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 need this! I’ve got the bargain shopping down, not I need to translate that into getting meals put away for the tough days. Looks interesting!
This looks great! I would love to try more freezer cooking. I homeschool and work full time so having meals in the freezer would be awesome.
Pick me, pick me!
I have been trying to have some freezer meals and my kids get more and more involved in after school activites, but lack ideas. This cookbook would be a great addition to my shelf. I need some inspiration!
I love to freezer cook. Thank you for the opportunity to win!!
I love make ahead cooking. This looks like a great book! Would love to win.
I love that it uses healthy ingredients. Thank you for the giveaway!
This sounds like a great book! I would love to freezer cook meals as it is just my husband and me. So at times I have too much leftover and not sure what to do with it! lol Freezer cooking would make meals much easier.
I love making food ahead of time, I like the fact that in this cook book
you use fresh ingredients and not canned. If I don’t win I will go and
buy it =)
The freeze ahead cook book sounds like a wonderful blessing to working moms and people that don’t want to come home and spend a long time in the kitchen, but would love some hot home cooked meal in a short time vs fast food! I would LOVE to be the one to win the cookbook.
This sounds like a great resource to get me started with. I especially like the idea of NO cream soups 🙂
Lynn,
these pictures above look so good. Can’t wait to try all the new recipes from Jessica’s book.
I would love to get my hands on this book! I think I may buy it, if I don’t win the giveaway because these recipes would be great to have for those days that I just spent 10+ hours running errands & I don’t feel like cooking. Like today… I won’t have to rely on my teenager to cook dinner once a week anymore!
I’d love this. I have been looking for more freezer recipes.
I would love this cookbook!
Would love to get my hands on this cookbook. Freezing meals for post baby!
no canned soup?? can’t wait to see it!
Sounds tasty and wonderful. Hope I win.
I would love more ideas for freezer meals!
I have just discovered FREEZER MEALS! Needless to say, I need more ideas and more freezer space.
I would love to win!
I had cooked a lot of your recipes and they are always delicious! I think this cookbook is just what I need for my busy life. Thanks for the chance to win one!
I love freezer cooking! But need some new recipes. This sounds just the ticket!
I would love this!
I just tried your mashed potatoes in the crock pot and the kids loved it. I have a 3 year and a 20 months with another one coming soon. I don’t have much time to cook and the freezer concept really interests me.
I need this. My dinner time is crazy! Thanks for the chance.
This would be a great resource to have, need some new ideas!
I would love to fill my freezer with meals like this. Thanks for the chance
I would love this cookbook. I have wanted to do more freezer meals for a while and just can’t “get it together”. It would be great to have the recipes all ready.
Love the thought of make ahead to make dinner faster and easier!
I just defrosted my upright freezer today. I’d love to fill it with some yummy dinners.
I would so like to have this as a busy mom with two special needs kids this would be great to have on crazy days around my home
I’m in desperate need of ways to make my life easier, especially in the meal department. A girl only has so much creativity in the kitchen.
🙂
I would love to win this book. Love your site.
I have been wanting this book for quite awhile now. Just a few more weeks to go. Thanks for the giveaway!
I would LOVE some fresh ideas for freezer cooking. Thanks for the offer!
Looks like a great cookbook!
I love freezer cooking and am always looking for new recipies.
I would love a copy! I’m a beginning freezer cooker and need some good ideas.
PICK ME! PICK ME!!
I have been making freezer meals for 6 months and could certainly use any new meal ideas that this book could provide.
I would love to win this! It sounds awesome!
Sounds like a great way to stay ahead of school-night dinners.
looks like a great book good luck everyone
looks good
This book sounds like something I would actually do, and the way I would do it, fresh and natural.
I have really enjoyed your recipe posts & ebooks – the breakfast one being my newest favourite – and have porduced many meals using either the resipe as you gave it or adapted it to make it dairy free so I could eat it. I can say with surety that this book will be a wonderful addition to my recipe books as I live a busy life and often try to juggle work, play & extra people for meals. To be able to make meals ahead and freeze them would make “those days” so much easier.
This sounds like a great book!
I would love to have this cookbook. Jessica’s blog is the one that got me started with freezer cooking.
My mom and I have been talking about doing just this! Would love to start with this book:)
Would love this book. I try to buy meat in bulk, but I’m never really sure what to do with it except freezing it plain. This would certainly help with that. 🙂
I too would love to win this book, I could use the help. I haven’t tried freezer cooking.
Dear Lynn, I would love to make a freezer cooking adventure. I’d like to start somewhere as I’d like to have a free moment in my day because currently with two babies and a husband with two jobs, I have no time to myself or to even clean my house like I’d like to. Pick me please :-), but if not, I still appreciate your emails, blogs, and help.
I would love this! Thanks for the opportunity!
This book looks like just what I need!
So excited about ghus book! can t wait to get my own copy!
This looks like a great cookbook and I would love to win!!
I have been looking for freezer recipes sans cream of whatever soup! Yahoo!
sounds like the perfect cookbook for my family! With food allergies and most freeze ahead recipes containing so many ingredients we can’t use, it becomes frustrating “substituting and converting” all the time. I often just don’t even try 🙁 These sound like healthier recipes we could enjoy! Thanks for the review.
Would love to have this! I was in a monthly freezer food group that exchanged themed freezer meals, but its no longer active and I miss my freezer packed with meals. Would love having this to kick start me back in the direction of freezer food meals!
I would love this, I’ve wanted to know the best way for freezing meals, but I’ve been to scared to try! 🙂
Freezer cooking is something that I’ve struggled with. I’ve prepared a few meals for the freezer, but either we didn’t have freezer space, or we didn’t have funds to prepare a lot of make ahead meals. Now we’re gluten-free, nearly grain-free & refined sugar free & I want more options – tastier options – than what I’ve tried in the past. This looks great! I’m learning how to tweak things to meet our needs & this cookbook looks like there are many delicious choices. 🙂 Thank you for the giveaway!
Would love to try this!
I’ve been waiting for this book to come out! So excited it is finally time!
I would love to win this book! Thanks!
Just got a freezer – now I need to learn how to fill it!
Well, with all these comments it makes winnng this that much harder but…
I would love this book. I’ve done some freezer cooking and really enjoy having things on hand. I’m going back to work full time and could use the extra help. I not only put together meals for my immediate family I also do so for my parents so that if my dad can’t get home to cook my ill mother can just pull something out. Odds are, even if I don’t win it I’ll end up buying it.
By the way, I love this blog. I turn to it often for ideas. Thanks.
Great giveaway… would love a chance to win this book. 🙂
thank you for all you do. I would enjoy winning the freezer book.
Freezer cooking is an awesome timesaver. I would love to do more of it. This book could be my inspiration.
Got a freezer now in our garage and now I just need to fill it up!
After two bouts w/ cancer everything we eat is homemade now, so I appreciate healthy cookbooks. Hope I have a chance!
I could really, no REALLY, use this book!
I would love to make more freezer friendly meals, especially because it would free up time to do other things. Thanks for the opportunity.
Thank you that it’s not my mother’s. Seriously cannot wait to add this to my collection. Thank you for the opportunity.
Looks like a great cookbook!
I would love a cookbook that didnt use “cream of” soup. It would also be great for our Congregational Care at church who meet and cook meals together to freeze for anyone that needs a meal.
Sounds great! I’d love to learn more about freezer cooking. We just started homeschooling, and I’m finding simple meals are best for us right now.
thank you for the opportunity
You had me at No caned soups used! If I don’t win I will buy this book.
Thanks for sharing this opportunity. Looking to start exploring freezer cooking!
We use our freezer for almost everything and would like to do more with freezing meals. Thanks for the opportunity.
I would love to have this cookbook. Jessica makes so many yummy things, and I would be happy to fill my freezer with them.
I would love to find out about tips for freezer cooking an hour or so at a time!
I would love to win this! Always looking to try new ways to make thigs ahead and now that life is getting really busy, this would help a lot!
Love Freezer cooking! Would enjoy this cookbook!
I’m a novice at freezer cooking, so I can use all the help I can get!
Would love a new freezer cookbook!!!
Would like to win this book! I need to learn about freezer cooking. Especially in only a few hours. Thank you.
Would love to have this! Pics. look great and yummy!
My daughter told me about your site and the offer to win the free cookbook. I have always bought meat in large quantities and used my meal sealer to separate and prepare some freezer meals. Now I have just bought my first (used) freezer and even though it is not huge, I can envision it full of meals for my husband and I, family or friends in need of a meal. I also want to help my other daughter find good, easy freezer meals that would help a busy military mother of three deal with a diabetic 7 year old. I’m sure I will enjoy your site. Thanks
This book would help my boyfriend prep foods for his children!! Would love to surprise him this cookbook!!
I feel this book would be an asset to anyone’s kitchen. Make ahead meals for the freezer is wonderful.
Would love to have a copy of this wonderful time-saving cookbook full of your great recipes.
No cream of soup is great. I also like that there is add ons. I can come up with a main dish easier than I can come up with things to go with it.
Such a great idea! I’v been searching for freezer meals with more real ingredients! I hope I win this one!!
I have been using up every thing in my freezer getting ready to defrost it so this would arrive just in time to fill it again!
This would be perfect timing! Just recently began exploring freezer recipes by reading various blogs. Would love to get my hands on this cookbook!!
Thank you for the opportunity to win something that will really help my family and budget.
I LOVE the idea of freezer cooking, but I’ve had a hard time finding recipes that taste good AND healthy. This would be a HUGE help to me!