Stocking the freezer | Individual freezer meals | 5 different meals!!

This week I decided to make a bunch of homemade frozen meals for my freezer. I have some picky eaters in my family so this will make it easy for them to choose something to eat if they don’t like what we are having. They will also be nice to have for a quick meal.
Here is a video of how I make the rice in the microwave: • How To Cook Rice In Th...
Meals in this video:
Sweet and Sour Meatballs (Family Recipe)
For the meatballs:
1 lb ground beef
1 lb breakfast sausage
1 Tbsp Kinder salt, pepper and garlic mix (or similar)
½ c. finely chopped onions
1 Lg egg
1 tsp soy sauce
Mix together ingredients and shape into 1 inch balls. Place on a non-stick or greased baking sheet. Bake at 400 F for 18 minutes (internal temp should reach 165 F).
For the sauce:
1 small can of pineapple tidbits
2 Tbsp. Ketchup
½ c plus 2 tbsp. Brown sugar
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp salt
½ c. rice vinegar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 red bell pepper, chopped (optional)
Drain pineapple, reserve juice and set aside. Add enough water to the juice to make 1 ½ c. liquid. Combine all other ingredients into liquid and stir until mixed. In a saucepan, bring to a boil and add the red pepper and pineapple, reduce heat, add meatballs. Simmer for 2-3 minutes. Serve over rice.
Spaghetti and meatballs
For the meatballs:
1 lb ground beef
1 lb breakfast sausage
1 Tbsp Kinder salt, pepper and garlic mix (or similar)
½ c. finely chopped onions
1 Lg egg
1 tsp soy sauce
Mix together ingredients and shape into 1 inch balls. Place on a non-stick or greased baking sheet. Bake at 400 F for 18 minutes (internal temp should reach 165 F).
Cook noodles to package direction and drain. Add your favorite canned spaghetti sauce. Top with meat balls.
Chicken teriyaki
5-6 chicken thighs, in chucks
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. soy sauce (low sodium)
1/4 c. rice wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp cold water
Sauté chicken in a medium high pan until no longer pink. In a separate bowl combine all the above ingredients and whisk well. Turn down the heat on the chicken to medium low and add sauce. Stir until thickened. Remove from heat and serve with rice.
BBQ chicken thighs
5-6 chicken thighs
½-1c. BBQ sauce
1 tsp Chili powder
1 tsp Onion powder
1 tsp Garlic powder
1 tsp Smoked paprika
½ tsp Salt and pepper
1 Tbsp. Dark brown sugar
Coat chicken with dry rub on both sides. Brush on bbq sauce. Bake at 425 F for 35-45 minutes. Or grill for 3-5 minutes per side over medium high heat.
Chicken Broccoli Casserole (Family Recipe)
2 lg boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into chunks
2 c. fresh or frozen broccoli
Place the chicken and broccoli in a baking dish, coat with 1 tbsp of oil and salt and pepper. Bake covered for 30 minutes at 400 F, stirring half way through cooking. If you are short on time you can use precooked or canned chicken. You can also steam the broccoli in the microwave.
Boil one small package of egg noodles according to the package directions.
For the sauce:
2-10.5 oz cans of cream of chicken soup (I prefer Pacific Foods organic if you can find it)
1 c. mayonnaise
½-1 c. milk (start with ½ c. and add more if the sauce seems too thick)
1 tsp mild curry powder
Salt and pepper
Mix all of the ingredients together. Add sauce to the cooked chicken, broccoli and noodles. Place in a baking dish. Top with ½ c. shredded parmesan cheese and ½ c. bread crumbs. Bake at 400 F for 30 minutes.
I hope you can find something in this video helpful!!

[@katiemcdaniel3063]

What a great idea to make individual dinner plates ready to go!

[@melcooks7457]

Thanks!

[@nancyculp6968]

My mother use to buy TV dinners back in the 70’s. After we had eaten the contents she would wash them up good and put any leftovers in them to make another TV dinner for my brother to take back to college with him. They would be well wrapped with foil and frozen, so he could ice them down to keep frozen and make it to his place at college. Back then, not everyone had transportation or could afford to eat out all the time. So, these came in handy and gave him some home cooked meals.

[@melcooks7457]

Wow that is really cool! That is a great idea!

[@user-uk8il6pg9z]

Hi Mel. Of all the videos I've watched I just love the paper plate and zip lock!! This is what I'll be doing from now on. Greetings from Port Elizabeth, South Africa🥰

[@melcooks7457]

I’m so glad the idea is helpful for you!

[@chuggco]

Love this recipes! Great inspiration for our dinners! Thanks 😊

[@melcooks7457]

Glad it’s helpful!

[@deemonic3864]

This is so awesome thank u so much!!!

[@melcooks7457]

My pleasure!

[@palomahealing5073]

Thank you for this!! It is exactly what I wanted to do. Classic complete meals to freeze in it's own paper plate & ready to heat up, just like that! 🌸🩷🩷🩷

[@melcooks7457]

I’m glad you found it helpful!

[@palomahealing5073]

I love all these meals you made!!👍 I grew up eating Classic American meals! 🥰🥰🥰

[@melcooks7457]

Thank you!

[@riverstreamsss]

Genius using the paper plates in ziplock. Game changing

[@melcooks7457]

Thank you!

[@debbieorazi2518]

These meals are similar to ones I used to make for my Dad. He called them his homemade hungry man dinners. Will definitely try these recipes. Thank you for sharing.

[@melcooks7457]

Love that name 😊

[@coachdavanna7560]

What kind of jedi are you? 😅😂 I have never seen freezer meals done like this. 👍🏾 😮😊

[@melcooks7457]

🤣 🤣

[@itsme21100]

These look really good

[@melcooks7457]

Thank you!

[@amandaramsay5934]

This would be great for work!

[@melcooks7457]

Yes for sure!

[@againstallodds144]

Very creative 💡 idea.... I'll try this with vacuum sealed machine

[@melcooks7457]

That’s a good idea!

[@plumberrygardenpatch4869]

These look like easy and tasty meals, thanks! Do you have a video showing reheating them? I have never used paper plates this way.

[@melcooks7457]

I did not record that part but I just put them in the microwave for 4-5 minutes with the bag open but still on.

[@RS-gl9ht]

Glad you asked that question! I too have never used paper plates….

[@cookymnstr123]

Great meal ideas and brilliant idea with the dishes! How do you re-heat them?

[@melcooks7457]

Thank you! I just microwave them for 3-4 minutes.

[@DragonflyArtz1]

I think I love this! LOL Great for picky eaters. Great for grown kids working. Great for a family on the go (Soccer Practice, Football) or have them when you want them. I myself love this because I like Sweet and Sour Chicken, my son likes Teriyaki. My only concern would be about the plastic coating on those plates- transfer? Because you will be heating them up. Maybe instead using food grade freezer to microwave Amazon Food Containers. But I really do love the (no dishes) idea of paper plates.

[@melcooks7457]

Yes I think there are lots of options for what to freeze them with. Let me know if you find something that works well 😊

[@lexy_1202]

What is the tool you use to microwave the rice? All of this looks great! Thank you for sharing

[@melcooks7457]

I use higher quality silicone bakeware from bonCOOK.com

[@melcooks7457]

Here is video for just the rice kzbin.info/www/bejne/rqHXhWZqaapsadUsi=mRSBmnN3AP9-qyBz

[@kindram.9445]

They make small plastic rice cookers for Microwaves.

[@terrychittam8483]

New here ,really enjoyed ❤❤❤❤

[@melcooks7457]

Welcome!!

[@cwgmama]

I am going to try your recipes, they look delicious and Can you please tell me what Size paper plates you use? And I assume the freezer bags are gallon size? This is probably cheaper than buying the meal prep containers.

[@melcooks7457]

They were the larger size with taller sides. I think I got them at Walmart.

[@Melissa-nd5of]

Hi new subbie here 👋 thanks for sharing 👍 Could you please tell me the measurements of the ingredients ?

[@melcooks7457]

Welcome!! I will add recipes in the description box later tonight!

[@terrilandry1313]

I love the idea of using paper plates for freezer meals! Quick question! I heard you say you vacuum sealed the bags using a straw. Was that with a sealing machine, or your mouth?? LOL!! I’m not kidding! How did you vacuum seal the meals?? Also, did the vegs actually get cooked enough while reheating meal I’m microwave?? I would have to cook the vegs first to make sure they were soft enough for me to eat. ( I have dental issues)! Great recipes! I’ll definitely try your method!! New subscriber here!! Good luck with your channel!! ❤❤❤ Blessing to you!!

[@melcooks7457]

Thank you and great questions. I just sucked the air out with my mouth and a straw. If you wanted to take the time to vacuum seal that would work well but I didn’t want to bother. We used them up pretty fast. I don’t remember having trouble with the veggies but you could totally used canned or precooked to make sure they are soft enough.

[@terrilandry1313]

@@melcooks7457 thank you for your reply!! I’m going to try and vacuum seal using your method!! Mouth and straw!!

[@MistyRaymond]

Does the paper plates get all soggy when reheated?!

[@melcooks7457]

It does get a little soft but holds together enough to use for eating off of.

[@phyllisorr162]

How do you rewarm those in a paper plate

[@wendyhannan2454]

I think you’d slide the dinners onto an ordinary plate or micro cook ware. I was thinking how well do the paper plates freeze 🥶 must be ok. Great idea pre cooking meals, especially for busy people, and people who live alone.

[@melcooks7457]

We would put them in the microwave as is, with the ziplock bag open, for 4-5 minutes. But it would also work to transfer to another plate. I put them on paper plates so I could warm them up straight from the freezer. I prefer not to warm my food on plastic.

[@jennifergribbins4560]

How does the plates hold up from defrosting and reheating

[@melcooks7457]

I would double the plates because they did get a little soft.

[@Sonja...]

What meals do you eat when the fussy ones eat these? My fussy ones won't even eat those!

[@melcooks7457]

My kids are older so sometimes they just make themselves something else. My son eats ramen sometimes. When they were younger I would try to make something that would have some part they would eat…like if I made spaghetti and they didn’t want sauce they could just add some Parmesan to their noddles. Keep ingredients separate so they can choose the parts they like to eat.

[@Uprightfossil]

Lose the music. It’s not necessary