5 Freezer Meals in 30 Minutes (on a Budget)
Meal planning can be like a yo-yo. There are times I am on my game and there are times that I utterly fail. All of this seems to depend on the current season of life.
I am in a hard season right now. I need fast and I need easy more than ever before. In December we brought in a new little one to our home. It was intended that we be temporary caregivers for him and it is leaning more towards not being so temporary now. He is now 7 months old and it’s been a bit of an adjustment, especially at a time when we were just getting a great routine down after bringing his older brother (now two and a half years old and we’re in the final stages of adopting) into our home a year before.
With six children in my house right now (ranging from 16 years old to 7 months old) my time is more limited than every before. And taking six children to the grocery store is not going to happen, which is why I am relying more and more on online grocery shopping and pick up! It is seriously one of the biggest time savers for any busy mom!
I want to show you how we prepped 5 freezer meals in 30 minutes and stayed within a budget. I spent right under $80.00. You could easily double the meals to make 10 freezer meals in one afternoon.
The prep work was super easy. I literally opened my grocery list in one tab of my computer and had Walmart online grocery pickup tab opened in another. (Grab the grocery list and meal planning instructions over on our Get Dinner on the Table FB group. Just request to join and we will approve you. Once you’re the group, the grocery list and meal plan can be downloaded in the files area.)
Freezer Meal Menu:
- Slow Cooker Chicken and Peppers
- Garlic Lime Chicken (will cook in the pressure cooker or slow cooker)
- Lasagna
- Crockpot Beef Fajitas
- Skinny Tex Mex Chicken and Bean Casserole (cooked in the slow cooker)
Remember, anything that you cook in the oven or on the stove top can be adapted to be cooked in the slow cooker simply by adjusting the liquid and cook time. Here are my best slow cooker tips. And, everything on this list could also be tossed in the pressure cooker for an even faster dinner solution, except the lasagna!
I spent 10-15 minutes ordering my groceries online. I toggled between the grocery list tab on my computer and the Walmart tab adding what needed to be added to the cart based on what I did not already have in my pantry and in my refrigerator.
Here are the items that were in my order:
There were a few items unavailable and you will hear about that in the video below. Red peppers were on sale and I needed 6 or 7, but they only had 2. They also only had one package of chicken thighs so I subbed that with breasts I had already.
The staff is always so helpful every single time I pick up an order. In a time when customer service is lacking in many industries, I LOVE that Walmart still goes above and beyond in their quality of service. Add that to offering convenience and you have a lifelong customer!
She learned how much I loved to cook with garlic. Everyone had a great laugh as I bagged each new meal and tossed in extra heapings of garlic.
Watch how quickly we put these meals together and stocked our freezers.
If you are brand new to freezer meal planning, here are some of our best tips on how to get started with freezer cooking.
We are doing our next freezer meal assembly this coming Sunday (We plan to offer a new list to you guys every other week over in the Get Dinner on the table group). You will find each new list in the files area. Alex has been working on assembling the new plan this week and will post it as soon as it’s ready. She includes the grocery list and the assembly instructions. And then we will do a FB Live as we assemble, just like last time. We have so much fun doing it!!
So, tell me if you’ve given online grocery shopping a try. Seriously, it is a game changer!! What are you waiting for?
This post is sponsored by Walmart.com and their online grocery shopping service. All opinions are my own and come from the views of a mom of many who still struggles sometimes to get dinner on the table.
Freezer meals are ideal for our family! I’m not too good at coming up with freezer meal ideas, though. I’ve been making more or less the same ones for quite some time. Glad to see your suggestions!
I love the meals for the Garlic Lime Chicken & Lasagna. These are great meals that I know my family will eat. Very practical. Thanks for the ideas!
I love these ideas! In my house we love slow cooker meals, because it’s just easier to throw everything in and let it cook itself without worrying about it. I also love to cook sauce! Homemade sauce is great to make the in the crockpot and it can be frozen after in small containers if jarred sauce isn’t your style!
This is a great post! I really need to start freezing meals because I have such a hectic schedule everyday. I ‘m going to try and freeze the Garlic Lime Chicken meal, that sounds good!
Oh you have made my day. I have been on the hunt for some freezer meal ideas. Not only are these tasty recipes, they can be done in thirty minutes and they are budget friendly. I can’t wait to get back in the kitchen.
I used to do this and now that I’m working from home, I don’t freezer plan as much, but it’s still nice to have it on those lazy days where I don’t feel like cooking. Grabbing and throwing it in the crock pot is so much easier. I live about 15 minutes from Walmart’s world headquarters. I don’t know…I’m still not convinced about someone else doing my grocery shopping for me, though. There is something about picking out my own food I prefer, but maybe I’ll break down and give it a whirl.
What a timely post! There are a number of people I’ve been wanting to bring a meal to .. some that are facing an illness .. others who are really busy. I’ve been struggling to come up with inspiration .. until now! Thank-you so much
This is such a helpful post….I like how you broke everything down to clearly, in terms of saving money. I always make big-batch meals with the intent of storing a ton of portions in the freezer for busy nights.
Thank you for your helpful post. I do some meal planning and I find it helps me eat healthier and stick to a budget. I haven’t tried freezer meals yet since I have a small freezer. in the past, I did a little bulk cooking on Sunday evenings and it saved so much time. This looks like a great idea!
I want to start planning out my meals more. My hope is that it will save me money and help me be creative and less work. I’m working on it.
Walmart grocery pickup is fairly new to my area. Out of two experieneces I’ve not had the best. The employees try. I allow substitutions. Both trips 2-3 or more items (quanties included were 2-3 each) weren’t able to be substituted. I’ve had a substitution once each time but it wasn’t for food. What I didn’t get from its trips were the majority of meats I ordered that I was relying on in order to cook. 🙁
Hopefully I am one of the few. Both trips left me stressed out and not able to make more than one meal I had planned. I don’t need have back up meats or fresh essentials in order to make things work when I pickup groceries and don’t get the main things I order the meals around. The meat. The prices are also higher than a Walmart super center and nearby grocery stores. Bummed.