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Favorite Freezer Meals To Stock Up

March 25, 2020 By justalittlebitofbacon Leave a Comment

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Here are some of my favorite freezer meals! These dinners are perfect for doubling (or tripling) and filling the freezer with delicious dinners you just need to reheat, add the finishing touches to, and serve.

Collage of four recipes with text overlay - Favorite Freezer Meals to Stock Up.

Hello, all.

I’m writing this from deep in the coronavirus outbreak when getting the store is difficult or impossible and who knows what is going to be there on the shelves. Whether you are looking for pantry meals or want to stock up for the future since you just cooked up a big pot of beans (see my chili or black bean soup below), this is a good time to make the best use of the resources we have available to us.

One of the best things you can do to be prepared for dinner is to make extra of meals which store well. This is especially good when we are talking about recipes which take some time to cook! If you are going to spend two-three hours making meatballs, double the recipe (or triple, or more!) and now you’ll have meatballs to enjoy for other dinners without all the work.

Not only are freezer meals frugal of your time, but of your money as well. Making extra of a meal is an excellent way to use the resources you have on hand, take advantage of sales, and keep stocked up for the future.

Freezing Meals

When choosing recipes to freeze it is import to know what freezes well and what does not. Here are a few guidelines and what dinner items do and not do well in the freezer. This is not an exhaustive list, but info on broad categories. And note that what manufactures flash freeze can be quite different from what we can freeze successfully at home!

    • Meats – Most meat dishes can be frozen and reheated without any issues.
    • Seafood – Unlike meat, most seafood does not reheat well and gets and dry and tough. (Something like Cod Croquettes is an exception.)
    • Potatoes – Stay away from freezing potato soup or potato gratins since the texture is not going to be great on thawing. Raw potatoes (and fried potatoes) do well for boiling or frying.
    • Beans – Bean soups and other dishes are great freezer meals!
    • Tomato Sauces/Herb Sauces – Recipes with either tomato or herb sauces do great in the freezer.
    • Pasta – Go with undercooked pasta. That way you can heat it through for your next meal without overcooking.
    • Cream Sauces – If you thaw and reheat carefully, they can work, but I don’t recommend it. For recipes that use cream it’s best to add that when reheating so you don’t have to worry about them separating or becoming grainy.

1. French Short Ribs Braised in Red Wine

Make these short ribs right to point where you take the tender meat out of the oven. Let a portion cool, then package up. Once you have thawed and reheated dinner, thicken the sauce if needed and add the fresh herbs.

Beef short ribs are browned on the stove top and then oven braised for hours in red wine until they are meltingly tender in this recipe for french short ribs. | justalittlebitofbacon.com
Beef short ribs are browned on the stove top and then oven braised for hours in red wine until they are meltingly tender in this recipe for French short ribs.
Check out the Recipe!

2. Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup

Cook up a double batch and set aside half to cool just before you add the cream and bourbon! Add those in and make the garnishes when you are ready to serve it again.

Pull out your pressure cooker and make instant pot butternut squash soup with apples, sage, and bourbon! This sweet and spicy soup is easy, quick, and healthy. Perfect for fall and winter dinners. | justalittlebitofbacon.com #souprecipes #butternutsquash #instantpot #pressurecooker #falldinners
Pull out your pressure cooker and make instant pot butternut squash soup with apples, sage, and bourbon! This sweet and spicy soup is easy, quick, and healthy. Perfect for fall and winter dinners.
Check out the Recipe!

3. Italian Braised Pork Shoulder Ragu

Make the ragu and serve some with your pasta or polenta for dinner while the rest cools in the pot. Package up dinner sized servings of sauce in freezer bags and lay them flat. (This will allow the sauce to thaw fast!) Heat and serve.

Italian comfort food of tomato, braised sausage, and pork shoulder ragu simmering on the stove is the perfect way to spend a chilly day. This pork ragu is easily doubled and freezes well. | justalittlebitofbacon.com
Italian comfort food of tomato, braised sausage, and pork shoulder ragu simmering on the stove is the perfect way to spend a chilly day. This pork ragu is easily doubled and freezes well.
Check out the Recipe!

4. Vegetarian Black Bean Soup

As with the ragu, this freezer meal is best done in a bag and laid flat to chill. Thaw, simmer, adjust the seasoning, and chop up all the toppings you love.

Healthy and easy vegetarian black bean soup is a quick stove top dinner! Creamy without cream and full of flavor, its a perfect weeknight dinner. And even better with ALL the toppings - avocado, jalapenos, sour cream, diced onion, and more. | justalittlebitofbacon.com #blackbeansoup #beansoup #vegetarian #mexicanfood #easydinners
Healthy and easy vegetarian black bean soup is a quick stove top dinner! Creamy without cream and full of flavor, its a perfect weeknight dinner. And even better with ALL the toppings - avocado, jalapenos, sour cream, diced onion, and more!
Check out the Recipe!

5. Slow Cooker Beef Burgundy Stew

Double up the recipe and let this stew simmer all day in your slow cooker! There are freezer directions in the recipe, but basically hold off on the fresh herbs and freeze up your next dinner. Then thaw and enjoy with some mashed potatoes.

Grab a bottle of Burgundy or Pinot Noir because it's time to make some classic French comfort food! My recipe for slow cooker beef burgundy is wonderful to come home to after a long winter's day - tender beef, bacon, lots of onions, and carrots all in a rich red wine sauce.
Grab a bottle of Burgundy or Pinot Noir because it's time to make some classic French comfort food! My recipe for slow cooker beef burgundy is wonderful to come home to after a long winter's day - tender beef, bacon, lots of onions, and carrots all in a rich red wine sauce.
Check out the Recipe!

6. Italian Sausage Pasta Bake

With partially cooked pasta, this recipe is perfect for storage! Package it up once you’ve mixed together the pasta, sausage, and sauce. Then when you’re ready, warm it in the oven, add the cheese, and follow the remaining recipe steps.

My Italian sausage pasta bake (pasta al forno Siciliana) combines rigatoni with browned sausage in a simple tomato sauce all topped with gooey smoked mozzarella cheese. | justalittlebitofbacon.com #italianrecipes #pastarecipes #bakedpasta #smokedmozzarella #italiansausage
My Italian sausage pasta bake (pasta al forno Siciliana) combines rigatoni with browned sausage in a simple tomato sauce all topped with gooey smoked mozzarella cheese.
Check out the Recipe!

7. Ground Beef and Bean Chili

Chili is made for this! My recipe easily triples and can be portioned out into meals, stored, and then thawed into dinner. Just have your toppings ready and plenty of tortilla chips.

My homemade stovetop ground beef and bean chili is a classic comfort food made even better! It's spiced with dried chiles along a few fresh chiles to balance the flavors and simmered with beer. Great with tortilla chips, avocados, and all the toppings. | justalittlebitofbacon.com #chili #chilirecipe #comfortfood #groundbeef
My homemade stovetop ground beef and bean chili is a classic comfort food made even better! It's spiced with dried chiles along a few fresh chiles to balance the flavors and simmered with beer. Great with tortilla chips, avocados, and all the toppings.
Check out the Recipe!

8. Traditional Bolognese Sauce

I have been making extra and storing bolognese for at least 20 years now. Cool the sauce, put it in a freezer bag, and this slow cooked meat sauce is now a weeknight dinner.

Rich & Complex Traditional Bolognese Sauce - A long, slow simmer builds layers of flavor and makes this Bolognese sauce so rich and complex! Meaty, silky, and hearty. This is a sauce worth having on your stove all day long. Make some for today and freeze some for tomorrow. | justalittlebitofbacon.com
A long, slow simmer builds layers of flavor and makes this Bolognese sauce so rich and complex! This is a sauce worth having on your stove all day long. Make some for today and freeze some for tomorrow.
Check out the Recipe!

9. Beer Braised Pulled Chicken Tacos

As with ground meat sauces, pulled chicken freezes beautifully. Cook the chicken until tender, reduce the sauce, toss them together, and then portion out half to cool. You can use the meat to make tacos again, enchiladas, loaded nachos, or any number of delicious Mexican style dishes.

Beer Braised Pulled Chicken Tacos - These tacos feature slow cooked chicken braised in beer and finished with adobo sauce all layered with spicy coleslaw and guacamole. | justalittlebitofbacon.com
These tacos feature slow cooked chicken braised in beer and finished with adobo sauce all layered with spicy coleslaw and guacamole.
Check out the Recipe!

10. Italian Meatballs and Sauce

Even more than Bolognese, this is the recipe I freeze the most! Once the meatballs have cooled, I put them into containers with some sauce and get them chilled. Just make sure you give them plenty of time to thaw completely before messing with them or you will end up with meat sauce instead of meatballs.

Learn how to make classic homemade meatballs! For the BEST authentic Italian meatballs and sauce mix together ground beef with fresh bread crumbs, parmesan, and spices then then pan fry and braise until tender. | justalittlebitofbacon.com #italianrecipes #italianfood #meatballs #beefrecipes #beef
Learn how to make classic homemade meatballs! For the BEST authentic Italian meatballs and sauce mix together ground beef with fresh bread crumbs, parmesan, and spices then then pan fry and braise until tender.
Check out the Recipe!

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– Stay Safe, Annemarie

Long Collage of six recipes with text overlay - Favorite Freezer Meals to Stock Up.

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Hello, I’m Annemarie

Welcome to my kitchen! I’m a Italian-American girl who loves fresh foods, local ingredients, and all sorts of comfort foods. Here you will find Mediterranean flavors and recipes from a New England perspective.

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