10 Things to Always Keep Stocked in the Freezer

I’m a mom.

A boy mom at that.

That means they’re always running, loud, messy, and starving.

I’m also busy running to preschool 3 days a week, running my business, attempting to keep up with the house, running the kids to various activities, and what feels like a million other things.

I’m really awesome at a lot of things.

What I’m not always awesome at: pulling things out for dinner.

If you walk into my house and open my freezer, you’ll always be able to find some basics to put together a meal.

1. Ravioli – This is a go-to for a quick dinner for us. Just cook the ravioli and then toss with butter or your favorite jarred sauce and you’ve got dinner on the table!

2. Chicken Nuggets – No judgement here. The kids love them for lunch or dinner. If you need something quick and easy, they’re always a winner! One of our favorite dinners is nuggets with a side of boxed mac and cheese.

3. Shrimp – Now we’re getting fancy, right? Nope. Frozen shrimp thaws in just a few minutes by running under some cold water. I usually grill the shrimp and serve with some noodles or rice. It looks like a fancy dinner, but something I can put together at the last minute.

4. Waffles – Any kind will do. Big, small, chocolate, plain, whatever. The kids eat pb&j on a waffle just about everyday. You can make them up for a quick breakfast for dinner or make them into mini pizzas like we did here.

5. Bag Meal – This can be the kind you just buy at the store and throw in a skillet for about 20 min or the kind you dump the whole bag into the slow cooker in the morning. Either way, they require just about no effort and dinner is done. There are several brands that make them for purchase or you can make these chicken slow cooker freezer meals.

6. Veggies – I really like the steamer bags for their convenience. Of course, you can stock up on a great deal at the farmer’s market or grocery store, prep your veggies for another day, and pop them in the freezer.

7. Pizza – We love pizza. While I do enjoy making homemade pizza, I always have one stocked in the freezer for an easy pizza night!

8. Fruit – Whether it’s a store-bought bag of fruit or fresh fruit we saved before it went bad, we always have some in the freezer. They’re great for smoothies, baked treats, or heated and used for topping pancakes and waffles.

9. Meatballs – They’re easy to just grab as many as you need. Meatballs can be served on pasta, sub sandwiches, as a quick appetizer, soup or try a meatball pizza.

10. Ice Cream – Everyone needs ice cream in their freezer. It can be used to console a sad kiddo, a special treat, or maybe just when Mom needs a little bit of me-time at the end of the night.

I recently stocked up on Breyers® delights Cookies and Cream at BJ’s. It’s a truly tasty cookies and cream reduced-fat ice cream, made with real cookies and fresh cream in every bite. I get to indulge without the guilt because there are 20 grams of protein and only 330 calories per pint!