Frozen - the meals, not the movie

It's March 1st...you know what that means!  Time for March's menu.  And I will tell you, there are only 2 meals that were not freezer meals.  So just like the weather around here, our theme for the month is frozen.

If you didn't read last month's post "A Month of Meals" (Feb 4), you might want to check it out for some more freezer meal tips.  Here's a couple more things I thought of after last month's menu post:

• First, if you don't want to make freezer meals, these are still super easy dinners.  Most of them can just be thrown in the crockpot that morning.
• Many of the freezer meals tell you to thaw the recipes overnight.  Sometimes I forget to think about it the night before...you too?  Yeah, really, I have like 800 things on my mind.  Don't panic.  Throw it in the crock pot frozen.  It will be fine, I do it all the time.
• Follow my pinterest board "Cook Smarter, Not Harder" for more freezer meal ideas.  Some of my VERY favorite blogs for freezer meals are:
• Who Needs a Cape
• Organize Yourself Skinny
• Once a Month Meals
• If you don't feel like making a ton of things but really like the idea of having a stocked freezer, cheat.  Easiest thing in the world (and pretty cheap too), buy a package of chicken drumsticks, thighs or breasts, drop however many your family would eat in one sitting and dump your favorite marinade or Italian salad dressing over it.  Done.  Throw it in the freezer.  Crock pot it for 6-8 hours on low.

Prep your bags beforehand!

If you are going to try freezing this month, here's another tip for you.  Throw something in the crockpot for dinner before you start prepping or plan on ordering a pizza.  There is nothing worse than being in the kitchen for half the day and then having nothing ready for dinner!

Fixing some good stuff!

This time, we are doing some "double meals".  These freezer meals make two bags (1 recipe = 2 bags) to go in the freezer.  So according to my calculations, you already have 4 things ready for April after you bag everything up.  This month you need only gallon freezer bags, no casserole dishes.  We are doing no prep but chopping a few onions and frying some bacon.  You will notice that these are all new recipes.  There is only one thing I made last month that we are making again...and that is because it was so good, I can't stop thinking about it (Mississippi Pot Roast...seriously, you have to make it).  It's not necessarily that I don't ever want the same thing again, it's just there are so many recipes I find and want to try!  You will see some of my favs repeat after a couple months.  Some you will never see again because, hey...everyone can't be a winner.

Getting ready to bag some chicken recipes!

Again, I don't plan dinners for Saturday.  We are either out or we can have leftovers and clean out the fridge.  A word on leftovers...we take these in our lunch during the week but my hubs is pretty much a "one day after and then he's out" kind of leftover guy.  If you have made something and have a lot of leftovers and don't feel like wasting food or eating it for 5 days in a row, here's what you do.  Using smaller Rubbermaid containers, freeze individual lunch-size portions.  Then you can wait a couple weeks before you have it again.  Especially great on days you are running late or don't have something for lunch...grab one from the freezer and go!

Here is your shopping list for the month, again, broken down by recipes so you can pick and choose.  I spent $315 at the grocery store, but that includes many things other than menu items (breakfast, lunches, random items).
            March Grocery List

And here is our monthly menu:

March Meals

Week 1 
Sun      Fried Chicken (not freezer meal)  Mashed Potatoes
Mon     Sausage and White Bean Soup    Rolls
Tues     Honey Bourbon Chicken             Creamed Corn
Wed     Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin       Parmesan and Spinach Orzo
Thurs    Ranch Chicken Tacos                 Fiesta Lime Rice
Fri        Homemade Pizza Dough             Pizza Sauce

Week 2 
Sun     Bacon Covered Kalua Pork          Creamy Baked Asparagus
Mon    Herb Roasted Chicken Breasts    Pineapple Stuffing
Tues    Slow Cooker Hot Roast Beef       Balsamic Glazed Carrots
Wed    Easy Tomato Parmesan Chicken   Green Beans
Thurs   Pineapple Chicken Burritos          Apple Bacon Coleslaw
Fri       Pizza dough                              Pizza Sauce

Week 3 
Sun      Freezer Pot Roast                     Roasted Mustard Potatoes
Mon    Garlic Dijon Chicken                    Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Tues    Black and Tan Sandwiches (not a freezer meal)
Wed    Chicken and Gravy with biscuits    Parmesan Zucchini and Corn
Thurs   Beef and Broccoli with rice          Crunchy Asian Slaw
Fri       Pizza dough                               Pizza Sauce

Week 4 
Sun      Mississippi Pot Roast     Homemade french fries with Fry Sauce
Mon     Cinnamon Apple Pork Chops         Ranch Roasted Carrots
Tues     Parmesan Garlic Pizza Pasta         breadsticks    salad
Wed     Alfredo Chicken                           Easy Broccoli
Thurs   Mongolian Beef with rice     Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Pineapple
Fri       Pizza dough                               Pizza Sauce

Week 5
Sun      Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches       French fries w/ Fry sauce 
Mon    Beef Tips with Gravy                Mashed Potatoes
Tues    Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta        Salad

Lastly, I HAVE to show ya'll what my fridge looks like when I come home from shopping for an entire month.  Because...it's hilarious.  It's like playing Jenga trying to get all that stuff in my poor fridge (And I always clean it out before I go to the store...if you can believe that)!  So,,,as you can see, I pretty much have to do my freezer meals right away!




Happy stocking up the freezer!
K