Weekend Perk: Freezer Meals

Ok, so maybe the weekend wasn't a total loss. We did prep some freezer meals to use throughout the upcoming weeks. I realized how amazing freezer meals were when we were in the first few weeks of Vince's life. It was so nice to be able to have something healthy to eat without needing to cut, mix and simmer first. This time around I made two meatloaves, some chicken corn chili, and black bean soup.

We had purchased a few cans of black beans while I pondered what to do with them. We also had some left over spiral cut ham from the holidays, the first time we made it. Ham and black bean soup seemed like a good idea. I consulted the power of Google and did a modified version of a recipe I found there.

It was really good, so we bought another spiral cut ham and made a bulk group of it.

Ingredients

1 cup of chopped onion

3 cloves of minced garlic

1 Tablespoon olive oil

2 15oz cans undrained cans of black beans

1 cup chicken broth

1 pound diced ham

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 Tablespoon ground cumin

Procedure

1. Sweat down the onion and garlic over medium heat

2. Add the beans, broth, and spices (salt, pepper and cumin)

3. Simmer for 20 minutes

4. Using a potato masher, mush some of the beans (can be left whole if desired)

5. Add ham

6. Simmer for another 10 minutes

Pictures

Ham diced up 

The finished product

I was taking care of Vincenzo and helping prep the chili while Marc made the black bean soup, so that's why there aren't very many pictures. I highly recommend using spiral cut ham vs pre-done diced ham from the market. It tastes much better. I also add some lime juice and a tad bit of cheddar cheese to the soup. Crusty bread also goes really well with this.

Another perk to the black bean soup recipe? It can be made vegetarian and vegan friendly. Remove the ham and cheese completely, and utilize water instead of chicken broth and voila! 

Do you freeze meals? If so, what do you make? If not, why not?