- Image via Wikipedia
Its 4 o’clock. You reach into the fridge to pull out your ingredients for tonight’s dinner. Cajun chicken sandwiches, sweet potato fries and pineapple. Yum. Pineapple? Check. Alexia brand sweet potato fries? Check. Cajun chicken breasts (seasoned & raw)? Check. Lettuce, tomatoes, mayo? Check, check, check. You saunter over to the pantry to grab the buns. Uh-oh. Double-check the clock and realize you don’t have time to make buns. You weigh your desire for a sandwich with the thought of dragging three kids experiencing the 4 o’clock crazies to the grocery. No contest! As much as you wanted your chicken as a sandwich tonight, no way are you heading to the store.
Sound at all familiar? It was becoming an all-too-frequent occurrence in our house. No matter how well I thought I prepared my grocery list, inevitably something(s) would get left at the store. And that inspired me to make freezer kits.
On Monday, I posted some part one with about a half-dozen freezer kit ideas. Here are some more! Rice goes straight into the gallon-size bag (no smaller bag). Otherwise, unless noted, each of the kit components are in a quart or pint-size freezer bag OR wrapped in plastic wrap and then placed inside a gallon-size freezer bag.
Mexican Shredded Pork Bowls (or tacos or tostadas)
1. Cooked & shreeded pork
2. Measured, uncooked rice for the cilantro lime rice OR
2b. Bag of flour tortillas or corn tortillas
Zesty Slow-Cooker Barbecue Chicken (I’ve also done this with pork & beef)
1. Cooked & shredded chicken OR
1b. raw chicken plus barbecue sauce & Italian dressing (all in one bag to “dump” and cook).
2. Buns (I like to double-wrap them in plastic and then place into the freezer bag.)
Hamburger Patties
1. Raw, seasoned & shaped patties
2. Buns (I like to double-wrap them in plastic and then place into the freezer bag.)
Kabobs
1. Raw meat diced and seasoned
2. Raw, cut veggies (some freeze better than others, we like onions & red bell peppers)
3. Wooden kabob skewers (wrap plastic around the pointy ends so they don’t puncture the bag)
4. Rice or pasta (if you like to serve either with the kabobs)
Spaghetti & Meatballs
1. Meatballs
2. Spaghetti sauce
3. Pasta (straight into the gallon-size bag)
4. Breadsticks or dinner rolls to make into garlic knots
Best Grilled Pork Chops (or your favorite pork chop recipe) & Emeril Rice
1. Pork chops, raw & in marinade
2. Rice and spice mixture (combined)
Sometimes I’ll add some frozen butterhorns or dinner rolls as well. Or a small bag of frozen vegetables.
What can you add to your meals the next time you stock your freezer?
