Thifty Thursday: Things to Make to Freeze

Do you want to save time and money?  Do you want to cook more from scratch but don't think you have the time?  I have a few things that you can start with to save a lot of time and money easily.

I cheat by making ahead and keeping tasty food in the freezer so that we have things ready.  There are a few things that I like to make double batches or cook specifically to freeze.  There are a lot of time saving foods that I can't live without in the freezer.  I hope that these give you some ideas of things that you can do to save some time by making a little extra when you are already cooking so that you don't have to make the pots and pans dirty twice.  Save time and money!!

1.  Pancakes and Waffles-  My son loves pancakes and waffles and we used to buy the prepared ones which you can throw in the toaster or microwave for a quick breakfast.  Now I make a ton of them when we are eating them and put all of the extras in the freezer.  I lay them flat in a big plastic bag until frozen and then shake them down and add a few more if I have more to fit in.  These means that I use my homemade recipe and my son can have these healthy treats for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  Added benefit is that when you get a deal on eggs and milk or if they are near expiration, you can make a big batch of pancakes to freeze.  Here is my recipe for fluffy pancake mix and pancakes (I use the same for waffles) and here is my recipe for cinnamon roll pancakes.

2.  Rice-  I make mostly white rice because it takes only 20 minutes.  I would like to eat more brown rice but since it takes so much longer to cook, I often don't have the time to wait before getting dinner on the table.  I prefer this brown rice which is tasty and freezes really well but you can use lots of different brands.

 I make slider bags and stack them on top of each other until they are frozen and then I put them upright like books on a shelf.  I use the scale to help make them even but you can also just eye ball it to get mostly even bags.  We eat one serving and freeze the rest which are super easy to microwave whenever you want rice.  They are easy to use just like the Ready Rice in the pouches.

3. Enchilada Sauce-  I make my enchilada sauce from scratch now instead of buying the canned sauce.  It is really easy and uses items that are commonly already in the your pantry (recipe found here).  It can be done on a weekend or night when you have a little extra time.

I make a big batch which I use to make dinner and freeze the extras.  I make them flat in plastic bags and when they are fully frozen, I get to put them upright in the freezer so they are easy to grab when you need them.  I like to divide in the amount that I use them in so it took a few times to have the right amount.  If there is extra seasoned chicken, it is also great to freeze because you can make a full meal with these two bags straight from the freezer.

4. Shredded and Sliced Chicken-  I make the seasoning chicken up above and I also like to boil bone in chicken until it is cooked and remove it from the bone to do different styles like shredded, cubed and sliced chicken. 

I make individual bags to use for different recipes.  I make Buffalo Chicken sliders, Sloppy Chicken Joes, Rosemary Garlic Chicken Pizza, Chicken Tortilla Soup and Chicken Enchiladas.  They are also used for paninis and other recipes that cooked chicken is helpful in.  It is easy to take off the bone and shred with forks or cube or slice chicken.  Save the bones and put them back in to the water with veggies and seasonings to make broth too!

5.  Cooked Sausage-  I get the ground sausage and cook it up in one big batch.  I put it all in a plastic bag so that I have it to put on top of pizza or use in stuffing, Cheesy Garlic Pizza Bites (recipe found here).  It is great to have it available and already cooked (and degreased) so that it is ready to use.

6. Cooked Ground Beef- I cook meat to make for dinner that night and cook a little extra and set it aside.  I make sure to get all of the grease out so that it doesn't leave a lot of grease in the bag that I freeze it in.  It is great to use for Hamburger Helper, Tacos, Salsa Sloppy Joes or French Dip Sloppy Joes, and more.

7.  Buns- I love making fresh bread because it tastes so much better then store bought but these buns are my favorite.  I made whole wheat ones which are good (recipe found here).

Then, I tried another recipe and I won't ever need to try another because we love them and they freeze wonderfully.  I put them in a bag and when they get more solid, you can smoosh them together more to fit in the freezer.  I normally get around 16 buns from the recipe because I don't make them super big (recipe found here).

8.  Diced Ham- I get the ham steaks when I can get them free with coupon and I dice the ham and put one of two into a plastic bag and freeze.  I can pull out a few pieces to use in fried rice and other meals right out of the freezer.

I used to make the dice big so that they wouldn't stick together but I don't think that it makes a big difference so now I cut them smaller.  I can fit more into the bag and I am able to use them a little bit more for flavor.

The first step is to make these easy foods and get them into your freezer and the second step is to start using them to save you time and money.  Stock up when things are on sale cheap and freeze them to use when you need them.  Do you have anything that you like to make to freeze? Do you think that you might start now?  I hope that some of these recipes help you figure out some great things that your family would like to try.

Shared at Follow Thrift Week at Cleverly Simple