After a visit to my favourite butcher who sells bulk meat, I dreaded the prospect of breaking the meat up into batches and vacuum sealing it to be frozen. I did however, feel slightly more enthusiastic about cooking. So I set out to make some freezer meals.
I have at various times dabbled in freezer cooking. I certainly loved the convenience of having ready-made meals when I was busy at work or when I was a new mum. I didn’t hate the cooking days, in fact I quite liked them. So I wondered why I never really stuck to it and made an art of it.
I think in my case it came down to not having enough of a freezer meal catalogue. In the old days I made the same things ….spaghetti sauce, lasagne, cottage pie, a curry or two and soups. Boring. If only I had looked to the internet for inspiration!
There are hundred of sites and bloggers out there praising freezer cooking. Many have it down to a fine art – menu plans, recipes, shopping lists, cooking days, even providing sticker templates to print and attach to your made meal. There are thousands of amazing recipes out there to suit every taste and even cooking preference. It really is an eye opener.
As it is coming into winter here in the Southern hemisphere, I am keen to get the slow cooker working. I found whole sites devoted to creating frozen baggies of ingredients, that you defrost and pop into the crock pot to cook. Really, who thought you could make crock pot cooking even easier than it already was?
The more I traversed the sites, the more I was beginning to be sold on the idea of freezer cooking. I don’t know that I would have the majority of meals out of the freezer as I like to eat a fresh, clean and raw as possible, but it definitely has benefits. It undoubtably saves money as you can shop the sale items and use seasonal produce. You are less likely to resort to expensive take out on the days when you don’t feel like cooking. I can see there would be less washing up and probably less food waste.
So if you are keen to dabble in freezer cooking like me, here are some sites that are worth a visit.
Money Saving Mom – Huge recipe selection and some great printables for those organising freaks, like me.
One a Month Mom – Everything you need to be a freezer cooking genius. Menu plans for all sorts of dietary needs including paleo, vegetarian and baby. Heaps available for free on the site or become a member to receive ongoing menus and recipes.
Who Needs a Cape? – Make 40 meals in 4 hours! Lots of crock pot freezer recipes here.
Life as Mom – Lots of tips on how to freezer cook and every month a new cooking plan to follow.
I have also started to pin some of my favourite freezer meals. You are welcome to follow along here.
So what did I cook and freeze the other day, you ask?
Healthy Butter Chicken – I used a fantastic spice mix from this company
lasagne
Chicken enchiladas
Slow cooker braised lamb
Pear and raspberry coconut bread. Yummo! I will share this recipe with you soon.
If you are interested in freezer cooking, be sure to follow along. I intend to do a lot more freezer cooking and I will share what I make on here.
Have a great day.