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You guys. I have a confession to make. I do NOT like cooking.
Please don’t judge me.
I really, really, have never liked to cook. I used to tell my mom that I would just have to marry a guy who could cook when I grew up because I just didn’t like doing it. That isn’t easy to admit, but … it’s true. And no, not the part about marrying a guy that likes to cook. The sad part of it is we are both pretty bad cooks.
I do love to bake, and that is a subject for another day. Not only do I not like to cook … when I do, I’m not very good at it.
Ok, now that I am thoroughly ashamed… I want to share something with you that you might not know: I started freezer cooking last year using Erin Chase’s website MyFreezEasy and it transformed my cooking.
I realized that I wasn’t such a bad cook. Everybody in our house LOVES my cooking when I use MyFreezEasy.
The recipes are not complicated. They are simple and you can double and triple them to make even more!
A shopping list is provided for the entire session of freezer cooking. This saves me TONS of time.
You can adjust how much food you make. You never have to guess how much to make. Look, we are a big family and we are able to use recipes that serve 8 (which for now is perfect for us). No doubling up on a recipe just so it feeds us. I can adjust it before I print it out.
Now … if you ask me to make something for dinner without having a plan, it’s not going to happen.
Ummm…nope. The truth is if I have to actually open a cookbook, find a recipe, then get the ingredients, prepare and cook it, I’m STILL a bad cook.
However, IF, (and this is a big if) I have prepared one of her freezer meals in advance I actually appear to be a good cook. I’m not just saying that — even my hubby admits it. (Last year, after I started using her meal plans, he walked up to some random friends at church and told them how awesome these freezer meals are! Yup! Totally embarrassing).
So… I tell you all that to say, I’ve been slacking. Ever since the move happened a few months ago I got out of the habit of freezer cooking. After the last few weeks of scrambling to make food or hitting up the fast food drive thru, I made my decision. I am diving back in this week.
If you have tried freezer cooking in the past, I can tell you that this is different than anything I’ve tried. The food is simple to prep, easy to cook, and it actually tastes good. It is also healthy (which is a super big YES in my book). How else can you create 10 healthy meals in 1 hour? I really don’t know. I do know that with the use of ziplock bags and buying in bulk – not only is this possible it is actually doable.
There are so many good things about these meal plans but this one might be the best: You can create your own meal plan!
Even though Erin creates a meal plan for each month for various ingredients and styles. (Chicken on sale at the grocery store? No problem – just prepare chicken. Only into clean eating? Great! There is a plan for you!) she also allows you to pick your favorite recipes to create your own meal plan. This is perfect for our family because we have one child with a peanut allergy, another that is gluten-free, and also some food sensitivities. We can avoid the stuff we do not eat (which is usually impossible for us to do).
Here are the MyFreezEasy Meal Plans that you can choose from (or create your own!)
- Traditional
- Gluten Free
- Slow Cooker
- Clean Eats
- All Chicken Meals
- All Ground Beef Meals
- All Pork Meals
- 20 Meals
- Or Create Your Own
For more info on how it works check out this graphic:
Ok, guys, I’m freezer cooking this week!!! Who is going to join me?
P.S. If you need a good meal planning page, feel free to download mine here —>>> Meal Planning Free Printable
There are always certain things I make a huge freezer batch for!
I completely get where you are coming from. While I do like cooking I do not like to do it everyday as a chore. It is more like a hobby for me. I will have to check into Freezer Cooking.
❥ tanvii.com
I happen to love to cook but I really appreciate the ease of pulling something from the freezer. This seems like a wonderful program with great organization tools.
I love having meals ready in the freezer! It makes evenings go so much smoother. I will have to check this out. Right now I am in the middle of a six week freezer challenge! 🙂
I actually love to cook, but I also like to have some freezer meals handy for those days that there just isn’t time. This looks like a great plan and I like the printable labels!
I myself do like to cook, but find that some days are so hectic it’s its hard to get the time. These meals would be perfect for those busy nights!
I love freezer cooking too! Also, I have always been a baker, but took me a few years after I got married to get into the swing of things. Now I think I am a half way decent cook. 🙂
I did one big day of freezer cooking in my third trimester of pregnancy to prepare for the first few weeks with a newborn! It was so helpful to have several dinners on hand and ready to go.
I struggle with time to prepare and cook each night and it’s usually never that good! This is awesome…I’ve never heard of it before but it sounds like it takes a lot of the hard work out of cooking for our families.
As much as I love to cook, I simply don’t have the time. I definitely need to add these meals to my arsenal!
I love the idea of freezer meals and these plans sound awesome! Such a great time saver!
I hear ya. I DESPISE cooking. Like, I’d rather be vacuuming or washing windows that’s how much I hate to make dinner. I’ve tried freezer cooking but I was always disappointed with the results. Now I get a meal subscription box every week and my husband cooks the meals! I’m glad you found a solution that works for you too!
I really don’t like cooking either. My kids have been raised on quick meals and crockpot dinners! Just don’t have the time to cook a full meal with everything I need to accomplish each day.
I love cooking and baking. You should definitely try crock pot meals. You’ll never fail when it’s in the crock pot. Your kids will thank you for it.
I’ve always had intentions of doing freezer meals and never follow through. I definitely want to try them sometime! If I plan ahead of time I usually do crock pot meals. I just love not having to dirty multiple dishes and pots.