After reading this post about batch cooking at Small Notebook, I was inspired to give it a try. I like cooking, including the prep and even most of the time, the cleanup. I’ve been feeling overwhelmed lately and had other things on my mind, so simplifying meal planning and cooking sounded like an ideal way to make things a little easier on myself right now. I also like the idea of having food stored for nights that I don’t feel like cooking or we’ve played outside so long it’s late and I’m in a hurry. As if that ever happens. Having backup that doesn’t require a takeout or restaurant tab sounds good to me! Kacie at Sense To Save has also been doing some bulk freezer cooking and has some ideas for recipes.
I gave batch cooking a try yesterday and I think it turned out well. I made a huge batch of vegetable chili, a big black bean soup, and while those were going, I cooked 8 pork chops with potatoes in the slow cooker. My freezer is stocked and I felt very productive. I am definitely going to keep this up. I think it will not only ease my meal planning, but it will decrease my number of trips to the store and my grocery bill too.
Since I am all excited about my stocked freezer, I now ask you, dear readers…what is in your freezer? I want ideas. Even if your answer is just ice cream 
What’s in my freezer? As little as possible in hurricane season.
I love the idea of batch cooking, and do it on and off through the year. But during hurricane season, I don’t buy much extra meat nor cook meals beyond what we can in a few days. I learned my lesson after having to throw out food after Hurricane Frances. And then 3 weeks later…. again after Hurricane Jeanne.
In November, I’ll batch cook again.
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Glad I live in Ohio after reading Cindy’s response. I just wanted to say that I used to batch cook (not that I knew that was what it was called) and it was so useful/helpful. The kids are back in school in 2 days. You have inspired me to cook. Thank you!
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Right now my freezer is so stuffed I can’t take something out without it all spilling on the floor. I have a gazillion bags of frozen sliced fruit, frozen beef and chicken ready to be cooked, and oh yes, tator tots.
Rachels last blog post..Preparing for Emergencies
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Ok, let the list roll: icecream (what freezer is complete without it?), 7 lbs of ground beef, 2 whole fryer chickens, 13 chicken breasts, 5 pork chops, a bag of chicken nuggets, toaster streudle (don’t ask, they are for my wife), eggos (for the kiddos), about 17 metric tons of homemade baby food, a bean burrito, vegitable medley, brussel sprouts, bacon, and I think a roast or two. Wow, thinking back on it, that is a lot of stuff for our little freezer. I am quite impressed with my packing abilities.
Sals last blog post..Suckered In…Again!
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I’ve never done this but I’ve always wanted to! I am a sahm…with two kids in school all day. You’d think I’d manage to get a dinner plan without fail, right? Thanks for the link- I’m going to check it out.
I read Cindy’s comment and it was very much along the lines of what I was thinking! I never like to keep TOO much in my freezer…just in case! Right now I have lots of chicken because the commissary changed brands of chicken and I stocked up. lol I also ALWAYS have a box or two of Italian Ice, mini Blue Bell cones and bag of corn (for bean salsa). And… don’t judge me… (ha ha) but I have a few Totino’s pizzas in there. They are so bad for you, but I LOVE them.
X
Maries last blog post..treat me nice
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@Cindy, yes, that is always a concern. And I think it was what stopped me from keeping going and making any more. A week’s worth doesn’t seem as painful as if I’d cooked for many weeks in advance.
@Amy, glad to have motivated you! I love that about the web – all these cool ideas we can steal from each other!
@Rachel – LOL tater tots! I definitely want to start freezing sliced fruit. Yum!
@ Sal – you ARE a great packer! Nicely done!
@Marie – Mmmm frozen pizza and italian ice.
Okay, now I’m hungry!
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What’s in my freezer? I know what’s on the top layer, information gets sketchy the deeper you go – Thank God it’s only a 7-cubic-footer!
I try to keep things simple, things that either I can throw in the crockpot in the AM or requires very basic instructions so DH can make it himself. One of his favorite meals is my leftover pie. They freeze well, are pretty enough to pass on to someone in a pinch, and taste fantastic. I’ll post the recipe on my blog here in a few days. Also, after Thanksgiving, I like to take an aluminum pan, layer on the taters, turkey, gravy, veg, and cranberry sauce, top with a little dry Stove Top stuffing, and freeze. Makes for a yummy casserole AND uses up all the leftovers that would probably moulder in the fridge.
Good luck on your freezer expedition!
Emilys last blog post..Walmart + 4-year-old = Total Meltdown
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i have some bread in my freezer. and some gin (ahem.) i spend saturday afternoons doing all our cooking for the week. sometimes if i’ve made something really big i’ll freeze half. sometimes i try to make double of something and freeze the second one. so my fridge has always got a full week’s worth of meals. but my freezer is wanting. hopefully that will change when we get a microwave
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@ Emily – I would love to get better at making casseroles. I make a mean black bean lasagna and i think next time I make it, I’ll make two and freeze one.
@ neimanmarxist – yes, a microwave helps!
My fridge is much more stocked than my freezer, but the freezer is slowly catching up.
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In my freezer? Well, along with the ice cream, I’ve got frozen pesto sauce, meat marinara, some pre-made onigiri (japanese rice balls, some with teriyaki chicken inside), homemade pancakes and waffles, and bread. Lots of bread. And of course the required frozen pizza and mini egg rolls. Actually, now that I think about it, my freezer is pretty empty right about now.
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I have a deep freezer, so this could take a while
I have individual dinner sized portions of meat. I buy bulk packages and then separate them out.
I have 2 gallons of frozen blueberries for recipes.
5 gallons of milk (Yes, you can freeze it! The new Costco jugs are Fabulous for this. Be careful though, cheaper jugs can get a crack and leak when you thaw it).
Frozen veggies.
homemade waffles and pancakes – I do them on the weekend and then freeze the leftovers for the kids’ breakfasts.
homemade pancake and waffle batter for those lazy weekends.
lots of other stuffs
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ok, wow. I might have to give this a try.
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There isn’t a TON of stuff in my freezer. I have about seven meals I’ve prepared from batch cooking, a pizza, some ice cream, flour, and jugs filled with water to keep my freezer full (more efficient this way).
I have a bit of room for more meals and more snacks! Yay!
Kacies last blog post..Tuesday afternoon ’snack break’ linkup
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I just took my math final last Thursday, so this weekend I fired up the grill so I could restock my freezer with quick meals before school starts up again and life get crazy again. I actually took pictures and will have a post and recipes up by the end of the week. I BBQd: Italian Garlic Chicken, Carne Asada and green onions, chicken and green peppers and onions for future batches of Tortilla Soup, and Sesame Ginger Steak. I also smoked a Salmon for my daughter to make Sushi for her lunches. Additionally I made Company Pot Potatoes and repacked a huge bag of pepperoni for future pizza nights.
I still have: BBQ chicken, grilled chicken to add to salads or pizza, Minestrone Soup, French Onion Soup and croutons, black bean chili, chicken enchiladas, and picadillo that I use for enchiladas, taco salads, burritos, nachos or tacos.
Last year I invested in a food saver so I can easily portion the food into meals and freeze it. Ideally I remember to pull something the night before. If not I find it works best to mostly thaw it in the microwave and finish heating it either on the stove or in the oven.
motomoms last blog post..Good News/Bad News
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Oh my gosh, some of you are making me look like a slacker! Especially you, motomom!! Now I am really hungry
I have a bunch of bread, some milk and soup and chili and all giddy with my productive self. I am going to have to keep this up so I can build a stash. After hurricane season
Thanks for all your input, everyone!! This has been fun and given me some great ideas!
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I just froze seven bags of blueberries to add to my 5 bags of peaches.
Denises last blog post..Pretty Powerful Punch
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I have some shredded zucchini that is waiting to be turned into bread on a cooler day. I also have blueberries that were super cheap and about to expire so I threw them in a ziploc bag in the freezer. I have a lot of muffins, choc chip zucchini, banana oat, pumpkin raisin. I put them in the lunch box for my nine year old. I also made a batch of these little peanut butter choc chip honey balls from Hillbilly Housewife. They are in there now. Until my husband finds them. They are supposed to be treats for the lunch box. I have ice packs for sprained ankles, Freezer Ice popsicles, some oreo ice cream that probably needs tossed, 3 bags of frozen vegetables, frozen pizza dough, Eggo waffles, although my Mom just bought me a waffle maker so I can make my own now! Yay for moms!
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I am really into batch cooking. It started with making my daughter’s babyfood and freezing it in icecube trays. Then I realized that I could do the same thing with muffin cups for the adults.
I find I save so much in time, energy and money cooking this way. What works for me is to make a big batch of “something” on the weekend. Then I freeze it and it replenishes what we have had over the past week. It took me a few weeks to build up a variety once I had it stocked it is easier to maintain.
I am vegetarian so right now I have falafels, hummus, lentil “meat” loaf”, tortilla soup, tofu enchiladas, penne casserole (with spaghetti sauce/tofu/cheese), and quiche.
As an aside, I was excited to learn about a money saving tip when making hummus. I find that tahini can be quite expensive. I read somewhere to substitute peanut butter for the tahini…you know what? It works great and is much cheaper!
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Now is a great time to blanch and freeze veggies for winter stews too! And chicken/veggie stock freezes well too.
I don’t batch cook in the summer if I can help it. I just like everything fresh… so I just go with less sleep.
Also I find that things stay in the fridge fine for a week or so and if I plan any more in advance, I’ll forget about it…
But my chickpea stew always makes waaaay more than I need, so that I’ll freeze. It actually warms up ok.
deepalis last blog post..the ecology of happiness
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I wish there was room in our freezer to store several meals! Currently there’s hamburger, chicken, ice cream, popsicles, shredded cheese, bags of veggies, applesauce, some pumpkin puree that actually probably isn’t good anymore, and dry ice left over from making homemade root beer.
We’re saving up for a deep freezer so we can have more freezer space to take advantage of our garden produce and so we can fill it with roasted green chiles when that time of year rolls around.
Alison @ This Wasn’t In The Plans last blog post..Do I Budget or Just Keep Track of Expenses?
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my freezer is so full that when i open it, you’re bound to get a ziplock baggie of frozen meat sliding out to greet you. we’ve got about 8 baggies of hamburger, 3 bags of boneless pork chops, 1 pork roast, 3 bags of ribs, 3 bags of bratwursts, 2 bags of chicken…um…a few things of spicy hot sausage (i love to put it in spaghetti)…some ice cream (haha! it’s superman, mmm!)…plus other stuff like cheese and even some chocolate (i like it frozen).
this means i have no room for batch cooking
lol
Tiffanies last blog post..health insurance: a rip off or savior?
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Corn. That’s what I have. Corn.
Darla – UltraBeautyBoutiques last blog post..Mary Kay SALE @ WeRLivingFree
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LOL! I have about 65lbs of Shrimp~ half of what it started as…
the kids are sick of it. We got it from a whole saler…. fokes
130lbs is alotta shrimp. My hubby is japanese and does not under~
stand lbs….lol! He was so proud when he brought it home.*sigh*
Now he craves fish…”Ah preese noh moh shrimp…” poor Shigeru.
We also have fries..tons of prebagged veggies because store changed the company they used..they were 1 to 1 1/2lb bags for
33 cents. Wow right~! Then we have those glow in the dark necklesses if you freeze them you can use them again…I really
need to get more food in there. Does anyone want to share their
best veggie (non meat) freezer recipes?? Thanks a million!!
Love your site!!!
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