BeckyHere I am again with more ways to save on groceries with growing inflation prices. For whatever reason, saving money on groceries has been one of the easiest and most impactful ways I’ve been able to save my family money.
What are Freezer Meals?
Freezer meals are like leaving $20 in the back pocket of your jeans, only to find it 4 months later when you could really use a coffee, but you know it’s not in the budget.
Freezer meals are meals you make ahead and freeze for a later date. On nights when you’re in a crutch, you can pull a pre-made meal out of your freezer and have dinner ready in 30 minutes!
What a time saver! Some people like to do freezer meal prep days, while others like to double batch meals they’re already making. Quite honestly, I’ve tried both and I don’t think you can go wrong with either option.
I will say that in the long run, it is more time consuming to set aside a day for making freezer meals. If you’re already making dinner and decide to make a double batch, it really doesn’t add on to the time you’re spending making dinner.
However, if you’re just starting out with freezer meals and want to get your first stockpile going, it might be a smart idea to plan a day for assembling some meals that can be frozen and made for a later date.
The benefits of having freezer meals
Having freezer meals on hand is so beneficial in innumerable ways. As mentioned above, the greatest benefit of having a freezer meal on hand is that it saves you from trying to figure out what the heck is for dinner after a busy day!
Aside from the mental game it is to come up with a meal, it’s saving you time! Who has time to prepare a meal for their family on a crazy work day, followed by children’s activities and the various appointments we all catch ourselves in?! Insert freezer meal.
Another benefit of making freezer meals is that it saves you moneyyyy! And that’s most likely the main reason we’re all here reading this post!
If you already have it in your head that you have meals in your freezer that can be made at the drop of a dime, then you’ll reap the benefits on your next grocery run. Just think, you won’t have to worry about a meal’s worth of ingredients that you’d be buying!
How do you plan for a freezer meal haul?
The best way I know to plan my big batch freezer meals is to stay organized! I like to decide how many meals I want to make. Then I’ll find recipes with the same ingredients so I won’t have many leftover ingredients.
For example, I’ll make a list of make-ahead breakfast recipes like the 2 recipes I have below. These meals have similar ingredients like eggs and bacon.
It’s also easy to cook the same ingredients for various recipes all at once. For the recipes below, you can cook all your bacon at once.
The best part is you can make them in advance and store them in the fridge or freeze them for a later breakfast!
For even MORE freezer meal ideas, go watch a fellow “Becky” at Acre Homestead! She’s so fun to watch and has great recipes to compile and make later.
Below are 2 quick and easy make-ahead breakfast options. I like to have these on hand at all times for those mornings when we’re rushing out the door or the occasional morning when we don’t know what to eat for breakfast.
Freezer breakfast burritos
12 flour tortillas
12 eggs
1 lb bacon
8oz shredded cheddar cheese
½ diced onion
Salt and pepper for taste
To make these breakfast burritos for the freezer, I first like to prep 12 pieces of parchment paper to wrap the burritos in once they’re assembled.
Before you start your eggs, line a sheet pan with foil and place a cookie cooling rack on top of the foil on your sheet pan. Lay your bacon strips on the cooling rack and cook them in the oven at 400 degrees for 12-20 minutes.
While your bacon is cooking, heat a skillet and add some olive oil. Toss in half a diced onion and cook until it’s translucent. Proceed to cook your 12 scrambled eggs to your liking, adding as much or little salt and pepper as you like.
Now, to assemble the breakfast burritos you’re going to sprinkle some shredded cheese onto a tortilla. Spread about one egg’s worth of scrambled eggs onto the tortilla.
Last, I like to break the bacon into smaller pieces and sprinkle over top of the cheese and egg, so you get a little egg, a little bacon and a little cheese in every bite.
Roll your tortilla up and then wrap it in parchment paper and tape it for storage in the freezer until you’re ready to heat it up and eat it.
You can then place all 12 burritos in a freezer ziploc bag making sure to label the bag as breakfast burritos and directions to reheat the burritos as needed.
When reheating the burritos for breakfast later, take a burrito out and let it thaw a little at room temperature for 20 minutes. Take off the tape and microwave the burrito for 1 minute rotating it 30 seconds in.
Breakfast sandwiches
12 count english muffins
12 eggs
12 slices of cheddar cheese
½ cup milk
1 lb bacon
Salt and pepper to taste
To make these breakfast sandwiches, I like to cut 12 parchment paper strips to wrap the sandwiches in once they’re assembled.
As with the breakfast burritos, line a sheet pan with foil and place a cookie cooling rack on top of the foil on your sheet pan. This allows the grease to run off the bacon and down onto the foil.
Lay your bacon strips on the cooling rack and cook them in the oven at 400 degrees for 12-20 minutes.
For this recipe I like to cook my eggs in a sheet pan so they’re relatively flat and can fit nicely on the english muffin with the cheese and bacon.
With your oven still preheated to 400 degrees, whisk your 12 eggs and ½ cup of milk together and salt and pepper to your liking. You can also add any veggies to the eggs prior to cooking.
For easy cleanup, line your sheet pan with parchment paper. Pour the eggs onto the sheet pan and cook for 15 minutes. Slice the eggs into the squares to place on your breakfast sandwich.
To assemble, toast the english muffin. Place one slice of egg onto the english muffin, followed by a slice of cheese and a piece of bacon on top, torn in half. Roll the english muffin in the parchment paper strip and tape it until you take it out to heat it up later.
Place all 12 breakfast sandwiches in a freezer Ziploc bag.
To reheat, take one sandwich out of the freezer bag and let it thaw for 20 min. Then remove tape and microwave for 1 minute, turning over when it’s 30 seconds done.
The BEST tip I’d like to end with is make sure you have a running list of meals that are in your freezer. I like to add it to my list and leave it taped on our deep freeze. When I add a meal to the freezer, I write it on the list. In the same way, when I take a meal out to cook it, I cross it off so I know I’m down one meal.
I hope you have fun experimenting with freezer meals! Let me know your favorite freezer meal recipes!!
