It's that time again, time for me to fill my freezer with lots of things for us to eat when school (lacrosse, cheerleading, tennis, gymnastics) starts in August. I will spend several days in the kitchen cooking all kinds of things to make sure we eat well and don't resort to the drive thru for dinner. You can see my planning process from last year here, as well as the recipes I made. Below is my plan for this year.
Disclaimer-- This is a very ambitious plan, composed of many, many recipes and ingredients, spread out over many days.
Beef Recipes
Beer Chili - DONE
Sloppy Joes - DONE
Taco Meat (just taco seasoning and ground beef) - DONE
Meatballs - DONE
Meatloaf - DONE
Lasagna
Beef Mix (ground beef seasoned with onions and garlic) - DONE
Skirt Steak (1 with Alton Brown's Marinade, 1 with Beer Marinade) - DONE
Poultry Recipes
Crockpot Taco Chicken (just taco seasoning and chicken breasts) - DONE
Crockpot Whole Chicken and Broth (for pot pie and soups) - DONE
Marinated Chicken Breasts
Basic Marinated - DONE
Dijon - DONE
Bottle O'Beer - DONE
Lemon Pepper - DONE
Sweet and Sour Catalina Chicken Strips - DONE
BBQ (using our Restaurant's BBQ sauce) - DONE
Parmesan Chicken Strips - DONE
Chicken Bacon Subs * - DONE
Mediterranean Roast Chicken *
Teriyaki Strips * - DONE
Pork
Kentucky Bourbon Pork Chops - DONE
Mozzarella Stuffed Sausage Meatballs (just the meatballs, will make the sauce fresh) - DONE
Side Dishes
Natalie's Beans - DONE
Mac and Cheese
Hashbrown Casserole
Mashed Potatoes
Baked Potato Casserole - DONE
Broccoli Casserole
Lima Beans - DONE
Meal Starters
Northern Beans (for soups) - DONE
Pizza Dough (scroll to bottom of post for crust recipe)
Easy Crockpot Red Sauce - DONE
Chopped Onions - DONE
Snacks
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Kentucky Sugar Cookies (second recipe in post)
Cowgirl Cookies *
Chocolate Almond Biscotti
Zucchini Whoopie Pies *
Chex Mix
Chocolate Sauce
Ranch Dressing Mix - DONE
Hummus
Breakfast
Breakfast Burritos
Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
Pancakes - DONE
Apple Granola
Muffins
Blueberry Orange
Pineapple *
Zucchini
* New to us recipes
Here's what the next few days look like -
Day One - Inventory Freezer, select recipes, create master ingredient list, inventory pantry, create grocery lists. - DONE
Day Two - Shop - I NEVER shop and cook in the same day. I usually end up at 4 different stores (Costco, Restaurant Depot, Publix and Walmart) and that makes for a very tiring day. I usually prep the onions, garlic, etc, but I don't assemble anything. - DONE
Day Three - Beef Recipes - these are the most complicated, time consuming recipes, so I do them when I am still fresh and excited about this endeavor...
Day Four - Chicken and Pork Recipes
Day Five - Side Dishes and Breakfast
Day Six - Baking Day and any breakfast items that don't get done the day before - these are the things we can live without. If I really run out of steam, I can come back later and make these items.
*** I will use my crockpot daily - for example on Beef Day, I will make Natalie's Beans as they cook a long time and require no attention after I put them in the crockpot, I will do the northern beans another day, the Crockpot Red Sauce another, etc. This is an attempt to make the best use of my time on cooking days.
In between all of this I will also be doing my summer canning and freezing, but that is a topic for another post....
I love this plan! I think it's great how you how so many choices for your family from the freezer! I am planning on filling my freezer with meals as well and I will be checking out some of your recipes! Very inspirational post! Angie xo
ReplyDeleteDo you actually cook the meals then freeze or put ingredients together to cook after you defrost?
ReplyDelete