Have any of you ever not known what to make for dinner?  I’m pretty sure this is me like every. single. night. Unless its crockpot night! I am obsessed with all things crockpot (except desserts; I’ve yet to find a crockpot dessert recipe that doesn’t end up tasting like mush). I just really enjoy both the feeling of knowing that dinner is taking care of itself (while I get the million other things done that I want to get done) so that, at the end of the day, I can put my swollen, pregnant feet up for a quick second and enjoy what feels like a meal that someone else cooked for me. So, “freezer meal prep is my best friend” is what I’m getting at essentially! Whether you prep for the crockpot, the oven, or even the microwave, this method of preparedness is my kind of party! Below I share a collection of recipes that are great for freezing and cooking later. By the way, you can totally make freezer meal prepping a fun and exciting party. Literally. Invite some friends over and have them bring some of the ingredients along. Then, prep the meals together!! Whether you are preparing for the upcoming birth of a new little one, or if you’d just like to have a workweek where you can depend on a healthy, home-cooked meal at the end of each day, this can be fun, I swear!!

The best part about most crockpot freezer meals? The ol’ “dump and freeze.”

You can literally take this recipe, dump everything into a ziplock and stuff it in the freezer for future enjoyment. Thats all it takes. 😉

These are some of my favorite recipes:

Crockpot Cilantro Lime Chicken

Crockpot White Chicken Chili

Crockpot Chicken Fajitas

Hawaiian Pulled Pork

Slow Cooker Breakfast Casserole

While dumping stuff into a Ziplock is incredibly fun, I also have included two of my favorite freezer to oven recipes that do involve a little footwork at the stove before freezing. But trust me, the end result is worth the extra work! You can also speed up the process a tad by buying pre-cooked chicken, though I prefer to buy raw chicken and cook it because it is cheaper!! Loaded Chicken and Gouda Calzones (pictured above) Tortellini Bake  Below are my instructions for my own Breakfast Burritos!

 These are a personal favorite of mine! I loved having breakfast burritos in the middle of the night or in the wee hours of the morning when I was awake and needing some serious protein while I was nursing my daughters. For these burritos, I normally just make them with what I have on hand! My favorite combination for these burritos is to add cheese, scrambled eggs, pork sausage (cooked and drained), spinach or kale, and some bell peppers or mushrooms! I pre-cook the eggs, the sausage, and the kale, but I normally leave the peppers and the mushrooms raw since they will cook slightly when you reheat these babies. Then I assemble the burritos and freeze them. When you’re ready to eat one; just nuke it in the microwave for 3-4 minutes and grill it on the stove to get that tortilla shell nice and crispy! Or you can bake these in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes! So delish!

1) MASS PREPARE As far as freezing meals go, I try to prep and freeze some meals for myself about once every 3-4 months. Sometimes, I really get down with it and prep 5-6 different recipes on the same day! And on other days, I only get around to prepping one or two recipes. I have found it easiest to make a recipe multiple times. If you are planning to go to the trouble of buying all the ingredients, cooking the ingredients, assembling the ingredients etc. then why not double it all (or triple it!) and come out with more meals in the end? 2) DATE YOUR FOOD! In general, I try to use up the meals I make within 3-4 months of making them. If you leave them much longer than that, they start to taste a little too much like a freezer, which is no fun for anyone! If your ingredients are uncooked (like in a dump and freeze crockpot meal), I’ve found that you can get away with keeping those for a little longer. However, I’ve always kept it within 6 months of the date I made it! So, to keep yourselves on track with what was made when, slap a date on the outside of the container you choose to freeze in so you don’t end up with a chunk of ice in a year! 3) HAVE FUN Let yourself have fun with this process! If you are stressed about it, its going to be stressful! If you let loose and have some fun, it’ll be an enjoyable memory for you! Let your kiddos in on the process, or invite some friends over so you can work and socialize at the same time! Lets all go a little easier on ourselves, because thats why we are making these meals in the first place, right?! That’s all folks! I hope you enjoyed this article! Let us know if you have any recipes for the freezer that your family can’t live without. We are always looking to add new recipes to our arsenal! Plus, with the upcoming birth of my little man, I will definetly be prepping and freezing a lot in the coming months!