Sausage Potatoes

This is another recipe that I was making long before I started doing once a month cooking and was delighted to discover freezes well. They make a convenient addition to a once a month cooking plan when you have a lot of work to do because they don't require much in the way of equipment.  They don't need to be cooled either, which is helpful.   Plus they're super cheap.

I usually post my recipes as a single batch so you can multiply them to meet your needs.  However, this one is a quadruple batch due to the small amounts of tomato paste and mustard.  You can change the multiple for this recipe in row 4  of column D, run the macro and it will give you a scaled list of ingredients to follow in the 'Current Recipes' tab if you don't want to make 4 batches.

They're not much to look at, but they are very tasty.

Chicken Milanese

When I started getting into freezer cooking I first looked to dishes that I already made regularly and enjoyed to see if they might freeze well.  This chicken dish has long been a favorite of mine. Obviously the salad will not freeze well but the chicken can be breaded and frozen.  The salad is so easy to throw together that having the chicken prepped makes this a very easy meal indeed.  Plus this chicken could go very well with any number of salads.

Update: I've come up with other ways to use fried, breaded chicken cutlets.  Check them out!

Egg Puffs

These make a delicious, filling and convenient breakfast.  Plus it's easy to make a lot of them, so if you need a lot breakfasts, this is for you.  A double batch makes a ton of these.

Prep Tip: Bacon in the Oven

Some freezer recipes will require you to cook large amounts of bacon.  This can be messy and time consuming to do on the stovetop, so I highly recommend cooking your bacon in the oven,  There are a lot of methods to do this around the internet.  I experimented with them until I found the best way for my oven.  You may need to do similar experiments, but I promise it's worth it.  Cooking bacon in the oven is so much easier.

A Collection of Soups

Soup is really a workhorse of freezer cooking.  It is easy to make in large batches, easy to freeze and easy to reheat.  There is an endless variety of soups and many of them are meal all by themselves.  I highly recommend you look to your favorite soup recipes to find freezer meals that you already like.

There are a couple of things to keep in mind when making soup to freeze:

1. Milk and cheese sometimes don't freeze well.  These are mostly added at the end of the cooking process, so you can freeze before adding the dairy and then add it in when you reheat to serve.
2. Some more tender vegetables get an unpleasant texture after being frozen, such as zucchini and leafy vegetables like spinach.  Sometimes these can be added when you reheat to serve.
3. Undercook your veggies and pasta in soup to avoid mushiness after being frozen and reheated. Never undercook meat!

Here are some soups I have had success with freezing:

Sausage Broccoli Pasta

This dish has been a huge win as a freezer meal.  It is delicious, a complete meal and my kids like it.  Plus it's fairly easy and inexpensive.  It's pretty much perfect.  I make a triple batch, which is huge and makes enough for 7 dinners for my family.

Egg Pocket

My kids are little still, so we generally don't have to be anywhere early in the morning.  I imagine that when my kids start school these will be indispensable on busy mornings.  These are delicious and incredibly convenient as they can be eaten on the go.  Even without having to go anywhere immediately, we still have these regularly. Plus they are popular with my kids.