Freezer Cooking Completed (almost!)

So I'm sure you've all been waiting with bated breath to see my fabulous freezing cooking post so I won't disappoint you any longer. :-)

Here's what I accomplished:

Sloppy Joes x 2

Chicken Tetrazzini x 3

Green Chile Enchiladas x 2

Green Rice Casserole x 2

Spaghetti Sauce x 2

Wild Rice Chicken x 2

Chili Verde x 2

Chicken Packets

Oriental Chicken

Chili + Chili for hotdogs

Pea soup x 2 (still to be made)

Linguine a la Anne x 2 (still to be made)

Plus:

3 lbs browned hamburger

1 lb browned sausage

2 meals of diced ham

So about 20 meals + 2 sides of green rice + enough meat for at least 6 more meals.

I love looking in my freezer and seeing so many meals ready to be thawed for dinner. And I found that I really didn't have to buy too many groceries this week, just a few thing that were on sale plus some extras for Noah's upcoming birthday party.

How did I do it:
First, I found 15-20 recipes to use. As I started the process, I threw a few out that I didn't think our family would enjoy. Next, I made detailed lists of the ingredients I needed and separated them into two categories: ingredients I had and ingredients I needed. Then I took a couple of weeks to gather ingredients so I didn't have to buy every thing at once and could find the best deals available for meat, etc. I planned to do my cooking in 2 days but ended up spreading it out over a week due to sick kids, teething baby and other duties. I found that this worked out better for me and I think I will take this approach next time too.

What I learned:
With detailed planning, it really wasn't as much work as I thought. And is it really necessary to do it all in one day? I didn't think so. I spread it out over about a week and I still have a couple to do. Also, the crockpot is your best friend! I cooked all my chicken in it, the spaghetti, chili verde, sloppy joes and the pea soup. That was basically throwing the stuff in the crockpot, cooking, cooling, and sticking it in the freezer. I will definitely freezer cook again, but since starting to research it, I've found other resources on the internet that I think will be more helpful than the book I used.