Some nights, preparing a home-cooked meal from scratch just isn't in the cards -- and that's totally okay. Freezer meals are the answer.
Try these super-delicious, super-convenient freezer meal tips to keep things easy, safe AND tasty.
Build your freezer meal repertoire. Need freezer meal ideas? We've got a few:
Buffalo Chicken Macaroni and Cheese
Dutch Oven Chicken and Herb Dumplings
Greek Stuffed Peppers with Spinach & Artichoke
One Dish Chicken Broccoli and Rice Casserole
Chill before freezing. Putting hot foods in the freezer can increase your freezer's temperature, making it more likely for other foods to defrost -- not good. In a hurry? Refrigerate an uncovered dish and stir soups or stews frequently to speed up the chilling process.
Freeze with ease. Portion meals into individual containers or bags before freezing. This makes it super easy to grab what you need and avoid wasting food. Leave some extra space at the top of plastic containers and remove all the air from plastic bags before freezing.
Take stock of what's in your freezer. Be sure to rotate meals so you use everything up. Most freezer meals will last anywhere from two to six months if they remain frozen during this time.