Freezer meals | How to make a week ahead meal prep

Frozen food is generally considered unhealthy due to the high-fat content, taste enhancers, and preservatives that are often added to such products. However, this does not necessarily apply to home-cooked frozen meals. In this blog, I share some of my own recipes and meal prep ideas for freezing food, which can help simplify your daily routine if you prefer to purchase groceries and stock up for the week.

Having meals that can be frozen is incredibly convenient, particularly for busy mornings or during the dinner rush. If the food is thawed properly, we can cook frozen meals even faster, allowing us to focus on other tasks without too much stress.

However, cooking ahead for the week can be tiring, especially when we have work schedules or children’s activities to juggle. For busy moms who are constantly picking up and dropping off kids for classes and other activities, freezing easy-to-reheat meals can be a great option.

Preparing chicken freezer meals in advance can be an effective way to save cooking time for the upcoming week. You can find information about meals that freeze and reheat well, as well as my own meal prep ideas for freezer meals.

As someone who likes to do their grocery shopping once a week, I find that weekly prep and frozen meals are incredibly useful shortcuts to help maintain a smooth weekday routine, particularly for busy moms.

Freezer meals

These are some of my favorite make-ahead meals that freeze and reheat well:

1. Black Bean Burrito

This grab-and-go breakfast is simple to make and packed with protein and flavor from the black beans. It’s also a filling recipe that’s perfect for those busy mornings when you need to make something ahead of time and freeze.

2. Mushroom Soup

This healthy soup is a great alternative to the high-sodium soups found in supermarkets. You can either make the soup completely ahead of time or just freeze the soup base. Then, when you want to make the soup, simply add garlic, milk, and seasonings for a rich and healthy mushroom soup in less time.

3. Roasted Vegetable Burrito

Another easy grab-and-go wrap recipe with roasted vegetables and cheese. I make these wraps ahead of time so they’re ready in a hurry on busy mornings. Kids will also love this cheesy wrap without any fuss. Plus, it freezes and reheats well.

4. Pasta Sauce

I’ve been making this make-ahead pasta sauce recipe for over two years now, every two weeks. This versatile sauce can be used for pasta, lasagna, mac & cheese, soups, and even Mexican rice.

5. Tandoori Chicken Marinade

This marinade is made with basic spices found in most homes, along with yogurt and ginger garlic paste. Simply marinate the chicken with the marinade and freeze. Then use the marinated chicken whenever you’re ready for a delicious tandoori chicken meal.

Meal prep Recipe Ideas

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3 HEALTHY FREEZER-FRIENDLY CHICKEN MEALS THAT WILL HELP YOU SAVE COOKING TIME– Want to have chicken recipes on weeknights with less prep, marination time, and cooking? Try these freezer-friendly chicken meals.

Freezer meals | How to make a week ahead meal prep

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Course freezer meals, make ahead, Meal prep

Ingredients

  

Beans burrito

• 1½ cups Brown beans
• 1 Yellow onion big-sized
• 2 Garlic cloves
• ½ Lemon
• 1 Sweet corn
• ½ tsp Cumin powder
• ½ tsp Chilli powder
• 8 Quinoa wrap/totilla wrap
• ½ tsp Fajita seasoning

Mushroom soup (white button mushrooms and Enoki mushrrom used instead of 3 mushrooms)

Roasted veg burrito

• 1 pack Mushroom
• 1 Capsicum
• 2 Sweet Potato medium-sized
• 1 Sweet corn
• 8 to 10 Cheese slices
• 8 Chia wrap/Tortilla wrap
• ½ tsp Chili powder
• ½ tsp Cumin powder
• ¼ to ½ tsp Fajita seasoning

Pasta sauce(Homemade Pasta Arrabiatta Sauce)

• 200 to 250 gm White button mushrooms
• 1½ cups Homemade pasta sauce 12 big cubes of frozen pasta sauce
• ¼ tsp Oregano powder
• ¼ tsp Cumin powder
• ½ tsp Paprika powder

Tandoori chicken marinade

• 600 to 800 gm Chicken
• 1 tsp Yogurt heaped
• ½ tsp Chilli powder
• ½ tsp Turmeric powder
• ⅓ tsp Ginger garlic paste
• ½ tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• ½ tsp Garam masala
• Salt

Instructions

 

Beans burrito

• Add soaked and frozen beans into a pressure cooker.
• Add water.
• Pressure cook for 4 whistles.
• Add oil in a pan.
• Add chopped garlic to the pan and fry.
• When the garlic has cooked halfway,add the chopped onion.
• When the onion is cooked enough add the cooked beans and mix well.
• Add chilli powder and cumin powder
• Add fajita seasoning.
• Mix and cook well.
• Add required salt and cook well. Mix and mash with the spatula.
• Add lemon juice and mix well
• Wrap stuffing is ready.
• Add sweet corn in a lined baking tray.

Roasted veg burrito

• Line a baking paper in a baking tray.
• Add fajita seasoning.
• Add olive oil and mix.
• Add chopped capsicum strips.
• Mix well to blend well with the seasoning.
• Add sliced mushrooms and mix well.
• Bake the mushroom and capsicum in a preheated oven at 170 C for 12 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked.
• Add sweetcorn to a lined baking tray and cook in a preheated oven at 170 C for 10 minutes.
• Add olive oil in another lined baking tray.
• Add chopped sweet potato strips and mix well.
• Add salt and mix well.
• Now bake the sweet potato in a preheated oven at 170 C for 18 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are cooked.
• Place a chia wrap in a wide plate or tray to assemble.
• Add baked sweet potato strips and corn.
• Add baked capsicum and mushroom on top of the sweet potato.
• Sprinkle crushed pepper
• Add cheese slices on all sides of the stuffing.
• Fold the wrap by folding the sides into center.
• When wrap is ready, keep aside and do the folding for the rest.
• When all the wraps are ready and cooled down to room temperature, store them in an air-tght container or in a ziplock packet.
• Freeze well.

Pasta sauce

• Add oil in a pot/kadai.
• Add chopped mushroom and saute
• Add the frozen homemade pasta sauce. Refer to Homemade pasta sauce for the recipe
• When the sauce starts to cook add the oregano powder.
• Add cumin powder.
• Add paprika powder and cook well.
• When the pasta sauce is ready, let it cool down. Store it in a air-tight container or in a ziplock bag.

Tandoori chicken

• Add ginger-garlic paste in a bowl.
• Add chili powder.
• Add turmeric powder.
• Add Kashmiri chilli powder.
• Add garam masala powder.
• Add salt.
• Add yogurt and mix well until all the spice powders blend well with yogurt.
• Add cleaned chicken pieces and mix well.
• Keep the marinated chicken pieces in a ziplock bag or in an airtight container.
• Label and freeze the marinated chicken.
• Thaw the chicken pieces when required before cooking.

Notes

Beans Burrito

1. Soaked and frozen beans take less time to cook. If you are using the soaked-only beans it may need more time/pressure cooker whistles to cook.

Roasted veg burrito

1. While placing the cheese slices on top of the stuffing try to cover all sides. That will help to hold the wrap in a good shape.

Keyword freezer meals, make ahead, meal prep, week ahead meals

Make ahead recipes

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