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I am not shy about how much I love freezer cooking. By cooking meals ahead of time, I can get dinner done with no stress and little time.
Freezer cooking saves me time, a lot of money, stress, and we waste less food.
So, yeah… I’m a big fan of freezer cooking!
I usually do my freezer cooking in big batches like making 80 meals in 2 hours. But, sometimes I don’t want to spend a whole afternoon stocking the freezer.
This plan is different. It’s a week of freezer cooking spread out as you make dinner each night, instead of one big freezer cooking session.
A Week of Freezer Cooking
Let me explain more how this works…
Instead of a regular freezer cooking session where I make a ton of meals at once, I am just cooking extra each night as I make dinner.
The freezer will still get stocked, just a little each day instead of all at once.
For this to work efficiently, I’ve chosen super easy meals that can be doubled or tripled easily.
Let’s get started!
A Week of Freezer Cooking: The Plan
You can pick 7 of your favorite meals, or use the ones I chose below. And if you have a favorite recipe, feel free to use that, or I will add mine.
The Meals
Crockpot Chili
Spaghetti Sauce
Italian Chicken Tenders
Honey Mustard Chicken Sliders
Crockpot BBQ (or BBQ Chicken)
Taco Meat
Pork Tenderloin
Related Post: Quick No Cook Chicken Freezer Meals Cooking Plan
The Plan
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Sunday:
Make chili in the crockpot. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, and Frito’s. Freeze the leftover chili in portions for your family size.
Chili Recipe:
Ingredients:
2 lbs ground beef
Kidney beans
Diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, oregano
Pinto beans
Small can tomato sauce (or paste if you want thicker chili)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp Ground Cumin
2 tbsp. Chili Powder
Directions:
- Brown 2 lbs ground beef and drain grease.
- Add beef to crockpot with tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, beans, and spices.
- Let cook on low for 6-8 hours.
- Portion leftovers in freezer bags.
When ready to serve:
Thaw overnight in fridge. Heat in microwave or on stovetop.
Monday:
Make spaghetti sauce in the crockpot. Serve on spaghetti noodles with a side salad or french bread. Freeze the leftover sauce in portions for your family size.
Spaghetti Sauce Recipe:
Ingredients:
3 28 oz cans tomato sauce
2 28 oz cans diced tomatoes
4 lbs ground beef
Assorted Spices: (Use what you love – this is what I add. And we are trying to make these meals quick, so I don’t measure! Just a good dash of each, and a small dash of cayenne pepper.)
Garlic Salt
Onion Powder
Basil
Oregano
Chili Powder
Cayenne Pepper
Directions:
- Using a large skillet, brown 4 lbs of ground beef. Sprinkle with spices if desired. Drain grease when done. (I use a strainer over a large bowl that I can reuse for the taco meat.)
- Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, ground beef, and desired spices to your crockpot and let cook on low for 6-8 hours.
- Portion the sauce up by your family size in freezer containers, label, and stick in the freezer.
When ready to serve:
Let thaw overnight, heat in stove pot, boil noodles, combine and devour.
This made 10 containers for the 2 of us, so it should be about 20 servings overall. Multiply it to make more!
Tuesday:
Make Italian chicken tenders and serve with roasted potatoes and vegetables. Freeze the marinated, uncooked chicken tenders in portions for your family size.
Italian Chicken Tenders Recipe:
Ingredients:
6 chicken breasts
1 bottle Italian dressing
Directions:
- Cut the chicken breasts into smaller tenders.
- Place the tenders you want to cook tonight into a bowl, and the rest into portioned freezer bags.
- Divide the Italian dressing between the chicken.
- Let marinate for a few hours and grill in skillet with small amount of olive oil until done.
- Freezer uncooked marinated chicken tenders.
When ready to serve:
Thaw overnight in fridge, cook in skillet with small amount of olive oil until done.
Serve with roasted potatoes and vegetables, or on a salad!
Related Post: No Cook Freezer Meals – 28 Meals in 20 Minutes
Wednesday:
Make honey mustard chicken sliders and serve with french fries and vegetables. Freeze the marinated, uncooked chicken pieces in portions for your family size.
Honey Mustard Chicken Sliders Recipe:
Ingredients:
6 chicken breasts
1 cup honey dijon mustard
slider buns
Directions:
- Cut the breasts lengthwise, and then cut those thinner breasts in 2. You should have small, thin chicken pieces.
- Squeeze honey Dijon mustard on each piece and use a basting brush to cover.
- Flip over and cover the other side.
- Grill the pieces you want to cook tonight in a skillet with a small amount of olive oil.
- Add cheese slice to top and let melt. Serve on slider buns with pickle.
- To make the freezer meals, place 4 pieces in each bag (2 per person). Label and seal.
When ready to serve:
Let thaw overnight, grill until done, add cheese and let melt. Place on slider buns.
Thursday:
Make crockpot BBQ (or BBQ chicken) and serve on sandwiches with fries or on a baked potato with BBQ sauce, ranch dressing, shredded cheese, bacon bits, and green onions. Freeze the leftover BBQ (or BBQ chicken) in portions for your family size.
Crockpot BBQ recipe:
Ingredients:
4 lbs of meat – boston butt/pork roast or chicken breasts
1 bottle of BBQ sauce
1/2 can Root Beer or Dr. Pepper
1/2 cup brown sugar
Directions:
- Place meat in crockpot with root beer or Dr. Pepper and brown sugar on low for 6-7 hours.
- Shred and remove any fat.
- Drain most all liquid.
- Add BBQ sauce and heat for 30 mins – 1 hour.
- Freezer leftovers in portioned freezer bags.
When ready to serve:
Thaw overnight in fridge. Heat in microwave until warm. Serve on sandwiches or baked potatoes.
Related Post: Beginner Freezer Cooking
Friday:
Make taco meat and serve on tortillas or tortilla chips with shredded lettuce, cheese, and tomatoes. Freeze the leftover taco meat in portions for your family size.
Taco Meat Recipe:
Ingredients:
2 lbs of ground beef
1 taco seasoning packet
*Multiply by adding 2 lbs of beef to every seasoning packet
Directions:
- Brown ground beef. Drain grease in strainer and large bowl.
- Mix the taco seasoning packet with 2/3 cup water and add mix to beef.
- Let boil, then simmer until mixed well.
- Add family size portions to freezer containers, label, and stick in the freezer.
When ready to serve:
Let thaw overnight (or heat from frozen), heat in skillet or microwave, add to tortillas, tortilla chips, or a salad!
Create a taco bar by placing all the toppings on the counter for everyone to create their own. I also love having taco meat leftovers for yummy warm lunches!
Saturday:
Make pork tenderloin in the crockpot or roast in the oven. Serve with roasted potatoes and vegetables. Freeze the marinated, uncooked pork tenderloin.
Pork Tenderloin Recipe:
Ingredients:
2 pork tenderloins
1 cup Soy sauce
1 cup Worcestershire sauce
Directions:
- Place 1 pork tenderloin in crockpot with 1/2 cup of soy sauce and 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce.
- Cook on low 6-8 hours. (Can also roast in oven for about 1-2 hours)
- Place remaining soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce with pork tenderloin in freezer bag.
When ready to serve:
Thaw overnight in fridge. Place in crockpot on low for 6-8 hours or roast in oven.
Learn more about freezer cooking:
Be sure to grab your FREE Ultimate Freezer Cooking Guide here! You’ll learn how to make 80 meals in just 2 hours! Grab this freebie here.
Related Post: Fast Freezer Meals: Stock Your Freezer Quickly
This is a simple way to get your freezer stocked, without spending a whole afternoon making a ton of freezer meals.
I use both ways to stock our freezer, depending on how busy I am.
These are my favorite plans to make a lot of freezer meals at once:
Monthly Freezer Cooking Plan – Make 111 Meals in 3 Hours
The Ultimate Aldi Freezer Cooking Plan – 80 Meals in 2 Hours
Breakfast Freezer Cooking – 11 Breakfast Freezer Meals in 20 Minutes for $5
Either way you cook for the freezer, you will enjoy having ready to go meals. This will save you from stressing every night at dinnertime, help you meal plan, and save a lot of money!
I love freezer cooking so much that I wrote a whole book full of plans and tips on the subject!