Fix, Freeze, Feast: The Delicious, Money-Saving Way to Feed Your Family

After renting 6 different freezer cookbooks from the library this is the one I decided would be worth purchasing. I would definitely check with your local library to see if they have it, if you don't want to spend the money till you see the recipes. I am not the most adventurous eater around, but this has numerous recipes that just sounded too good not to try. I just made 4 recipes yesterday - 12 meals in total Tequila Lime Chicken, Pecan Encrusted Chicken Strips, Chicken Broccoli Bake and Cashew Chicken Stir Fry. I have not tried any of them yet, but after seeing the ingredients in them, I doubt they could taste bad -- they all looked delicious!My advice is to write down all the ingredients you need with how much you need per each recipe. I ended up being a 1/2 cup of honey short for one recipe causing me to have to run out again, which wasn't a big deal because I had to buy more panko, ground mustard, and curry powered too. :P However, even with my trip to Sam's then Target and eventually Cub Foods I was still able to make 4 different entrees in one day. I am planning on testing out a couple of my recipes this week, next weekend I plan on making beef or pork freezer meals! I am even thinking these meals would make great gifts at Christmas, who wouldn't want a easy meal night? Would be great for giving neighbors who help you out as a thank you or for someone who lost a loved one or is ill.I am 25 years old who lives by myself with my boyfriend moving in to start grad school. I know we are both going to be busy this fall between work and school and this was a great way to start preparing. I think most entrees in the books have a serving size of 4 to 6, but I like leftovers for my lunches at work.Hopefully, I will update my review after sampling a few recipes! Happy Freezer Meal Making!**UPDATE** 8/25/14So far some of out favorite recipes:Tequila Lime Chicken (we plan on making one of three the entrees into chicken fajitas strips with peppers next time)Pecan Encrusted Chicken Strips (AMAZING flavors, warms up leftovers in the oven to get the panko&pecans crispy again)Sticky Drunk Pig On a Stick (Wonderful flavor, we basted it throughout cooking except the last 5 minutes. I used the metal cable skewers and it worked great. These would be wonderful for a party)Salisbury Steak Meatballs (Yummy, but I did need to thicken the gravy a bit)Cashew Chicken Stir-Fry (I think the sauce needs to be thickened a bit, but the boyfriend likes it as is)I have also tried:Chicken & Broccoli Bake (It needs more sauce and less bread crumbs) *I don't know if I will make this one again, it tastes alright but isn't anything special. I think I could find a better recipe online.We plan on making up a few more next weekend. Also, ladies I am thrilled to state my boyfriend has had no problems making a meal with these. It's nice when I come home late that he can already have dinner started. Make sure you write the cooking instructions on the outside of the bag to make the process easier.**UPDATE** 9/23/14Sweat Asian Chicken- Great flavor for me, my boyfriend added Siracha to his, but he adds Siracha to just about everything.Basil & Balsamic Pork Chops- These are tasty, we used left over pork chop on a homemade pizza and it was delicious!Urban Garlic Chicken- **FYI when you freeze this put the bag of veggies in the cavity so it doesn't freeze shut when you want to make it in the crockpot. I might have missed/misread that or it's not listed that way. I ended up defrosting the chicken in the sink and making it in the oven. Great flavor, took longer to cook than the book suggested.**UPDATE** 3/26/15Yes, I still use and love this cookbook. If the instructions are super long, I now just reference the page number in the book. My fiance said he is going to put a max on how many meals I make in a day. Apparently, the chopping, dicing, mixing, bagging and cleaning make him feel like he needs to help. He cleaned dishes, minced some garlic and made on recipe all by himself last time, it's the little things in life. So I have a few more to recommend.Turkish Pork Chops- Seriously these might be my favorite meal out of the book. It might be because it's wrapped in bacon...but it's got awesome flavor. I just about ate 2 full pork chops that's how good they were. I felt guilty only for a brief moment. We served it with a birdseye steamer rice and veggie mix.Chicken Parm- Awesome, I honestly don't know why I didn't just make it before this book. It's not like it's terribly hard or time consuming. I made it this round because - I made the large batch of red sauce so decided to try out this recipe, along with a few others Pork Loin Ragout, Manicotti. *We weren't in love with the Manicotti, I don't think I will make it again. For the time it took to stuff those noodles...it didn't wow me. -We haven't tried the Pork Loin Ragout yet.Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs- I had made these before from a different recipe, but these are great. I make up 6 lbs. of meatballs and freeze them into whatever portions we want. We generally use them with some jar sauce and then I make homemade spaghetti noodles. They make a great app too...all you need is a crockpot, sauce and some buns.Raggin' Pork Garlic Stir-fry - *I made this the first time using chicken. We liked it with chicken so we made it with pork this time, haven't tried it yet, but it was tasty with chicken so I am guessing pork will be good too.I filled our small chest freezer so we are set for awhile and thankfully it's grilling season now.

The cover of the book is a hard cardboard, almost like a children's book. I'm not sure if I like that or not. Seems like it will be more durable, but also harder to keep open. This book tries to make a bit of a niche for itself by focusing on people who shop at warehouse clubs (Sams, BJs, etc.). So recipes would call for 2 trays of chicken breasts (though it does also usually give pound ranges). Other than the meat, I don't see ingredients being sized for warehouse packs.From the perspective of logistics of recipes, I think I like this book the least of the ones I have picked up on freezer cooking. The recipes are along the lines of 3 entrees, 4 servings each. They don't show alternate quantities, like most of the other books (i.e. 1 batch, 3 batches, 6 batches). I know I'm lazy, but it's easier for me to do the math if I start with one batch and multiply up as needed. So for instance, if I wanted to do two batches, I'd have to mentally calculate 2/3 of everything.I also don't like that there is no master list of recipes, either in the front table of contents (which only has the broad categories like Chicken, Beef) or on the first page of each section (which is what most of the other books have had). It makes it a little bit of a pain if I am looking for a specific recipe.The book includes a nice chapter in the front with tips for preparing for bulk cooking sessions (including a few tips on what to do to fix recipes that go wrong). The appendix includes information on setting up a shopping list, and a prep list, as well as information on converting your own recipes to freeze ahead recipes. There's also a template for a freezer inventory.One thing this book did have that I didn't notice in the other freezer cooking books and that I really like is freezer label templates. They have preparation instructions set up in a format where you can copy them onto labels to use on your freezer bags for almost all the recipes. Nice idea in theory, though I am not sure it will be all that easy to use them. Still, I give them props for trying it, as I think it is useful. Makes me realize I should set up templates for the recipes I use with instructions preprinted on labels, probably one sheet per recipe.Nice mix of recipes. I really like that it includes recipes for marinades, sauces, flavored butters, etc. Not many of the books had these types of recipes. The ingredients for the most part are standards that I would have on hand (except some of the ethnic recipes, but I would expect that). There were recipes that included things I wouldn't have on hand as a non drinker (like margarita mix and bourbon), but not enough that I cared. For the most part as well, this didn't feel like recipes I would already have in my recipe box, which I really liked. Many of them sound really good.Another thing I like is that a few of the recipes also come with planned-over recipes to use them again. Only did it with a few recipes, but I liked this feature.I'd say this is worthwhile adding to your library if you are doing freezer cooking and if you normally triple batch your recipes, then this book is really ideal.

This book is genius. Tasty, healthy options, which can be made up in advance and just whipped out of the freezer as needed. It allows all the fuss of weekday meals to be time-shifted, so that you don't have to down tools in the middle of working to get into the kitchen for dinner to be on the table on time.Plus, we're saving a lot of money by buying in bulk and freezing things by portion. No more using half a jar of tomato puree and letting the other half mutate into a biohazard in the back of the fridge. You buy what you need, and use every bit.It's an American book, so you need to have liquid measuring cups on hand. But unlike the usual 'once a month' cooking methods, the recipes don't consist of adding tins of undiluted soup to raw meat and then boiling, etc. Using their tips and tricks it's very easy to just adapt recipes from the likes of Jamie Oliver and Nigella to this method. Once you get into the rhythm, you soon spot more and more ways of saving time and money, without compromising on quality and flavour.

Recipes are simple and flavorful, some have been great hits and most only require 5 or so ingredients. Many are simply add everything to a bag and freeze! with thaw and cooking instructions. Each page gives details on how much meats to buy by try and Lb, and how many meals and servings.I only gave 4 stars as I prefer more clean eating than this book offered, but with my own simple adjustments they still turned out great. Another fall back is there's a few that use alcohol and our family does not partake. Not the fault of the book, but it limits what can be made for people who do not consume alcohol, sugars, carbs ect.

I have had this book for a few months now. I've made some chicken, and meatball recipes. Very handy to have in the freezer when you don't feel like cooking. Also good if you are a costco shopper, as many of the ingredients are bulk amounts. One side note is that many of the entrees do not include a vegetable portion, so you will need to still do that as part of your meal. (There are not a lot of one dish casserole types). Another thing I really liked is that the recipes are mostly the from scratch, good ingredients kind.

Some great ideas for cooking in bulk and freezing in meal sized portions. I found the recipes quite meat intense, but the flavours are excellent, and it would be quite easy to introduce beans/chickpeas or lentils as a substitute for some of the meat. An excellent addition to the library of today's busy family.

This is a great book and has made my wife's and my lives much easier. Having a freezer full of healthy and easy to serve meals reduces the stress of figuring out what to make at the end of a busy work day. So far all of the meals we've tried have been a hit with our children.