Freezer Meal I

First attempt at freezer meals. Planned ahead for 8 dishes but only got through 5 of them. This was with MP's help - which was massive.

[Chicken Pesto] - didn't make it - simple enough to be able to throw together any time. Would be better to have it for dinner and make a second for the freezer version at the same time.
Teriyaki Chicken * - #2 to complete
Chicken Curry **** - last one to be started - made this for dinner - ran out of coconut milk. Fed 3 people and put remainder in 2 mason jars for the freezer. Increased to 6 thighs and 1 breast.
Beef and Vegetable Soup **- #3 to complete. Accidentally put the onions and garlic in the freezer bag then realized was supposed to cook with the beef.
[Unstuffed Shells] *** - didn't make it - simple enough to throw together tomorrow.
E Fagioli Soup **/NI - started putting everything in the slow cooker and realized it wasn't going to all fit in the 4 qt dish. Not sure how it will turn out without 7 c of beef broth, 20 oz of sauce, nor all the pasta. Feels like this may be the disaster dish
Mongolian Beef - #1 to complete
[Bread Sticks] - didn't start prepping til afternoon, so this didn't get attended to. Would be easier if had 3rd person or started much earlier in the day.

Tomorrow want to do the unstuffed shells, chicken pesto and bread sticks. And maybe salvage the E Fagioli Soup.

Process

- chose dishes
- grocery shopped
- chopped fresh veges
- got out meats
- did freezer bags first, then stove top cooking
MP helped with chopping and cleaning throughout - this was priceless!

Lessons Learned

Good to combine dishes: Teriyaki Chicken, Chicken Curry, Beef + Veg Soup, E Fagioli Soup, Mongolian Beef. Because...

• limited to 2 meats (chicken and beef)
• share many chopped items (carrots, onion, garlic, celery).
• 3 are straight to freezer, 1 is stove top and 1 is slow cooker. 

Chicken Pesto could be combined because it also uses chicken, but I didn't have the pesto ready so couldn't throw it together. The unstuffed shells require boiling pasta and also didn't have time (or make time) for that.

When choosing recipes, I was trying for variety. But realize after better to group by similarity. Today could be the carrot/onion/garlic/celery dishes. Next time could be the pasta/cheese dishes. Another time could be themed with something else. If freezer gets full of 3 types, then when pulling out, there can be variety.