Love this book because it is easy to follow the instructions and I've been wanting a book such as this. with fix and freeze recipes. I want to start making meals ahead of time, freeze them then serving them later to help save time. This book will help me do that. I look forward to trying it.

I liked this one. So many freezer books have recipes that aren’t the most nutritious. This one uses real ingredients, including no condensed soups and not a lot of fattening ingredients. The recipes include whole grains and spices that will make the meals tasty and not your usual freezer fare. Even the sauces are made from scratch! This will be useful for any family who has lots of after school activities! I will for sure use it for soccer season !

I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fantastic book for people learning how to meal prep. It has a bunch of really great recipes. It offers great tips all around. I really liked how it tells you how to freeze what you’re making, what materials to use, and then how to cook it later for each individual recipe. It also provides lists of food that freeze well vs. not so well. I haven’t made any of the recipes I’ve bookmarked yet but I’m definitely looking forward to trying some.
Great book.

Fantastic Book. Very helpful in saving time and money with fixing ahead of time. I would recommend it to anyone who has a busy life or a family to cook for.

Fix, Freeze, Feast 2nd Edition by Katie Neville and Lindsay Ahrens is a slightly updated version. I own the previous book and was anxious to see the changes. The second edition includes 25 additional recipes. I also noticed a better layout overall. People new to freezer cooking will find a step-by-step introduction. Most of the recipes make three freezer meals of four to six servings each. The recipes are easy to scale down for smaller families. The freezer meals use basic ingredients but go beyond the creamed soup casseroles you might expect. It is a wonderful book for first time and seasoned freezer cooks.

When the first recipe in this book called for ingredients I never keep on hand I was concerned, but after that beginning, most of the recipes called for only basic ingredients I usually have on hand. I especially appreciated that nearly every spice mix called for had an optional recipe for blending it yourself from individual spices, which I'm much more likely to have around than specific spice mixes.

Overall, this strikes me as a very practical book. Many of the recipes have multiple options for how to cook the meals after defrosting (grill and oven, crockpot and stovetop, etc), so the meals generally work no matter what appliances you own. Some of the recipes seem a bit repetitive (is there really that much difference between Teriyaki Chicken and Sweet Asian Chicken?) but even so there's a good range, so I wouldn't regret spending money on this cookbook even if there were a few almost repeats.

I haven't had a chance to try much from the cookbook yet, so I will update after I try at least a couple recipes to confirm that they're as good as they look.

Edited to add: I've tried a few recipes now, and they mostly live up to my original impressions of the book. Basil Balsamic Pork Chops were my favorite, and both Mustard Oregano Pork Chops and Royal Thai Chicken Thighs were hits with the rest of the family but just a touch bland and lacking in salt for me to really love them. Overall, solid recipes and easily tweaked to suit my taste.

I was given a review copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

The book begins with many pages of tips on cooking freezer meals, what foods freeze best, and a Q&A about many issues that can come up, such as small freezer space or how to ensure the sustained quality of the meals.

One awesome thing about this book is that you don’t just have recipes for one freezer meal; they are specially designed to be made in bulk, so one recipe yields at least 3 future dinners.

The recipes are divided by protein primarily, with sections for chicken, beef, pork, seafood and veggie dishes. There are also sections for sauces, marinades, easy breakfasts and desserts. I like that a lot of them have minimal steps for cooking ahead, simply combining and freezing.

FIX, FREEZE, FEAST by Kati Neville and Lindsay Ahrens is just out in an updated second edition and it stays true to its title. Neville and Ahrens provide 150 relatively easy to prepare and store recipes – perfect for the busy parent. Quantities are large (making 15 or 16 servings so that multiple meals can be frozen). As I read, I found that I wanted to sample several dishes and was tempted to cut back on the quantities suggested so as to "fix, cook and feast," eliminating the option of freezing. Neville and Ahrens do a very good job, however, of specifying the type and size of freezer container and also add a short personal note about each recipe, suggesting side dishes, substitutions, or serving events (e.g., dinner guests). One piece of information which is lacking is nutrition information, although there is an emphasis on healthy, fresh ingredients. Recipes span a variety of categories including Chicken, Beef, Pork, Veggie or Seafood Main Dishes plus Sauces/Marinades and a small section on Breakfast, Snacks and Sweets. Colorful, appetizing pictures and interspersed.

If you're like me, you struggle to figure out what to cook for dinner too many nights during the week. I feel like I'm always struggling to come up with ideas and then to find the time to pull off the prep and cooking. I feel like I'm letting us down when it comes to dinner. So I was so excited to find Fix, Freeze, Feast. This is an updated edition of the original, with over 150 recipes and ideas for dinner that can be made in advance and defrosted when needed. 

Authors Kati Neville and Lindsay Ahrens are former owners of a meal preparation business, so they have tested all these recipes over and over. They're big batches, so you can make a recipe in a weekend and freeze batches so you can eat it over months. Or if you'd rather, you can invite some friends over and all cook up a bunch of food to put into containers and divide up so each family freezer gets some easy, tasty meals. 

Cooking in large batches can save time and money, and these recipes offer a huge assortment of mains as well as some sides to fill your freezer. There are over 35 chicken recipes, from Mini Chicken Pot Pies to Chicken Cordon Bleu. Mariachi Chicken Rolls, Sweet Asian Chicken, Tequila-Lime Chicken, Sun-Dried Pesto Chicken, Chicken Wings, and (my favorite recipe name) Urban Garlic Chicken--all these recipes and more are here, ready to be prepped and stored into your freezer for one of those Tuesday nights. (Urban Garlic Chicken? It's actually Herb and Garlic Chicken, misheard and renamed forever, just for fun. I would have done the exact same thing, myself.)

There are 24 recipes each for beef and pork, including Beef and Bean Burritos, Classic Lasagna, Moroccan Meatballs, Sesame-Soy Sirloin, Ginger Beef, Cheese Steaks, Pork Loin Ragout, Sticky Ribs, Firehouse Pork Skewers, Caribbean Pork Tenderloin, and Chile Verde. There are also seafood and veggie mains like Shrimp Curry and Feta and Spinach Lasagna as well as soups like Cream of Asparagus, Black Bean, and Mulligatawny. Sides include Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Rice Pilaf. And if that's not enough, there are also chapters on sauces, breakfast, snacks, and sweets. 

Some recipes also include a Feast Tonight option, so that you can make Dave's Swamp Blues Barbecued Chicken for your freezer and make Dave's Barbecued Chicken Pizza to eat tonight. And there are lots of tips and tricks to make the most of your ingredients. Fix, Freeze, Feast takes you from prepping your kitchen through to thawing and cooking your finished dish. These women know these recipes, they know this style of cooking, they can help you create and store meals that can help make your weeknights simple and tasty. And they can even help your correct mistakes as you go, so you won't have to start over on a recipe or give up and call for a pizza. This cookbook gives you everything you need to know to get started prepping and storing meals in your freezer for a happy, healthy, hungry life. 



Galleys for Fix, Freeze, Feast, 2nd Edition, were provided by Storey Publishing through NetGalley, with many thanks.

So many times dinner time rolls around and we are stuck standing in the kitchen like a deer in the headlights wondering what to make. With Fix, Freeze, Feast, 2nd Edition, you will have meals ready in the freezer to warm up and eat at any time.

The overall premise of the book is that you would purchase in bulk to save money and then make multiple portions of each recipe. You would then individually package each meal into freezer-safe containers, freezing them for use later.

The beginning of the book starts with The Beauty Of Make-Ahead Meals which explains why you might want to try this method. Not only can you save time, money, and frustration but it explains the myriad other benefits as well.

In the brief explanation About Our Fix And Freeze Recipes, the author explains how this book differs from conventional cookbooks. You will also see recommendations about where to start and how to proceed.

Next comes Planning For Success. This section offers the steps you’ll need to take for an organized batch cook. The level of detail involved is excellent, it covers everything from how to shop for your ingredients all the way through to how to fix some cooking mistakes.

Using the information in the first section of this cookbook you could easily adapt your own recipes for use with this method. However, if you want to start with something that is tested, or you want to try something new, they have included several categories of recipes you might want to try.

Recipe categories include:

Chicken Main Dishes
Beef Main Dishes
Pork Main Dishes
Veggie And Seafood Mains, Sides, And Soups
Sauces, Marinades, And Flavored Butters
Breakfast, Snacks, And Sweets

Each of the recipes includes the quantity information, how many meals it makes and how many servings each meal provides. A brief introduction is followed by the ingredients and directions. The directions start with the batch cooking information and then have a separate section for the instructions for preparing one frozen meal. The Pack It Up information also gives you the required freezer containers and quantities you needed to store and freeze the recipe.

Some of the recipes also give tips or further information about the recipe. Only about a quarter of the recipes have a picture, but those pictures are full page and beautifully done.

Impressive Variety And Detail

I was very impressed with the sheer variety of recipes in this book. It would not have been unexpected had 90% of the recipes been ground meat used in different ways.

This book gives you a lot of really good recipes to start with. It also provides you with the means to use your own recipes which is invaluable. Everything is here right from the shopping list to the end product.

It has been my experience that whenever I try to make enough to use as leftovers somehow they always get eaten. There’s nothing to freeze or only one portion left. The FFF method will ensure you have leftovers and that people aren’t overindulging (because everything is portioned).

One thing I thought was particularly ingenious is the photocopiable freezer inventory table included. You can record what is in the freezer available for your meal. On their website, you can find labels with preparation instructions for your recipes. You can print them onto Avery labels and attach to your freezer meal. This will definitely help in keeping your labels correct and legible.

After all of the recipes comes a section called Branching Out. You get information about adapting your own meals and how to work with a cooking club or cooking co-op.

A Quick Reference Guide at the end covers information on which recipes can be cooked directly from frozen, and the freezer shelf life of various foods.

See the full review and the recipe for Caribbean Pork Tenderloin at The RecipesNow! Reviews And Recipes Magazine. This review is written in response to a complimentary copy of the book provided by the publisher in hopes of an honest review.

I loved the recipes in this book. I really appreciate something I can just pull out of the freezer and pop in the oven when I'm crunched for time.

As a person who is always trying to be healthy and use a few pounds in addition to feeding their family,. I am always looking for a good cookbook. Some great recipes here, maybe in need of more seasoning/spices. The recipes are fast and easy to prepare and the rewarming details are clear. For a busy mom with kids who always expect cooked food, this is a godsend.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Storey Publishing and the authors for the opportunity to read through their updated cookbook - definitely a must have!

These recipes are things that an average family would want to make - but it gives you bigger batch recipes so that you can cook, freeze and then have a ready meal when needed. It even gives you the how to thaw and cook the family portions that you froze - great to have that info.

Since this was an ARC, some things weren't complete. As with all cookbooks, I hope that there is a nutrition breakdown for recipes, but that doesn't always happen!

A must for busy families or those who like to have a well-stocked freezer. Highly recommended!

'Fix, Freeze, Feast, 2nd Edition' contains 37 chicken, 24 beef, and 24 pork main dishes as well as 24 veggie/seafood, 25 sauces/marinades/flavored butters, and 16 breakfast/snack/sweets recipes. There are introductory pages to teach their method of fix ahead food preparation along with best practice recommendations. I own the first edition and have pre-ordered this edition. I am ready for some new recipes. The make ahead and freeze method works best with my busy schedule. I love to cook and enjoy taking my time on the weekend preparing healthy meals for the coming week. The beauty of this method is that you choose how to package the meals to fit your family size. This series makes it easy to do. Thanks to @NetGalley and @StoreyPub for allowing me to enjoy a digital copy of the 2nd edition via @NetGalley.

You're at your local grocery store, and you notice that they have boneless, skinless chicken breasts on sale for .79/lb. What a deal! But, you have to buy the tray of breasts, which contains eight pieces altogether. That's a lot of chicken. What are you going to do with it?

Enter Kati Neville, and Lindsay Ahrens and their newly updated book, Fix, Freeze, Feast.

I have always been intrigued by the idea of freezer cooking, but I never really know where to start. While I was looking for resources, I came across Fix, Freeze, Feast, and discovered they had a new edition coming out so I jumped at the chance to read it.

This book is amazing. There are 150 totally different recipes in here, and something for every preference. You can find recipes for chicken dishes, beef, vegetarian options, soup and more. Each recipe begins with a meat tray (except the vegetarian ones, obviously!), went to the library and borrowed the first edition, just to compare the two. Yes, I'm kind of a nerd like that. The recipes seemed mostly the same, with some changes to make them a bit healthier, but my favorite part were the pictures!

Now, I have never made a recipe that turned out exactly like the picture in the book, but I like at least knowing I'm on the right track. And in another of my nerd-ish tendencies, I like to look at cookbooks just for fun. For me they're just not as fun if there aren't any pictures! The updated version contains a ton of beautiful, full-color pictures, so you can really enjoy just reading it. (Surely I can't be the only person who does this?)

As a side note, I'd like to mention that you'll probably need a good-size freezer, or even a spare in the basement if you want to be serious about freezer cooking. After all, if you make 3-4 batches of a casserole, you have to have some place to store it. I say this, because I have a very, very small freezer, but I do have an extra one in my garage, which works well for this.

Freezer cooking is really handy for:
•Large families--just grab more trays to feed more people
•Budget shoppers--buy what's on sale and stock up on great meals!
•Busy moms--never stress about what's for dinner
•Club members--don't pass up on deals on large quantities of meat or veggies

We've been working on trimming our grocery budget recently, and I can't wait to use some of these recipes to save money and stock up on quick, healthy meals for my family! Fix, Freeze, Feast, is a great resource for being ready to put dinner on the table in short order without a lot of prep work beforehand.

If you're looking to save time and money, and still have healthy dinner options ready at any given time, give freezer cooking a try!



I received a free copy of this book through NetGalley. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.

Great book! It contains all of the information to make meals ahead of time, and use them as you need them. It's great for busy families, busy working parents, etc. Most of the recipes are things that I would prepare in my own home. I can't wait to try them. :)

Loved the simplicuty of layout and concise writing not to mention great recipes! I can't wait to try some of these plus loved the practical tips!

All too often, quick or "weeknight" cookbooks are too complex for the average working household. The recipes in this cookbook are designed to be prepared in bulk and frozen for future cooking. What could be easier? Includes tips for best freezer bags, ingredient substitution, fixing mistakes, and more.

I am loving all these recipes. There is so much good information and the recipes are very easy to follow. I am excited to be able to add more into our mix to have a wide range of foods available in our freezer. Great addition to my cokbooks

Recipes all in one place for those ready to try freezer meals. Well organized and clear directions will help the cook.