Today we're going to learn all about how to get started making freezer meals.
I get this question all the time.
And, people are just afraid to get started.
They don't know what to do, so today I'm going to give you six tips on how to get started.
First off, I thought I'd tell you a little bit about myself.
I am a mom, I have four kids.
And, I have been making freezer meals for probably over 15 years.
I love trying new recipes, I love testing, and developing recipes.
In fact, I made a cookbook called, "Seriously Good Freezer Meals," and it's available in
stores now.
So I'm an Author, and I have a blog called, "HappyMoneySaver.Com."
And, I do all kinds of freezer meal love up there, so go check it out.
Today I wanted to really talk about how to get started making freezer meals.
So to do that, I have six big tips to help you get started making freezer meals.
Tip number one, make freezer meals that you actually like.
When I was first getting started making freezer meals, I just went crazy.
I seem to do that all the time.
I like to just go big or go home I swear, all the time.
And, I made a whole bunch of freezer meals I had never tried before, and needless to
say, some of them I really loved, and others, I was like, "I don't even know why I made
that."
And it sat in my freezer.
It's probably still there.
So, moral of the story is, make food that you actually wanted to eat when you're making
your freezer meals.
If you have a favorite recipe that is freezer friendly, make three of those and put them
in your freezer.
If you know you love macaroni and cheese, or you know you love teriyaki chicken, or
you know your family loves grilling recipes, or whatever it is.
Make those kind of recipes.
Tip number two, is to label, label, label everything, okay?
You really want to label everything, because if you don't, you're going to have all these
freezer meals in your freezer, and not know which ones they are.
And, I've done that before.
It's not fun, okay?
You get in there and you're like, "What is this?
I don't know."
And then you don't want to eat it, so you leave it in your freezer a little bit longer,
until you just give up and you're just like, "Eh, I'm not going to eat that, 'cause I don't
know what it is."
Okay?
So, it's really, really important to label everything that you put in there.
Whether you're using a marker on a bag, or on the top of a baking dish.
Or, whether you are using printable labels, or cute little tags.
Just make sure and label everything.
I like to label my things with the recipe name first, and then the date, and instructions
on either thawing or cooking, or yeah, just basically instructions.
Those are really important.
They save me time, I don't have to go look up in my cookbook later what I'm supposed
to do.
It's just really helpful to just add that information right from the get go.
One quick thing I will mention is, if you are using permanent markers on your gallon
sized bags, make sure and do your labels before you fill your bag.
Because once you add your freezer meal food to your bag, then it starts to have some sort
of a moisture issue, and you try to use your marker and write on it, and it just won't
stay.
So, make sure and you always label your bags before you fill them, and that is the second
tip for how to get started making freezer meals.
Tip number three is, to be prepared before you get started making a big batch of freezer
meals.
Being prepared typically means for me is to, have my kitchen cleaned up, no dishes in the
sink, clean out my fridge a little bit, make some room.
Do an inventory, a little bit of what I have so I don't have to buy extra things from my
shopping list.
Preparing by having out all the supplies I need.
Sometimes I like to put out all the food, and make sure I have it all.
And, getting out multiple sets of measuring cups, because I know I'm going to be needing
lots of them on a big cooking day, and measuring spoons, and all those kinds of things.
So, being prepared is really, really important when it comes to making freezer meals.
Tip number four is, what kind of containers do I need to make my freezer meals in?
Well, you can do so many different types of containers.
There's tons of different options for you.
My number one go to, is probably gallon sized freezer safe bags.
Gallon size sized freezer bags are great because if you are limited on freezer space, you can
freeze your freezer meals flat, and have them stacked nicely in your freezer, not taking
up so much room.
I use the foil 9x13's for a lot of my recipes.
Not only because they're really inexpensive.
I find mine at Cash & Carry, or places like that for like 33 cents each.
So, it's pretty inexpensive.
And, I don't have to do dishes afterwards, which is a huge, huge time saver, and a huge
plus for me because I hate doing the dishes.
So, you can buy these little foil pans, fill up your freezer meals.
I like to cover them with plastic wrap first, just to push out all the extra air, because
air is the enemy for freezer meals.
We're going to talk more about that in a minute, but I put plastic wrap, and then I line it
with foil.
And, then I label on top of the foil.
If you have a small family, or there's just two of you, most of my recipes that I use
are for my large family of six.
So, you can use, instead, two like 8x8 size pans, which are really helpful, and they make
like three servings each, which is good for you, for one or two people, because then you
have some leftovers and things like that.
Now, if you're not into buying aluminum foil pans, another option is to use your own baking
dishes.
If you have enough of your own baking dishes, then you can just go ahead and freeze in those.
One thing I'll warn you though, if you have glass or ceramic baking dishes, you cannot
take it directly from the freezer and put it right into a hot oven, or it will ... The
glass or ceramics will break.
If you are limited on the number of baking dishes that you have, then one technique I
have is to line your baking dish with plastic wrap, put your food inside, then wrap it up
in plastic wrap, stick this in your freezer, let it freeze until it's hard.
And after it's hard, you can take the whole thing out, and it will come out in a little
tiny cute shape that is just right for your baking dish.
And, then you can either put it into a gallon sized bag and freeze it that way.
Or, you can cover it, wrap it in foil and label it.
Whatever you decide works best for you.
Other containers, you can use mason jars to freeze your soups and things in.
Just make sure and leave a little bit of some head space, because as liquid freezes, it
will expand.
So, you can use any kind of other little freezable containers that you may find out there.
A lot of times people are using, for Instant Pot cooking, a special sized bucket, with
these special wax pencils to write the labels on the lids, 'cause you can wipe that off.
And, how this works is you put your freezer meals in, you put your lid on, and you stick
it in your freezer.
And, on your cooking day, you would pop it right out of its bucket, it will be frozen,
and you would just pop it right into your Instant Pot, because it's just the right round
size.
Add, a little a bit of water because you have to have a little bit of liquid when you're
working with an Instant Pot.
Then, turn it on, and let it cook.
In a half hour, 30, 40 minutes, you'll have dinner using your Instant Pot.
There's several different ways to make freezer meals, so whatever way works for you, do that.
Tip number five is, to buy the freshest ingredients possible.
When I'm doing a big, giant cooking day, the day before is usually when I'm doing all my
grocery shopping.
So I will go to the stores, and I am looking for the most freshest ingredients possible.
Things with the longest expiration dates, so I'll reach to the back of the aisle for
the canned foods, or whatever it is that I'm doing, and I'm looking for the freshest produce
because, quality and fresh food matters with freezer meals.
Tip number six is, to avoid freezer burn.
"So what's freezer burn?"
You say?
"Huh?
What is that?"
Well, basically freezer burn occurs when air hits your food as it's in its frozen state,
leading to dark gray spots on your food, and making it so it does not taste as delicious
when you thaw and put it in the oven.
So, I'm sure a lot of you guys have seen what freezer burn is on your food.
It's not a pretty picture.
It doesn't smell good, it doesn't look good.
It's just kind of gross.
So the secret to keeping your food from getting freezer burned is, to get all the air out,
okay?
Air is the enemy.
Air is what causes all freezer burn.
I hope you enjoyed this beginners tutorial of how to get started with freezer meals.
Don't be afraid of just getting started.
Just make a plan, and just get some freezer meals in your freezer.
You are going to love it.
And, if you liked my video, make sure and like, leave a comment below, and subscribe.
I'm so glad you joined me, and I can't wait to show you more fun freezer meal strategies
in the future.