How to Prepare for a Day of Freezer Meal Making

Check out How to Prepare for a Day of Freezer Meal Making so you can start stocking the freezer with freezer meals.

Getting organized for your freezer meal planning in the New Year is great. Planning meals ahead of time with freezer meals is a great way to get a handle on your meal planning in the new year.

How to Prepare for a Day of Freezer Meal Making

Life gets pretty busy these days, and making a meal every night can seem overwhelming. But on the other hand, eating takeout can get pretty expensive. One of the best ways to save money is to eat at home as much as possible.

One of the best ideas out there that will help you save money and always have a meal on hand to cook is the freezer meal.

Made ahead of time using simple and fresh ingredients – what’s not to love about that?

Freezer meal making can seem overwhelming at first but is really so easy you will have no problem, so just jump in.

Try making up a few easy freezer meals the first time, and follow the tips below for some of the things you will need to do to prepare for a day of freezer meal making.

Pick Your Recipes

All right, this one may seem like a no-brainer, but how many times have you walked through the grocery store with a bag of chicken and nothing to pair it with?

You get home, and you end up ordering takeout or head for the drive-through because you don't have the ingredients in your pantry to actually make a meal you want to eat.

You need a few freezer meals that are easy to throw together into a freezer bag like my Freezer Meal Vegetarian Chili recipe or my Freezer Meal Chicken Corn Chowder recipe.

Two very easy freezer meals you can make and freeze ahead to make during the busy week.

Picking out freezer meal recipes ahead of time ensures two things: it’s usually healthy and it leaves almost no room for error in getting all of the ingredients. Win-win.

Check Out Your Pantry

Before you run out to the grocery store and just grab anything at the store, take a look at what ingredients you already have on hand.

Take stock of what is already in your pantry. See if you already have some of the ingredients you need for some of the recipes you plan to make.

Make a list and write it all down, of course, so you aren’t buying ingredients you already have.

Print out the freezer meal recipes you want to make and check out the ingredients you already have.

Take a Trip to the Grocery

Once you’ve seen what you have at home, fill in the holes by taking a trip to the grocery store.

This is the perfect opportunity to stock up on some of the basics that are on sale while buying the ingredients you need for your day of freezer meal making.

Make Room in Your Freezer

Also seems like a no-brainer, but I almost didn’t think about it at all. You’ve got to have space to put it all when you’re done, right? So clean out anything that has freezer burn, seriously dated or you just won’t eat.

Should you feel extra enthusiastic, it’s a great time to do a heavy freezer cleaning prior to restocking.

Disclosure: In an effort to make your foray into freezer meal cooking as easy as possible I have included links to products that I use and love. These links are affiliate links. I will earn a small commission if you make a purchase.

Invest in Freezer Meal Equipment

Sure, you’ll need meat and cheese to get most of the freezer meals going, but what about the equipment? Here are a few items to consider:

• Sharp knives: Using dull knives when chopping and cutting are dangerous. Good kitchen knives are a must-have.
• Freezer bags – consider multiple sizes, as you may want to divvy up portions for some of your meals
• Aluminum Disposable casserole containers –buy in bulk or go to the dollar store to get them cheap.
• OPTIONAL: Freezer grade glass bakeware containers (helps prevent freezer burn)
• Plastic wrap and foil
• Sharpies: To write on the freezer meal containers the names of the freezer meals.
• Cutting board: Cutting boards are another important kitchen tool when chopping and dicing. They protect your kitchen counters and kitchen island from damage by sharp blades.
• Skillet for precooking
• A Crock Pot: Crock Pot freezer meals are some of my favorite freezer meals to stock the freezer with.
• OPTIONAL: Slow cooker liner (for a faster cleanup when you cook)

I have an entire page dedicated to my freezer meal recipes. Head over to the Freezer Meals page to find easy freezer meals you can add to your monthly meal planning.

Head over to the 25 Ground Beef Freezer Meals for more ground beef freezer meals for busy families.

Invite Some Gal Pals

So you’ve got all the supplies, but it may seem a little overwhelming, right? No problem – just make a party of it. Invite the girls over, split the cost and split the meals. The work will go a lot faster with some extra wine – um – hands to help out.

Freezer meals may take a little time upfront, but in the long run, you won’t have to worry about a home-cooked meal while running your kids across town. Give it a try, and see what kind of great meals you can make.