Menu Plan Monday & Freezer Tips

Joy, from FiveJs, asked some questions the other day about how I freeze meals in the freezer. So, I've decided to answer her questions in a post combined with my Menu Plan for the week. I've moved slowly into freezing things and not everything turns out the way I'd like, but it has really made a difference in my life. I love knowing that I can always turn to the freezer on hectic days.

I haven't yet purchased any special cookware for freezer meals because I wanted to make sure this was really going to stick. I might some day, but for now things have been working okay just by buying a few disposable aluminum pans, assorted freezer bags, and reusing plastic containers. I try to be careful with the aluminum pans so that I can reuse them a few times before throwing them away. But every once in a while, I'll slice through the bottom of a pan when cutting a lasagna. I guess that's where the glass pans that can go from freezer to oven would work well.

Currently, my freezer is pretty full, but I really don't have as many meals in there as I'd like to by the middle of the month. I might try to add a few this week, or at the very least, avoid using what is in there unless really necessary. Here are the current contents of my freezer:

1) 10 bags veggies (mixed, corn, peas, broccoli, spinach, and stir-fry veggies),

2) 1 1/2 loaves bread,

3) 2 pkgs. hamburger buns,

4) 2 cartons ice cream,

5) 5 qt. sized freezer bags filled with 3c. each of my veggie marinara sauce,

6) 32 oz. yogurt container of sloppy joe meat,

7) 15 tuna cakes in a gal. freezer bag, 3 qt. sized bags of ham slices from our Easter ham,

8) 1 polish sausage,

9) 2 32 oz. sour cream containers of split pea & ham soup,

10) 12 meatloaf cups in a gal. sized freezer bag,

11) 2 batches of homemade cinnamon roll dough, each in a gal. sized bag,

12) 2 qt. sized bags of chocolate chip cookie dough,

13) 32 oz. container of bbq meatballs

14) 1 gal. sized bag of chicken breasts (From a 5 lb. pkg. I cut each breast in half, place individually in a sandwich bag, and then put all the bags into the freezer bag. This way I can pull out just a few easily.)

15) 2 1.5lb. pkgs of ground beef, straight from the meat department

16) 2 lbs. chicken legs, straight from the meat department

17) 2 qt. sized bags of onion, green pepper, zucchini, and garlic saute side dish

18) 1 gal. sized bag with chicken in a creamy gravy sauce that can be used in pot pie, chicken and dumplings, or a chicken casserole

19) 1 aluminum pan of lasagna

20) assorted containers of soups from my Grandmother

21) 2 qt. sized bags of 1/2 lb cooked ground beef with onions and green pepper

22) 2 gal. sized bags of pancakes (enough for 3 or 4 breakfasts for the kids)

23) 1 gal. sized bag french toast

So that's it for right now. I will cook the lasagna straight from the freezer for about 2 hours. The meatloaf cups and tuna cakes will be put on a cookie sheet straight from the freezer and warmed in the oven, although they both taste fine just microwaved also. The reused plastic containers of food will all be thawed first and then either warmed on the stove or in the microwave. The other cooked food in the plastic bags will be thawed in the microwave and then used like fresh in other meals. I think everything else is self-explanatory.

All of the entrees have been added to the freezer by just doubling (or more) a meal I'm already making. This is the easiest way to do it for me as it really doesn't require much more work. One of my biggest flops so far was black bean and rice burritos. They were just too dry, so I might try it again with quite a bit more sauce added to the filling and as a topping. I've also figured out a trick with mashed potatoes. They reheat really well if I thicken them a little with either some sour cream or cream cheese while mashing them. Also, when reheating, if the potatoes seem too runny, they just need to be cooked longer, and the extra liquid gets absorbed and the potatoes turn out as good as fresh. Some other meals I like to have in the freezer are Shepherd's Pie, Chili, homemade chicken fingers, calzones, Swedish meatballs, Chicken enchiladas and chicken and black bean taco filling.

Sorry for the rambling. This method is still fairly new to me (about 9 months) and I have a hard time discussing it concisely, obviously! Anyhow, here is my menu plan for this week:

Breakfast

M - French toast

T - Baked oatmeal and bananas

W - Scrambled eggs and toast

Th - Cereal and yogurt parfaits

F - Breakfast cookies

S - Cinnamon rolls

Su - Glazed poppy-seed bread

Lunch

M - Pizza grilled cheese, apple slices

T - Tuna or egg salad sandwiches, peaches, pretzels

W - Quesadillas, yogurt, black bean & corn salad

Th - Mac & cheese, pineapple and mandarin oranges

F - Turkey and cheese sandwiches, pear slices

S - Soup (1 container from freezer, stretched with noodles or rice)

Su - Hummus w/homemade pitas, carrot and green pepper sticks, apple slices

Dinner

M - Cheesy pasta casserole

T - Chicken fricassee, polenta, broccoli with cheese sauce

W - Tortilla pie

Th - Polish sausage, broasted potatoes, corn skillet

F - Red beans and rice, corn muffins, cinnamon apples

S - Kids - leftovers, E & K chicken wontons/cream cheese puffs (date night at home!)

Su - Ranch ham casserole, dill bread

Get even more ideas by checking out others menu plans for the week at Laura's.

Also, be sure to stop by FiveJ's. Joy's blog is full of wonderful homeschooling resources as well as lots of great content. I so appreciate her writing and can completely relate to everything she posts about!