The Ultimate Freezer Meal Cheat Sheet

THE ULTIMATE
r e e z e r m e a l
F
CHEAT SHEET!
-Rachel
from This Crafty Home
INTRODUCTION
Hey friend !
If you ve got this cheat sheet you are interested in Freezer Meals but
'
you want some extra tips for your journey .
Man do I have SO MANY good nuggets of info for you !
I discovered Freezer Meal Prep whenever I first became a work at

home mom Quite honestly it was life changing for me
. .
Then I had to share it with everyone because honestly it was just SO

exciting .
Since then I ve been creating Freezer Meal Guides for others to

'
follow and loving every second !
What is coming next is all my BEST tips and info on freezer meals
and freezer meal prep .
Are you ready ?
Let s do this
' .
CHEAT SHEET
What can/can't you freeze?
Honestly almost everything freezes well There are a few things
!
you ll want to avoid

' .
Cream based things like a fettucini sauce

Fried foods
Frostings icings
/
Fully cooked pasta under cook your pasta for frozen meals
( !)
Lettuce
Fully cooked rice again under cook
( , )
Sour cream
Mayonnaise
So what do you do if the recipe you want to freeze calls for one of
these things ?
Generally I just leave it out and write on the bag or tray to add a
certain amount of X ingredient in later For example I make white
. ,
chicken chili by adding everything it needs in the bags except the

broth sour cream and heavy whipping cream Then I write myself
, , .
instructions for later on the bag It makes the entire process

.
REALLY easy !
CHEAT SHEET
What do I need for creating freezer meals ?
Not many things other than what you already have in your kitchen !
Here are a few things I suggest :
Freezer bag holders are my absolutely 1 recommendation I CANT

# .
imagine trying to do this without them .
Freezer bags or aluminum foil casserole pans I don t recommend

( ’
glass or plastic because they take up more space and can lead to
freezer burn )
A Sharpie for writing on your bags .
Tennis shoes and a cushy kitchen mat for extended cooking

sessions Your feet will thank you later
. !
You can find links to everything I mentioned right here .
Lastly you ll need a PLAN I ll be talking about that next

, ' ! ' .
CHEAT SHEET
How do you create a month of meals in one cooking session ?
So I m going to be honest the first time I tried to create 18 freezer

’
meals at one time I thought it would be a piece of cake Two or.
three hours tops right

, ?
Well I got the kids to bed at 9 PM I started I rolled into bed at 1 AM

.
sore and not finished It took me two more hours the next day
. .
I went in cocky and without a plan DO NOT DO THIS

. .
Print all your recipes and come up with a plan of action .
Pick ingredients that are used frequently so there is little food

waste .
My Freezer Meal Guides are created specifically for this purpose !
If you want to take a look at them and find a super easy guide to
-
Freezer meal prep click right here .
What if I don t want to cook for that long

' ?
The beauty of freezer meal prep is you can always stop and pick it
back up another time I usually prefer to cook in two two hour
! -
sessions instead of a four hour session

- .
CHEAT SHEET
Food Safety and handling suggestions :
Put the foods in the fridge before freezing they need to get down
,
to 40 degrees before being put in the freezer I usually just pop

!
them in the fridge overnight and in the morning switch everything

over.
Thawing should be done in a fridge or in a cold bowl of water Don t

. ’
risk growing bacteria in your food!
To avoid cross contamination I usually like to use two cutting mats

and two different knives for meats and veggies .
Make sure your freezer it at or below 0 to keep your food as fresh as

possible.
Make sure to label your stuff with the made date and a used by
date just for safety .
Air is your enemy Trying using a small straw to suck out the of the
!
air out of a bag to keep it as fresh as possible.

CHEAT SHEET
Freezing Storage Time Lengths
1 to 2 months
Hot dogs lunch meat bacon and sausage
, ,
2 to 3 months
Soups and Stews
3 to 4 months
Hamburger and other ground meats cooked ham
,
9 months
Chicken or turkey pieces
4 to 12 months
Steaks Chops Roasts
, ,
12 months
Chicken or Turkey whole
SOURCE foodsafety gov

: .
CHEAT SHEET
How do I cook my freezer meals?
The best idea is to thaw things overnight in your fridge it ensures
,
you ll be absolutely ready for the next day You can also put the bag
’ .
in a pot of cold water to thaw faster if you forget

!
Instant pots WILL cook from frozen But if something is half frozen
.
half thawed I have noticed that cooking times will vary and they
will taste off
.
I highly suggest cooking from thawed or completely frozen The in

. -
between stage gets you in trouble .

CHEAT SHEET
JUST SOME TIPS :
-I would suggest thinking about buying veggies frozen and pre -
chopped if you want to save time .
-Write cooking instructions on all bags before hand or have a

,
handy label ready .
-Make sure to only fill the bags ⅔ of the way just in case they freeze
then expand .
-Make sure to lay flat to freeze so they fit in the freezer well NOTE If
. :
you have room in your freezer I ve found it nice to freeze them in a

’
shape that I can pop into my Instant Pot since it can cook from
frozen You can use a round baking pan or just try and smoosh
.
them in a corner Whatever works

. !
-I do not put large amounts of liquid in my bags Anything over a

.
cup is written on the bag and saved for later This saves space in the
.
bags and helps them not expand as much .
-I strongly encourage you to use a scale for freezer recipes Chicken

.
breasts vary SO much in size !

WANT MORE ?
FIND MORE TIPS ON MY SOCIAL MEDIA :
Check out the Meal Planning and Prepping Facebook group right
here!
Check out my Instagram Account right here !
Check out my Facebook Account right here !
Check out my Tik Tok Account right here !

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THE ULTIMATE

you want some extra tips for your journey .

Man do I have SO MANY good nuggets of info for you !

I discovered Freezer Meal Prep whenever I first became a work at

Then I had to share it with everyone because honestly it was just SO

Since then I ve been creating Freezer Meal Guides for others to

follow and loving every second !

Are you ready ?

you ll want to avoid

Cream based things like a fettucini sauce

chicken chili by adding everything it needs in the bags except the

instructions for later on the bag It makes the entire process

Here are a few things I suggest :

Freezer bag holders are my absolutely 1 recommendation I CANT

imagine trying to do this without them .

Freezer bags or aluminum foil casserole pans I don t recommend

A Sharpie for writing on your bags .

Tennis shoes and a cushy kitchen mat for extended cooking

You can find links to everything I mentioned right here .

Lastly you ll need a PLAN I ll be talking about that next

So I m going to be honest the first time I tried to create 18 freezer

meals at one time I thought it would be a piece of cake Two or.

three hours tops right

Well I got the kids to bed at 9 PM I started I rolled into bed at 1 AM

I went in cocky and without a plan DO NOT DO THIS

Print all your recipes and come up with a plan of action .

Pick ingredients that are used frequently so there is little food

My Freezer Meal Guides are created specifically for this purpose !

Freezer meal prep click right here .

What if I don t want to cook for that long

sessions instead of a four hour session

to 40 degrees before being put in the freezer I usually just pop

them in the fridge overnight and in the morning switch everything

Thawing should be done in a fridge or in a cold bowl of water Don t

risk growing bacteria in your food!

To avoid cross contamination I usually like to use two cutting mats

Make sure your freezer it at or below 0 to keep your food as fresh as

air out of a bag to keep it as fresh as possible.

SOURCE foodsafety gov

in a pot of cold water to thaw faster if you forget

I highly suggest cooking from thawed or completely frozen The in

between stage gets you in trouble .

-I would suggest thinking about buying veggies frozen and pre -

chopped if you want to save time .

-Write cooking instructions on all bags before hand or have a

handy label ready .

you have room in your freezer I ve found it nice to freeze them in a

them in a corner Whatever works

-I do not put large amounts of liquid in my bags Anything over a

bags and helps them not expand as much .

-I strongly encourage you to use a scale for freezer recipes Chicken

breasts vary SO much in size !

FIND MORE TIPS ON MY SOCIAL MEDIA :

Check out my Instagram Account right here !

Check out my Facebook Account right here !

Check out my Tik Tok Account right here !

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