Guest Post Monday: Tips for Freezer Cooking

Being a busy mom and having little extra time, I do a lot of freezer cooking. That's what makes me so excited to bring you today's Guest Post Monday. Asheritah from One Thing Alone.

You may have heard about freezer cooking and wondered what all the hype is about. Don't you just end up with unidentifiable mush that tastes wacky and has stalagmites growing like a forgotten carton of half-eaten ice cream?

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Maybe you're intimidated by the amount of prep work and cooking condensed in one day.

Or perhaps you've tried a freezer-cooking marathon session and have been burnt out by the experience.

I've been where you are.

My first experience with freezer cooking was a disaster. I spent two days in a blazing kitchen and made food that neither I nor my husband enjoyed. It took almost a year and half for me to recover enough to attempt a freezer-cooking day again. The second time was much more pleasant, and since then I've successfully completed several freezer-cooking sessions with great results. Now I am more intentional with my cooking and regularly incorporate smaller freezer-cooking sessions throughout my monthly meal plan, along with 2-3 "marathon" (i.e., 1-2 days) freezer cooking sessions.

To save you the angst I experienced, here are 5 Tips for a Successful Freezer-Cooking Session:

1. Make a plan

Decide ahead of time what recipes you're going to make and whether or not you'll multiply the recipe (a good idea!). Gather your supplies. Make sure you have enough containers to freeze the food, as well as plenty of plastic bags, aluminum foil, plastic wrap, and a permanent marker. Break down each recipe in basic steps, and create a basic outline for your freezer cooking day. Just 10 minutes spent planning can make all the difference in the world.

2. Prep in bulk

Try to touch each ingredient as few times as possible. Chop all your onions at once. Brown all your ground beef in one pot, and afterwards split into portions for the spaghetti sauce, tacos, and sloppy joes. This saves you a lot of time and dish-washing. And believe me--on such a day, one less pot is a big deal.

3. Pick recipes you like

This sounds logical, but the first few times I spent an entire day freezer cooking, I tried all new recipes. Bad idea. We didn't really like most of them, and I was left lamenting all the hours I had wasted in a hot humid kitchen. Now I only make recipes I've made fresh several times and know my family will enjoy.

4. Find a buddy

Many hands make light work. They also make burnt celery soup a lot funnier, too. Share the load (and the rewards!) with a buddy to make the day go by faster. But if you're 6 months pregnant on said cooking day, try to find a buddy that's not as pregnant as you are. Two pregnant ladies in a hot kitchen with dozens of dirty bowls, pots, and pans is not a pleasant sight. Take it from someone who knows.

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5. Order pizza

At the end of your cooking-freezing marathon, the last thing you'll want to do is cook dinner OR eat any of the food you've spent all day making. Be kind to yourself and order pizza or other easily-accessible food. You'll be so exhausted that your feet and tummy will thank you.

If you haven't yet tried freezer cooking, I encourage you to try it out. Yummy food is a great way to communicate love to people you care about. Because at the end of the day, that's what really matters.

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If you'd like to check out some great freezer-friendly recipes or more details on how to successfully complete a freezer-cooking day, I'd recommend starting with Once a Month Meals and Not Your Mother's Make-Ahead & Freeze Cookbook.

What about you? Have you tried freezer cooking before? Was it a disaster or a success? Any tips you would share with a newbie?

Asheritah is a Romanian-American blogger who's married to her middle school sweetheart and has a blast raising their daughter. In between loads of laundry, full-time HR work, and daily chaos, Asheritah blogs at onethingalone.com where she inspires women to sit at the feet of Jesus so they can dwell with him deeply, love others recklessly, and live their lives fully. 

You can connect with her on her blog, Facebook or Twitter.

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