soup
o Fried Rice
o Cook rice 1st day; Make pie + potatoes 1st day; Fried rice and soup 2nd day

Saturday, September 17, 2016

o Veggie Jumbo Shells
o Egg Roll Filling

Sunday, September 18, 2016

o Lasagna
o Italian Pastry Roll Ups

Saturday, September 24, 2016

o Chicken Alfredo Lasagna Roll Ups
o Poppy Seed Chicken
o Cook and shred all chicken for both days on 1st day

Sunday, September 25, 2016

o Mini Chicken Turnovers
o Baked Buffalo Chicken Rolls

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Freezer Cooking Prep
o Pre-measure/mix dry ingredients for PB Swirl Cookies

Saturday, October 1, 2016

o Stuffing Meatloaf
o Butternut Squash Lasagna
o Chicken Cordon Blue Casserole
o PB Chocolate Swirl Cookies
o Make the PB Dough one day, roll/bake/freeze the next; Cook and shred all chicken
for both days on 1st day

Sunday, October 2, 2016

o Chicken Stuffing Bake
o Creamy Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas
o Crunchy Top Swiss Chicken

Saturday, October 8, 2016/Sunday, October 9, 2016

o Swedish Meatballs with Dill (1/2 batch)
o Beefy Mushroom Gravy
o Funeral Potatoes
o Lemon Snowballs (freeze dough? Bake then freeze?)

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

o Chunky Chocolate Gobs- 3 batches (Mix the dough)

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

o Chunky Chocolate Gobs- 3 batches (Bake then freeze)

Saturday, October 15, 2016/Sunday, October 16, 2016

o PW Holiday Bacon Appetizers (2 hours in oven – start first)
o Mini Bacon Pinwheels
o Cheesy Garlic Bread
o Crockpot Beef and Mushrooms
o Kiss Topped Cookies (freeze dough – use thumb to make place for “kiss” to sit after baking)

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Freezer Cooking Prep
o Setup assembly line and Pre-measure/mix dry ingredients for:
- Magic Bar Cookies
- Cocoa Kiss Cookies
- White Choc Peanut Cookies
- Gingersnaps
- Kiefflies
o Label each zip lock bag!!!

Saturday, October 22, 2016 (Not planning much this weekend - will be getting RV ready for our Halloween camping trip!)

o Seven Layer Magic Bar Cookies

Saturday, November 5, 2016

o PW Cheddar Puffs
o Cocoa Kiss Cookies (frozen dough)
o White Chocolate Peanut Cookies (Baked then frozen)
o Vanilla Dipped Gingersnaps (Baked then frozen, undipped)
o Make Kiefflies dough

Sunday, November 6, 2016 - LAST DAY of freezer cooking!!!!

o Kiefflies (bake, freeze before rolling in powdered sugar)
o Asiago Baked Olives

 

[luludou]

AJ - you are ORGANISED!!

I'm off to look for the asiago olives

 

[housewife2]

everything sounds good. I don't usually freeze food may have to give it a try

 

[AuntJamelle]

luludou - If you need the olives recipe, just let me know!

I know the above list probably seems like overkill! I approached things this way last year and it worked really well. It just helps me to be able to KNOW I'll be doing XYZ on this date and so on.

I may cut back on my freezer plans again after I take the time to consider plugging in HGP and Christmas Countdown tasks + just LIFE into my planner for Sept and Oct as well.

We'll see!