The Plan ~ Getting Ready for Freezer Cooking, Week Four – Meatless Meals

I love meat.  My body doesn’t function well when I go too long (you know, like an entire day and a half) without eating animal protein. Beyond that, sometimes, fish or chicken just isn’t enough. There are days my body needs beef and ain’t nothin’ else gonna cut it. I think this has something to do with my tendency to become anemic and the iron red meat provides. I truly do not feel well when I’m not eating enough beef, and on the contrary, I feel very, very well and much more energetic when I am eating plenty of cow.

Therefore, when some of you suggested that we do a freezer challenge that consisted entirely of meatless meals, I was like, “What? Why would we do that? Don’t you know that meatless meals don’t have any meat in them?”

Then, I (had a hamburger) and realized that these lovely ladies who made the meatless suggestion were actually brilliant. Meatless meals are a huge money saver, and good gravy – it’s not like I need meat at every meal. I just need it at least once every day. Meatless meals rock.  Let’s make some for the freezer, shall we?

We’ve taken a couple weeks off from freezer cooking challenges, and I don’t know about you, but I’m excited to hit it again. We’ve slowly been working our way through the {beef, chicken, and breakfast} meals I put into the freezer during the March/April challenges. The meatless freezer meal ideas I came up with are going to go together quickly and make for some super easy lunches on busy days during the next few weeks.

Here’s what is so great about the freezer cooking I plan to do:  I’ll be making a double batch of each recipe. That way, I can serve one portion of it to my family the very day I make it. Then, I’ll freeze the other portion to pull out another day. Work once, eat twice – it’s my favorite way to get ahead!

Join me!!! I want you to see how easy it is to get ahead in your real food kitchen. You’ll save money, effort, energy, time, and brain power.

Here’s what I’m planning to make, one at a time, during the next few days:

• Bean and Cheese Burritos (x2)
• Meatless Spaghetti Pie (x2) (recipe in {Healthy} Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks eBook)
• Calzones (with cheese and veggies) (x2)
• Baked Mac and Cheese Cups (x2) (recipe in {Healthy} Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks eBook)

The Grocery List

• 32 ounces whole grain spaghetti noodles
• 5 cups whole grain pasta – any shape
• 1/2 cup butter
• 4 eggs
• 4 cups (32 ounces) ricotta cheese
• 1 cup (16 ounces) parmesan cheese
• 8 cups (64 ounces) spaghetti sauce
• 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 6 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 6 cups whole milk
• 6 cups cooked black or pinto beans (or a combination of both)
• 2 cups (16 ounces) salsa
• 16-20 whole wheat tortillas (we like homemade tortillas)
• 10 cups whole wheat flour
• 9 teaspoons yeast
• 3-4 cups pizza sauce (depending on how saucy you want your calzones)
• veggies, olives, and other fillings for calzones
• sea salt and pepper

I’ve created a downloadable and printable grocery list for you here:  Freezer Cooking Grocery List Four

 Who’s going to join me?

To help you out if you’re interested in some of the above recipes, the Let’s Do This! eCourse and {Healthy} Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks eBook are discounted to just $5 for the whole package. The recipes included in that package are some that we use all the time at our house to get ahead!