Freezer Meals Cooking Day!

Do you have the same problem I have?  The problem that when it comes to dinner time your mind goes blank?  I have 4 children to feed and a husband but no clue what to make!  On top of that it seems like every night one of the children have a sports practice of some sort which means time is short.  So basically I end up announcing...."All men for themselves!"  And that usually means ramen noodles.  I know, I know...mother of the year right here!

I have done bulk cooking, once a month cooking, freezer cooking(whatever you choose to call it) before and have been wanting to tackle it again.  And yes, I mean tackle.  It by no means is a walk in the park.  It takes planning and most of all it takes hours of preparation.  However, the end result is so worth it!  You will be able to know exactly whats for dinner and have it on the table in no time at all because it's already there waiting for you in your freezer!

So I'm going to share with you what I made on my cooking day and how I did it:)

I started off by figuring out what meals I wanted to make.  I utilize Pinterest, Blogs, recipe books and tried and true recipes I have made for my family in the past.  This is the list of what I wanted to accomplish and make to fill my freezer:

Boil 2 whole chickens for shredded chicken and broth
Garlic Ranch Chicken
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Spicy Garlic Chicken Pizza
Salsa Chicken
Taco Soup
Shepard's Pie
Seasoned Ground Beef
Taco Ground Beef
Twice Baked Potatoes
Pizza Dough
Honey Pork Chops
Breakfast Burritos
Banana Bread
Blueberry Muffins
Shredded Cheese

Now, go shopping!

I have linked some of the recipes above and the rest I have below with printable links:)

Chicken Tortilla Soup 
(Printable link)

1 pound chicken
1 (15 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Combine all ingredients into a Ziploc bag. Freeze. Thaw and put into a slow cooker add 2 cups water and one 14 oz can of chicken broth. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on High setting for 3 to 4 hours. Shred chicken in crock pot after cooking is done.  You can serve this with crushed tortilla chips or you can make your own by taking corn tortillas, brushing with olive oil and baking at 400 for 10-15 minutes.

Salsa Chicken

(Printable link)

3-4 whole boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 jar of your favorite salsa or picante sauce

Combine chicken and salsa into a Ziploc bag.  Freeze.  Thaw and put into slow cooker.  Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or High for 3 to 4.  Shred chicken in crock pot after cooking is done.  Serve with rice.

Taco Soup

(Printable link)

2 lbs ground beef or turkey

2 cans diced tomatoes

2 cans black beans

2 cans kidney beans

2 cans chili beans

1 bag frozen corn

1 packet taco seasoning

1 packet ranch seasoning

Brown ground beef.  I always brown my beef and place in colander and rinse with hot water.  This gets off some off the extra grease and fat!  Combine the ground beef and rest of the ingredients in a Ziploc bag.  Freeze.  Thaw and put in slow cooker.  Cover and cook on low 6 to 8 hours or high for 3 to 4 hours.  We love to top ours with crushed tortilla strips, grated cheese and sour cream:)

Easy Shepard's Pie

(Printable link)

1 lb ground beef

1 bag frozen mixed veggies

1 can cream mushroom soup

8 medium potatoes

1 cup cheddar cheese

1 cup milk

1/4th cup butter

Pepper

Garlic Salt

Cut potatoes in small pieces and boil.(these are to make mashed potatoes)  Brown the ground beef and drain fat.  I always put mine in a colander and rinse with hot water to really get that fat off!  Place mixed veggies, cream soup and beef in bowl and combine.  Drain potatoes when fork tender.  Add milk, butter, pepper and garlic salt and with an electric mixer beat for a few minutes until fluffy.  Place ground beef mixture in casserole dish or I use and aluminum pan so I can freeze.  Top with mashed potatoes and then with the shredded cheese.  I then cover really well with aluminum foil and freeze.  You can take this straight from the freezer and cook in oven at 350 for 1 hour to 1.5 hours.  Keep foil on until last 10 minutes so cheese doesn't burn.

Twice Baked Potatoes

This you can do so many things with!!  Take as many potatoes as you want (I usually do 6 at a time) and wash.  Then take a fork and poke holes in them.  Place in a 350 degree oven for about an hour or until soft through.  Let them cool so you can handle them:)  I will then take them and cut in half long ways.  Take a spoon and scoop out some of the middle of the potato and place in a bowl.  Don't scoop out all of it because you still want the potato to be sturdy.  Your making little potato boats.  Do all of the potato halves.  Now here is where you can go crazy!  Add to the potato insides butter, milk, sour cream, cream cheese, shredded cheese, bacon, scallions, chives, ranch seasoning....basically anything you like on your spuds.  Now mash that all together!  Once mashed place back in potato boats!  I'll then take each individual half and wrap in plastic wrap and then place in big Ziploc bags and freeze.  On serving day let thaw and bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 min.  These make a great side dish or a meal on their own.

Breakfast Burritos

(Printable link)

These are a favorite to have handy in the freezer for the hubs or kids to grab in the morning!

1 Roll breakfast sausage

6 eggs

1 package frozen hash brown potatoes

2 cups shredded cheese

1 package flour tortillas

Brown and drain your breakfast sausage.  Place in bowl.  Scramble your eggs.  Place in bowl with sausage.  Follow package direction for the hash browns and add to bowl.  Add cheese.  Once all these ingredients are combined take a flour tortilla and add some of the mixture to middle.  Roll up:)  I then will take each burrito and wrap it in plastic wrap.  Then place is Ziploc bags and freeze.  To serve take burrito out of plastic wrap and place in dampened paper towel.  Microwave on high 2 minutes or until heated through.

I always shred my own cheese if possible.  It doesn't take long and it tastes so much better!  Package shredded cheese has a wax that they put on it to keep it from sticking together.  Eeeewwww!  So buy the big block, shred it up and place in plastic bags to freeze.

Above you will see on my list I had 2 whole chickens to cook!  Basically I will place the chicken in a big stock pot and cover it with water.  You can add whatever seasoning and spices you like.  One of my most favorite spices to use on everything is Adobe! It is usually located with the Spanish food.

Let the chicken boil until it start pulling away from the bone.  Take the chicken out of your now homemade broth and put it on a plate to cool.  I will then take the broth and put it in the fridge to chill.  As it chills all the fat will rise to the top and solidify.  This then makes it easy for you to scoop out and therefore remove unwanted or needed fat.  The picture below I put the whole pot with the chicken in the fridge to chill.  And you can see the solidified fat.

Once everything is cool I will remove and discard the skin and remove the meat from the bones.  Simply place in a Ziploc bag and freeze.  This is great for quick fajita, chicken salad or anything else you need chicken for.  Now, what to do with all that wonderful chicken stock?

I simply put it in ice cube trays and freeze.  Once frozen you can pop out and place in a freezer bag.  These are great for when you just need to add a little chicken broth to a recipe:)

The banana bread I bake and then cut into individual slices.  I wrap each slice in plastic wrap and then put them in Ziploc bags and freeze.  Same with the blueberry muffins.  This makes it easy for my family to just grab a single serving size and heat up in the microwave and go!

The pizza dough I make in my bread machine on the pizza dough setting.  When it is done I punch it down, form in a disc, wrap it in plastic wrap and then place in Ziploc bag and freeze.  When I need it just put in refrigerator to thaw.

Here is a final picture of my goodies all bagged and ready to put in the freezer.

I will tell you my feet and back were killing me as this took probably about 6 hours to complete but I think it is ssssoooo worth it!  Plan on take out for dinner this one day and treat your self to a bubble bath and glass of wine;) Schedule a day to do this.  Or have a friend come and help you.  You can double the recipes and you both win!  This makes doing my monthly menu planning so much easier.  And no one ever has to ask...What's for dinner?