4 Steps to a Successful Freezer Cooking Day

This is the fourth post in Creative Savings’ freezer cooking series. Last week, we talked about Freezer Cooking Prep, and you can find all posts in the series listed on the introduction page.

I cannot believe today is the last day of our freezer cooking series! I have so enjoyed sharing about my own freezer cooking routine, and hope you have been able to come away with a little bit more knowledge and excitement about freezer cooking than I did when I first started.

My limited view of casserole-only-freezer-burn-laden food, was completely inaccurate.  Instead, freezer cooking has become my meal-saver. Without it, my poor husband would have to resort to pre-packaged freezer meals, or eating out. Both would not be kind to our budgets.

But even though we’ve prepped and planned in anticipation of this day, freezer cooking is not without its mishaps.

Just last week, I started working through my carefully prepared recipe list, covered in flour and dough and who-else-knows-what, and then…..I realized that I forgot to pick up a super essential ingredient.

I say that not to discourage you, but to actually encourage you that no matter what goes wrong, the key point to remember is that if you come out with at least 1 or 2 extra meals out of your freezer cooking day, you’ve succeeded.

Things happen! And even though the following tips are intended to help your day run as smoothly as possible, don’t get caught up in all the things that might not work out as you had imagined.

OK, pep talk over. Let’s freezer cook!

1. Clean Your Kitchen Before You Start

There’s certainly no need for a total Spring cleaning session, but the night before your freezer cooking day, or even the morning of, try to turn your kitchen into a pleasant environment rather than one you will dread working in.

For me, this means dishes in the sink need to be washed and put away, crumbs wiped off the counters, and kitchen accessories straightened and put back in their place. Basically, a general tidy-up session.

It’s amazing how much a clean kitchen can help motivate you to freezer cook.

2. Follow Your Prep List

Last week, I shared a printable that will help you create an outline of all the recipes you would like to make, as well as each of the steps involved.

I explain more on how to actually use this prep sheet in my Freezer Cooking Prep post, but if you are completely new to freezer cooking, I would go through the list methodically step-by-step, and complete each recipe in order.

It’s quite possible to combine steps from a couple different recipes to maximize your time, however, I’m still not at that point yet. I can usually only focus on one thing at a time!

3. Clean As You Go

If at all possible, try to clean up after yourself as you work through each recipe. Not only will you maintain your sanity, you will also further that clean environment that you started with, which will in turn, motivate you to finish.

Keep paper towels or a dish cloth handy to wipe up spills, and put ingredients back into the fridge and pantry if you don’t need to use them again. If you find yourself with a little break, while food is rising, boiling, or baking, you might as well do a quick load of dishes while you’re waiting!

4. Just Get in There and Do It

We could talk about freezer cooking all day long, but no work would actually get done if that’s all we did. Freezer cooking is not a science, and at some point, you just have to dive in and get it done. <– {Click to Tweet}

Remember, it doesn’t matter if the 4-5 meals you had planned to make actually result in 2. Celebrate the 2 you finished. Even that little bit will keep your sanity on a busy night, and I’m pretty sure you’ll notice a little extra wiggle room in your grocery budget too.

Are you ready? It’s time to schedule your freezer cooking day! 

The upcoming busy season is the perfect time to have a few stockpiled meals on hand, and will help you enjoy the holidays without the stress…..or at least a lot less of it.

Do you have a freezer cooking day on the calendar yet?

 

 

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