Q: Any suggestions for DIY frozen lunches? Our New Year's resolution is to save more money by bringing our lunch to work four days a week. I'm looking for one-dish meals that freeze well and can be defrosted in the microwave.
We do eat chicken, but I'd prefer recipes that are vegetarian. Thanks for your help!
Sent by Addie
Editor: Freezer burritos have been a big one in our house lately. We can make a week's worth (at least!) in about an hour and then lunch is a grab-and-go affair:
• Make Ahead Meal Idea: Freezer Burritos • From the Files: Recipes that Freeze Well • Make 46 Freezer Meals in 4 Hours
Readers, do you have a favorite freezer lunch to recommend?
Related: Great Idea! Start a Freezer Meal Cooperative
(Image: Tracy Benjamin of Shutterbean)
Elizabeth Apron fro...

Variations on beans and rice should work well too. Red beans and rice, black beans and rice with pico de gallo.
Ditto on the burritos! I also have done calzones a few times, which turned out well.
Soup!
That freezer burrito post was awesome - completely agree with that suggestion.
I made a big lasagna this weekend and froze the leftovers in individual portions in aluminum foil. They heat up perfectly in the microwave at work.
Ditto to the soup. And chili, and pasta!
My favorite make, freeze, and take to work lunch is Snobby Joes (from Post Punk Kitchen), made with lentils.It's yummy on a whole wheat bread or bun, but also good by itself.
http://www.theppk.com/2009/11/snobby-joes/
I also like the Black Beans and Rice recipe from Simply Recipes, which is easy to modify to your taste.
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/easy_black_beans_and_rice/
Also, this vegan split pea soup is very filling, and I like to add sweet potatoes:
http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/recipes/vegan-split-pea-soup
I always just make double of whatever I'm making for dinner and divvy it up into tupperwares for my husband and me to grab in the morning. Obviously this only works if you cook dinner most nights, but if you don't that's another idea for saving money
I do this most weeks. Favorites:
chili
chicken pot pie
soup (split pea, potato)
chicken enchiladas
lasagna
mac and cheese
chicken/tofu stir-fry with rice
peanut noodles with chicken
Also, everything above is good in the fridge for at least 3 days, so freezing is not usually required (for us). I'll make a big meal on Sunday and then a smaller one later in the week and we're set. I never buy lunch.
I double and sometimes triple all my soup, stew and pasta recipes, ladle the extras that weren't consumed at dinner into mason jars (we LOVE our canning funnel and the plastic BPA free mason jar lids for this) and stick them in the deep freeze for lunches so we always have homemade lunches ready. Additionally, whenever we make bread (esp the no-knead bread), I slice it and stick it in the freezer in a ziplock bag so we can grab a slice at a time to take to work with the soup. It is defrosted and ready to eat by the time lunch rolls around. But be sure to eat it relatively quickly as it is prone to freezer burn when in the freezer for long periods of time. Some favorites in our house are chili, the vegetarian pozole from Moosewood Restaurant New Classics cookbook, vegetable soup and lentil soup.
My husband's work is far away from any lunch options so he takes his lunch every.single.day but doesn't like sandwiches. I usually just make extra large portions at dinner and he takes them throughout the week. The winners so far..
fajitas
chicken tacos
spagetti and meatballs (noodles kept separate, they don't heat evenly together)
tikka masala
massaman curry (we love the mae ploy base)
lettuce cups (also works well as salad, less messy)
Even if I make it on Sunday, we have yet to find something that doesn't last throughout the entire week in the fridge.
Every now and then, I'll make cabbage rolls in the slow cooker and freeze them. I wrap them in wax paper, then at work, I'll put a couple on a plate and nuke them. Pretty much any soup or stew works great, too.
Chana masala freezes well and here's the recipe:
http://smultronsoul.blogspot.com/2012/02/chole-or-chana-masala.html
@Nerves - do you have a handy recipe for those cabbage rolls? I've been trying to do 2 new slow cooker recipes each month and that sounds perfect.
enchiladas and rice! my favorite recipes are these:
http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/2010/06/chicken-enchiladas-967-recipe-097-each.html
http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/2010/04/cilantro-lime-rice-208-recipe-035.html
last time, i made a double batch of both and then froze individual containers with two enchiladas and some rice. i bet they'd be just as delicious without the chicken.
Another vote for burritos. I try to always have some on hand, since they are so filling, economical, healthful, simple, and adaptable. You'll wince at a store-bought frozen burrito once you try it!
We also follow the multiply-and-freeze method of making meals, intentionally preparing more than we will eat in a meal. I label individual containers with painter's tape, making it easy to remove.
Not a meal in and of itself, but as a nutrient-dense option for a side, making large batches of smoothies, pouring them into pint-sized canning jars (use the plastic, screw-on lids), labeling, and freezing them works fantastically. The night before you want to drink the smoothie, take it from the freezer to fridge. It will be thawed the next day.
We make
Enchiladas
Soup - not cream based
Pasta bakes - lasagna, baked ziti
wow. I think my co-workers would kill me if I microwaved cabbage rolls at work. They can barely stand my weekly ginger chicken leftovers... but then again, they're all pretty much PB&J or Slim-Fast people.