So you have heard of this fantastic method of meal planning called freezer cooking, right?! You whip up a bunch of delicious meals all in one day, and then freeze them for later so that you can grab dinner and have it on the table in minutes – even on a busy day.

I know.  It sounds WAY too good to be true… after all, as a busy photographer, you’re used to feeding your family cereal and take-out for dinner during busy season!  But it’s true!  With these simple steps, you can stock the freezer with healthy, home-cooked meals, even if you don’t consider yourself a rockstar cook.

It’s actually much easier than you think and it’s great – because your spouse {or older kids} can even help you “make” dinner while you’re away at a photoshoot!  You’ve done all the hard work already, so they just have to complete the last few steps to get the meal on the table!

Now, before I started my photography business, I used to freezer cook all the time and it saved our family so much time, money, and health!  Now that I’m much busier, we do take-out more frequently.  When we eat out, the calorie counts go through the roof and, while it saves us precious time… it’s not the best thing for us in the long run!

So HOW exactly do we make freezer cooking happen {and take better care of ourselves and our families}???

That’s where my friend Tricia, from Once a Month Meals comes in and helps us!  In this uber helpful blogpost, she’s going to give us a basic introduction to freezer cooking and tell us how to get started!

1.  Pick Your Freezer Cooking Recipes

First, you have to know what you are going to cook! Here are a few guidelines:

• Freezable! There are a wide variety of foods that you can freeze, even ones you think that you can’t like rice or dairy. But there are a few that don’t maintain a good taste and texture, so steer clear of those.

• Variety & Efficiency – Balance your menu by having some super easy recipes to throw together while a more complicated recipe is simmering or baking. Look for some overlap in ingredients so that your grocery list isn’t a mile long. Try something new, but be sure to have recipes you know everyone will love too!

• Budget – Keep things simple so you don’t overspend. Choose recipes based on ingredients you already have in the pantry! And build your menu around seasonal produce and sales. But hint, hint – freezer cooking in itself is going to save you money!

2.  Prepare for the Big Day

I promise – this undertaking won’t be difficult if you get organized first. One step at a time!

#freezeallthethings

This is it! Get the kids, pets, and other dependents out from under foot, turn on your favorite tunes, and get to work!

• Equipment – You really only need basic kitchen tools and appliances. But it is helpful to have extras so you don’t have to wash as often. You may want to consider purchasing some larger than normal pots and pans for large batches or investing in a few time- saving gadgets like a food processor!

• Grocery Shop – This trip is slightly more involved than your usual shop, so plan for a little extra time. And make sure to go a day (or two) before you plan to cook. Using a planning service such as Once a Month Meals will help you print a grocery list (as well as other helpful planning tools!) in a snap – no math required!

• Slice and Dice – Take some time to prepare all of your ingredients before you start cooking. Then you can just measure and cook instead of constantly returning to the cutting board when you have 3 recipes going at the same time! This might be the single most important tip to success in freezer cooking.

• Where to start! There is a method to the madness. Again, a service like Once a Month Meals will provide you with step by step instructions for getting the job done. But basically, you want to start with the recipes that will take the longest: slow cooker recipes and baked. Then work your way through stove top recipes. And end with the easiest recipes.

• Before you freeze it, cool it! While you are finishing up those last easy recipes or doing dishes, let your recipes completely cool to avoid freezer burn.

• Package and Freeze – You’ve reached the end! Grab your freezer friendly containers and label first. (It is harder when they are full of food.) Fill them with deliciousness, and lay them flat to freeze for maximum space efficiency.

Now all that is left to do is enjoy your dinner – and all of your newfound free time!  Sound like just what you need?!  Grab a FREE mini-menu right here and give Freezer cooking a try!  I can’t wait to hear what you make!