Freezer Meals - My Usual Method

In what is officially part 2 of my freezer meals series (part 1, all other freezer meal posts), I thought I would do Kitchen Tip Tuesday and Works for Me Wednesday talking about the method I usually use for keeping my freezer stocked of meals that just need to be thawed and cooked!

As I already mentioned, I like to have meals in the freezer for the convenience factor to make errand day easier (we have one car, so I have to pick Mr. Pear up at work right before supper, so we need easy), and Sundays be family day all day, and a rest for all of us.

My method is super easy. My week is broken up into the following:
Monday - Downstairs cleaning day, clothes laundry
Tuesday - Upstairs cleaning day, linens laundry
Wednesday - Kitchen Day
Thursday - Project Day
Friday - Errand Day (or a second project day), clothes laundry

On kitchen day I make the equivalent of two meals for us - one to eat, one to freeze. Most weeks I make a second set of two meals and freeze both. That is it, that is my big secret for keeping my freezer stocked. I originally posted about this by saying to just think double in the kitchen, that is a big part of this - why just make 1 when the same mess can yield two or even more!

Of course, if I am making meatballs I buy a 6 lb package of ground beef (bulk buy saves money, but I try to get it on sale or at Costco for the best price), and cook it all up, which makes 6 meals for us.

If I am making meatloaf I again use the 6 lb package and make 3 x 2 lb loafs (recipe coming later in series).

If I am making hamburgers I again buy the 6 lb package and make them all up, freezing them on a cookie tray on waxed paper with waxed paper in between each layer, then cutting the waxed paper and putting the frozen patties in a freezer bag.

I also use my slow cooker a lot on kitchen day to make a big batch of spaghetti sauce or tortilla soup.

However, I stick to trying to group things together. If I get a good price on ground beef, I will buy 12 lbs and make it all into stuff. If I have to cook ground turkey, I will try to make two things that both need cooked ground turkey so that I can combine tasks and be done quicker!

So on kitchen day I make the meal we are having that night, and while it is cooking I make the other set for the freezer, or if Miss Pear wants to play in the kitchen I will do most of it in the morning, we are flexible about when that happens!

To help me keep organized, I have a list of things I ALWAYS have in the freezer in addition to an assortment of meals:
hamburger patties
meatballs
spaghetti sauce (I use this for lasagna too)
taco chili

and my lunch stash, which I will talk about later in the series.

I will talk about how I plan for my kitchen cooking day after I talk about Once A Month Cooking as the planning and prep is the same for both, it is just a question of how long your lists are!


Next up in the series:
- Once a month cooking - at least it is my explanation of it!
- Planning your shopping, prep and cooking
- Storing your meals revisited and revised
- Keeping track of what is in your freezer and what is the oldest
- Freezer lunch stash complete with ideas
- Freezer breakfast stash complete with ideas
- Recipes I used in my marathon cook that have not yet been posted
- Tips for converting your favorite recipes to freezer recipes
- What little I know about having a group of friends who share freezer meals
- Books and resources I love
- Answers to questions you post for me or email to me (email button is in my profile).