FREEZER MEAL TIPS

THIS IS HOW I DO MY FREEZER MEALS:
With 6 kids, 2 of them still babies, I don't have a whole day to spend in the kitchen making freezer meals. Instead I choose 5 or 6 meals that are really quick and easy to assemble. I spend one afternoon a month, during nap time, assembling these, putting them in baggies, and then into my freezer. The rest of the month I double whatever I'm making for dinner, serve half of it and freeze the other half. If you're just starting, it will take about a month to create your "stock-pile". As long as you keep freezing meals every month, you'll always be able to have a freezer full of meals.

There are just a few things that do NOT freeze well:
COOKED RICE, unless instant- it turns mushy
CREAMS, such as sour cream- it thaws runny like water
POTATOES, unless instant or the kind you buy already frozen- they turn out mushy as well.

Every few months I also get together with a group of my girlfriends for a Freezer Meal Exchange. Each of us makes 1 or 2 freezer meals for each member in the group (so if they were 5 in the group, I'd make 5 batches of crock-pot chili. One for each person). These are totally ready to go into the freezer. Then we get together for a girls night out, and exchange our meals. I like doing this because I get something different from the same hum-drum meals I make. :)

Tips:
*Use Freezer baggies whenever possible, they can be layed flat in your freezer, taking up a lot less room.
*If you're going to use a dish or a foil pan make sure you cover your food with Heavy-Duty Freezer Foil.
*Air and Food are enemies. Try to get out as much air as possible, before freezing. Lay your foil flat on top of your food if you're using this method.