Part 4 – Every Mom’s Guide to Getting Organized – Save time in the Kitchen with GF THM Freezer Meals!
**Update: I forgot to share my free printable kitchen checklist that keeps me on track every week in the kitchen! Click HERE for the free printable!
I've already shared my favorite way to freezer cook – one meal at a time, at dinner time, so we can eat one and freeze the rest. Basically, it's tripling a recipe. But some people like to spend an afternoon and knock it all out at once. I certainly understand that, even though it's not *my* favorite way to do it, I had many requests from readers for a special freezer cooking post with shopping lists and instructions. So I did it. For you. Well, not really. It's more for my family. But I'm excited to share it with you! And now I'm taking an entire week off of cooking and enjoying the spoils of my fully stocked freezer. 🙂 In fact, I don't really have any more room in my freezer, so we've got to eat what we've made! These THM Freezer Meals are delicious!
This is part of my “Getting Organized” series, and my cooking day was on Thursday last week, which is Kitchen Day in my house. Remember, in Part 1 we went over organizing your week and assigning certain tasks to certain days. Then in Part 2 we talked about getting organized with meal planning, and I posted a brand new two-week Trim Healthy Mama compliant meal plan with a shopping list. In Part 3 I talked about running errands, and included another THM shopping list. Update: Part 5 with free kids' chore printables and cleaning printable checklists is live now! So now I'm tired. But keep reading, because this is a good one!
And don't forget, in the next two weeks we'll be wrapping up this series and giving away a FREE ERIN CONDREN LIFE PLANNER! You don't want to miss it, so stay tuned (Giveaway is now closed)
Here is what I made on my cooking day, please check the cooking directions below to see how I doubled some recipes, and how I made them work for THM. Some of these recipes are not THM friendly, so the cooking directions explain how to make sure they are on plan.
Chicken Divan (S) (6 Dinners)
Chili (S) (3 Dinners)
Artichoke Chicken Thighs (3 Dinners)
Pioneer Woman's Sunday Night Stew (S) (3 Dinners)
Paleo Crockpot Meatballs (S) (3 Dinners)
Chicken Fajitas (S or E) (3 Dinners)
Ground beef for tacos (S) (3 Dinners)
Please read the Cooking Day Directions below to THM-ify the recipes, then you can jump in! The cooking directions are just guidelines; of course you can prepare and cook however you want.
For a printable menu, plus a printable freezer inventory sheet to fill out on your own, click here: Download
For a printable shopping list, click here: Download **Note – I listed the chicken in two different places under “Meat” on the list. There are 8 chicken breasts listed for the chicken divan, then 4 lbs of chicken breasts listed separately for the chicken fajitas. I did this because their preparation instructions will be different on your cooking day, and also because while you really do need 8 breasts for the chicken divan, you can stretch a little less chicken for the fajitas.
For printable cooking day directions, click here: Download
I've also got a great freezer cooking session available where I made 15 meals in 90 minutes! Thanks for stopping by!
Linked up at LivingWellSpendingLess Thrifty Thursday
Linked up at OrgJunkie's Menu Plan Monday
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Would serving it with the cauliflower mash be a good alternative here?
Yes! Cauliflower has been pricy where I live so we skipped it, but cauliflower is a great healthy substitute.
This looks great. How many people will each meal serve? Thanks!
In the cooking directions, I mention which recipes I double or triple to feed my family of six. But my kids are 12 and under, so you may want to add a little if you’re feeding teenagers. If you’re feeding a smaller family you can portion the food smaller baggies and get more dinners out of it.
What do the Letters (S) and (E) written out by the name of each dish
signify?
It’s all explained in the Trim Healthy Mama book, which I used to lose over thirty pounds and keep them off easily. But the meal plan is still delicious and super healthy for someone not using the Trim Healthy Mama diet.
For the Pioneer Stew- do I cook the entire recipe all the way through and then freeze it? Or assemble it before it’s been cooked and only brown the meat? Thanks! Doing this today so I hope to hear from you ASAP!!! 🙂
~ Charlotte
Charlotte, I’m so sorry! I’ve been sick and wasn’t able to check my messages for a few days. I’ve done this recipe both ways. To save time, I’ve cooked it all, then frozen it, so I can thaw and reheat. But I’ve also frozen it without cooking, then let it thaw and simmer when I’m ready to cook it. I like the flavor a bit better that way, but either way still tastes great!
Bless you for this!
In your Chicken Divan recipe it has rice in it, but is listed as an “s” meal for THM. Would that make it a crossover instead of an ‘S’? Thank you.
Great question! I’ve come up with my own Chicken Divan Recipe that I like even better, but for the one used in this freezer cooking session you can download the Cooking Day Instructions where it tells you to separate the rice and serve it to the kids because the main dish is an “S”, or to add it in for a crossover. 🙂
So when you prep the stew, are you cooking the whole thing according to the recipe and then just freezing it? Or are you throwing all those ingredients together and freezing and then cooking them when you’re ready to eat it?
I’ve done it both ways, but I preferred cooking it ahead of time and then freezing. It made it really easy to thaw and re-heat on cooking day, but the flavor was still great.