10 Freezer Meals for My Family by Christine

the Kitchen Divas

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Transcript

00:00I am leaving the country for two and a half weeks and before I go I'm getting

00:04really busy in the kitchen to stock the freezer up with delicious meals to feed

00:08my family of six while I'm away. I love being a mom and homemaker and I enjoy

00:12the challenge of feeding them. My goal for today is to make some fully cooked

00:18meals that go straight from the freezer to the oven. So I'm headed to the store

00:22and stocking up on everything I need to make some of my favorite simple and

00:29go-to recipes to make mealtime super convenient. I'll be sharing recipes with

00:35you and kitchen hacks to keep an efficient and smooth running kitchen

00:39while batch cooking. I am no professional chef so don't expect perfection here but

00:45just a mom who loves to cook, get things done, and create a cozy environment at

00:50home. So welcome into my kitchen I hope you feel right at home here.

00:59I started off my cooking adventure by stocking up groceries at my favorite

01:05grocery store which is Aldi. I'm doing a lot of pasta-based meals for this freezer

01:10meal prep day. I just think that's gonna be easiest for my family so I can make

01:14things fully ahead of time and all they have to do is stick them in the oven and

01:18heat them up. So this is everything I got at Aldi and now I'm moving on to my

01:23worst nightmare which is Costco and it's pouring rain. Our Costco is always super

01:29packed and it's just stressful for me but I got what I needed and got out of

01:33there as quickly as possible. Getting fully rained on at this point.

01:40We got all the groceries put away. I've actually noticed that I usually spend less money when I do

02:02these freezer meal prep days because I have such a clear list and a plan. For dinner we had instant pot

02:08beef stew. I'm just putting that away and then before bed I'm going to get some

02:12bone broth started so that I have that for tomorrow. So I just put some bones in

02:17the instant pot and I'm gonna set it to high pressure for four hours and then in

02:21the morning I'll add some veggies and do another hour. I had some frozen meat

02:25thawing on the counter and now I'm gonna put it in the fridge overnight

02:29because I'm going to need it tomorrow.

02:34I always like to set the ambiance in the kitchen on a cooking day like this. It

02:41was a beautiful rainy day. I opened a window and my hydrangeas were in bloom so

02:46I cut some of those and now I'm making my morning smoothie which I make every

02:50morning but I'm definitely going to need all that protein today. Before I really

02:58get started I wanted to take a minute to tell you about the sponsor of today's

03:01video which is Needed.

03:11I've been using Needed supplements for about seven months now so I was already a

03:16fan before they reached out to me for this sponsorship so I'm excited to share

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03:30Recognizing the gaps in prenatal and postnatal care they developed a

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03:40lifelong women's health. I have been taking their prenatal supplements for a

03:44while not because I'm pregnant but I am open to life and would love to have

03:48another baby if God blessed us with one but regardless I know I'm not getting

03:52all the nutrients that I need in my daily life so I'm glad to have a high

03:56quality supplement that is filling any of the gaps in my diet. One of the reasons

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04:29your first order including one-time purchases or already discounted

04:34subscriptions and plans. Head to the link in my description box or use my code

04:38Kristine's notebook at checkout. The first item on the agenda today is to make a

04:43double batch of my favorite lasagna recipe which is on my blog and linked in

04:47the description.

04:54I'm starting by chopping two onions in the food processor.

05:00So for this lasagna recipe I'm making a slow simmered meat sauce and I'm doing a

05:08double batch so I have two pounds of ground beef and two pounds of pork here

05:12and I'm seasoning it really well. I'm adding a teaspoon of sage, thyme, pepper, two

05:17teaspoons of oregano, a teaspoon of basil, two teaspoons of garlic, and a teaspoon of

05:23onion powder, and then two tablespoons of sugar. And then I'm just mixing this all up

05:27really well and then I'm going to saute those two onions in the pot and then add

05:32all of that meat. I thought I should add the seasonings in with the meat first

05:36because there's so much here so it's going to take a minute for everything to

05:40mix together and cook.

05:48I'm going to be doing a lot of tasks in the kitchen today all simultaneously so

05:53hopefully this is easy to follow but I'm adding two tablespoons of white vinegar

05:57and two tablespoons of maple syrup to this meat and giving that a minute to

06:01simmer a bit more. And now I'm washing my celery and I'm going to blend up my

06:08veggies for a mirepoix which I'm gonna need for the beef ragout recipe that I

06:12have planned. And this time I'm utilizing my food processor for all of the

06:17chopping just to save me some time in the kitchen today.

06:47To the meat I added two 28 ounce cans of San Marzano whole tomatoes which I had

07:00blended and then I added four tablespoons of tomato paste and two cans of diced

07:04tomatoes.

07:10I'm getting some Parmesan cheese prepped for the cheese mixture now.

07:17I'm pulling everything out now that I need for the lasagna cheese mixture.

07:47For this double batch I need three cups of cottage cheese, three cups of ricotta

07:52cheese, a cup of Parmesan cheese, two teaspoons of oregano, four tablespoons of

07:57fresh parsley chopped which I didn't have so I used dried parsley and then a teaspoon

08:02of salt.

08:07I actually just noticed I had a bit of leftover chopped parsley so I went ahead and

08:11added that. This is my cheese mixture and I'm just gonna set that to the side.

08:16Now I'm moving on to making my turkey ricotta meatballs.

08:20Alright so things are coming along nicely.

08:22My lasagna sauce needs to simmer for another hour.

08:25I have my cheese mixture and my shredded cheese ready so all I'll have to do for

08:29that is assemble. So that we're gonna put to the side.

08:32My bone broth is cooling over there on the stove so I will need that soon.

08:37And right now I'm gonna move on to making the turkey ricotta meatballs.

08:47For these meatballs I need two pounds of ground turkey and these packs come in

08:51more than one pound per pack so I'm taking some of it out to save for later

08:56for another time.

08:58Now I'm adding in a cup of ricotta cheese which uses up the last of the ricotta.

09:08A cup of panko breadcrumbs which I'm so glad I had because I forgot it at the store.

09:14And then add in a two teaspoons of salt, two teaspoons of garlic powder,

09:19and a teaspoon of Italian seasoning.

09:22And then you need a cup of parmesan cheese.

09:24I only had pecorino romano at this point.

09:28So I'm using that and I'm blending it up in the Vitamix to get a powdered cheese.

09:34And then I'll add that.

09:35Then I'm just mixing that up really well with my hands and I'm gonna bake it at 400 for 20 to 25 minutes.

09:51Make sure you grease the pan with olive oil because these will stick.

09:55I ended up using parchment paper on the second round of meatballs.

09:59I have a lot of meat here so I'm gonna have to do this in two batches.

10:03So the first pan is going in the oven.

10:09Moving on to a new task now.

10:11I am gonna boil some water for some egg noodles that I'm gonna use for sour cream noodle bake.

10:18So I'm gonna go out and get what I need for that.

10:20It's very, very simple.

10:21This recipe is from Pioneer Woman.

10:24And I'm gonna start by just browning some meat with some onions.

10:29At this point I realized I needed more meat.

10:36I forgot I was doubling it and so I needed two pounds of ground beef.

10:39So instead I just pulled out the ground turkey that I had just stuck in the freezer.

10:44Now I'm just adding four of those small eight ounce cans of tomato sauce to this meat.

10:58As well as some fresh pepper about a half teaspoon and then just let it simmer for a bit.

11:04Now my first pan of meatballs is out and I'm just gonna transfer that to a tray.

11:09As you can see they were sticking a bit.

11:12Not a big deal.

11:14Now I'm just getting my second tray of meatballs into the oven.

11:21At this point my kitchen was being put to good use.

11:27I had my meat simmering, I had my pasta boiling, I had my lasagna sauce simmering.

11:36It feels really good to put my kitchen to good use.

11:39If you've been following my channel you'll see that I did a whole kitchen renovation series.

11:44And so this kitchen is a dream come true and I love working in this space.

11:56Well this is kind of a bummer but looking at these pans I just don't think this is gonna be enough pasta for one meal for my family.

12:04So I'm gonna boil another bag and then I'll mix the meat and everything else into this.

12:11What does this thing at the bottom spell?

12:13Waiter.

12:22While I'm working in the kitchen my kids are all just playing around the house and it makes my mama heart so happy to see it.

12:29I'm just finishing up the pasta for the sour cream noodle bake.

12:54I was trying to ladle out the pasta and not drain it completely but it didn't work out.

12:58So I ended up draining it and I'm gonna have to heat up another pot of water for the next thing that I'm doing.

13:04But into this pasta I'm adding a cup of sour cream into each tray.

13:10Then a cup and a half of cottage cheese into each tray.

13:14And then you can just mix that up and then I will pour the meat mixture into each tray splitting it in half.

13:21Now keep in mind I'm sharing with you what I'm doing today but not all of the amounts are exact according to the recipes.

13:27So just follow the links in the description if you want to make any of these dishes.

13:31I am getting a lot done but I can feel a lunch and coffee break coming on.

13:37I think I need a little reset before I do the rest of the meals.

13:41But so I'm gonna just scoop out the rest of this cottage cheese because there was only a little bit left.

13:47And why not?

13:49So here we have the sour cream and noodle bake.

13:53This is from Pioneer Woman.

13:55I'm just gonna cover it with cheese and then I'm going to cover it with foil.

14:00And I'm gonna write on the foil to bake at 375 covered for 45 minutes.

14:07That's basically just my goal for today is to make some fully cooked meals that go straight from the freezer to the oven.

14:14It's definitely more work on the front end.

14:17The last time I did this it was a lot easier because it was just kind of like dump it meals where you just put chicken and stuff in a bag and freeze it and call it a day.

14:25And I'm gonna do a couple of those.

14:27But mostly we're doing meals that are ready to go.

14:30So let me cover this.

14:47So I mentioned that I'm going out of the country and I'm gonna be gone for two and a half weeks.

14:51I've never left my family for this long so I'm nervous but I'm also excited.

15:04I think it's gonna be a really memorable trip.

15:07And I know that my husband can handle it at home.

15:11He's told me to go that he's got it covered.

15:14But I just feel better if I leave them with a stocked freezer before I head out of town just to make things easier.

15:20Plus I'm gonna be spending money when I'm away and I'd like to save as much money as we can at home.

15:27All right, I know you are probably wondering where I'm going.

15:30So I'm meeting up with my sister who is on her solo adventure right now backpacking around Europe.

15:36And we are going to walk 160 miles across the Portuguese Camino together.

15:41So I'll be leaving with just a backpack that I'll carry the whole time and sleeping in little albergues.

15:46I had this idea to go on this trip but didn't think I would actually do it if it weren't for my husband encouraging me to go.

15:53In fact, I wouldn't be doing half of the things that I do without him always encouraging me to overcome my fears and do what I feel inspired to do.

16:02We don't normally eat this much pasta but I just thought this would be the easiest thing to make ahead of time and stick in the freezer.

16:09And then this is the slow simmered lasagna sauce.

16:12This is so yummy.

16:14You should definitely try this.

16:15I posted this recipe on my blog in detail so you can definitely make it.

16:20I'm doing a double batch but the recipe is for a single batch.

16:25But this is a great make ahead meal.

16:27It's so easy to make a double batch of this and it's very filling.

16:31Each of these meals should last like two days I think for my family.

16:36I want to help you with this.

16:40Alright.

16:41You can help make the cheese.

16:42You ready?

16:43Good.

16:44That's what it has.

16:46Another one?

16:47Right next to it.

16:48Cool.

16:49Good.

16:50Wait.

16:51I...

16:52Cheese.

16:53Cheese.

16:54Cheese.

16:55Cheese.

16:56Cheese.

16:57I wasn't sure what to write on the foil here but I decided on 375 for 45 minutes to

17:14covered.

17:15And then I instructed my husband to take the foil off and give it another 10 to 15 minutes

17:27to just toast the cheese a little bit more.

17:29And I have some leftover lasagna sauce so I'm going to put that in a bag and store it

17:34in the freezer.

17:35And I do love how this recipe makes extra sauce so I can make some spaghetti or whatever at

17:41another time.

18:02So when I took a break I made myself some lunch and a coffee which I desperately needed.

18:07And the rain is really coming down now and it's honestly adding such a cozy ambiance to

18:13this kitchen right now.

18:15And I feel like I did enough for today.

18:17I made definitely a full week's worth of meals for my family that they can just take

18:22from the freezer to the oven.

18:24And I have a few more things I'm going to make but I think I'm going to call it a day

18:28for today and pick it up again tomorrow morning when I'm feeling fresh.

18:35Just having a moment here.

18:53You want to show me your fort?

18:54Yeah.

18:55So this is what the kids have been up to while I've been cooking.

18:59They have been making a fort.

19:02Ooh, that looks good.

19:03I didn't want people leaning.

19:04Let's see it.

19:05Uh, leaning on it and then falling.

19:07It's technically just this.

19:09Oh my goodness.

19:10And then?

19:11Oh and there's like another room over there.

19:14Really cool now.

19:15And then you tighten it down.

19:17Yeah.

19:18And then?

19:19Get out!

19:20We'll pick it up again tomorrow.

19:21Right boys?

19:22Yeah.

19:23They'll work on their fort and I'll work on making lots of food.

19:26Yeah!

19:36Now I'm feeling refreshed and I'm moving on to making a meal I'm really excited to make

19:41and that is beef ragout.

19:43This recipe is from Joshua Weissman.

19:46He did a whole video on this recipe so I'm trying to follow his instructions.

20:07I have a lot of meat here so I'm searing it in two batches.

20:13And then I have two pounds of cherry tomatoes that I'm roasting.

20:16For the meat, you want to sear it well on all sides.

20:20That middle piece was sticking still.

20:22That's how you know that it needs more time.

20:24It should easily pull off the pan.

20:26So you want a nice crust on all sides of the meat.

20:30I used bone marrow when I was cooking this so there was a lot of splattering.

20:35But I had some extra bone marrow from when I made broth a while back.

20:39And so I really just wanted to use it and it adds lots of good flavor.

20:43While that is going on, I'm grabbing the ingredients I need for chicken enchiladas.

20:48I'm going to cook some chicken in the instant pot and shred it.

20:58Meanwhile, I'm still working on my beef ragout.

21:00I'm pulling out the mirepoix that I made yesterday.

21:04I was planning on making this recipe yesterday but decided it would be better since this is

21:09sort of a special recipe to make it today.

21:13And we are actually going to have it for dinner and I'm just going to freeze the leftovers.

21:18This one's a little longer.

21:25Alright, we got some time.

21:31I just remembered that these were in the oven and it's a good thing because they were just

21:35about overly cooked.

21:37I think this will actually be perfect though.

21:47Now I'm adding a bunch of minced garlic to the sauteed veggies.

21:53And then I'm adding four tablespoons of tomato paste.

21:57Then I'm scooping up all those roasted tomatoes and plopping them in the pan.

22:01And then for all of the flavor, I'm adding balsamic vinegar, red wine, and bone broth.

22:06I'm doing a double batch so this pot looks really full, but ideally a single batch would work better.

22:12Then you're going to take your whole pot and put it in an oven at 250 or 275 for three and a half to four hours.

22:34With the rest of the chakras meat, I'm making French dip sandwich meat that goes into the slow cooker.

22:41This recipe is on my website.

22:43I'm going to start off by making a spice blend and I will link the recipe in the description.

22:49And then you just pour that all into the bag.

22:52And then I'm also adding in a little bit of broth and some tomato paste and a tiny bit of bone marrow just because I had it.

23:00And that will slow cook all day and turn into a delicious meat for sandwiches.

23:06I took a break after lunch because we had to film a little clip for a campaign that the cabinet joint is running.

23:14And it features my kitchen renovation.

23:17Okay, it's cute.

23:18Okay, so...

23:19Oh, my toe!

23:20Don't look right at the camera, be a little...

23:23For everything...

23:25Home.

23:26Holes!

23:27Home.

23:29Holes!

23:31After that, we rewarded everyone with crumble cookie and then I moved on with the rest of my cooking day.

23:44Cheers!

23:46Alright, grand finale.

23:49Let's finish.

23:52This recipe is also on my blog and it's linked in the description.

23:59I shredded some chicken and now I'm sauteing some onions in a large saute pan.

24:06My garage fridge is almost empty now.

24:08Just grabbing some shredded cheese, which I'll need for these enchiladas.

24:12Once again, this is a double batch.

24:14I'm adding two 8-ounce cans of tomato sauce and two 4-ounce cans of green chilies.

24:19Sometimes I add a can of diced tomatoes as well, but this time I did not and I like how it turned out.

24:25I also added a little bit of chili powder and cumin to the shredded chicken and then I started adding in about 2 cups of shredded cheeses.

24:36You can also add some beans to this if you like.

24:39I didn't have any on hand and I wasn't prepared to cook dry beans today, so I just went with that.

24:44I had some leftover shredded chicken, so I'm putting that in a container which we can use throughout the week for various meals.

24:51And now I'm going to assemble my enchiladas.

24:54Very self-explanatory.

24:56Just put some meat in the tortilla and roll it up.

24:59I have some delicious homemade enchilada sauce that I made a couple of days ago and I had it in the fridge and I'm going to use the rest of that for these freezer enchiladas.

25:10I made these differently in my last video because I didn't have tomato sauce, so this is a little more true to the recipe.

25:17But if you go back to my last video which was about summer meals and snacks, you'll see exactly how to make this enchilada sauce.

25:24I really like it and I also left the link in the description so you can have all the details and instructions.

25:30So now I'm just topping it with cheese and then I'll cover it up and put it in the freezer.

25:35To bake it from frozen, I'm just guessing here, but I wrote on the foil to bake it at 375 for 30 minutes and then to take the foil off and give it another 10 to 15 minutes.

25:47So that is it. Here's my binder full of all the recipes I had printed for this video and past videos.

25:54I was able to get almost everything done.

25:57There were two things I was hoping to make that I did not make.

26:00That's mac and cheese and Hawaiian chicken tacos.

26:03I am just calling it a wrap.

26:05This is the most that I can do for now and I think it's more than enough.

26:09So here you have it. Here is everything I made on two days of cooking.

26:14And this should set up my family really well for two and a half weeks while I am away.

26:22Alright guys, well that is a wrap.

26:24I was able to get two trays of my favorite lasagna, two trays of sour cream noodle bake,

26:31two trays of enchiladas, and two trays of spaghetti and meatballs.

26:35Then I have a large batch of French dip sandwich meat that can go in the slow cooker.

26:41And I have a double batch of beef ragu, which we're going to have for dinner tonight.

26:46And when that cools, I'll put the rest of it in the freezer.

26:49Well, thank you so much for joining me for this epic cooking weekend.

26:52I hope you enjoyed yourself.

26:54I don't do this super often, but I did want to do this before I left out of town.

26:59I hope you got some ideas and feel motivated in the kitchen.

27:03And this should probably be the last video that I post for a few weeks because I'm going to be gone.

27:09But I am going to try to put together a video of some of my favorite recipes over the past year.

27:15Some family dinners and just some favorites.

27:19So if I can get that together, I'll be posting that while I'm out of town.

27:22But otherwise, I will see you when I get back.

27:25I hope you have a great summer and have lots of time outdoors,

27:29spend lots of time with your family, and I will see you next time.

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