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We’re stocking our kitchen this morning with 6 Easy Freezer Meals! Read on to find out what we made and how we did it. Talk about efficient…this is the busy mom’s survival guide!

6 Easy Freezer Meals

My best friend Kristin is having her third baby (a boy!) any day now! So, naturally, I did what any sympathetic, excited, and equally exhausted friend would do — I planned a morning for the two of us to get together and COOK! Our mission was to stock Kristin’s freezer with loads of tasty, homemade, family-friendly dinners that she can rely on after her baby is born. Since we doubled all of the recipes, I was a winner too…I brought home half of the meals for my own freezer!

Kristin

Our plan was to select six different recipes that we could easily pull off in one morning. I did the grocery shopping and the prep work, Kristin hosted, hired the babysitter for our 4 older children, and handled all of the kitchen clean-up after I high-tailed it out of there (bless her!). We shared the load and we had fun doing it. Here’s how it worked:

I sent Kristin a long list of freezer meal ideas and gave her the following instructions:

– Pick 5-6 dinners that your family will enjoy;

– Select different types of meals (for instance: a soup, a casserole or two, a crock-pot dinner or two, etc.). We didn’t want to end up with six pasta casseroles and nothing else. Talk about boring!

– Select a variety of cuisines and ingredients (for instance: a chicken dinner or two, a beef dish or two; a few Mexican options, an Italian option, etc.). Again, variety is what keeps our tummies happy and the meals interesting!

Kristin followed her directions perfectly and we came up with the following 6 Easy Freezer Meals:

I then did the grocery shopping, which included not only the food but also the purchase of disposable baking pans and Ziploc freezer bags. The grand total for all 12 of our meals was about $188.00. Not bad, right?! And actually, most (maybe all) of these recipes make enough to feed our families for 2 nights, so we really made almost 24 dinners for that price. Kristin and I were both shocked by how affordable it was!

Bags of food

As you can see from the photo above, I arrived at Kristin’s house with the groceries sorted into different plastic shopping bags. I divided up the ingredients so that one recipe was in each bag. That helped to keep everything organized so that we could work on one meal at a time.

I had also done a little bit of prep work at home by browning the ground beef and onion in advance, as well as cooking the pasta in advance. Again, it just helped our assembly line run more efficiently.

In preparation for our morning, I also made sure to label each Ziploc freezer bag and baking dish with the name of the recipe and the cooking instructions. New moms don’t want to have to think about ANYTHING when it’s time to prepare a meal!

Labeled Bag

So with everything laid out and organized, I put Kristin to work. By the way…can you believe that this cute little lady is 9 months pregnant?!?! She did most of the stirring, mixing, can-opening, and assembly…

Kristin Cooking

While I stood by and watched, talked incessantly, and held this little guy…who refused to be put down or handed off for more than a few seconds!

Blair and Spence

When one meal was finished, we sealed it up, stuck it in the freezer, and moved on to the next…

Pesto Ranch Chicken in Bag

Meanwhile, Miss Natalie helped to corral the 4 older kids. Kristin actually managed to snap a photo of a {rare!} moment of peace and quiet…

Big kids

And by the time we were done about 2 hours later, I think that we were both exhausted and ready to sit down! But, we had a great feeling of accomplishment. There’s just something so comforting (especially for a nesting mother-to-be) about a fully stocked kitchen!

Blair and Kristin

I highly recommend doing this with a friend. It’s so much more fun! And if you’re looking for additional ideas for easy family-friendly freezer meals, you should check out my previous post from last fall: 10 Family-Friendly Crock Pot Freezer Meals. I went through this same process before I had Spence, and it was truly a life-saver in those first few months postpartum. Now the next baby is free to arrive…we’re ready for you little man!

10 Family-Friendly Crock Pot Freezer Meals

Crock-Pot-Freezer-Meals.jpg

blair

Hey, I’m Blair!

Welcome to my farmhouse kitchen in the foothills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Inspired by local traditions and seasonal fare, you’ll find plenty of easy, comforting recipes that bring your family together around the table. It’s down-home, country-style cooking!

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Comments

  1. You are so right – doing this with friends is much more fun. Her baby bump is just adorable. Thanks so much for sharing!

  2. I’ve really wanted to do something like this, but I am just so not organized enough! You just shared some great tips that I think will help me though – write on the bags before hand, duh 😉
    Thanks for sharing on Foodie Friday

    1. Hi, Julia! Thanks so much for visiting. I hope that you get to try this — you definitely will not regret the effort!

  3. What a great gift to share with a friend, these freezer meals are great! Hope you are having a great Labor Day Weekend and thanks so much for sharing your awesome post with Full Plate Thursday.
    Come Back Soon!
    Miz Helen

  4. The recipes sound delicious! I’m new to crock pot/freezer meals… Would you dethaw the chicken thigh meal before putting in the crockpot or put it in the frozen?

    1. Hi, Kate! We have worked our way through all of the meals now and they are definitely delicious. 🙂 I always take the meal out of the freezer the day before I plan to cook it. Place the meal in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours to thaw, and then just dump everything into your slow cooker (or bake the casserole as directed). Good luck!