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Make-Ahead Freezer Meals {Everyday Made Easy}

Looking for some make ahead freezer meals for when life gets busy? Check out these tasty recipes for soup, stew, chili and more!

It’s that time of the year again when busy just gets busier! As mentioned in the Holiday Countdown, I like to clean and stock my kitchen now before the line ups at the grocery and big box stores get unbearable (one can only flip through so many magazines at the checkout, right?).

What I didn’t mention is that it’s also a good time to prepare large batches of meals, say on a Sunday afternoon, to freeze and pull out on those days when supper is the last thing you want to deal with after a long day. Healthy make ahead meals will also become your best kept secret when friends and family swing by or a snow storm rolls in and all you want to do is stay in your jammies.

Make-Ahead Freezer Meals

Today I have my friend Sheila stopping by to share one of her favourite make ahead freezer meals, Christmas Borscht. Sounds yummy to me!

I also have four other blogger friends sharing their favourite make-ahead meals you can pop in the freezer for later (you’ll see them below). Let’s get started!

Sheila Zeller of sZinteriors

Borscht is one of our favourites, but I find the secret to enjoyment is making it ahead! I’ll be honest, the prep time for this recipe is a little more than your average pot of soup, however, once made it freezes up like charm. And trust me, you’ll be so glad you did!

Christmas Borscht Veggies

Christmas Borscht Recipe

Ingredients

  • 4 cups beets – precooked and sliced
  • 1 or 2 medium potatoes – precooked and chopped
  • 1 or 2 large carrots, sliced or finely diced
  • 1 or 2 celery stalks, chopped
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 cups cabbage, shredded
  • 1 tablespoons lemon juice or vinegar
  • 1½ (+) tablespoons dried dill weed
  • salt and ground pepper, to taste
  • 2 small cans V8 Juice, or 3 cups tomato juice
  • 1½ (+) cups Creamo (half & half)
  • 2 (+) tablespoons butter
  • 3 tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 1 (+) clove garlic – sliced and sautéed
  • 8 cups water

The full list of ingredient measurements and instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.

Directions

  1. Precook beets, slice and set aside.
  2. Precook potatoes, chop and set aside.
  3. Shred cabbage, toss with lemon juice or vinegar and set aside.
  4. Chop remaining vegetables.
  5. Sautée each vegetable separately in olive oil until brown.
  6. Place sautéed vegetables in stock pot, add water and V8 Juice or Tomato Juice.
  7. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, add Creamo and simmer for 20 minutes or until all vegetables are tender.
  8. Add salt, pepper and dill weed, to taste.
  9. Serve hot. Add a dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt if you choose!

Enjoy!

Christmas Borscht

Tip: The magic to making this borscht is pre-cooking the beets and potatoes, and sautéing each vegetable separately. It takes a little longer, but if you bypass this step the borscht never seems to taste quite as good!

To Freeze Borscht

Do not add the Creamo (half & half) if you’re planning to freeze your borscht, Instead, add when you reheat it! Place in an airtight container in freezer for up to 3 months. I find borscht tends to thicken up more quickly once it’s been frozen – just add a little extra liquid when reheating.

Use Up Veggies

All summer long we’ve been getting our weekly bag of CSA produce, and in it has been an abundance of cabbage, onions and beets, some days carrots, too. We were having a hard time keeping up, so we decided to process ahead. We pre-shredded, sliced and chopped our fresh veggies into Ziploc bags, and froze them. Now when I’m ready to make up a pot of borscht, all I have to do is pull out a bag of each veggie and half the work is done!

Frozen Vegetables for Making Christmas Borscht in Ziploc Bags

More Make-Ahead Freezer Meal Recipes

Rosa shares a honey garlic crock pot chicken recipe you can double up and freeze.

Make Ahead Freezer Meals - Honey Garlic Crock Pot Chicken

Jody shares a healthy southwestern squash soup that’s perfect for pulling out on chilly days.

Make Ahead Freezer Meals - Southwestern Squash Soup

Annalise’s white chicken chili freezes well and can be topped with fresh ingredients.

Make Ahead Freezer Meals - White Chicken Chili Recipe


And, finally, my slow cooker chick pea curry is even better after it has been frozen. Just leave out the green onions and add when you reheat.

Make Ahead Freezer Meals - Crockpot Chick Pea Curry

Tips for Freezing Meals

When freezing meals, make sure they’re cooled and then transfer to an air tight container or zip top bag. If freezing in a casserole dish or pan, top it with plastic wrap (remember to remove before heating!) and then aluminum foil. You can also wrap a plastic grocery bag around it with a twist tie for extra protection.

Christmas Borscht

Bowl of Christmas Borscht
A traditional beet soup made with earthy root vegetables. Freezes well!
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Serving Size 6

Ingredients

  • 4 cups beets, precooked and sliced
  • 2 medium medium potatoes, precooked and chopped
  • 2 large carrots, sliced or finely diced
  • 2 celery stalks, chopped
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 cups shredded cabbage
  • 1 tablespoons lemon juice or vinegar
  • tablespoons dried dill weed
  • salt and ground Pepper to taste
  • 2 small cans V8 Juice or 3 cups tomato juice
  • cups Creamo (half & half)
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic, sliced and sautéed
  • 8 cups water

Instructions

  • Precook beets, slice and set aside.
  • Precook potatoes, chop and set aside.
  • Shred cabbage, toss with lemon juice or vinegar and set aside.
  • Chop remaining vegetables.
  • Sautée each vegetable separately in olive oil until brown.
  • Place sautéed vegetables in stock pot, add water and V8 Juice or Tomato Juice.
  • Bring to a boil, reduce heat, add creamo and simmer for 20 minutes or until all vegetables are tender.
  • Add salt, pepper and dill weed, to taste.
  • Serve hot. Add a dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt if you choose!

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Now get in the kitchen and get busy!

Shauna at Satori Design for Living Blog - Home Decor, DIY, Vintage Finds, Recipes

6 Comments

  1. Hi Shauna!
    I am super excited to try the other recipes – they all look so delicious. We just happen to have a few squash on hand, and I think Jodi’s recipe might be the perfect way to put them to use right now! I have a quick question for your chick pea recipe – would you ever swap out canned chick peas for the dried? I usually have canned on hand so am curious if they would work as well as the dried…
    Thanks so much for including me in today’s mix!

    1. Thanks for sharing your Borscht recipe- love, love beets! We’re going to try it this weekend. As far as chickpeas go, reduce the amount of water and keep an eye on it for moisture. Also, you probably won’t need to cook as long.

  2. I love the idea of pre-chopping all your veg so you have it at the ready when it’s time to cook. I don’t know why I don’t do this more often. Thanks so much for sharing these time saving recipes! 

  3. Chick pea curry… I’ll be making that!!! YUM! And Sheila, your recipe is perfectly timed, since I’m still trying to use up all the beets in our garden!

  4. I agree – it makes so much sense to prepare make-ahead meals for the freezer, especially at this busy season of the year. Thanks for the suggested recipes that you shared! (Visiting from The Inspiration Exchange linkup)

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