May’s Challenge: 4 Weeks to Fill Your Freezer

by Crystal on April 30, 2012

In May, we’ll be filling our freezers together in the 4 Weeks to Fill Your Freezer Challenge.

Whether you’re a freezer cooking newbie or an experienced pro, I hope you’ll find inspiration, ideas, and maybe just the extra motivation you need to get some freezer cooking done in order to save time, money, and your sanity!

I’ll be cooking or baking something every weekday for my freezer and I’ll be blogging about what I cook or bake each evening along with a link-up for you to share any freezer cooking or baking ahead you did that day.

I’ll be sharing my weekly plan and recipes at the beginning of the week so that you can follow along and cook what I cook, if you’d like. We’ll be tackling breakfasts the first week, lunches the second week, dinners the third week, and snacks and desserts the fourth week.

If you’d rather create your own plan, that’s wonderful, too! Just do what works best for you.

And if you don’t have any time to do extra cooking, than you can just read along and get some new recipe ideas. Or, you can skip these posts altogether. :)

Come back tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. and I’ll share the list of recipes I plan to tackle this week.

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{ 145 comments... read them below or add one }

  • Kim April 30, 2012 at 06:04 pm

    This makes me so incredibly happy!!! My freezer is suddenly looking pathetic. I have loved so many of the freezer recipes you posted previously. I cannot wait to see what new and exciting recipes are yet to come.

    While daily probably won’t work for me, I know I can pull off some weekly freezing. So excited. What a great idea!.

    • Crystal April 30, 2012 at 06:06 pm

      Yay! I hope you’re able to join us for some freezer cooking!

  • Nadia April 30, 2012 at 06:05 pm

    I could so use this! I’m hoping I can do more of it than I did the April challenge :)

    • Crystal April 30, 2012 at 06:05 pm

      This one should be simpler and less time-consuming — hopefully!

  • Rebecca April 30, 2012 at 06:05 pm

    Yep I am definately joining you with this one :)

  • Camille April 30, 2012 at 06:05 pm

    I need to fill my freezer with baked goods for the summer when I don’t want to turn on the oven! A couple loaves of bread each week in May should get us through June! :-)

    • Crystal April 30, 2012 at 06:06 pm

      That’s my hope — the less I turn my freezer on in June and July, the better!

    • Emma K April 30, 2012 at 06:28 pm

      My thoughts exactly!

    • Melissa April 30, 2012 at 06:39 pm

      How does homemade bread freeze? I make our bread twice a week, and I hate the thought of doing that in the summer, but I worry that it wouldn’t taste good if I freeze it.

      • Karen April 30, 2012 at 07:19 pm

        I generally don’t bake fewer than three loaves at a time–one to eat right away and two for the freezer. Just thaw them out in the bag and they should be just like fresh. I’ve never had any quality issues, but I suppose some recipes might freeze better than others.

      • Amie April 30, 2012 at 07:21 pm

        I usually have good results with freezing my homemade bread. I will bake four loaves at a time and serve them up to a month later. I’m not sure how they would last all summer, but if you had the time and the space to do and store the baking for a month, it should last and still taste fine.

      • Anna April 30, 2012 at 07:47 pm

        I’m not crazy about my baked & frozen bread. I prefer to knead my dough and then throw it in a freezer bag. Right now I pull out a frozen bag of dough and leave it to rise on the counter overnight and bake in the morning. During the summer I’ll probably let it rise during the day and bake in the cool evening. So far this is working for pizza dough, cinn. rolls, etc. I’m going to try my favorite french bread recipe this week!

        And Crystal, I’m excited about this challenge! I love the breakfast, lunch, etc. per week thing – thanks!

      • Jennifer April 30, 2012 at 08:08 pm

        My recipe for no-knead bread doesn’t do well in the freezer, but it is quick to make and easy to halve so I don’t necessarily have to make more than we will eat at one time.

  • Brooke April 30, 2012 at 06:08 pm

    Yay! I’m still working through April’s challenge, but I’m so excited to see what this one entails! :)

  • Jaime April 30, 2012 at 06:10 pm

    So excited!!!

  • Jess April 30, 2012 at 06:10 pm

    Oh I can’t wait for this! My poor freezer and pantry are both BARE! I stuffed them both full before baby arrived and now we’re down to the bare shelves. Time to fill them both back up again! I’m so glad you’re going to post the recipes ahead so I can make sure to have ingredients to keep up with the challenge! This is going to be so FUN!

  • Karla April 30, 2012 at 06:12 pm

    I am definitely going to give it a try! June is going to be nuts and it will be nice to have some food in the freezer, here’s to hoping I won’t have to spend too much time on jury duty! :0$

  • Sheila April 30, 2012 at 06:14 pm

    This sounds like fun! I love freezer cooking. It’s been on my mental to-do list to get some done in the next week or two, so this will help get me going.

  • Shannon April 30, 2012 at 06:16 pm

    I will be saving the recipies for later. We are getting ready to move so we are trying to empty the freezer. But I will be ready to fill it when we get moved!!

  • SandyH April 30, 2012 at 06:17 pm

    Can’t wait!! Just defrosted my little chest freezer, so I’m ready to go!!

  • Charissa April 30, 2012 at 06:18 pm

    Thanks for doing this!! I’m excited!

  • Jacqui Gonzales April 30, 2012 at 06:19 pm

    I have been wanting to this for awhile! My DH works a swing shift and ends up eating two meals at work. I hate sending him with the same boring burritos. I want to freeze meals so I can have a single one for him and a full meal for the rest of us.

  • Sarah April 30, 2012 at 06:21 pm

    Crystal,
    When freezer cooking do you just use fresh meat? I am always afraid to thaw meat prepare it and then refreeze it.

    A grocery list for the the upcoming week would be really helpful so that we could purchase groceries ahead of time.

    Can’t wait for the new series… you sometimes make me want to start a blog. Too bad I don’t have enough time, just ideas… anyone want to co-blog with me?

    • Kelly S April 30, 2012 at 06:23 pm

      I can’t speak for Crystal but we do this with our meat and it works fine. I don’t think it’s safe/recommended to thaw meat and then refreeze it raw (without cooking), but since you’re significantly changing the “state” of it by taking it from raw to cooked, I think it’s fine to refreeze once it’s been cooked.

      • Sarah April 30, 2012 at 06:25 pm

        Thanks!

      • Emma K April 30, 2012 at 06:30 pm

        I heard that too. You can thaw, cook, and refreeze.

        • Melissa April 30, 2012 at 06:41 pm

          We use meat from the freezer to make our freezer meals (cooked before they go in the freezer), and we have never had a problem after 4+ years of doing it.

      • Amanda April 30, 2012 at 06:45 pm

        Do it all the time. I usually buy meat in bulk on sale and if I can’t get to it right away, I’ll toss the whole pack in the freezer. Then I’ll thaw some out and I’ll be working with say 10lbs of ground beef or chicken breasts at once, so I’ll cook them all up and prepare a few recipes in bulk. I’ll cook so that i can eat once batch and freeze 2-4 more.

        • Sarah April 30, 2012 at 06:58 pm

          Thanks guys! That’s my problem- I only buy meat in bulk once a month or every other month depending on sales but I never have time to deal with it then… so I have been avoiding freezer cooking main courses. I usually just portion it out and throw it in the freezer! Feeling more confident and we haven’t even started. ;)

          • deborah April 30, 2012 at 07:03 pm

            We usually raise a beef cow and then have it butchered, so my hamburger is always frozen. I thaw, cook, make my entrees and freeze. Works fine for me! :)

      • Laura April 30, 2012 at 07:32 pm

        I have been cooking hamburger and then freezing it for years. Cooked, hamburger is so helpful to have in the freezer, I can’t stand to be out of it! When you need hamburger for spaghetti, nachos or anything eles I just whack the bag on the side of the counter to get off the portion I need. It is so nice not to have to go through the greasy mess of cooking hamburger everytime you need it! :)

  • Kelly S April 30, 2012 at 06:21 pm

    Awesome! We’re expecting our first baby at the end of June, so I’d like to build up a nice little stockpile for the first few weeks after she’s born (or honestly, probably for the last few weeks of pregnancy, too! haha)

  • Nicole April 30, 2012 at 06:22 pm

    I LOVE this assignment!! i am due with our 3rd baby in 4 weeks and 6 days, so this would be perfect for our first month as a family of 5!!

  • Tracie April 30, 2012 at 06:23 pm

    So excited to do this! I just started filling mine back up and need some new ideas. Thanks for sharing.

  • Lori April 30, 2012 at 06:23 pm

    This is just what I needed! Do you know if you are including granola bars on the list? I have been wanting to make these and haven’t yet.

  • Victoria @Snail Pace Transformations April 30, 2012 at 06:24 pm

    Can’t wait it will be good to have the freezer stocked up with meals and baking before the heat of summer hits, and I don’t feel like being in the kitchen much.

  • Erin @ My Mommy World April 30, 2012 at 06:24 pm

    This sounds like so much fun! I can’t wait to start…and have a full freezer :)

  • Chelsea April 30, 2012 at 06:28 pm

    Yay, I’m excited! I had a hunch the new challenge would be freezer cooking. :) This sounds like a lot of fun. I’ll probably pick my favorites of the recipes and do one or two a week.

  • Nicole April 30, 2012 at 06:28 pm

    i LOVE this assignment! we are expecting our 3rd baby in just under 5 weeks, so this will be perfect for us to have ready while we get used to being a family of 5!

  • Ashley April 30, 2012 at 06:30 pm

    It’s ridiculous how excited I am for this! I never really know what to put in my freezer besides pancakes, so I can’t wait!

  • Emma K April 30, 2012 at 06:32 pm

    I am looking forward to this!
    I was going to make and freeze quiche yesterday but hadn’t been to the store and was out of eggs.

  • Marie April 30, 2012 at 06:36 pm

    I will have to keep this challenge in mind for next time. I have no time right now and no room in my freezers. But I love reading about it.

  • Meredith April 30, 2012 at 06:45 pm

    I had a feeling this was coming! I’m a little nervous about it…. I’m so not a good cook, but I plan on getting something out of this:)

  • Amanda April 30, 2012 at 06:49 pm

    I can’t wait! My freezer is well stocked with dinners at the moment (and I’ve got a busy week, so that’s what I’m “cooking” on my menu all this week, but I do so struggle thinking of breakfast, and especially lunch items! I have so missed your freezer cooking posts. I love the way you split it up like that. It’s a nice rotation that may work for me. I’ve been wanting to have a cooking day and a baking day each week for a while but it just hasn’t happened.

  • Jamie April 30, 2012 at 06:49 pm

    Crystal- This is awesome timing as I plan to fill my freezer in the months of May and June for our new baby due in July. This will be so helpful. Thank you for taking the work out of planning for me.

  • margaret April 30, 2012 at 06:55 pm

    Yes!
    I have been planning on doing some freezer cooking soon to get ready for this baby.

  • Nearly Natural Nicole April 30, 2012 at 06:55 pm

    I love this challenge! I think spending May filling my freezer with lots of food will help get me through the summer months of three fighting/hungry boys home from school. I’ll definately do this challenge and write about it on my blog. Thanks Crystal!

  • deborah April 30, 2012 at 07:00 pm

    I’ve been wanting to work on freezer food, so this is a great incentive! We are wheat farmers, so June is always busy and I take lots of meals to the field.

    I like your graphic for your freezer food fixing! :)

  • Mandy W. April 30, 2012 at 07:10 pm

    YEAH!!!!!! I am so excited! This will be perfect for me right now!

  • sarah zang April 30, 2012 at 07:11 pm

    :) this was already on my goal list for May and I actually started today with chocolate chip quinoa muffins and homemade “uncrustables”. I already have my plan set out for the next 3 weeks but I’m excited to see what you make and hopefully get some new ideas!

  • Joanna April 30, 2012 at 07:14 pm

    I’m expecting baby #1 at the end of May, and I have a few things in the freezer so far; I just did cinnamon rolls a few nights ago, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins last week, and getting ready to make another big batch of breakfast burritos. I was kind of feeling I needed a little help for more ideas for lunch and supper and these posts will be perfect! Thanks so much for experimenting and sharing all your great ideas!

    • Jennifer April 30, 2012 at 07:55 pm

      I love having breakfast burritos and lunch burritos stored in the freezer for easy meals. I cook up a big batch of each every couple of months.

      • Joanna April 30, 2012 at 09:17 pm

        What do you use for lunch burritos? Thanks!

        • Sara@Save Money, Live Joyfully April 30, 2012 at 09:48 pm

          I make up taco filling (chicken with spices and black beans), roll in tortillas, and freeze in foil. I cook it in the oven to reheat in the foil for about 45 minutes. You have to plan ahead some, but a little meat goes a long ways with burritos!

    • Emma K May 01, 2012 at 01:23 am

      Quiche is super easy to make and freeze. I cook it and freeze. Then pull out the night before to defrost in the fridge. You can cut off a section to eat and microwave it.

      Soups are really easy to freeze. I froze them in large yogurt containers because I was leery of using bags.

      Before my third child was born in March I made quite a few freezer meals. I bought some square disposable pans and made smaller portions of lasagna & chicken alfredo lasagna.

  • kim April 30, 2012 at 07:15 pm

    Any chance you can do a ‘preparing for freezer cooking’ challenge to help us newbies get ready?

    • April M. April 30, 2012 at 08:50 pm

      Hi Kim-If you look on the screen above right side, there’s a great post about how to prepare for freezer cooking. I am going to use it for this.

      • kim May 03, 2012 at 09:23 pm

        Thanks, viewing the thread on mobile site doesn’t show links but viewing full siteshows them :)

  • Becca B. April 30, 2012 at 07:19 pm

    This sounds like fun. Too bad my husband keeps telling me I can’t get a deep freeze :( The little fridge/ freezer we have just doesn’t hold enough food to store meet and made-a-head meals.

    • Jennifer April 30, 2012 at 07:54 pm

      Check out this video from LifeAsMom, about how to freezer cook with just your regular fridge/freezer combo. She mentions freezer cooking with Crystal, not sure if she is referring to Money Saving Mom Crystal, though.

      • Dona April 30, 2012 at 08:47 pm

        Yes, she and Life As mom author were neighbors at one time and are close friends…so I am sure she was referring to freezer cooking with Crystal :)

  • Daniele @ Domestic Serenity April 30, 2012 at 07:21 pm

    I appreciate this assignment! I’ll definitely follow along and try to get some freezer cooking done. We’ll see — we’re wrapping up a big home project this month.

    Thanks for the motivation & accountability…

  • Jenn H April 30, 2012 at 07:21 pm

    Yay. We are defrosting our freezer soon so I can start a stash of breast milk so I can also work on food for the rest of the family too.

  • yizzel April 30, 2012 at 07:22 pm

    I am so looking forward to this!

  • Tabatha April 30, 2012 at 07:26 pm

    Perfect timing. I’ve been wanting to try Fraser cooking. My freezer (purchased with cash last month) is EMPTY Let the fun times begin. I’ll probably only cook on the weekends but I have to take the first step to get to the finish line.

  • Sarah M. April 30, 2012 at 07:30 pm

    Nice! I think I may participate more in this challenge as I have been wanting to try freezer cooking.

  • Betsy April 30, 2012 at 07:33 pm

    Yea! Perfect timing. Just bought a bunch of foil pans and freezer bags today for some much needed freezer filling. This could not have come at a better time. Thanks for the awesome May challenge!!

    • Sara@Save Money, Live Joyfully April 30, 2012 at 08:05 pm

      I’m a huge fan of the foil pans. We buy them by the Costco packs. They make cooking and cleanup so much easier!

  • Cheri April 30, 2012 at 07:36 pm

    So excited about this!! Its like you were eavesdropping on the conversation i was having with my sister in law on saturday!! We both talked about how we wanted to do morw freezer cooking! Thank you!

  • Melanie April 30, 2012 at 07:39 pm

    This looks like an interesting series. Can you give suggestions for freezer cooking for those of us who live in an apartment and only have the small freezer above the fridge? My freezer is usually too full of meats and frozen veggies to do much freezer cooking.

  • brittney April 30, 2012 at 07:44 pm

    I am def looking forward to this…I have never done freezers cooking

  • Jennifer April 30, 2012 at 07:50 pm

    Perfect timing as I am planning to prepare 2 meatloaves tomorrow…one to cook and one to freeze.

    Do you know if I pour marinade over frozen chicken that is already portioned in my freezer and then place it back in the freezer to freeze the marinade too, will it still work to marinate the chicken when it all thaws together later? I hope that question makes sense to someone :)

    • Emily @ Our Frugal Happy Life May 02, 2012 at 11:50 am

      Yes, Jennifer, I think that should work fine. I usually pour my marinade (dressing) on frozen chicken when I put it in the fridge to thaw. That works great and it marinates nicely as it thaws. But I think you could also put the marinade on the frozen chicken and freeze everything, if you want.

      • Jennifer May 02, 2012 at 12:00 pm

        Thanks Emily :) I’m heading out to by some dressing and bottled marinades this afternoon to ‘doctor’ up my chicken. My poor hubby is getting burnt out on plain roasted chicken breasts & thighs. But I keep buying them because they are cheap, especially the leg quarters. He also told me last night that he doesn’t like pork chops, but will eat them if he has to (probably would have been good info to know when we first got married 15 yrs ago). So I have to figure out what flavor of marinades will work with those too, because I can usually find good deals on them too.

        • Emily @ Our Frugal Happy Life May 02, 2012 at 03:54 pm

          We like Italian marinade on pork chops. There are also some good recipes out there for “spice rubs” that are great on pork chops. I always make my own spice rub!

  • Patti April 30, 2012 at 07:53 pm

    My freezer is overflowing (I’ve been trying to cook it down since January but I keep putting more in…. for example, I’ll cook a whole chicken, then make chicken pot pies with the leftovers!), so I will just have to follow along. However, I am hoping to see some new ideas so if I do find some space, I can try them out. One thing I am going to do is learn to use a dehydrator so I can dehydrate some fruits and vegetables instead of freezing them all the time.

  • Shanon April 30, 2012 at 07:55 pm

    Very excited to see this post! I have recently (2 weeks now) moved into a new home with my family. We transplanted ourselves almost 2200 miles from our old home! I am ready to get some meals stocked up so that I can spend more time on the unpacking and decorating and less in the kitchen for now :)

  • Lisa-panaMOM April 30, 2012 at 07:57 pm

    I don’t cook in advance, but I do try to do the week’s baking in a day. (I blogged about that today.)

    I look forward to following along!

  • Sara@Save Money, Live Joyfully April 30, 2012 at 08:04 pm

    Accountability in this area will be great for me! Baby #2 will be here sometime in the next 3 weeks, and I am waaaaay behind on my freezer cooking. Doing a double batch of dinner several nights this week, and I’m excited to see what you’re cooking up as well for more inspiration!

  • Julie April 30, 2012 at 08:06 pm

    GENIUS idea! Can’t wait to join you!

  • Amber Ballard April 30, 2012 at 08:07 pm

    Yay yay yay! I am expecting a baby this summer and have had freezer cooking on my mind to make life easier in a few months. This makes me SO happy!

  • mireille April 30, 2012 at 08:10 pm

    excited! so far the only thing that i have used from your freezer cooking ideas is freezing muffins when i make them which makes breakfast for my son a little easier and gives him some variety! will you post a list of ingredients in advance so we can plan our grocery bill/list accordingly?

  • Pamela April 30, 2012 at 08:17 pm

    We’ll be filling our freezers about 8 weeks with 26 chickens! They currently reside in a makeshift brooder in our house right now, but they will be pastured poultry in a few weeks and then fill our freezer a few weeks after that!

    I’d love to do some freezer cooking. I haven’t done it for years. I need to see how much space these birds are going to take up in our two freezers first.

  • Kaylee @ Couponing & Cooking April 30, 2012 at 08:19 pm

    I have been wanting to get more serious about freezer cooking and create and follow some type of organized weekly plan to do so. Thanks for giving me the motivation I need. I can’t wait to work through the plan and blog about my trials and errors as I go.

    Thanks again for the fun project and great blogging inspiration!

  • amber April 30, 2012 at 08:24 pm

    I am really excited about this. My freezer is looking pretty bare.

  • Amy April 30, 2012 at 08:31 pm

    I lead a Freezer Meal Workshop once a month and always ‘practice’ my meals first, meaning my freezer is always stocked (and always being used). LOVE freezer cooking and will be reading the follow ups even though I won’t be participating. Hoping to find a new recipe or two though! ;) Thanks, Crystal!

  • Melanie April 30, 2012 at 08:38 pm

    Any body try freezer cooking without plastic bags or containers? I don’t like what I hear about BPA. Would small glass or corningware containers work?

    • Crystal April 30, 2012 at 08:44 pm

      Yes, I know we have readers here who successfully do this. I’m not sure what they cover it with, though, if you don’t feel comfortable with using foil or plastic lids on glass pans. Anyone have suggestions?

      • LeaDawn April 30, 2012 at 10:06 pm

        I have used glass containers and covered them foil. I don’t keep them in the freezer more than a week or 2.

    • Sarah April 30, 2012 at 09:50 pm

      Melanie – I’ve used aluminum pans wrapped in foil before. They freeze nicely if you wrap them tightly and use them within the 30 days! Have fun!

      • Lee May 01, 2012 at 07:03 am

        A lot of the Pyrex and Corning ware have lids, we’ve successfully used those before.

    • Justi Thomas May 01, 2012 at 07:05 am

      I have some weck canning jars that have glass lid and a rubber seal that work well in the freezer. They stack well but only work for things that can be stored in jars. They were purchased rather inexpensivey at Crate and Barrel. Also Pyrex makes a set of glass storage more suitable for casseroles that come with glass and silicone lids for each dish. Thea are available at Target and elsewhere

      • Cassidy May 01, 2012 at 07:55 am

        from what I’ve researched there isn’t any BPA in ziploc bags. I’ve also seen that aluminum is bad to use as well.

  • Tracy April 30, 2012 at 08:39 pm

    I would love to do this challenge with you. We just bought a chest freezer and I have been trying to fill it a little at a time. We have decided to put our house on the market and do not know where we will land after we sell it. So this filling our freezer will have to be put on hold. I will definitely come back to this series once we are in our new home. I enjoy visiting this blog several times a day.

  • Annie April 30, 2012 at 08:42 pm

    This seems like perfect timing. I just got a small chest freezer, and I am waiting for my mom to come bring it to me, but I should have it in the next week or so hopefully. I’m hoping to fill it quickly.

  • Kelly April 30, 2012 at 08:44 pm

    I am sooo excited to do this challenge with you!! I can’t wait to have a full freezer just waiting for me. Thank you so much for all you do to help us all.

  • April M. April 30, 2012 at 08:44 pm

    This is great because I am a pretty bad cook. So am excited about recipes and freezer cooking!

  • Carrie April 30, 2012 at 08:57 pm

    I can’t wait to participate.

  • Gabby April 30, 2012 at 09:04 pm

    Sure, I’m trying to use DOWN my freezer to prepare to move. Could we do this in July/August???

    :)

    Have fun but I’m skipping this one. I’ll be watching though.

    • Crystal April 30, 2012 at 09:05 pm

      Hey, you can just follow the plan then, okay?! :)

    • Tiah April 30, 2012 at 09:32 pm

      I am in the same boat Gabby but I will follow once I am settled in the new home. Thank you for the challenge and idea Crystal.

  • Marishannon @ My Spirited Adventure April 30, 2012 at 09:10 pm

    Yay! Iam participating in this!

  • Sandy H April 30, 2012 at 09:11 pm

    Is this a doable plan if you only have a refrigerator/freezer? We don’t have the space right now for a extra freezer.

    • Kerry D. May 01, 2012 at 07:07 am

      Many things work great–last year, I cooked about 20 extra batches of spaghetti/meat sauce, sloppy joes, burrito filling etc. and froze them in gallon zip lok bags laid on their side (about 9 cents each, bought 2 box set at Costco)… Once frozen, they stacked flat like pancakes, or vertically in a box on my freezer shelf. A lot of food fit into a pretty small space.

  • Liz April 30, 2012 at 09:19 pm

    SO excited for this one! I always get bogged down with the idea that I have to make a lot of food in one session to make it worth my while. This idea seems so much more manageable! I can’t wait!

  • Carey April 30, 2012 at 09:20 pm

    I wish I could join in! But June starts hurricane season here. It’s been years since we’ve had a direct hit, but I’ve learned the hard way that the last thing you want during the long power outages after a hurricane is a freezer full of food. We don’t freeze much at all during the summer anymore – and won’t until we can afford a generator. But I’ll be back to freezer cooking in the winter!

  • Michelle B. April 30, 2012 at 09:22 pm

    This has been on my to-do list for before the baby comes at the end of June. I wasn’t sure where I was going to start so this will give me a good jumping off place.

  • Mars April 30, 2012 at 09:26 pm

    Awesome, can’t wait to try your recipes! I love Freezer Cooking, but always seem to run out of good recipes. Looking forward to following this series!

  • Candy April 30, 2012 at 09:27 pm

    I’m thinking of investing in a vacuum sealer again. I hated my last one. Anyone have one they love or do you just use zipper bags?

    • rachael April 30, 2012 at 10:18 pm

      I have been using my vacuum sealer for freezer cooking this weekend…I get easily annoyed by it. Would have used zipper freezer bags if I didn’t have so many of these vacuum seal bags to use up!

  • Karen Lee April 30, 2012 at 09:42 pm

    I am so very excited about freezer cooking. We moved into a new home a little over a month ago so I am slowly creating my stock pile again. Would be nice to fill my bare freezer and not have to run out to the store as frequently as I do now. I am curious though, will you be posting a list weekly of the ingredients we will need?

  • Carrie April 30, 2012 at 09:49 pm

    Great idea, Crystal. I am really looking forward to it!

  • Julie April 30, 2012 at 09:58 pm

    I’m going to try it! All I have ever done are dinners, so really excited about the other meals.

  • Valerie April 30, 2012 at 10:13 pm

    Yes pls post ingredients for the week I would love to participate I think this is a great idea! ;) I may not do all tho ive still got about 20 meals in my freezer, plenty of room left tho, I have no breakfasts only Dinners & maybe by week 3 ill be looking for more well see ;) Im very excited tho!

  • rachael April 30, 2012 at 10:16 pm

    Just at the tail end of a MAJOR freezer cooking session…maybe too much in fact.
    This past weekend I managed to do
    - 5 batches of chili
    -5 batches of cornbread
    - 50 chimichangas
    -4 batches of taquitos
    -4 cheeseburger meatloaves (your recipe)
    -4 batches of hamburger vegetable soup (again your recipe)
    - 4 green rice cassaroles (can you tell where I went for inspiration when deciding what to make :) )
    -2 lasagnas
    - 4 batches of teriyaki chicken and rice
    -5 loaves of applesauce bread
    -40 breakfast burritos (yep, your recipe again)
    -3 batches of taco meat and beans
    and I cooked all of my beans from scratch including making refried beans for the chimichangas!
    I still have the chicken enchiladas and a couple more batches of taco meat and beans to freeze….running out of room though.
    Thanks so much for ALL of your inspiration!!

    PS yes this was all done for a reason. Just barely found out that I am pregnant and I usually get so sick by 6 weeks that I can’t step foot in the kitchen, let alone cook a meal for my family, trying to plan ahead a bit this time.

    • Cassidy May 01, 2012 at 07:56 am

      wow!! how long did it take you to do all this?

      • rachael May 01, 2012 at 05:34 pm

        I am just about finished. Since I work out of the home I only had the evening last night…started about 3pm Saturday with cooking but did planning Thu evening and shopping Fri evening and Sat morning…glad that I am going to be done soon, we are running out of freezer space!

    • Lana May 01, 2012 at 07:58 am

      You go girl :D You are so smart stocking up for morning sickness and what a blessing for your family!

    • Valerie May 11, 2012 at 01:53 pm

      Rachael could I ask where u find all Crystals recipes? I can only find her blog posts under freezer cooking?

      • Crystal May 11, 2012 at 01:58 pm

        Most of the recipes are here:

        http://moneysavingmom.com/recipes

        • Valerie May 14, 2012 at 12:49 pm

          Ty Crystal!! :)

  • Shauna April 30, 2012 at 10:22 pm

    I am ready for some great ideas and motivation! Thanks!

  • Kiersten April 30, 2012 at 10:22 pm

    Super excited about this as this is my goal this month as I eagerly await my due date on Memorial Day! My husband and I are expecting our second and know that with that comes an adjustment period where we will be tired and not wanting to cook…so to save money I have already started to freezer cook meals for when baby arrives! This is just perfect timing! Thank you! I will be following along!

    • Kimberly May 01, 2012 at 09:25 am

      Congrats on your baby….I was born on Memorial Day too!!

  • Sophia April 30, 2012 at 10:57 pm

    Wow! What perfect timing! I’m expecting my first baby in early June, and had planned on focusing on Freezer cooking in May. Now, I think I’d switch the timing around (do the dinners first, and breakfast last) but this will be great motivation to get that stocking up done!

  • Lilianne April 30, 2012 at 11:01 pm

    Hope you do breakfast burritos this week! :)

  • Stephanie April 30, 2012 at 11:13 pm

    Awesome! I was thinking of doing this challenge just for myself. We were really tight last month so I think I spent a total of $100 on milk, eggs, and fresh fruit & vegis. All the rest we ate out of our freezer. It was great! But now I have no more beans, rice, pizza dough or ready meals… time to get cooking!

  • Belinda May 01, 2012 at 12:18 am

    I am super excited about this! I have one request or suggestion, will you please place a shopping list at the beginning of the week or on the Friday before so if we need to get certain food items we do not have to run to the store all the time? This way we can be better prepared to freezer cook with you. =)

  • Shelly @ Frugal Family Home May 01, 2012 at 12:30 am

    I will try to follow along with this one too. Can’t wait to see what we will be making.

  • Betsy @ Romance on a Dime May 01, 2012 at 12:33 am

    I’m really excited about this!! I’m looking forward to joining you!!

  • Heather May 01, 2012 at 01:17 am

    Crystal, Oh I have to chuckle because upon returning from vacation over the weekend, my husband and I decided to challenge ourselves to eating out of our freezer the ENTIRE MONTH OF MAY!! Poor thing has about 2 inches of frost that needs to come out and get thawed out, so I will be watching you, but unfortunately waiting for June to follow! Just my luck…isn’t that how it always is, right!? LOL! :)

    PS. Will you include it all together in an Ebook by chance?

  • Danita May 01, 2012 at 05:09 am

    Now this is a post I need right now! Thanks

  • Shawna May 01, 2012 at 06:23 am

    Perfect timing! My freezer was looking so bare until last week when you started freezer cooking again. I got inspired and made rolls, breadsticks, burritos, taco meat, granola bars, and poptarts over the weekend. I am looking forward to stocking up my freezer more. Thank you so much!

  • Heather May 01, 2012 at 06:47 am

    Awesome! I know you have been so busy-and I’m so happy for you! But I have selfishly been missing your regular recipe and freezer cooking posts. I will be participating, so excited for this! THANKS:)

  • Chris Reid May 01, 2012 at 06:47 am

    Hi nice blog I will follow some of the lunch menus always stuck for lunch ideas.

  • Paula May 01, 2012 at 06:49 am

    Just pulled my last venison potpie out of the freezer, only one meatloaf left in there! Looking forward to your list, so I can scope out my local ads! Thanks! Busy Tball, baseball, flag football season upon us & my family needs the quick suppers!

  • Michelle May 01, 2012 at 07:41 am

    This is perfect! My baby is due on June 9th, so hopefully I can muster up the energy to cook along with you and we’ll have a freezer full of food for when the baby gets here.

  • More Than A Mom May 01, 2012 at 08:02 am

    Great idea! I can’t wait to participate ;)

  • Sarah May 01, 2012 at 08:21 am

    I’m so excited for this! It’s perfect timing for me, since we’re due with baby #2 the first week of June. Maybe this will help motivate me and keep my mind off the inevitable discomforts of the ninth month of pregnancy.

  • Lesley May 01, 2012 at 08:33 am

    You are brilliant. I liked your organized home series, but unfortunately I had done almost everything you asked in January when I reorganized and clean. Not to mention I was going a Spring Cleaning series on my blog and had done almost everything ahead of time for posting purposes (I am currently taking a hiatus…too much going on here at home). Lately it seems like we are eating out more and more because I took on a second job and I am no longer home in the evenings to cook or do anything for that matter (I literally leave early in the morning and come home well after dark most days). Its extremely time consuming, and I am finding I have less and less time to do the things I enjoy, including cooking. I’ve tried to get into freezer cooking, but could never bring myself to do it.

    I was wondering if you could also make a list of essentials you need for freezer cooking, such as containers you use, etc, etc. I’m never really sure what to cook in and freeze in since most of my stuff in glass, I don’t want to freeze anything in them (aka lasagna).

    Can’t wait for this series to begin!

  • Rachel May 01, 2012 at 08:51 am

    wonderful series idea! I did a mini freezing session last night…I put together some chicken enchiladas for dinner on wednesday, so I made extra to put in the freezer. It feels so good to know you’ve made dinner for now AND later! Excited to read the upcoming posts!

  • Amber May 01, 2012 at 09:06 am

    Oh this is so great! I won’t be able to start yet until payday but I plan to do this with you all!

  • Kayla May 01, 2012 at 09:25 am

    SUPER excited about this challenge! My husband and I were just talking this weekend about really needing to get back into freezer cooking as we are planning a move out of town in the next year or so and need to change the way we will be doing our meals since we won’t be able to go to the store as frequently. Thanks for the push to get me there!

  • Lindsey May 01, 2012 at 01:08 pm

    Expecting a baby…perfect timing…so excited to try this. I am freezer cooking newbie.

  • Karen May 01, 2012 at 09:58 pm

    I love the freezer cooking series and would love to see more info related to this. Sometimes I don’t understand, like what do you make with the baking mix? The haystacks recipe, you freeze the taco meat then thaw out in crockpot while you chop the lettuce and tomato? When you have a list of seven breakfast items, is it Monday-Sunday’s meals or your basic outline for the week? I would like to read about how you plan your menus. Maybe I missed this in a previous post before I found you!

    I love your blog! Your blog is like a favorite magazine that I get excited when I see it pop up in my inbox! But I don’t entirely understand the weekly menus because some meals have links to recipes and some don’t. A previous post said “salmon” but no recipe. I try to figure out then how you made the salmon and how it’s saving time because it looks like it wasn’t a freezer meal. I think this is part of where I get lost.

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