↑
  • Start Here
  • Recipe Index
  • Travel Index
  • Lifestyle
  • Disclosures
  • Contact
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Easy Peasy Meals

Easy Recipes, Slow Cooker Meals, Meal Planning & Meal Prep

  • About
  • Contact
  • Start Here
  • Disclosures
    • Privacy + Ad Policy
  • Recipes
  • Travel
  • Lifestyle
  • Nav Widget Area

  • Start Here
  • Recipe Index
  • Course
    • Appetizers
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Sides
    • Dessert
  • Method
    • Air fryer
    • Instant Pot
    • Skillet
    • Sheet Pan
    • Slow Cooker
    • Grill / Smoker
  • Holiday
    • Valentine’s Day
    • St. Patrick’s Day
    • Easter
    • Mother’s Day
    • Father’s Day
    • 4th of July
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas
    • NYE
  • Protein
    • Chicken
    • Beef
    • Turkey
    • Pork
    • Fish
    • Vegetarian
  • Low-Carb
Home » Freezer Meals » Freezer Meal Cooking with #CanBandz
This post may contain affiliate links. See my Full Disclosure for further details.

Freezer Meal Cooking with #CanBandz

By Rachael | Updated on November 15, 2018

52shares
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Yummly
Jump to Recipe Pin Recipe

freezer meal cooking with can bandz

If you are anything like me, chances are you don’t love the idea of feeding your kids fast food every night, but your nights are busy, and between homework, soccer, piano, etc. getting a hot meal on the table EVERY NIGHT is daunting.

This is why I do a freezer meal cooking day each month. I make about 10 meals to keep in my freezer to take the hassle out of dinnertime. It helps me save time and money! (I used to make far more than this, but now 10 works for our needs)

Here’s the thing, if you don’t do freezer meal cooking right, you won’t like it. You won’t eat it. And it won’t save you time or money. So I am going to share some of my best tips:

What to Prepare

Make what you already love to eat.

Some foods you like can’t be made in advance and frozen. But chances are there are some steps you can do to make those foods easier to prepare day of.

For example, Orange Chicken. This is a breaded and fried chicken, so not something I would make to completion and freeze. What I do is mix the sauce, and cut the chicken into bite size pieces, and I bag it all up with easy to follow instructions put right on the bag, so even Dad can make it for dinner!

the orange chicken

Only make how much you can eat in a month.

I know that in theory it sounds awesome to make 30 meals in one day and have all your dinners prepared for the month. However, sometimes you don’t eat everything, or you go out to dinner, or to a friend’s house. So those meals may sit for a long time. And may even get freezer burn. Plan appropriately, make only what you think you will eat, and be sure to store properly with double wrapping and bagging.

freezer meals

Time Management

When making freezer meals, you can do simple things to make the whole process faster and easier. These are my favorite tricks.

  • Label containers/bags before filling them. Trust me, taking a few minutes to write out the name, date, and prep instructions on the bags before doing any food prep will make the rest of the day easier.
  • Use cups to make filling bags with liquids easier. Put a big cup down on your counter, and place your freezer bag inside of it, as if it were a garbage can liner. This holds the bag in place, allowing you to fill it with liquids without hassle. This is great for things like Lemon Chicken sauce, or Beef and Broccoli sauce.
  • Use Can Bandz to hold your garbage bag in place: What do they do? Can Bandz secure liners to trash cans. This makes it a lot easier when you are cooking in bulk because you aren’t going to have to fix your can liner while trying to dump chicken trimmings, fat, and vegetable ends and peelings into the can.  These 7″ x 1/8″ black rubber bands fit 13 quart to 32 gallon containers. This means they are great for almost any kitchen garbage can. They are a really simple product, but a real lifesaver for me when I am trying to get my monthly freezer meal cooking done.
  • Cut everything, then assemble: Sweet and Sour Chicken and Orange Chicken both require bite sized chicken pieces. So cut them both at the same time, then fill bags, and last make the sauces.
  • Have a good plan: If you are making Lasagna Roll Ups, Taco Soup, and Hamburger Gravy over rice, for instance, you could brown all your ground beef at once, rather then three separate times. Try to evaluate what you are making and the logical order for preparation. A little planning saves a lot of time.can bandz in action

Meal Ideas

For today’s freezer meal cooking day I was preparing food for my sister to feed my kids while my husband and I are on a much-needed vacation. So my goal was to have foods she could just pop into the oven or crock pot. That means my bag meals are out, as they do take prep on the day of. And instead I made:

  • Hawaiian Pizza
  • Lasagna Roll Ups
  • Buffalo Chicken Casserole
  • Crock pot Sweet and Sour Pork

And a new recipe: BBQ Chicken Casserole

This recipe is everything you would barbeque on the grill, but together in one pan. We love it. Plus it is really easy to make and freeze!

Freezer Meal Cooking with #CanBandz

BBQ chicken casserole is everything you would barbecue on the grill, but is all together in one pan. It is really easy to make and freeze!
No ratings yet
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: BBQ chicken casserole
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients

  • 6-7 russet potatoes peeled and cubed
  • 2 Tbs olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 bag frozen corn kernels
  • 2 lbs chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces
  • 1 cup BBQ sauce of choice
  • 2 cups mozzarella cheese

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 425
  • Peel and cube potatoes, and rinse in cold water
  • Pat potatoes dry
  • Toss in olive oil and salt and pepper
  • Lay on baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, then flip and bake 5-10 more
  • Let cool
  • Cut chicken into bite sized pieces, and toss in BBQ sauce
  • Using a foil casserole container (9x13), layer potatoes, corn kernels, and BBQ coated chicken
  • Top with mozzarella cheese and freeze
  • To prepare: thaw, and bake covered at 350 for 1 hour, remove foil/lid and bake 5-10 more minutes until cheese is melted

Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.

Tried this recipe?Mention @ezpzmealz or tag #ezpzmealz!
Want to use this recipe in a meal plan?Try PrePear, my FREE Meal Planning App that allows you to save your recipes, plan meals, shop for groceries, and cook simply in one place. Join Here!
 

BBQ chicken casserole

Review

Last but not least I wanted to reiterate how useful Can Bandz are on a freezer cook day. My garbage can has a lid, so for everyday use I do not rely on Can Bandz as heavily, but on a freezer cook day, things are fast paced, I am trying to maintain a tight schedule, and not let something on the stove burn while chopping up something else. This means I do not want to mess with lifting the lid, or dealing with a slipping liner, I hate having to clean out spilled foods in the can, so these are wonderful.

review can bandz

Can Bandz are really stretchy rubber bands that you put around the outside of the can to hold the liner in place. They work well on both large and small cans. I have not tried any other brands, but I don’t have to, as these really do the job.

They keep the bag in place while you compact the trash. This is huge for me because I don’t like emptying the can a million times, but in the past I had to fish the side of the liner out of the can because when I pushed down on cardboard boxes and empty milk jugs (mmm, I should probably recycle) the liner would slip.

These are not only great for freezer cooking, it is also great for keeping the liner in place when doing yardwork. And you might find yourself reaching for one when a regular rubber band won’t do the trick!

You can order them at www.officesupply.com or try your luck at winning a set here. Entry is easy.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

52shares
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Yummly

Related

Related categories:
Freezer Meals Lifestylecan bandz cooking easy cooking freezer friendly meals freezer meal freezer meal cooking

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kerry C says

    October 8, 2014 at 9:33 am

    My trash can is an odd size and had a lid as well. I don't think they would work for my kitchen trash can. But they would be great for my trash can outside for parties. With all those paper plates the liner slips so much.
    Reply
    • Rachael says

      October 8, 2014 at 9:37 am

      Totally! Such a good idea. Or the one I keep by the grill that gets all the random things thrown in it!
      Reply
  2. Renee's Kitchen Adventures says

    October 8, 2014 at 2:03 pm

    I love the theory of freezer meals, but I am never organized enough to do them! I will follow some of your tips. Those bands look like a great product!
    Reply
    • Rachael says

      October 8, 2014 at 9:56 pm

      Renee, they save me. But a great way to get started is to just double up on whatever you are making for dinner than night, and stick it in the freezer for later!
      Reply
  3. dishofdailylife says

    October 8, 2014 at 6:34 pm

    I could totally use these! They would be great for our kitchen trash because we do often cook in bulk. Your tips though are awesome. Pinning this!
    Reply
    • Rachael says

      October 8, 2014 at 9:55 pm

      Thank you! And thanks for the pin. I cook in bulk a lot, so I probably overlooked a few things that just seemed obvious to me, so I may have to go back in and edit it later! Haha!
      Reply
  4. Mary Ellen says

    October 8, 2014 at 7:28 pm

    Love all of the tips for freezing dinners!
    Reply
    • Rachael says

      October 8, 2014 at 9:55 pm

      Thanks Mary!
      Reply
  5. Carrie @Frugal Foodie Mama says

    October 8, 2014 at 8:06 pm

    Oh, these Canbandz are so clever! Even though we have a trash can with a lid and a ring to hold the bag in place, it ALWAYS slips out and I am left cleaning up a crazy huge mess. No fun. And I need to try freezer meal cooking! Here and there I will make a dinner to freeze, but never 10! That would be such a time saver. :)
    Reply
    • Rachael says

      October 8, 2014 at 9:54 pm

      With my 4 kids it is a necessity! Haha The can bandz really are nice. Such a simple concept, but really nice to have!
      Reply
  6. The Foodie Affair says

    October 8, 2014 at 8:15 pm

    Great tips! I need to make a few of your recipes. It's so nice to have dinner made after working at the office all day! those Canbandz are perfect for my trash can. I have a recycling bin behind my trash and the bag always slides around!
    Reply
    • Rachael says

      October 8, 2014 at 9:51 pm

      They are really nice! Be sure to sign up for the giveaway if you haven't already!
      Reply
  7. Mia Flower says

    October 9, 2014 at 2:02 pm

    i would use for kitchen trash cuz the kids never pull the bag up
    Reply
  8. Kristin @ Dizzy Busy and Hungry! says

    October 9, 2014 at 3:06 pm

    Great tips! I love freezer cooling...it is so nice at the end of a busy day to just pull dinner out of the freezer and heat! Thanks for sharing!
    Reply
  9. [email protected] Tastes Good says

    October 9, 2014 at 4:40 pm

    These are all really great tips, Rachael. When my daughter was younger and life much more hectic, I used to do freezer meals all the time. I still do a freezer meal day every so often to give to friends and family in need. I have never used the Bandz before, but they look handy for a day of cooking for sure!
    Reply
  10. Tammy Northrup says

    October 9, 2014 at 6:33 pm

    Great tips Rachael! We have done freezer cooking in the past but not for a long time. Recently my husband started a new job though and with me working full time while still trying to maintain the blog time is very short so I need to start again. I will definitely be using your tips. I'm going to check out the can bandz too. We don't keep a lid on our trashcan so the bag is always falling in.
    Reply
    • Rachael says

      October 10, 2014 at 11:45 pm

      Tammy, good luck with the job changes, and busy schedule. So happy to help a little. The can bandz are really handy.
      Reply
  11. Ashley D says

    October 11, 2014 at 10:12 am

    I hate when the garbage bag slips. It is so frustrating. Also never thought to write the directions for the meal. Maybe SO will finally cook!! lol
    Reply
  12. Susan says

    October 11, 2014 at 2:27 pm

    I would use Can Bandz for my trash bags in my dorm room because I don't like how the bags slip and this would be very useful.
    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Rate this recipe: ☆☆☆☆☆

Primary Sidebar

Rachael from Eazy Peazy Mealz

Welcome, I'm Rachael!

I’m a mom of 4 great kids that keep me super busy.

My philosophy is cooking has to be easy, tasty, kid approved, and fit between homework, piano practice, soccer, and the MOUNTAINS of laundry in my life! Read More Work With Me
Take the Hassle Out of Meal Time!
FREE EMAIL COURSE + Printable Recipe Binder!
 
Easy, quick prep meals your family will want to eat sent straight to your inbox!
Thank you for subscribing!

Crock Pot Meals

Crock Pot Philly Cheesesteak (Keto)

Crockpot grape jelly meatballs are the perfect party appetizer.

Crockpot Grape Jelly Meatballs

A bowl full of bolognese made in the slow cooker.

Bolognese Slow Cooker

A bowl of chicken parmesan casserole

Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan

20 Minute Meals

Pop hearts, homemade pop tarts, flakey pie crust stuffed with raspberry jam and baked to golden perfection.
A cuban sandwich
Pad see ew a thai stir fry noodle with vegetables, so delicious, so easy to make.
A hot stack of buttermilk pancakes and syrup being poured over the top

Free Kitchen Binder eBook

Let's Do This!

browse allRecipes By Method

slow cook

Sheet Pan

Air Fryer

Instant Pot

Grill/Smoke

One Pot

Skillet

Let's Work Together

Hi, I'm Rachael, and I am obsessed with sharing quality products and solid recipes. I can work with you to develop, test and create original recipes and content using YOUR products, and share it across Eazy Peazy Mealz blog and social channels, reaching thousands of dedicated readers.

Let's Do This

Footer

Eazy Peazy Meals
  • About
  • Contact
  • Start Here
  • Disclosure
  • Privacy Policy
Copyright ©2023, Easy Peasy Meals. All Rights Reserved.
Design by Pixel Me Designs
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Yummly