Stocking the Freezer with Homemade Food

I do a fair amount of cooking from scratch throughout the week. On days, I don’t start from scratch, I turn to my freezer to pull out a prepared ahead meal component that I can build a meal around by adding side dishes.

Some strategies for stocking the freezer.

You can set aside two to three days and go on a cooking binge, preparing multiple meals or components of meals to stash in the freezer. While this is time consuming, the good news is you will not run out of all your stocks at once. Once you are stocked up, it will be relatively easy to replace a stocked item one at a time as you need to.
You can prepare a big meal with the intention of having leftovers to freeze. Over time you will accumulate stocks of meals and meal components that you can pull from as needed.

Here are my favorite items that I like to have in my freezer. Stock your freezer with your favorites.

Bean and Beef Burritos

I individually wrap each burrito in aluminum foil and lay them on a tray to freeze. Once they are frozen, I transfer them to a plastic freezer bag.
When I’m pressed for time, I grab one and pop it in the microwave for a quick lunch.
For dinner you can add a side of corn, black bean and onion mix along with some Mexican flavored cauliflower rice.

Meatloaf

I make a 3 lb. meatloaf, slice it into 12 – 14 slices and individually wrap them in Saran wrap and put them in a plastic freezer bag.
I normally grab slices for dinner. You can make a meatloaf sandwich and serve it with some sides. You can also serve a slice of meatloaf straight up and serve with a baked sweet or russet potato and a side salad or vegetable.

Pulled Barbecue Chicken

You can pile some pulled chicken on a bun, top it with coleslaw and serve it for dinner with some sides.
You can pile shredded chicken on a baked russet potato and top it with some fat free shredded cheddar and a dollop of light sour cream or non fat plain yogurt.
You can serve pulled chicken on a large dinner salad.
You can use baked tortilla chips or make your own and make pulled chicken nachos.
You can top a pizza with barbecue sauce, chopped onions, pulled chicken and non fat cheddar cheese.

Meatballs

I like to keep several different types of meatballs in the freezer.
Italian style meatballs can be used with pasta or to make mini hoagies on game day.
Greek style can be sliced up on a pita with some chopped onion, tomato and tzatziki.
Teriyaki meatballs are good in chicken soup or in a stir fry when I forgot to thaw a chicken breast.

Soups & Broths

Getting tired of eating that pot of soup or batch of chili you made, freeze it for later use.

Stuffed Shells

Growing up, it was normal to have a plate of stuffed shells for Sunday dinner. Back in those days, whole fat ricotta was the way to go.
Now I make them with fat free ricotta. They freeze well and I use them as a side with chicken, meatballs or sausage. If you deprive yourself of your favorites, staying on track becomes a losing battle. Moderation, lightening up favorites when you can and planning ahead for them is the way to go.

Baked Goodies

I always have low point cookies, cupcakes or quick breads in the freezer for those days, I didn’t get around to making a fruit crisp, hand pies or some other concoction.