I’ve done a lot of small batch freezer cooking, where I just double a recipe and put the extra in the freezer for another meal. I really wanted to try a few “power hours” of freezer cooking and get several meals in the freezer at once. I invited my sister to join me and she was happy to share the experience with me. It was a definite success – in two hours we were able to make enough for eight supper meals and at least four breakfasts (I’ll share the recipes at the end of the post). Based on our experience, here’s what we learned!
#1 Use Simple Recipes
We chose recipes that didn’t really require a recipe and that we’d made before. The recipes involved little prep and few ingredients, making the shopping and the cooking much simpler.
#2 Choose Recipes With Overlapping Ingredients
We used ground beef, pasta sauce and shredded cheese in several different recipes. It was easy to cook all the ground beef at once and then divide it for the different entrees.
#3 Don’t Try To Do Too Much
We originally had two additional recipes on our list, but cut them out before we began to keep things simple. We were really happy with what we accomplished in just two hours.
#4 Think Through Each Recipe and Discuss With The Other Cooks
I listed out each recipe and all the ingredients, that way we could both reference it as we were cooking. We chose recipes that both our families enjoyed and made sure the ingredients and portions were suitable to everyone’s tastes.
#5 Clean As You Go
We kept the sink full of soapy water and washed the prep dishes when we had down time. It was a big help to finish our last recipe and not have a mountain of dirty dishes to wash!
Here are the recipes we used:
- Chicken Enchiladas – we layered the meat/cheese/tortillas instead of rolling them – it was faster!
- Baked Pasta – just penne pasta, ground beef, pasta sauce, italian seasoning and mozzarella cheese
- Italian Beef Cups – this recipe, using pasta sauce instead of BBQ sauce and ground beef instead of ground turkey
- Mini Omelettes – we mixed ham, spinach, peppers, onions and feta cheese with the eggs. Make sure you let them completely defrost in the refrigerator before reheating.
There’s also a video of our freezer cooking session, if you’re interested! The first part of the video is me talking through what you just read, so skip to about the 4:00 mark if you want to get right into the cooking footage. 🙂
Have you done large batch freezer cooking? I would love to hear your tips!
Come Home For Comfort 
I’ve been wanting to do this for awhile. Not only is it practical, it sounds so fun when you do it with someone you know!
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Yes! Doing it with a close friend is twice the fun!
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I have never tried freezer cooking but sometime I think I should give it a go, especially in the winter months. Thanks for these tips!
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It is really nice to have a freezer full of meals for busy nights!
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Hi Whitney,
I’m excited to try the Italian Beef Cups, but I also wanted to double this and do the BBQ ground turkey version. I noticed on that turkey recipe, at the bottom, it says it doesn’t freeze or reheat well. Is that because of a specific ingredient in the recipe? I’m new to freezer cooking, so I wanted to double check on it before freezing. Thanks so much for the great content. I love your blog and blogs. 🙂
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Sheena – yikes! Thank you for asking about that, I forgot to update that BBQ Turkey Cups post. I have since discovered the secret to freezing and reheating those cups – make sure you let them completely defrost in the refrigerator before reheating. Then I nuke them in the microwave for about a minute to give them a head start before placing them in a 350 degree oven until the biscuits get a little toasty. I will update the recipe post with those instructions as well. I apologize! Thanks SO much for letting me know about that. Hope you enjoy the recipes! (The BBQ version is my favorite!)
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Thank you, Whitney! I’m excited to try both versions of the cups. I think they’ll be a hit, and freezing some will make dinner a snap later. You are so sweet to get back to me. Have a wonderful week. I truly enjoy your blog and YouTube channel. 🙂
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Fun! I’ve never done freezer meals before so I should give it a try. I like the idea of having a freezer stocked full of good meals. I liked your tips of cleaning as you go and I bet that made the clean up at the end much more doable since your kitchen wasn’t a giant mess from prepping all that food. Excited to watch your video!
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I’m already planning to use one of my freezer meals for a busy night next week! It’s so nice to have them on hand!
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I LOVE this!! My boys would love this Italian beef cups (or the BBQ version). The fact that you got to do this with your sister makes it even more fun. Your videos are always spot on. Great post!
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I have one of these sessions planned for this Saturday. James and Connor have plans and I’m hoping to knock out a handful of dinners. Dinner is where I’m most rushed so I’m eager to get ahead of the game a bit with a freezer stocked full of meals.
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