Wanting to make some freezer meals and/or freeze things (769 views)

I like to keep the following on hand. Now that I commute daily and don’t get home until after 6:00pm, I’ve been relying on a lot of quick meals.

Italian Beef (our absolute fave frozen meal that I freeze in portions)
Soup or chili (right now I have a container of the black bean salsa chili you and Karen turned me on to)
Basmati rice that I freeze in portions
Trader Joe’s Palak Paneer (I know, it’s not home made but it’s sooo good. I serve it with the rice mentioned above and TJ’s Garlic Naan bread.)
Costco’s pesto sauce that I freeze in small portions and pull out for a quick pasta meal or for a pizza topper
I always keep flour tortillas on hand for mini pizzas and wraps.
Jarred spaghetti sauce. Lately we’ve been loving Classico’s Sweet Italian Basil sauce.


ETA - I like to nuke a potato in the microwave for an easy lunch. If I have broccoli to add, it’s makes a quick dinner too.

I have a pretty good idea of my freezer contents since I just cleaned/reorganized them the other day. And I have two full upright freezers in my basement!

Already prepared stuff: LOTS of soups plus homemade chicken stock in various sized bags; chili; black beans in sauce for beans and rice; a few pieces each of some leftover lasagnas; a tin of cabbage roll casserole; homemade meatballs; frozen matzo balls; par baked homemade pizza crusts; homemade hummus and other bread spreads/relishes like caponata; ratatouille, muffins, steel cut oats-cooked/frozen in single serving portions for breakfast; homemade cookies/granola bars

Convenience items: lots of different breads-both homemade and store bought (homemade bagels, English muffins, dinner rolls of various flavors/varieties, focaccia; store bought tortillas, pitas, naan, and flatbread); a few trader Joe items like sweet potato fries and nuggets for DH (he loves those), pulled BBQ chicken, salmon/chicken burgers, orange chicken, and Thai fried rice; frozen tortellini and ravioli; potstickers; frozen fruits and veggies; pesto-homemade and store (Costco brand is best IMHO for store brand); chicken sausages-precooked and raw varieties; cooked/diced chicken for soups/casseroles

Other stuff: nuts, grains, whole grain flours; vegetables harvested from garden like some oven dried tomatoes/roasted tomatoes and peppers of all sorts etc...; chicken and fish; some frozen cooked heirloom beans/hominy; a few cheeses although I try not to freeze too much cheese and mostly use it for cooking when defrosted....goat cheese freezes well, and last but certainly not least....ICE CREAM!!

Karen