As a recipe developer, I like to experiment in the kitchen, and some times I make some — ahem — bold choices. Most of the time, it works out spectacularly. But occasionally? Not so much, and I don't want to make my family pay the price for my less-than-conventional approach to cooking.
And before I was a kitchen wiz, I still had the occasional kitchen disaster that rendered my planned family dinner inedible. I suspect I'm not alone. Sometimes, even when you follow a recipe, things go awry and you need a backup plan.
Sure, you can call out for pizza. Everyone loves pizza, after all. But I've also found that keeping a handful of backup meals in my freezer is faster and cheaper than ordering out when I flub up the food. So whether you make a double batch of something when you're cooking it for your family meal or you take a Sunday afternoon to cook and freeze backup meals, it never hurts to have some backups ready to go. These are some of my favorite meals that freeze exceptionally well and reheat in a snap when you find yourself in need of a backup supper (or just don't feel like cooking).
These foods will freeze for up to a year when well-sealed. They reheat the fastest if you store them as a single serving in a zipper bag (you can pop them into cool water, reheat in the microwave, or reheat on the stove top for most). Always label with what the food is and the date you froze it.
Chili
It is so easy to make a huge batch of chili and freeze some in individual portions for use later on. I make a version that uses pork belly, ground pork, and ground beef, and it's so easy to customize. Make this for your family, and then save leftovers (or double batch it) for the next time you have a cooking fail (or just don't feel like cooking). It makes about 16 servings.
Ingredients
- 1 pound pork belly, cut into ½ inch pieces
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- 2 onions, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 3 (15-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes, undrained
- 1 can Ro-tel chopped tomatoes and chilies, undrained
- 1-2 cups water (to adjust the thickness to your preference)
- 2 (15-ounce) cans kidney beans, drained
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1-2 teaspoons salt (to taste)
Instructions
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, cook the pork belly on medium, stirring occasionally, until it browns, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Remove the pork belly from the fat in the pot with a slotted spoon and set it aside. Add the ground pork and ground beef and cook, crumbling, until it's browned, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Remove the beef and pork from the fat in the pot with a slotted spoon and set it aside with the pork belly.
- Add the onion and green bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Return the meat to the pot. Add the canned tomatoes and Ro-tel, the water, kidney beans, garlic powder, oregano, cumin, coriander, chili powder, and salt.
- Bring to a simmer, stirring. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
I also sometimes add leftover smoked meats like brisket that I've chopped and frozen to make this chili even meatier!
Lasagna
When you make our lasagna recipe, make a second pan and bake it while you're eating dinner. Allow it to cool for about 30 minutes, and then cut it into individual servings and freeze. Or, if you have a ton of freezer space, leave it in the pan, wrap it in foil, and freeze it labeled with the date and what it is. When you're ready to warm it back up (out of necessity or just because), pop it in a preheated 350°F oven still wrapped in foil and heat it for about 60 minutes. You can reheat the individual servings in the microwave.
Soup
Soup freezes well and heats up super fast on the stovetop. We have a ton of hearty soup recipes that will freeze perfectly. I like to freeze them in gallon zipper bags and then reheat on medium on the stovetop in about 15 minutes.
Related: 10 of Our Favorite Soup Recipes for Cozy Autumn Meals
Rotisserie Chicken
Okay — this is one of my absolute favorite "I messed up dinner" meal hacks because it's so low-effort and versatile. Grab a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, remove it from the bone, chop it up, and save it in the freezer in zipper bags in one-cup servings. On those nights when you know dinner is a no-go, thaw a few bags in the microwave. You can toss it on a salad, add it to rice or stir-fried veggies, use it as a protein-packed topper for a baked potato, or add it to canned broth with some chopped veggies to make a quick soup. Easy peasy.
Strata
It's not always dinner that gets messed up, so having a few breakfast options in the freezer may save your family from Sunday morning cereal. I really love making a breakfast strata, which freezes beautifully and is just as good for dinner as it is for breakfast. Check out the sausage strata in this list of breakfast casserole recipes. Cut it into squares and freeze it in zipper bags, or put the whole pan wrapped in foil in the freezer and then reheat in a preheated 350°F oven still covered in foil for about 60 minutes.
Related: 9 of the Best Breakfast Casseroles for Morning Bliss
I Love It When a Plan Comes Together
I never plan for my meal fails, but sometimes they happen anyway. But what I do plan for is having something to feed everyone so we don't have to open a can of soup or order a pizza. Any of these meals keep for up to a year in your freezer, and they're great (and delicious) to have on hand just in case you either have an epic cooking fail or just a super busy day that renders you unwilling to cook.
