Freezer cooking and I go way back. My sister first introduced it to me when my kids were very young and I was dealing with some health problems. In many ways freezing cooking saved me during those years, or at least they helped me survive and still feed my family well.
When I felt well I would cook, and when I had bad days and was not up to cooking, I would have plenty of food in the freezer. This allowed me to serve my family healthy, home cooked meals on days I would not have been able to.
Having meals in the freezer, made up ahead, also allowed me to help others in ways I would not have been able to. I almost always had a meal in the freezer that I could give to someone in need of one.
There were many days that I was too sick, I was actually the one probably needing a meal, but pulling one out of the freeze took no work at all and gave me the ability to help others when I otherwise would not have been able to.
I can easily say I love freezer cooking and still keep some meals in the freezer for those crazy days.
I will say though that my freezer cooking days were 1990’s style. They were good and my family enjoyed them, but some of the recipes scream 1996, just keeping it real.
My friend Jessica from Life As Mom though has written a cookbook full of make ahead and freezer friendly meals that fit life in 2012. If you have never tried freezer cooking, or are looking for new freezer cooking inspiration, Not Your Mother’s Make-Ahead and Freeze Cookbook
is the book for you.
These recipes are free of canned cream of whatever soup. They include a lot of fresh ingredients and ideas for add ons at serving time.
There is even a gluten free list and a meatless chapter. As the title says, these are not your mother’s freezer recipes. This is freezer food updated for our busy schedules, but keeping with the theme of healthy type food.
And I love the cooking plans that Jessica shares in the book. The plans allow you to focus on the time you have. Freezer cooking does not have to take all day. Jessica shows you how to do it with just a few hours here and there.
There are about 200 recipes in this cookbook, so there are plenty of recipes and ideas that your family will love. Jessica has six kids ranging from young kids to teenagers, so she knows about feeding and pleasing everyone in the family. This book has recipes your whole family will enjoy.
And the good news is that I have one copy of Not Your Mother’s Make-Ahead and Freeze Cookbook to giveaway to one of you.
To enter all you have to do is leave me a comment.
- Giveaway ends Tuesday September 18, 2012 at 6 pm.
- One entry per person
- For more information about my giveaways please see my giveaway policy.
- If you are reading this by email you must click through to this post to leave a comment. Replying to this email does not count as an entry.
Giveaway ended. Dineen won: I would love to have a freezer cooking resource that doesn’t fall back on canned soups and has gluten free options.
I am lookin forward to this one! I just found out about freezer cooking and my first attempts have been flops 🙁
This sounds like a good book to read and start testing recipes. I just started the OAMM (or trying to) in June. I check Pintrest, Facebook all diffeerent blogs to get menu ideas. I have a son that still lives at home and he is very hard to please when it comes to dinner. I try new recipes at least once a week and I now post 2 week of menu for eveyone to see what’s for dinner.
Would love to try recipes from this book.
Thanks
I’d love to have a cook book to guide me thru tackling freezer cooking.
I’m always looking for new freezer cooking recipes! Thanks for the giveaway offer.
I would love to win this book, I have been wanting to try make ahead meals.
Thanks
This sounds like a wonderful cookbook, and it really got my attention because it’s geared towards freezer cooking which I’m looking into more and more. I have 3 kids ages 4, 6, & 8 and it really is true that you only get busier as they get older. I’m finding that this year the time is going by so fast that sometimes I don’t know what to make. Having a cookbook like this could really help me out. Thanks for doing this drawing, I hope I win, but whoever wins will love the book I’m sure. 🙂
Sounds like this would be a good cookbook. I need new recipe ideas, especially some that are freezer friendly.
The recipe ideas sound great. I would like to win this book.
Looks great – Would love to try it!
It would be great to win this! I’m always looking for ways to make life easier!
I have a love/hate relationship with freezer cooking. This cookbook sounds like it could help with some of my “hate” parts.
How wonderful to have a crockpot cookbook that doesn’t use cream of this or that and uses fresh ingredients! With wheat and corn allergies, I can’t use canned soups and while I have made my own, it is time consuming…..which time seems to be in short supply when you’re homeschooling.
I would love to win this cookbook!! I also like to have meals in the freezer for busy (and lazy) nights and for using to bless others.
I would love a copy of this book. I’m a new mom to a baby boy and also work full-time. There are many nights when I either don’t have the time or energy to cook a good meal. Frozen dinners and pizzas seem to be a staple in our house. I would love to have healthy meals I could pull our of the freezer and cook!
I am really wanting to start making and freezing meal but haven’t had any ideas of what to make. I need this book to give me ideas.
I’m obsessed with freezer meals! I am always looking for new ideas too 🙂
This book sounds fantastic! I’d love some new freezer recipes, especially ones that don’t call for canned soups. Thanks for the giveaway!
My husband used to do most of the cooking, but his memory is declining, and I am needing to help a lot more. I have realized that cooking and freezing meals would really help, and would love to win this cookbook!! Not using creamed soups sounds like a wonderful update!
What an awesome giveaway—thanks!
Always looking for quick ways to have dinner ready in a hurry after work, this would be great!
Love to learn from this book
No canned, condensed soups….sound like the book for me. Thanks for sharing.
I would like this very much!
This sounds like a great cookbook for busy mothers!
This would be so helpful!
This cookbook looks awesome! I’ve always loved freezer cooking.
Looks like a GREAT cookbook! I have been wanting to do more freezer cooking, so thanks for the opportunity to enter this giveaway!
I am definitely excited about this book. I have bought most of the Life as Mom ebooks and they are all really good, I know this cookbook is going to be great!
this sounds awesome! wish I had this to plan meals during my last trimester before I gave birth earlier this year.
I would love to have this cookbook! I’ve been wanting to do some freezer cooking and the idea of no canned condensed soup and using fresh ingredients sounds wonderful
We are a family of 10 – working, college & homeschooling! I would love a copy of your cookbook – it would be well loved by many!
Love freezer cooking and this would give me more ideas than I can use!!! Thanks for the giveaway!!! Would love to win the book!!!!
I love reading your blog and all of your great recipes. Thank you for sharing with us!
Would love to have this cookbook! I am due with my 3rd boy in less than 3 weeks……all under 4! These recipes could come in very handy.
I love doing freezer meals and my daughter and my daughter in law are learning to as well. I would love to have new recipes to share with them that are more current and up to to date. Thanks for the opportunity to win this cookbook.
I would love to win this book. It has been on my wish list for a while. Thanks for the chance to enter.
I love the idea of this. I do freezer prep all the time. I’d love to win the book. Thanks for doing the giveaway!
I really want to try freezer cooking. It would be nice to have a few meals that I can just pull out of the freezer.
I love finding new freezer recipes.
Love the idea of freezer cooking which I’ve never tried. Thanks for this chance to win!
Sounds like a great book! I’m looking for more recipes without cream of…. soup!
Thanks for hosting this giveaway – sounds like a great cookbook!
Would love a copy of this cookbook. Thank you so much for the chance to win one:)
Looks like a good cookbook. Love to have food in the freezer, and would love to know more than the typical casseroles I put in.
Other than soups and sp sauce, I didn’t know there were enough recipe’s out there w/o cream of something soup to fill up a cookbook! I look forward to trying them!
I love her blogs (and yours!) and would love to win this book!
I would so love to win this cookbook on Freezer Cooking. My husband and I are in our late 60’s and there are times we don’t feel like cooking. Having a frozen meal ready to put in the oven would save our day! The recipes look wonderful and easy enough to make. Thank you for allowing us this privilege to participate in the giveaway!
I would love to have this book, thanks for the giveaway!
i have always wanted to try this!
I would love to have a copy of this cookbook! I think freezer cooking might be the answer to my last-minute-dinner rut.
This looks like a great book! Fingers crossed!
Thank you for this giveaway! I have been eagerly anticipating the release of this cookbook. It looks fabulous and I’d love to win a copy!
This cookbook would be perfect as I’m trying to get my feet wet with freezer cooking now. Excited to get some new ideas and tips!
Wow! This sounds perfect for me! I homeschool my two children and my hubby is leaving us for 2 months for training in his new job! Not only do I have to teach both children (one in 5th the other in 8th), but I also have to tend to the interior and exterior of the home while he’s gone – among every other duty! There aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything and as much as I would like to be superwoman, alas, it is not my reality. Please consider me for the giveaway! 😉
Looks like a great book!
This cookbook sounds like just what I need. I would love tried and true recipes and tips from another mom.
I really need freezer cooking, and this cookbook would be an awesome place to start!
I’m also trying to take advantage of any free time and like having ready to go meals in the freezer. I had to giggle about the no canned cream of whatever soups. I think every cassorole I use to make called for some type of that soup. A very nice giveaway, I’ve been trying to eat healthier with having high BP now and I have a thing about collecting cookbooks so I HOPE I win.
I would love to try freezer meals. My previous efforts were a little disappointing.
If I win, will I need to buy a freezer to go with it?
I LOVE freezer cooking! It has saved me time and money. I’m less likely to order a pizza or go out to eat on those crazy busy days if I know I have a quick, easy meal in the freezer.
We love to do freezer cooking, it makes life sooo easy. I’m really looking forward to this book!
This is just what I am looking for. My son will soon be graduating from Marine bootcamp and I will be traveling to attend his graduation. This means I need to leave some premade meals in the freezer for my folks and the person who will be staying with them. I am so looking forward to checking this cookbook out and leaving some delicious meals for my family!
Would love to have this book to finally get this to together with Make Ahead and Freezer meals. And to help my DIL whom is expecting her first baby and my daughter whom works full time.
I used to do more freezer cooking, but since I have been diagnosed with celiac, I have stopped. It would be nice to have some freezer meal recipes that don’t include canned soup, since those are no longer in my diet! 🙂
i would love to win a copy of Jessica’s cookbook. great that she has updated freezer cooking and included healthy recipes. she is so creative!
I’d love a chance to wiN. Thanks!
This cookbook sounds amazing and would get lots of use in my household.
I’m always eager for new resources with freezer cooking! We’ve been doing some workshops with the teens at church to teach them simple freezable recipes, too.
Great giveaway!
Sounds like a good cookbook to have!
I think I “need” this cookbook!
Would love to have a cookbook full of freezer cooking recipes! Thanks for the chance to win this cookbook!
Ikve heard about freezer cooking from time to time, but never wanted all tbhose cream of something… Meals. Love that it has current recipes with a wider variety of meal ideas!
I’d love to win this one!!!! Thanks!
I would love this cookbook, so I could share it with my daughter. She works and I babysit a couple of days a week. I try to cook her meals ahead of time, so when she gets home late from work, she can feed her family a healthy meal. That makes me one tired grandma, watching a 5 mo. old and trying to cook. This way I could make meals ahead of time!
I love freezer meals and I love cookbooks so this looks like a cookbook I would love to add to my library.
This sounds like a wonderful cookbook. I have never cooked and frozen dinner, but would love to try it.
I would love to win this cookbook! I have been wanting to start doing more freezer cooking, so this would be perfect.
This would be such a great help- thanks for the opportunity to win-
I love freezer cooking but need new recipes:0)
I could reallybuse something like this to help me to keep healthy meals on my table! Working 2 jobs keeps me pretty busy. Like the idea of make ahead freezer meals.
This book sounds like just the thing that would make my life better! Thanks for this giveaway!
This sounds like just what I need. Have made several attempts at freezer cooking but can never get the time, ingredients and stratey down at the same time.
I’ve been wanting a cookbook just like this. Good food I can make ahead and & freeze for later!
I enjoy your site a lot and have used many of the ideas you put on it. I love cookbooks and would be honored to own this one.
I am excited about this new cookbook! Love the chance to win one.
I am currently researching freezers (i need a big one) and have been doing some very minor freezer cooking- I would love a cookbook dedicated to freezer cooking for more variety!!!!
This sounds like a fantastic book and one that I can use all the time. With the school year here, we are always busy and not having to spend a day freezing meals would be wonderful!
I would enjoy trying some of these recipes. With only my husband and I we could make several meals out of each recipe.
As a busy family with 3 wee ones, we are in desperate need of this cookbook!
Thank you for mentioning that there are no “cream of” canned soups used in her recipes. I read both of her blogs and have the book on pre-order, but hey, if I can WIN one, even better, right?
I’ve been looking forward to the release of this book since I first heard about it. Can’t wait to give it a try!!
I would LOVE to win this cookbook. Unlike a lot of other freezer cooking cookbooks, it’s made for real families with real kids.
I would love to try this cookbook!
I love freezer cooking and would love to add more recipes to my collection.
So excited to get my hands on a copy of this book!
I’d love a copy of this cookbook! I have 5 kids and am always looking for inspiration for freezer meals!
I would love to win this. It would be just the motivation I need!
I have had that book on my amazon wish list ever since I found out about it. It would be great to win it. Freezer meals help me out a lot.
I have a group of friends that we get together once a month and cook freezer meals. We are always looking for new recipes and this book sounds great!