Here's how it works: I take one to two days and make enough dinners for the month, or if I'm lucky, two. It's super easy, although the amount of groceries that you will need will look overwhelming!!! The bill will usually be around $250. I try to shop one day and cook any meats that need to cook and cool before being frozen. The next day I'll cut, combine and freeze the rest. I like to use freezer bags for all the crock pot meals and foil casserole dishes for the oven meals, like lasagna and enchiladas. I also like to have disposable food gloves so that I can work with the food without washing my hands every 5 minutes.
Here are a few recipes to get started! :)
NOTE: The numbers on the left are what I'm going to make for freezer meals. The other numbers are the original recipe. I found it helpful to have both on there as sometimes it's easier to add all the items in 5 different freezer bags instead of mixing everything in one big bowl.
Slow Cooker Sweet and Tangy Meatballs
3 TIMES
3 1 (12 oz) jar chili sauce
3 1 (16-18 oz) jar grape jelly
3 1 (2 lb) package frozen meatballs
Combine chili sauce and grape jelly until smooth. Place meatballs in freezer bag and pour chili sauce and mix together in the bag until thoroughly combined. Thaw in fridge and cook on high for 1-2 hours or low for 3-4 hours. (Can also be cooked on the stove.) Serve over rice or on the side of potatoes.
Beef Chili
http://www.browneyedbaker.com/all-american-beef-chili/
4 TIMES (NOTE: only make 4 times this recipe if you have a really big pot available!!!)
8 2 Tablespoons oil
8 2 yellow onions, finely chopped
4 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
1 ¼ cup chili powder
4 1 Tablespoon ground cumin
2 ½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
4 1 teaspoon salt, divided
24 6 garlic cloves, minced
8 2 pounds ground beef
8 2 (15 ounce) cans dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
4 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
4 1 (28 ounce) can tomato puree
Heat the oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat until it is shimmering. Add the onions, bell pepper, chili powder, cumin, cayenne and ½ teaspoons of the salt. Cook until the vegetables have softened, about 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.
Add the beef and increase the heat to medium-high. Cook, breaking up the beef with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Stir in the beans, diced tomatoes (with their juice), tomato puree and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat so it maintains a slow simmer, cover and cook for 45 minutes.
Remove the lid and continue to simmer for an additional 45 minutes. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste before serving. Garnish with shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream.
For freezing: Let cool in fridge overnight. Divide into bags. Freeze.
To reheat: Place one bag of chili in the fridge the night before you want to cook it. Empty the defrosted chili into the crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours.
Meat loaf
5 TIMES
20 4 slices of bread
5 1 cup milk
5 1 onion, finely chopped
10 2 cloves pressed or minced garlic
10 2 pounds ground beef
10 2 eggs
1 ¼ ¼ cup finely chopped parsley
5 1 teaspoon marjoram
5 1 teaspoon salt
2 ½ ½ teaspoon ground pepper
5 1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
Make coarse bread crumbs. Add milk. Mix well and set aside. Cook onion and garlic in oil on a low heat. Cover and cook for 12-15 minutes until the onion is translucent. Add onion mixture and beef in large bowl. Mix well and add the bread mixture, eggs and spices. Mix well. Form into a loaf about 9” x 5” cook for 30 minutes on 375.
For freezing: Place about 4 cups (or however much will fit into your baking pan) into a freezer bag and shape like a loaf.
For cooking: Defrost meatloaf in the fridge the night before. Place in pan and cook on 375 for 30 minutes or until the middle is cooked. Top with tomato paste.
Chicken Enchiladas
5 TIMES
20 4 cooked chicken breasts
5 1 pack of 20 small tortillas.
10 2 cans enchilada sauce
20 4 oz cream cheese, softened
40 8 oz shredded cheese, divided in half
5 1 small onion diced fine
Top with sour cream, salsa, guacamole
Shredded chicken in a mixing bowl (I cube mine). Add all of the onion, approximately 1/3 of the enchilada sauce and half of the shredded cheese to your chicken. Mix well. Pour just enough enchilada sauce into the bottom of the baking dish to leave a thin layer. Spread approximately 1 tsp of cream cheese onto a tortilla. Fill with desired amount with chicken mixture. Roll tortilla and place in baking dish with the seam down so it does not unroll. Arrange as needed to fill the baking dish. Cover with remaining enchilada sauce and top with remaining shredded cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Turn up to 400 degrees for last 5 minutes until it bubbles.
For freezing: Do not top with cheese. Cover with the remaining sauce, cover and freeze. I use foil casserole dishes with lids for these.
Reheating: Defrost in the fridge the night before. Top with cheese and follow the cooking instructions above.
