Prep and Grocery list for Freezer Meals

Each step of the freezer meals are important. So prepping your kitchen is important too. Can you image having a kitchen full of food to go into a freezer, only to have a freezer already full of other food. So here are my prep suggestions: (do at least a week or more before) 1. Make a grocery list--My Grocery List will be at the end--I do not include Fresh items that need bought (like tomatoes--and lettuce) 2. Take inventory of what you have - you don't need to go and buy 10 pounds of Cheddar Cheese if you have 5 pounds in your fridge or freezer already--I suggest pulling out what you have on hand that you will need and place in a box, or other location so you don't use it before you need it. 3. Clean out your freezer. Toss what is no longer good, give away food you are NOT going to eat, and make sure it is free of frost. This alone will take me half an afternoon. I have a normal fridge freezer, a stand up freezer and a deep freezer. The deep freezer is the "family" freezer so I don't use it much, but the stand up freezer and fridge freezer full. With what, I am not sure. I have tried not to buy anything that needs to be frozen the last few shopping trips (Unless it is directly related to the meals I will make.) Some of it will be eaten in the next month so that I can clear out even more space. 4. Make a place for your freezer meal ingredience to be stored until you use it. I use a box and leave it in a room not used much in my house-- 5. Clean kitchen: Sounds simple, but having a clean kitchen to start with helps alot. (do this the night before!) 6. Make sure you have all the "extras" also--like Paper towels, aluminum foil, mixing bowls, dish soap, Freezer Zip-lock bags, Disposable food containers and so on. I will add a section for your help in a later blog.

Here is my grocery list: Remember this list looks huge and will be expensive, but it feeds your family for at least a month and if you start looking for great deals now you can save alot of money (or if you are lucky enough to live near a bulk food store you can save a ton!)

SHOPPING LIST--SHOPPING SHOULD BE DONE THE DAY BEFORE--more on that later

Meat

Chicken (17 Pounds of chicken)—I buy boneless skinless—it just saves me some time.

Need the Food For: How many Pounds I am guessing I need

1. Enchilada Chunks 3

2. Chicken Alfredo chunks 3

3. Chicken Fried Rice 1.5

4. Shredded BBQ Chicken 2

5. Other cubed and Shredded chicken 5

6. Shredded Chicken Pot Pie 2

Beef Ground Beef (25) Pounds

1. Burrito’s 1

2. Taco meat 4

3. Manicotti 2

4. Baked Ziti 2

5. Meatball 5

6. Meatloaf 6

7. Beef Pot Pie

1 Sirloin Beef (cut into strips or cubes) (10 pounds)

1. Fajita’s 4

2. Beef Pot Pie 2

3. Beef Stroganoff 4

French Dip (deli Meat) (1 Pound)

1. Roast Beef 1

Sausage (1/2 hot & ½ Country)

4 pounds of Hot 6 Pounds of Normal

1. Manicotti 2

2. Baked Ziti 2

3. Chicken Alfredo 1

4. Meatloaf ½

5. Chicken Fried Rice ½

6. Breakfast Burrito 3 (I buy sausage links for this)

HAM

1. Ham & Cheese Casserole 3 pounds

Fruit & Veggie (Fresh/Frozen/Canned)

+9 Bell Peppers (various colors)

+1 Bag Frozen Spinach

+ 9 Avocado’s (buy early enough to have them ripe the day you need them)

+ 2 bags frozen peas and carrots +2 bags cubed frozen potatoes

+2 bags hashed brown potatoes +2 packages Mushrooms

+1 small bag potatoes

+6 cans of Veggie

DAIRY

1 medium container of Sour Cream

5 Dozen Eggs

5 Pounds Colby Jack (or kind you like)

5 Pounds Cheddar

4 small packages ricotta cheese

4 packages cream cheese

1 can Parmesan cheese

1 pound mozzarella cheese

2 packages of sliced Pepper Jack

2 packages of American Slices

Canned Food

10 Cans of Cream of Chicken Soup

3 Cans of Cream of Mushroom Soup

4 Cans of Green Chili (or 1 big can)

8 Cans of Green Chili Sauce

3 cans of chili

4 Cans of Refried Beans

8 jars of spaghetti Sauce

2 cans tomatoes sauce

2 cans tomatoes paste

2 cans of Evaporated Milk

2 cans of Aujou soup

Bread/Pasta

24 Corn Tortilla

40 Flour Tortilla

1 package Bread Crumbs

3 package steak Rolls

5 Pie Crusts

2 packages Alfredo noodles

2 packets Penne Noodles

3 boxes Manicotti Sauce

1 taco shell

4 pounds rice

OTHER

3 containers of BBQ Sauce

1 package Beef Bouillon Cubes

1 package Chicken Bouillon Cubes

1 bottle Soy Sauce 3 packets of Guacamole Mix

I also took a while to write down what recipes need what ingredience--

so here is that list.

Chicken enchilada -Corn tortilla -Green chili -Cream of chicken -Green chili sauce -Chicken -Spices -Cheese

Burritos -Flour Tortillas -Ground Beef -Rice -chili -Refried beans -cheese -green chili sauce

Fajita -Strip meat -Bell Peppers -Tortilla -guacamole

Taco Meat -Shredded cheese -ground beef -Cheese -Shells

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Manicotti -Ricotta Cheese -cheese -Sausage -hamburger -Spinach -spaghetti sauce -manicotti shells

Baked Ziti -Penne Noodles -Spaghetti Sauce -Cream Cheese -Sausage -Hamburger -cheese

Lasagna BUY FROM STORE--I got a really good deal on it so I bought 3 of them.

Chicken Alfredo -Cream Cheese -milk -Chicken -butter -Flour -spices -Parmesan cheese -white cheese

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Meatballs -Buy? -Hamburger -Tomato Sauce -Bread crumbs -eggs -Green Pepper -spices

Meatloaf -ground beef -sausage -bread crumbs -milk -egg -spices -Tomato Sauce/paste

French Dip Sandwiches -Deli meat -Anjou sauce -Cheese slice of choice -Rolls

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Chicken Fried Rice -Rice -chicken Bouillon Cubes -Eggs -Soy sauce -Frozen peas and carrots -Chicken -sausage

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches -Chicken -BBQ Sauce -Rolls -Cheese Slices Chicken—Shredded and cubed

BREAKFAST BURRITO -Sausage -Tortillas -Eggs -Green Chili's -Potatoes (cubed small) -Cheese -Refried Beans (A few) -Any other veggies you want (peppers, mushrooms, spinach, and so on)

Cheesy Ham & Potatoes Casserole -cubed potatoes (or hashbrowns) -Cubed Ham ( I use lunch meat cut into chucks, but good ham is the best) -Sour Cream -Cream of Chicken

Beef Stroganoff -Mushrooms -Strip Beef -Cream of chicken -milk/gravy Beef /

Chicken/Beef Pot Pie -Pie Crusts -shredded Beef/chicken -Cream of mushroom/chicken -Veggie All -Mashed Potatoes (or biscuits)

(I am going to buy some fresh herbs—and I didn’t include any onion in any recipe—so you might want to add some to yours)

One more thing I did was figure out what type of container I would need in order to store it--so here is that list.

Mexican

-Chicken Enchilada 2- 9 X 12 Pans

-Burritos 2- 9 X 12 Pans

-Fajita (Meat) Freezer Zip-locks

-Taco Meat (Meat) Freezer Zip-locks 4

Italian

-Manicotti 2- 9 X 12 Pans

-Baked Ziti 2- 9 X 12 Pans

-Lasagna BOUGHT

-Chicken Alfredo Freezer Zip-locks

-Meatballs (lots for spaghetti or Meatball sandwiches) Freezer Zip-locks -

Meatloaf 2-Bread Loaf Pans -

Roast Beef Sandwiches (French dip) Freezer Zip-locks 3 Chicken -

Shredded Chicken Freezer Zip-locks -

Chicken Fried Rice Freezer Zip-locks -

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches Freezer Zip-locks

Breakfast Burritos Aluminium Foil

Cheesy Ham & Potatoes 2- 9 X 12 Pans

Beef Stroganoff Freezer Zip-locks

Beef pot pie Pie Crust holder and Aluminium Foil

OK--this one is long enough, so on to the next post.