As I was researching into how to start a blog I quickly understood that it was going to be a lot of work. So the day I decided that I was committed, about 7 days ago, I decided that the less I had to worry about around the house the better. With two toddlers running around I knew I needed to use my time very carefully. So I decided that I was going to plan out all my meals for two weeks in order to buy me some time.
Sunday night I sat down and searched online for freezer meals. Let me just tell you that this has been the best decision I have made since starting the blog. I really don’t have any extra time because that time is now devoted to learning all I can about blogging. Having a freezer meal ready to go saves me brain space and the time I would have been spending making dinner I have been able to use playing with the kids or doing other chores like folding laundry.
How do freezer meals save me money? First of all, with a super busy schedule if I didn’t have a meal ready to go, it would have been really easy to go get take out. That can add up fast, especially for a family of 4! Second, these meals are very inexpensive but still full of flavor. Here is the brake down of cost:
Total cost of groceries: $108.71
Total number of meals: 16
Cost per meal: $6.79
Cost per person: $1.70
(family of 4)
Here are the recipes that I made and are currently in my freezer. I can’t tell you happy it makes me to open my freezer and see it full of ready to cook meals! Just click on the meal you want and you will find the recipe I used. Keep reading below to see how I prepped 16 meals during naptime all by myself.
Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo (doubled recipe)
Orange Chicken (doubled recipe)
Nacho Chicken (doubled recipe)
Black Bean and Corn Salsa Chicken (doubled recipe)
Pork chops with apples (doubled recipe – Note: To freeze, combine all ingredients and add 1 cup of apple juice into a freezer bag)
Baked Spaghetti (single recipe)
Enchilada Casserole (doubled recipe -Note: I used ground beef instead of chicken and added black beans and corn)
Beef and Broccoli (single recipe – Note: To freeze, combine all ingredients and add 1/2 cup of beef broth into a freezer bag)
Chicken Taco Soup (doubled recipe)
BONUS Recipe: While I was out shopping I bought an extra jar of spaghetti sauce, noodles, and ground beef. I put the cooked ground beef and sauce in the slow cooker on warm and cooked an extra box of noodles. Wa-la, dinner for the night is ready. So after spending all that time in the kitchen prepping all of these meals, I was done and dinner was ready for that same night!
This is how to get all these meals together in less than 3 hours!
Step 1 – Make a grocery list
Step 2 – Buy groceries
Step 3 – Prepare all vegetables by washing, chopping, and dicing.
Step 4 – Prepare all meat by slicing off all the yucky parts of the chicken (still frozen), beef, pork and cooking the ground beef
Step 5 – Now follow the recipes and put together your ingredients into a ziplock bag or casserole dish. The best part about using slow cooker meals is that you pretty much just combine all ingredients into the bag and you’re done. The casseroles are a little more labor intensive but are tasty which is why I included them.
You did it! Now stick those babies in the freezer and you can enjoy all of your hard work throughout the days to come. Trust me! It is SO worth all of the prepping.
