freezer meal game changer

I love making double or triple batches of soups and stews this time of year, and then freezing the leftovers for an easy meal on a busy night that I can just throw in the Instant Pot (or pressure cooker). BUT I still have trouble remembering to defrost the thing. So I end up coming home from work and desperately trying to pry the soup from its container, then turning it on high on the stove so it is ready in time for dinner, and then wind up burning at least part of it 40 percent of the time because I’m trying to do too many things at once. Enter these game changers:

Around Christmas, I ordered these. They are 64 ounces, BPA free, and, most importantly of all, fit just right into my Instant Pot, which means I can come home from work, dump out the contents of one of these containers into the Instant Pot, set it to pressure cook for ten-ish minutes, and have dinner on the table in no time. At our house, 64-ounces of soup or lentils isn’t usually enough to fill us up, so I’ll add a salad, some eggs on top of the soup or lentils, or, since it takes so little time to reheat, just warm up two different things. If you don’t have an Instant Pot (ask for one for your next birthday and thank me later), this is a great trick for the slow cooker or even just to throw in a pot on the stove. Plus, since I’ve been putting all of my soups, stews, and stocks in them all winter long, they stack well together in the freezer.

I know I’m prone to hyperbole, but these are life changing, especially on those overly scheduled nights when you need something quick and didn’t prepare ahead.