Imagine looking into your freezer and instead of seeing a hodge podge of unidentifiable containers, you see quick and exciting meal options. Yes, frozen foods can be your magic bullet against meal boredom, food waste and even costly restaurant meals when you don’t have time to cook. If you haven’t spent some quality time perusing your supermarket’s frozen aisles lately, you may be happily surprised by the variety of tasty choices available. When you stock your freezer with wide selection of the right items, your freezer can become a meal solution station designed to help you create delicious and nourishing meals while saving both time and money.

Stocking your freezer for meal success:

From complete meals to sensational sides to delightful desserts, today’s frozen departments offer trends and tastes for everyone. I like to recommend stocking up on staples like a few family-size and individual heat and eat meals, as well as meal components like protein items, starchy vegetables/grains and plenty of fruits and veggies. It’s also helpful to organize your freezer into different areas for these items so you can easily “assemble” your meal.

Family-Size Meals:

Complete meals like lasagna, stir-fries, pizza, and macaroni and cheese simply need a side vegetable or prepared green salad added.

Individual Meals:

Keep several options on hand for a money saving, portion-controlled lunch or a quick dinner for one. There are many choices that fit into different dietary patterns such as vegetarian, keto, and high protein.

Proteins:

• Cooked, seasoned chicken
• Meatballs
• Shrimp
• Fish fillets
• Meat patties
• Plant-based crumbles

Starchy Vegetables/Grains:

• Potatoes in various forms
• Rice
• Pasta – ravioli, tortellini, pierogies
• Grain and veggie blends
• Bread, rolls, breadsticks and muffins

Fruits and Veggies:

• Broccoli florets
• Mixed vegetables
• Asian blend vegetables
• Peas
• Corn
• Edamame
• Chopped spinach
• Brussels sprouts
• Cubed squash
• Zucchini noodles
• Strawberries
• Mixed berries
• Blueberries
• Mango
• Pineapple

Breakfast Foods:

• Bagels
• Pancakes
• Waffles
• Breakfast sandwiches
• Muffins
• Smoothie blends

Desserts:

• Fruit bars
• Mini ice cream bars
• Pies
• Mini cream puffs
• Ice cream and frozen yogurt
• Juice

One of the many benefits of a well-stocked freezer is that frozen foods can be stored safely for a long period of time so you’ll always have a delicious answer to the daily “what’s for dinner?” question. By pulling out something like cheese tortellini, seasoned chicken strips, or meatballs, you will have a great starting point for a variety of meals.

15-Minute Dinners with Frozen Foods:

Shrimp Veggie Stir-Fry with Brown Rice

Combine a package of frozen rice, or cauliflower rice, a bag of seasoned stir-fry blend vegetables and frozen shrimp. Serve with thawed frozen pineapple chunks.

Cheese Pierogies with Meatballs

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add 1 package cheese and garlic pierogies and cook 8 minutes or until golden brown, turning occasionally. Meanwhile, heat frozen prepared meatballs. Toss pierogies in jarred marinara sauce and serve with meatballs and Parmesan cheese.

Tortellini Bake

Cook a package of frozen tortellini as directed, drain, and return to pot. Stir in 1 jar of pasta sauce and ¾ cup parmesan cheese. Pour mixture into a greased baking dish and top with 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake at 400°F until bubbly. Serve with cooked frozen green beans.

Quick Ham & Potato Soup

Pour 2 cups of milk and 2 cups of low sodium chicken broth into a large saucepan; bring to a simmer. Add 4 cups of frozen Tater Tots, hash browns, or cubed potatoes, and lower heat. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, stir every 5 minutes to break up the potatoes if needed. Add 1 cup each of ham cubes and frozen corn. Simmer until soup is hot. Serve with warm garlic bread sticks.

Asian Chicken Wraps 

Heat one 10 oz. package of frozen Asian blend vegetables and one 10 oz. package frozen riced cauliflower according to package directions. Combine with a cup of lightly salted nuts in a bowl. Heat 24 frozen, cooked chicken breast strips until hot and toss strips with ½ cup teriyaki sauce. To assemble each wrap, place 1/2 c. vegetable mixture in center of a large flour tortilla. Top with chicken strips. Fold one side in and wrap.

Super Veggie Pizza

Grab your favorite frozen cheese pizza and cook up some frozen veggies like broccoli, spinach, corn, sliced peppers and onions, or zucchini. Sprinkle with some Italian spice blend and add a bit of extra cheese if desired. Bake according to package directions. Serve with frozen fruit bars.

For more quick mealtime inspiration visit Easy Home Meals Recipes!