dinners that freeze well?

hi all
sorry if theres a thread on this already, i looked back a few pages and couldnt find anything similar...

well bubs is due in less than 2 weeks and my DP cant cook to save his life...literally i think he would starve if i wasnt around. i was planning on being slack and buying about 20 or 30 lean cuisine type frozen meals for the few days im in hossy and the week or so after i come home so i dont have to cook anything, but at about $5 each it looks like its gonna be quite expensive.

i was wondering if anyone has some very simple n cheap recipes of dinners that can be frozen ahead of time (e.g. if i make them this week, to last a few weeks), we have a spare freezer so space is no issue, but the following needs to be taken into account:

i am no master chef, lol, most of my meals are from jar or packet mix so i dont really cook 'from scratch'

DP has IBS so nothing too spicy/herby/flavoursome (spag bol is about as exotic as he gets)

heres an idea of things we usually eat for dinners:
tuna mornay (either with pasta or rice using tuna bake jar sauce)
meatloaf and mash (meatloaf made with dry packet mix)
mince burritos (i buy those burrito kits)
spag bol (sauce from a jar)

geez i sound really lazy :redface: but yeah just after simple meals that i can simply heat up or just chuck on some pasta/mash potato to go with it.

only need dinner ideas, he doesnt eat breakfast and usually has toasted sandwiches for lunch so thats all good.

thanks guys :)

oh and i dont have a slow cooker either (DP isnt that keen on casserole type things, mainly a meat and pasta or meat and potato dish)

I wish I lived closer I would come and help you out with some meals!!

I really think we need to do this more for our neighbours!!

Beef stew... do you have a slow cooker? I don't (LOL) I brown my stewing steak at about 11am in a large saucepan. Then add plenty of water and simmer till about 3:30 (add more water if you need to at any stage), then add your vegies (chunky potatoes, peas, carrots... whatever). Cook until they are tender and then thicken it with either gravy or corn flour, if you use corn flour you will need to salt the stew. Put some gravy or corn flour into a bowl add some water to make a paste. Add it slowly to the stew while stirring. Add enough to thicken the stew. Let it cool and then put it in some containers and freeze :)

Have fun :)

ETA: D'oh... LOL.

ETA, again... if you do give this a go, I have found that buying a roast and cutting it up at home is the cheapest

tat the Aldi frozen meals are ok and are cheaper too if that is an option for you. Alternately if you stock up on jars and instant pasta / rice (the stuff the cooks in a few mins) and pre-chop and cook your meat to freeze it. Then all he has to do is defrost your meat, reheat it with whatever sauce and reheat the pasta? Or you could just make the jar stuff up with pasta / rice reeze it as a meal so he just deforsts one container ... sounds much easier lol!

there is a thread somewhere with meals for freezing - will try to find soon

basically anything made with mince in a sauce of some sort will freeze well - cook up in bulk the things you know DP will eat - so things like spag bol - make enough for half dozen dinners and freeze - then all you have to do is reheat and pour over the spag.

you can pour the meat over pasta in an oven tray, top with cheese, heat in the oven - pasta bake for something different!

meatloaf - make the mix, put it in a disposable aluminium tin, and freeze - then just defrost and cook

burrito mince - make it up in advance and freeze




ooh, brekki ready - bbl with more ideas!

Spag bol meat, meatloaf, tuna mornay and the mexican meat will all freeze well. So you could make them up, freeze them, then all you have to do is defrost, reheat and serve with pasta etc. You can even freeze cooked pasta - cook it, drain and let it cool completely then just put it into freezer bags or plastic containers and freeze. I'm not sure if mashed potato can be frozen...but it's better cooked fresh anyway. Good old meat and veg is so easy too, surely DP can cook some steak or sausages or chops without too much trouble? If he can't, now is the time for him to learn - he at least should learn how to cook 2-3 meals that he can do without too much fuss, for those times when you aren't able to cook, or just don't want to. BTW toasted sandwiches make a great easy dinner too, so DP could do that for you! There is also the option of frozen crumbed fish or chicken, all you have to do is whack it in the oven and make up a salad or vegies, and its done.

Nelly: never heard of Aldi? Maybe that's an eastern states thing?

So can I cook up pasta and sauce eg spag bol and store in same container (like a ready made meal?) or do I need to freeze them seperate?

Bon: Lmao I wish!! His idea of offering to cook is getting pizza or takeaway...he can do toast so he prob won't starve to death...:rofl:
Starting to thinkk it may be easier for me to cook and just get him to do dishes...but last time I got him to do dishes he flooded the kitchen! :wall:

just wanted to say that there's nothing wrong with using the packet thingys to make your meals!! id be lost without them!!

my cupboard os full of packets for Tacos, black bean sauce, sweet & sour sauce, singapore noodles etc i think they are a godsend!

ETA: Aldi is a supermarket, with there own branded products. majority of things are much much cheaper than coles/safeway. for me its trial and error with their products, i only buy certain things from there, then get the rest elsewhere! i dont think perth & adelaide have Aldi.. not sure why though!

you can combine sauce and pasta and then freeze.

all the thing on your list you can freeze

Anything to do with mince....lasagna, spag bol, cottage pie, meatballs, taco mince, savoury mince, cannelloni. Yer...this is a good freezer food thread around here somewhere. You should take a squiz at that....