I'm Back! - Meal Planning: Freezer Meals!

Oh gosh, you guys!  It has been so long since I have blogged.  So long that I even forgot my password.  April of 2013 to be exact … which happens to be when I found out I was pregnant with Brooklynn and had horrible “morning” sickness for 21 weeks.  This then began my hatred toward food throughout my entire pregnancy, which was very bizarre for me.  Luckily my love for food came back and after my pregnancy I developed different eating habits and did really well on weight watchers.  I posted a ton of my weight watchers creations on Instagram.  You can follow me @ktribenga and see some recipes under the hashtag #ktwwrecipe ! So I have still been posting my love of food, just on a different forum … well that is going to change now!

I am always a ridiculous food planner.  I make meal plans for the week or even two weeks at a time.  This includes very organized grocery lists … which makes my grocery shopping very fast (and enjoyable, too).  This past week, I decided to make some meals that I could prep or make ahead and freeze so life will be easier further along in my pregnancy or once baby number two arrives (only had sickness for 13 weeks this time and no food aversions to date!!!).  I offered to email my meal plan, grocery list, and meal directions to anyone interested and over 65 people asked.  I have to admit, I was very flattered and happy to send each and every email.  Well, I figured if I was going to keep sharing my meal plans and lists, I might as well save myself time and do it on here!  This way I can post new blog entries online to be viewed for anyone who is interested.  Also, if you subscribe to my blog – each new blog post will be emailed to you!  Whatever works best for you!  Just know that I work really hard on these plans, lists and directions … so a simple thank you would totally make my day!!

Well here is the plan I emailed to everyone … I hope you like the meals as much as I do.  Just an FYI, my meals follow a “semi-homemade” sort of fashion (thanks for that description, Pooja) to cut on time but you can tweek any of the ingredients as you wish, swapping fresh for canned, etc. 

Menu:

Stuffed Pepper Soup (4 gallon bags)

Pulled Pork (4 quart bags)

Italian Sausage & White Bean Soup (2 gallon bags)

Cilantro Lime Chicken (2 gallon bags)

Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken (2 gallon bags)

Beef Stew (2 gallon bags)

Total Cost  132.69

Costs of food may vary depending on coupons and where you shopped.  Most meat and produce items I bought at Costco and canned or shelf items I bought at Aldi or Walmart.  Also, if you choose organic items or fresh items, prices will vary.  You can leave out any ingredients you do not like or change seasonings to your taste preference. 

Grocery List

Bell Pepper (5)

Red Onion (5)

Cilantro (bunch)

Limes (4)

Garlic (small jar minced)

Baby Carrots (3 lb bag)

Celery (1 lb bag)

Sweet Potato (1)

Pork Roast (3 sm-med size roasts or one large roast)

Ground Turkey (3 lb)

Italian Sausage (hot or mild – 10 links)

Chicken Breast (12)

Beef Roast (1 large)

Beef gravy jar (1 large or 2 small)

Teriyaki Sauce Marinade (2)

Canned Pineapple Chunks (2 20oz)

Ground Cumin

Salt

Garlic Powder

Brown Rice (2 ready to boil bags)

Tomato Soup (3 large 26 oz cans)

BBQ Sauce (2)

Canned Cannellini Beans (2 15oz)

Canned Diced Tomato (2 15 oz)

Beef Broth (1 large)

Canned Black Beans (2 15 oz)

Canned Tomato Sauce (1 small can 10oz)

Dry Onion Soup Packet (1)

Frozen Creamed Spinach (2)

Frozen Corn (2)

Gallon & Quart Freezer Bags

Recipes

Stuffed Pepper Soup – Brown / crumble ground turkey in a large pot.  Drain fat.  Add 5 chopped bell peppers and 1 chopped red onion.  Allow vegetables to soften.  Season with garlic powder and salt to taste.  Add in 3 large cans of condensed tomato soup and 2 cans of water.  Prepare 2 bags of ready to boil brown rice in separate pot.  Once cooked, add in bags of brown rice.  Stir to combine.  Label 4 gallon freezer bags with the date, “Stuffed Pepper Soup”, and directions to thaw, heat and serve.  Divide soup between freezer bags. Seal bag, removing any air, and lay flat to freeze.

Pulled Pork – In a crock pot, add 1 chopped onion to the bottom.  Top with pork roasts and season with salt and pepper.  Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours.  Remove pork and shred with a fork into a large mixing bowl.  Remove onions from crock pot and drain, add into bowl.  Season with salt and garlic powder to taste.  Mix in bbq sauce jars.  Label 4 quart freezer bags with the date, “Pulled Pork”, and directions to thaw, heat and serve.  Divide pork between freezer bags. Seal bag, removing any air, and lay flat to freeze.

Italian Sausage and White Bean Soup – Remove Italian sausage from casings and brown / crumble in a large pot.  Drain Fat.  Add 2 cans of diced tomatoes (do not drain) and stir.  Add in 1 can of drained white beans and 1 can of un-drained white beans (thickens soup).  Add 2 containers of frozen creamed spinach (you can add it frozen) and 1 large container of beef broth.  Heat until spinach is thawed and warmed through.  Label 2 gallon freezer bags with the date, “Sausage & White Bean Soup”, and directions to thaw, heat and serve.  Divide soup between freezer bags.  Seal bag, removing any air, and lay flat to freeze.

Cilantro Lime Chicken -  Label 2 gallon freezer bags with the date, “Cilantro Lime Chicken”, and directions to thaw, cook in crock pot for 4 hours on low, shred chicken and serve on tortillas.  In each bag, add 3 chicken breasts, juice from 2 limes, ½ bunch of chopped cilantro, 1 16 oz bag frozen corn, 1 heaping teaspoon minced garlic, ½ chopped red onion, 1 can drained and rinsed black beans, 1 tbsp cumin, salt and pepper (to your liking).  Seal bag, removing any air, and lay flat to freeze.

Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken - Label 2 gallon freezer bags with the date, “Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken”, and directions to thaw, cook in crock pot for 4 hours on low, and serve over rice.  In each bag, add 1 lb baby carrots, ½ red onion chopped, 1 can pineapple chunks with juice, 1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic, 3 chicken breasts, and container of teriyaki sauce.  Seal bag, removing any air, and lay flat to freeze.

Beef Stew – In crock pot, add 1 lb carrots, 1 lb chopped celery, 1 chopped red onion, and 1 chopped and peeled sweet potato.  Season vegetables with salt and garlic powder.  Stir to mix vegetable.  Add small can of tomato sauce and 1 large or 2 small jars of beef gravy (no need to stir).  Add beef roast on top of vegetables. Top beef roast with 1 packet onion soup mix.  Cook on low for 8 hours.  Shred beef (beef will fall apart) and mix into vegetables and liquid.  Label 2 gallon freezer bags with the date, “Beef Stew”, and directions to thaw, heat and serve.  Divide stew between freezer bags.  Seal bag, removing any air, and lay flat to freeze.

I just have to say that I was very pleased to get on my blog after all this time and see how many times my posts have been pinned and how often the site has been viewed, even while I wasn’t an active blogger.  It is all very exciting to me!!  If you want to check out older recipes on here, please do … Yinzer Stew is my favorite (and Alyssa’s too).  Like always, if you have any questions, please just ask me!  I am always happy to help, I promise!