This will be the second time I've made freezer meals, but this time I wanted to
switch gears and create a menu that's more man friendly. A lot of the meals
that I made last time were new to my husband and me. These meals here, are in
his comfort zone so that he doesn't have to cringe over the unfamiliar and he
already loves what he is going to eat! He even approved this list just an FYI. :) It took me a little over 4 hours to prepare everything. I was verrrrrry distracted, but it was well worth it all:)
In total I made 44 meals out of 16 different recipes.
Meat Marinara
(2-4 servings)
This is
the meat that I used for the lasagna. It’s simple and easy. You could also use
this mixture for spaghetti if you wanted to add more ground beef.
Ingredients:
- 1.5 lbs ground
beef
- 1 small onion
diced
- 3 garlic cloves,
minced
- 1 can crushed
tomatoes
- 1- 12 oz can of
tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon
Italian seasoning
- 1.5 tsp fennel
seeds
- 1.5 tsp onion
powder
- 1.5 tsp garlic
powder
- 1 tsp crushed
pepper *optional
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
Directions:
1. Brown ground beef in large pot
2. Add in onions and garlic
3. Add in all tomato products
4. Add in all seasonings
5. Let meat mixture cool completely before assembling lasagna or
storing for spaghetti
Healthy Meat Mix
(4-5 servings)
This is
the base of the meat mixture that I use for meatloaves and meatballs. It’s a
way for me to rid my fridge of any leftover veggies and a way me to sneak in
veggies for my husband. He doesn’t even notice when I cook the meat completely through. It should be funky colors when you shape these bad boys. It's brown when you cook it, I promise. I got this recipe from a fellow wife that has an extremely picky eater as a husband:)
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs
ground beef
- ½ an onion,
pureed
- 3 garlic cloves,
minced
- 4 carrots,
pureed
- 3-4 handfuls of
spinach, pureed
- 1 egg
- 1 handful of
Italian bread crumbs
- Salt and
pepper to taste
- 1.5 tsp onion
powder
- 1.5 tsp garlic
powder
Directions:
1. Add all
ingredients together in a large bowl
2. Meatballs
· Add in 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
· I also add in parmesan cheese * optional
3. Meatloaf
· Add in 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire
· Add in ¼ cup of ketchup
Lasagna
(2-4 servings) * I divided
my lasagna into 3 freezable trays
Ingredients:
- 1.5 lbs of meat
marinara
- 1 box of no bake
noodles
- 1 cup parmesan
cheese
- 1 cup ricotta
cheese *I added more in because I wanted it to be a little bit cheesier.
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1.5 tsp Italian
seasoning
- 1 bag of
shredded mozzarella cheese
Directions:
1. Mix
together egg, parmesan cheese, ricotta cheese and seasonings
2. Ladle
meat mixture onto the bottom of the pan
3. Layer on
no bake noodles
4. Layer/dollop
on cheese mixture
5. Sprinkle
mozzarella cheese
6. Repeat
steps 2-5 until you’ve reached the top
7. Cover up
lasagna and freeze
8. Thaw
completely day of cooking and pop into a 350 degree oven for 45-50 minutes or
until sauce starts to bubble over
You can serve this with a
side of salad and bread sticks! You are more than welcome to make this lasagna
into 2 lasagnas instead of 3 smaller ones. My husband and I don’t eat that much
especially if we’re pairing our meals with salad and bread sticks.
Meatball Subs
(2-4 servings) I divided my meatballs into three freezable
aluminum tins.
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs Healthy
meat mix-meatball style
Directions:
1. Take meat
mix and form 1 inch meatballs
2. Place all
meatballs into the tin
3. Cover tin
and freeze
4. Day of cooking: Thaw completely in the
fridge and bake at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes.
Serve on hoagie buns
with a side of chips.
Mini Meatloaves
(2-4 servings) I divided
my meatballs into three freezable aluminum tins.
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs Healthy
meat mix- meatloaf style!
Directions:
1. Take meat mix and form 1.5-2 inch
large meatballs. Almost as
if they were cupcake size
2. Place all mini meatloaves into the
tin
3. Cover tin and freeze
4. Day of cooking: Thaw completely
in the fridge and bake at 375 degrees for 45-50 minutes.
Serve with mash potatoes
and gravy. I wanted to create a meatloaf cupcake with these and if I do I will
surely post a picture of these adorable things!
French Dip
(2-4 servings) * I divided meat into 4
different gallon size bags
Ingredients:
- 3-4 lbs of
round/chuck roast
- 2 packets of au
jus, cooked and chilled
Directions:
1. Evenly divide roast into gallon
size bags
2. Evenly divide chilled au jus into
bags
3. Air out bag completely and place in freezer, flat
4. Day of cooking: Thaw completely and place into Crockpot
for 4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low
I scored my meat so
that all of the au jus flavor would run through the meat even more. You could
also put this in the oven at 350 for 30-45 minutes depending on how well you
want the meat to be cooked. We like our roasts medium rare. Serve on hoagie
buns and leftovers could be in a sandwich!
Sweet & Sour
Chicken
(2-4 servings) * I divided this into 2
bags
Ingredients:
- 4 chicken
breasts
- 16 oz Catalina
dressing
- 12 oz apricot
preserves
- 1 pkg onion soup
Directions:
1. Divide ingredients into 2
bags
2. Air out bag and place in freezer,
flat
3. Day of cooking: Thaw complete in fridge and place into
crock pot for 4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low
Serve with rice. You can
also make this in the oven at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.
Sloppy Joes
(2-4 servings) * I divided this into 2
bags
Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground beef
- 2 tsp steak/burger
seasoning
- 2 tablespoons
brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon of
oil
- ½ an onion,
diced
- 1 tablespoon red
wine vinegar ( you could also use apple cider)
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire
sauce
- 8 oz tomato
sauce
- 2 tablespoons of
tomato paste
- 1 table spoon maple
syrup
Directions:
1. Brown
ground beef and drain
2. Add in
all ingredients to pot
3. Take pot
off of the heat and let meat mixture cool completely
4. Divide
mixture into 2 bags
5. Air out bag and place in freezer,
flat
6. Day of cooking: Thaw complete in fridge and place into
crock pot for 4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low.
Serve
with hamburger buns. You can also make this on the stove by warming the meat
mixture completely.
Chicken Pot Pie
(3-6 servings) * This mix made two pies
Ingredients:
- 2 ½ cups of
shredded chicken ( I boiled my chicken and let cool)
- 2 packets of
chicken gravy ( You could also make your own)
- 2 premade pie
crusts in pan
- 2 premade pie
crust tops
- 1 bag of frozen
peas/carrots mix ( I used peas, beans and carrots)
- 1 small onion
- Salt and pepper
to taste
Directions:
1. Bake bottom
pie crust and let cool
2. While
bottom pie crust is in the oven, thaw out top of pie crusts T
3. Mix
all ingredients in large bowl
4. Divide mixture
into both of the pie crusts
5. Top pies
with pie crust tops
6. Wrap pie
with plastic wrap and foil
7. Place in
freezer
8. Day of
cooking: Pop into oven at 400 degrees for 45-60 minutes.
This could be served by
itself or with a salad on the side.
Frozen Pizzas
(1 serving/ mini pizza)
Ingredients:
- Premade pizza dough ( I used Pillsbury 2 cans)
- 1 bag of mozzarella cheese
- 1 jar of Marinara sauce
- 1-2 bags of pepperoni
- Italian seasoning
Directions:
1.
Par bake the pizza dough ( You should bake it for 6-8 minutes) Bake
bottom pie crust and let cool completely
2.
Top crusts with marinara sauce, cheese, pepperoni and Italian seasoning
3.
Cut pizzas into any shape or size you’d like
4.
Wrap pizzas in plastic wrap and place them in freezer bags
5.
Day of cooking: Pop into oven at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes (
for a crispier crust bake at 450)
These mini pizzas are great for when you just
want a pizza for yourself. The kids could easily help you make these ahead of
time. It’s such an easy recipe and the ingredients are easy to switch up if you
want different types of pizzas.
Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
(2-4 servings) *
I divided mixture into 2 containers
Ingredients:
- 4 chicken breasts
- 2-4 cups of diced thin ham
- Swiss cheese
- 1 10 ¾ oz of Cream of chicken
- Italian seasoning
Directions:
1.
You can boil chicken and shred it or place frozen chicken breasts
in container ( I did both variations)
2.
Mix all ingredients except for the cheese and put into
containers
3.
Day of cooking: Place into oven at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes-
add cheese to top of casserole the last 5 minutes.
This
could also be put into the crock pot for 4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low.
Make sure that chicken is NOT cooked if you are going to put it into the crock
pot. It will come out over cooked.
Apple Tenderloin
(2-5 servings) *
I cut my tenderloin into 4 different 1 lb sections
Ingredients:
- 3-4 lbs of pork tenderloin
- 1-2 apples, sliced into rounds
- 1 onion, sliced
- Honey
- Cinnamon
- Garlic powder
- Salt and pepper
Directions:
1.
Slit tenderloin for apples to be in
2.
Season tenderloin with seasonings with exception to honey
3.
Place apples into slots that you’ve cut
4.
Drizzle honey over tenderloin
5.
Place tenderloin in freezer bag along with onions
6.
Day of cooking: Place into oven at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes-add
more honey if needed.
This
could also be put into the crock pot for 4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low. I
would add extra honey last minute. This would pair beautifully with mash
potatoes
Bacon Wrapped Cheese Dogs
(2-3 servings) *
I divided 8 hot dogs into 2 bags
Ingredients:
- 8 slices of bacon, thawed
- 2-3 slices of American cheese
- 8 hotdogs
Directions:
1.
Create slits along the length of the hotdogs
2.
Slice cheese thin enough to fit into slots
3.
Wrap hot dogs in bacon
4.
Place hotdogs into freezer bag
5.
Day of cooking: Thaw out hotdogs and fry!
Serve
with hot dogs buns and chips! This was extremely easy and I wouldn’t mind
eating these on a really lazy day.
BBQ Beef Teriyaki
(2-5 servings) *
I divided the steak among 2 containers
Ingredients:
- 1-2 lb flank steak
- Skewers
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 cup soy sauce
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons of honey
- 1 tablespoon of garlic
- 1 tsp ginger
- 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
- ¼ cup cold water
Directions:
1.
Mix all ingredients with exception to meat in a medium sized bowl
2.
Cut flank steak into strips and skewer each strip
3.
Divide steaks into containers
4.
Pour even amounts of soy sauce mixture into containers
5.
Cover container up and freezer
6.
Day of cooking: Thaw completely in fridge and grill or bake at 350
degrees for 20 minutes.
Easy marinade goes with easy cooking. You can
serve this with rice!
Easy Pulled Pork
(2-6 servings) *
This recipe goes for Pulled BBQ Pork Sandwiches and Pork Tacos!
Ingredients:
- Sirloin Pork Tip
Roast ( from Costco, 1 roast roughly about 2 lbs)
- 1 small onion
- 3 tablespoons garlic
- ½ tablespoon of paprika
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup beef broth *add more if you see roast drying too
quickly
- Sprinkles of onion/garlic powder
Directions:
1.
Place frozen tip roast in Crockpot along with all ingredients
2. Cook for
4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low
3. Shred
pork with 2 forks
·
DO NOT DRAIN JUICE FOR TACOS
This is
so easy! It makes the house smells so good too when you’re cooking it!
Pulled BBQ
Pork Sandwiches
(2-4 servings)
Ingredients:
- Easy pulled pork
, cooled
- 1 cup of Bbq
sauce ( I used Sweet Baby Ray’s )
Directions:
1.
Mix ingredients together
2.
Place in freezer bag and put in freezer
3.
Day of cooking: thaw out in fridge and cook over stove top until
heated
My
husband and I love this pulled pork and it usually lasts us two servings of it
unless we’re extremely hungry that dayJ this
goes great with some hoagie buns, coleslaw and chips!
Pulled
Pork Tacos
(2-4 servings)
Ingredients:
- Easy pulled pork
, cooled
- Juices drained
from easy pulled pork
Directions:
1.
Mix ingredients together
2. Place in
freezer bag and pop into the freezer
3. Day of cooking:
thaw out completely in fridge and cook over stove top
Serve
this with your favorite taco seasonings! We also love doing pulled pork
quesadillas too!
Beef
Stroganoff
(2-4 servings) * I
divided all ingredients into 2 bags
Ingredients:
- 1 lb stew beef ,
seared and cooled
- 1 cup beef broth
- 2 cans cream of mushroom soup
- 1 packet of brown gravy mix ( you could make your own
if you’d like)
- 1 tablespoon pepper
- ¼ cup sour cream
Directions:
1.
Add all ingredients together with exception to the sour cream
2.
Place all ingredients into freezer bag and freeze bag flat
3.
Day of cooking: Thaw out mixture completely and cook in Crockpot
high for 4 hours or low for 6-8 hours
·
Add in sour cream 1 hr before cooking time is done
Stromboli
(3-5 servings) * I divided all ingredients into 2 Stromboli’s
Ingredients:
- 1 package of
provolone
- 2 packs of pepperoni
- 8 cups of mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1 jar marinara sauce
- Pizza dough ( you might need 2 cans of the premade)
- Olive oil
- Italian seasoning
- Salt
- Parmesan cheese
- Garlic/onion powder
Directions:
1.
Lay out pizza dough
2.
Add all ingredients with exception to oil and seasonings and parm cheese
as you’d like
3.
Wrap together the Stromboli and pinch where you are closing it
together
4.
Brush on olive oil on top of Stromboli
5.
Sprinkle over Italian seasoning, powders, salt and parmesan
cheese.
6.
Wrap Stromboli in plastic wrap and foil
7.
Pop into freezer
8.
Day of cooking: place Stromboli in oven at 375 degrees for 35-40
minutes
A man
meal all on its own:)
Bacon Mac
& Cheese
(2-4 servings) * I
divided all ingredients into containers
Ingredients:
- 1 lb pasta ,
cooked
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 cups milk
- 3 cups cheddar
cheese, shredded
- ¼ cup parmesean cheese
- ½ pkg of bacon, cooked
Directions:
1.
To a hot pot add in butter and let melt
2.
When melted add flour in to create roux
3.
Add in 3 cups milk until simmer/boiling
4.
Whisk in cheese slowly
5.
Once all mixed together add in pasta and bacon
6.
You can place this into a container, let cool and place in freezer
7.
Day of cooking: Place in oven at 400 degrees for 1 hr
We couldn’t
wait to eat this, so we didn’t and we put what we wanted in a baking container
and placed it under the broiler for about 8 minutes.
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