Freezer meals to make at home

It is not easy to decide what to make for dinner every day. Busy weeknights may cause you to eat out more often than not, especially if your fridge has very little in it. If you’ve ever struggled to know what to make for dinner, here are our top two picks of freezer-friendly meals that you can prepare ahead of time.

Mini chicken pot pies are a delicious meal, especially for cold winter nights. This recipe doesn’t require defrosting, so once you assemble the pot pies, they are ready to heat and eat in less than half an hour. To make this recipe, you will need homemade pastry dough, a circular cookie cutter, and a large Dutch oven. For the filling, you will need olive oil, flour, half a chopped onion, two chopped celery stalks, ½ pound of sliced mushrooms, ½ cup of peas, ½ cup of carrots, chicken broth, shredded rotisserie chicken, sour cream, salt, pepper, fresh parsley, fresh thyme, and one large egg. 

Bring your Dutch oven to medium-high heat and cook the raw vegetables with 1 tsp of thyme in some olive oil until soft. Add in 4 tablespoons of flour. Stir the mix for about 2 minutes, then add 2 cups of chicken broth plus ⅔ cup of sour cream to thicken the pot pie filling. Bring it to a boil and simmer on medium-low heat for 3 minutes. Stir in 1 cup of cooked chicken plus ½ cup of chopped parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste and allow the filling to cool completely. 

Assemble the pot pie dough by rolling it to an even layer and cutting out 4-inch circles with a cookie cutter. Keep your rolling pin handy to shape the dough circles into a 4 ½ inch circumference, then add ⅓ cup of the filling in the center. Beat one large egg and brush the outside of the dough before adding another dough circle on top. Crimp the edges with a fork to ensure a tight seal. Cut small slits on top and brush it with egg. Freeze your pot pies raw, and once you’re ready, cook them in a 375 degree (Fahrenheit) oven for 20 to 24 minutes until golden brown. These pot pies will keep well for up to 1 month in the freezer.

All you have to do for this next freezer meal is add your favorite pasta sauce and some noodles, and dinner is ready. Here’s what you need to make a big batch of meatballs: 1 ½ pounds ground beef, 1 ½ pounds ground pork, 1 cup parmesan, 2 large beaten eggs, 2 slices stale white sandwich bread, ½ cup milk, 1 small grated onion, ½ cup fresh parsley, 3 cloves grated garlic, and salt. 

Get a small bowl and tear the bread into small pieces. Pour the milk over the bread and let it soak for 5 minutes. While you’re waiting, combine the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix it with your hands. Add the bread and milk mixture and thoroughly combine everything before forming the meatballs. Brush large baking sheets with olive oil and roll each meatball in the oil to coat them. Bake them in a 425 degree (Fahrenheit) oven for 15 to 20 minutes. 

This mix will make about 36 meatballs. Make sure to divide your batches evenly to allow enough room in between the meatballs when baking. Allow them to cool completely before storing them in a freezer-safe container. To reheat them, add your pasta sauce in a pot and put in as many meatballs as you want, making sure the sauce covers the entire surface of the meatballs. Add a lid and leave it covered on medium heat until a fork can smoothly poke through the meatballs. Add your cooked spaghetti noodles and serve with salad and garlic bread for an easy meal. 

We hope you enjoy making these and many other freezer-friendly meals to help ease the stress of cooking from home this year.