Meal Plan Monday Plus Freezer Cooking

It's a holiday for Alex and I and we are in the middle of a giant closet reorganization project. We're going to take Ben to school soon where he will have more fun than here at home in piles of junk! Alex is going to plug away. I'm going to do a weights class at the gym and then I'm heading back to do some freezer cooking. Here's the plan for today:

Beef Burgandy (I'll post the recipe later) (divided into 2)
Lasagne (divided into 3)
Meatballs (divided into 3)
Chicken fajita meat in marinade

It's not much, but it will fortify our freezer. The plan is to avoid the grocery store next week, if possible to save some dough.

Now for our meal plan:

Monday: Hot Wing Soup
Tuesday: Chicken Masala
Wednesday: Baked Ziti
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Chili or soup from the freezer (boys are on their own again...it's my monthly girls' dinner...we're going to the Melting Pot's happy hour!)
Saturday: Breakfast for dinner (eggs, pancakes, bacon, fruit)
Sunday: Roasted chicken with garlic, mashed potatoes, veggies

The mother-load

The mother-load of all non-cook freezer cooking recipes. I don't have time to explore right now because I'm "working", but will check them out this weekend! I feel giddy.

Freezer cooking update

So it's 9:45 on Monday morning and I've already thrown the Mexican Casserole in the slow cooker, finished up the chimichangas, and the Lemon Olive Chicken is cooking on the stove right now. Oh and last night before dinner, I made the meatballs. It has gone so well! Ben is coloring a turkey and watching Sesame Street right now. After the chicken is done, we're heading to the park. It's supposed to be 60 today! I think I'll do the fajitas (they are marinating right now) when Ben takes a nap and I'll do some chicken breasts tomorrow.

Pictures to come!

Freezer cooking, Tracy-style

It's time for another round of freezer cooking. I'm off this week so I plan to do a little bit here and there. Here's the ultimate list:

Beef Chimichangas
Mama's Meatballs (already posted on here)
Mexican Casserole (slow cooker)
Lemon Olive Chicken (already posted on here)
Grilled Chicken Breasts (with a few different seasonings)
Chicken Fajitas (Paula Dean recipe)

I learned a few things with my last freezer cooking day.

1. It's worth it for me. Yes, it's exhausting, but in the end, we have multiple homemade meals that save us time during our busy weeknights. Since Alex gets home before me, he can heat everything up and prepare side dishes very easily.
2. Stick with recipes that you know and love. I experimented with some freezer cooking recipes that did not turn out so well. I will do a better job of testing them out in the future.
3. Although I'm not doing any this time, the slow cooker bag idea is fantastic. There's no cooking involved. Just dump all the ingredients for a slow cooker recipe into a freezer bag and thaw when you're ready to cook it.
4. It's super easy to do all that cooking without a toddler underfoot...we'll see how this week goes with Ben home with me! :)