FREEZER MEALS FOR MEAL PREP BEGINNERS | 4 Easy and Healthy Freezer-Friendly Meals to Make Ahead

Sick of grabbing something from the freezer aisle when you're too tired to cook dinner? Today I'm showing you how to make four of my favorite freezer-friendly recipes that will knock those TV dinners out of the park. Hey guys, welcome back to my channel. It's Taylor from The Girl on Bloor. I'm all about sharing easy meal prep strategies so that you can save time, money, and stress. On busy weeknights or even lazy weekends, the last thing you wanna do is stress about what to make for dinner. Freezer meals are super convenient for those nights where you just want something quick and delicious. All you have to do is pull one of these homemade meals out of the freezer, reheat, and then serve. Today I'll be showing you how to make four delicious recipes that are just as good frozen as they are fresh, and they are super healthy and wholesome to do. We'll be making taco soup, crepe-pot lasagna, mini chicken pot pies, and homemade pizza pockets. If you're looking for even more freezer-friendly meals, I've got tons of easy recipes in my four-week meal prep plan. I've linked to that in the description below. You might also wanna check out my slow cooker video where I show you how to make a whole bunch of other comfort foods that are perfect for batch cooking and meal prepping. Okay, without further ado, let's get cooking. To start, we're going to make taco soup. It's like two of your favorite foods, chili and tacos had a baby. It's really easy to make, and most of the ingredients will already be in your pantry. There's not a lot of prep involved for this recipe. All you need to do is dice two yellow onions, mince two cloves of garlic, and drain and rinse one can of black beans. You'll also need two tablespoons of taco seasoning. You can use store-bought taco seasoning or make your own by combining equal parts chili powder, cumin, coriander, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and a pinch of chili flakes. If you wanna add even more vegetables to this recipe, some great options are chickpeas, bell peppers, or zucchini. After you've prepped your ingredients, brown one pound of extra lean ground beef or ground chicken in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Make sure you're using extra lean ground beef so that you don't have to drain it once it's done cooking. After about five minutes, add in the diced onions and minced garlic and saute for another two minutes until fragrant. Stir in the taco seasoning, one tablespoon of lime juice, two cups of frozen corn, the black beans, one can of green chilies, two cups of beef broth, and one can of diced tomatoes. You can substitute the can of diced tomatoes for three cups of jarred salsa, depending on your preference. Once it's all mixed together, bring the soup to a boil and let it simmer for at least 30 minutes. You can let it simmer even longer to bring out all those tasty flavors even more, but 30 minutes is good if you're in a hurry. Once the soup is cooled, you can freeze individual or family-sized portions in airtight glass containers or heavy-duty freezer bags. When you're ready to eat, let the frozen soup thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating in the microwave or on the stovetop. You can also reheat from frozen for six to seven minutes in the microwave. Finish your taco soup off with your favorite toppings. I personally love red onion, avocado, tortilla chips, and sour cream, and then you can dig in and enjoy. This taco soup recipe is a great option for chillier days where you need something hearty and comforting to warm you up. Okay, recipe number two. I'm going to show you how to make the easiest ever crock-pot lasagna. Making lasagna might seem intimidating or time-consuming, but this recipe only requires 30 minutes of prep time before you leave it in the crock-pot all day. Plus, it makes your house smell heavenly while it's cooking. To start, dice one yellow onion, mince two cloves of garlic, and chop up some fresh basil or parsley for garnish. You can add other vegetables if you want for added flavor like baby spinach, mushrooms, bell peppers, or zucchini, but onion and garlic are the classics. You're also going to grate two cups of mozzarella cheese. I like using a ball of pizza mozzarella because it melts a lot better than the pre-shredded bags. After you've prepped your ingredients, brown one pound of extra lean ground beef in a large frying pan over medium-high heat, breaking up the beef with a spoon as it cooks. When the beef has cooked almost all the way through, add in the diced onions, minced garlic, any extra veggies, and half of a teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Once the veggies are tender, pour in one jar of pasta sauce. I like using marinara sauce, but you can use your favorite kind of pasta sauce or even make your own if you're feeling fancy. Fun fact, homemade pasta sauce is also freezer-friendly. Just keep in mind that you're going to need two 680-milliliter jars total for this recipe. After you've added in the pasta sauce, stir it all together to combine and remove from heat. Next, we're going to move things over to the crock pot. Spray your crock pot with cooking spray and spoon some of the delicious meat sauce you just made into the bottom. Next, we're going to cover the sauce with lasagna noodles. You can use oven-ready or normal lasagna noodles for this recipe. I've tried either option, and they both work just as well. You might just have to break some of the noodles, so make sure that your layers are nice and even, but don't worry about it looking perfect. All that matters is that it's going to taste delicious. Once you've layered in the noodles, it's time to add everyone's favorite part, the cheese. You're going to need two cups of grated mozzarella and a tub of ricotta cheese for all the layers, so make sure you're leaving enough for the entire recipe. You can eyeball it, but I generally try and use around a third of each per layer. After you've layered the cheese on top, add another meat sauce layer, another noodle layer, another cheese layer, and so on. Continue layering until the crock pot is full. It'll usually end up being about three stacks of layers with each layer about an inch thick. After you've finished your layers, pour the second jar of pasta sauce over top and then sprinkle some more grated mozzarella cheese over the entire thing. You can never have too much cheese when it comes to pasta, in my opinion. Pour half a cup of water along the sides of the lasagna to help the noodles cook, then put the lid on and let it cook for three hours on high or for six hours on low. When it's done, garnish with the basil or parsley and dig in. If you're going to be freezing this recipe, let the lasagna cool in the fridge overnight before cutting it into pieces and freezing individual slices. When it's time to reheat, sprinkle some water over top and microwave for seven to eight minutes. If you're freezing slices in foil containers, you can reheat in a 350 degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes. This Italian staple is super hands off and freezes easily so you can enjoy it again and again. Now for recipe number three, we're going to make a healthier version of a go-to comfort food, mini chicken pot pies. These individual serving sizes are perfect for freezing and are great for days where you just want to curl up with something comforting without all that extra work. Plus, how cute are these mini ramekins? To start, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and prep your ingredients. First, you're going to need to get your chicken ready. You can use store-bought rotisserie chicken and shred one and a half cups of it or cook two chicken breasts in boiling water for 15 minutes then shred them up. I normally like preparing a big batch of chicken ahead of time during my weekly meal prep. Once your chicken is ready to go, dice one yellow onion, mince two cloves of garlic and chop two stalks of celery along with two carrots. Next, heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the onions, garlic, celery, carrots, half a teaspoon of salt and a quarter of a teaspoon of pepper and saute until softened about four to five minutes. Stir in two tablespoons of flour, half a teaspoon of thyme and half a teaspoon of dried sage and mix well. This will help to thicken up the filling and add some extra flavor. Then you'll add in two cups of chicken broth. Bring it to a boil and let the mixture thicken to a nice creamy texture. Once it has the right consistency, stir in the shredded chicken and one cup of frozen peas. Remove the filling from the heat and divide the yummy chicken mixture evenly among four medium-sized ramekins. Now it's time to add the perfect flaky touch to this chicken pot pie, which is the puff pastry. Roll out one sheet of puff pastry and cut it into thin half-inch thick slices with a pizza cutter. Layer the slices in a crisscross pattern over top or just place one large piece of puff pastry over the entire ramekin if you're feeling lazy. Place your mini pot pies on a baking sheet and bake them in the preheated oven for 20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and serve or let them cool before covering the ramekins in foil or plastic wrap and freezing. When you're ready to reheat your pot pies, pop them into the oven for 30 minutes at 375 degrees. Just make sure your ramekins are oven safe beforehand. These chicken pot pies are the ultimate comfort food without all the extra calories or preservatives you'll find in store-bought versions. And the best part is that you can curl up on the couch with one of them after a cold winter day without doing any work at all. Okay, moving on to recipe idea number four. Last but not least, I'm going to be showing you how to make homemade pizza pockets, a grown-up version of the classic frozen snack from your childhood. These pizza pockets are way better than the grocery store versions and you can customize the toppings to your liking. I personally like using mushrooms, green pepper, red onion, and turkey pepperoni, but you can use whatever you want. You can even just fill them with cheese and call it a day. To get started, preheat the oven to 425 degrees and prep and chop any toppings you'd like. You want to have about half a cup of each chopping or one tablespoon per individual pizza pocket. You're also going to need one cup of pizza sauce and two cups of grated mozzarella. Just like with the Crock-Bot lasagna, I recommend using a ball of pizza mozzarella for that perfect level of meltiness. After assembling and prepping all of your ingredients, roll out a ball of store-bought pizza dough on a floured surface until it's about a half inch thick. Using the flour will help prevent the dough from sticking to the counter. Cut your rolled out dough into rectangles that you can fold over. Spread a bit of the pizza sauce, cheese, and your chosen toppings on one half of the rectangle, leaving a little room around the edges. Fold the other half of the rectangle over top and then seal the edges using a bit of water if needed. Once all of your pizza pockets are sealed, place them on a parchment lined baking sheet and pop them into the preheated oven for 20 minutes until they're crisp and golden. After they've cooled, you can wrap each individual pizza pocket in plastic wrap and freeze. When you're ready to heat, thaw them in the microwave for one to two minutes, then place a paper towel over top and microwave for another one to two minutes until they are cooked all the way through. You can also reheat in a 350 degree oven from frozen for about 30 minutes. The great thing about this recipe is that you can even freeze them raw. Just make sure that you add a little bit of extra cooking time, about 30 to 40 minutes. This recipe is a great snack or a quick lunch idea and you can get creative with the toppings. And who doesn't love food from their childhood? And there you have it. In addition of being super simple to make, these four recipes can be stored in the freezer for up to three months and are ready to reheat in a flash. I like making a big batch of different freezer meals in advance so that I have lots of options to choose from on those days where I just don't feel like cooking, which is usually in the wintertime when motivation is low and comfort food is king. Looking for more meal prep inspiration? I have even more easy freezer-friendly recipes in my four week meal plan that I've linked to in the description below. If you are loving these freezer meals, make sure to give this video a thumbs up and leave a comment below letting me know which one of these you're going to try first. All right, after all that cooking, it's time for me to fill up my freezer for the next few months ahead. Thanks for cooking with me today and I will see you in the next video.