Here’s something you should know about me:
When I decide to try something new, I can go overboard. Like, when I first discovered I could bake my own bread with success? I immediately decided to stop buying bread, buns, bagels, rolls, and English muffins figuring I could do it all. And I could. Sort of. I learned HOW to make each of those items and I was capable, but taking on the task of making SO many things I had previously purchased became so overwhelming as I parented two toddlers that I quickly regretted ever dipping my toe in those waters.
I fear I wasn’t much different when it came to freezer cooking. My friends Jessica and Crystal have been nudging me in this direction for years. And I always told them the same thing: I truly enjoy cooking each day. It’s one of my favorite times of day. And you know what? They kindly assured me that there’s nothing wrong with that!
However. I do have a chest freezer. And it has sat absolutely empty since the vicious snowstorm that buried us on October 30th. Ahem. Wasteful! And inefficient! I decided something must be done. And done it was! My first EVER freezer cooking session on Saturday (plus a couple hours on Sunday) yielded the following:
- 4# Poor Man’s Chicken Parmesan (5 meals worth for our family)
- Pizza Kits x 6 (dough, 2/3 cup homemade sauce, and 2 cups shredded mozz. for each)
- Lasagna Casserole x 2
- Chicken & Rice Enchiladas x 2
- Tomato Soup x 2 quarts (I do NOT use cream or milk in my tomato soup, so it freezes fine.)
- Chicken Soup (minus the noodles, which I’ll add later) x 2 gallons
- Sloppy Joes x 2 (packaged with homemade buns)
- Breakfast Burritos x 20
- Hamlet Sandwiches x 8
- Bacon, Egg, & Cheese Sandwiches x 8
- Egg “McMuffins” x 6
- Honey Mustard Chicken x 1 (I used butter instead of margarine and a paprika/garlic blend instead of curry… because the only spice under the sun that I don’t care for is curry.
Anyway, if it’s not good, I won’t blame Rebekah because I may have over-tweaked!) - Hashbrown Casserole x 2 (like this, but with hashbrowns instead of tater tots)
- Meatballs x 48
- Quick Chicken Chili x 2 (recipe coming tomorrow!)
- Pigs in Blankets x 44 (full-size, but using this recipe)
- Ham & Chicken Crepes (this recipe, subbing meat for the seafood)
- Chicken Queso Dip for with chips or quesadillas
- Black Bean Queso Dip
- Taco Meat x 3
- Oatmeal Raisin Muffins x 24
- 3 Jumbo Jars of Red Sauce
I will not lie to you all. It took a long time. I spent eleven straight hours in my kitchen on Saturday. Of course, I also really love to cook. So eleven hours of cooking is much easier for me than, say, four hours of cleaning.
I feel good that the freezer is full again and my husband was amazed by how much food I cranked out. I’ll let you know if I’m a freezer-cooking convert in a few months…
Wow, you made a lot!! I’m curious how your Honey Baked Chicken turns out.
It is funny you said that you used butter. I always use butter and didn’t even remember that it called for margarine. haha!
I’ll be sure to let you know! It smelled tasty as I was putting it together. When I read your recipe, I kind of figured you used butter, too. So I didn’t figure you’d object to that particular substitution.
I think you’re nuts!!! Sorry, but sometimes a friend just has to be honest!!
I’ve never attempted even close to that much on a batch cooking day.
Ha! Can I be honest? The hardest part of it all was the massive Aldi trip I made the day before. I had a whole list of errands and then, at the end, picked up a bunch of stuff there and was just NOT in the mood to bag/load/unload it all.
My least fav part would be the clean-up from all that cooking. I hate cleaning the kitchen. I have thought about this. But then I have always thought that I really don’t mind cooking either. But just reading your list made me tired!
Admittedly, doing it made me tired, too!
I have always been the kind of cook who cleans up constantly as I work. I wash things pretty much as soon as they’re empty. By the time I was done at night, I really only had one big stock pot and one cookie sheet to clean up, so it wasn’t as overwhelming as you might think. But I’m sure if I were a different sort of cook, I could have been left with a heaping disaster!
Thanks for doing this as a post and for the recipes!! I really want to do it, but I’m nervous about everything tasting good.
Best resource IMO, by FAR, when it comes to freezer cooking and what works and what doesn’t is Jessica over at Life as MOM. That lady knows her stuff and has what freezes well vs. what doesn’t down to a science. I’ve tried to learn at her knee over the years (even if I wasn’t putting it into practice) and I’m hopeful the results will be good!
Unreal — this list is crazy
!! I freezer cook, as in make a double recipe (which is actually a single recipe that can be halved for our small family) and then freeze the rest. I also enjoy cooking but only when I’m in the mood. So I really love my slow cooker because it allows me to do just that. Will be looking through your recipes, though 
.
I currently only have a little 2 qt slow cooker, so my slow cooking abilities are minimized, for sure. I still use it, though! Definitely a handy little appliance to have.
I admire your cooking coordination– that is an incredible list!
I have dabbled with freezer cooking, but it always seems like we eat it faster than we can make it