Making & Freezing Christmas Meals In Advance

[StrewthMarge]

Does anyone do this?

I was thinking of a beef Wellington that could be made and frozen. And soup perhaps.

Anyone else taking such an approach?

I’m freezing:
Venison, bacon and chestnut casserole
Sausage and caramelised onion pastry plait
Salmon lasagne
Parsnip and potato gratin

I tend to do this for the mad couple of weeks before Christmas so mine are a bit less special. But I like to try and have a few things put away to just put in the oven to cook or reheat like:

Pasta bake
Lasagna (both a 2 person size and large sharing size)
Smoked fish and brocolli pie (potato topped)
Chicken and mushroom pie (pastry topped)
Shepherd's pie

I also do freeze "wet" meals in individual portions (I reuse plastic takeaway tubs for this) - as then I can take out as many as I need to for a particular meal and can cope with unexpected extras. (I do a large pot of each for dinner on different nights, with the aim of having at least 2-3 portions to freeze once we've all had enough for dinner). Especially good is to have a few different curries, so you can do a "curry feast" which just needs freshly cooked rice and put a couple of servings each of 2-4 different curries on the table with a few sides from jars (and diced tomato/onion mix which takes 5 minutes while things are cooking). Useful things in this category are:
Spag bol
Meatballs in tomato sauce
Just plain tomato sauce to throw lefotver meats/fresh veggies into
Chilli con carne
Veggie chilli
Lamb Tagine
Lamb Rogan Josh
Chicken or Prawn Tikka Masala
Chicken Korma
Chicken or Lamb Bhuna
Chicken, beef or lamb stews
Pork and apples in cider sauce

Also, I love a spare tub of cauliflower cheese or roasted mediteranean veggies or roasted root veggies to just reheat and not have to prep. I sometimes have a bag of med veg chopped but not roasted that I can just throw on a baking tray while something else is in the oven too and that is really handy! And always a bag of frozen peas for the nights we can't face organising veg. I also find a bag of breadcrumbs useful for all sorts, and if I have a decent amount, I also do a bag of basic stuffing (onion, garlic, seasonings, crumbs and butter) that can be tossed into the oven with meat or into mushrooms/tomatoes/butternut squash etc. The last bag I have is a bag of crumble mix, ready to pour over fruit (from freezer or that I have prepped fresh) and chuck in the oven for a fast tasty pud. (And ice cream to serve with that).

I'm doing

Salmon and watercress lasagne
Beef in red wine
Beef curry

Chicken curry
Shepherd's pie
Cauliflower cheese
Dauphinois potato
Butternut Squash risotto
Red cabbage
Bolognaise sauce
Mince pies- assembled and ready to cook

Oh and a quiche

I aim to have a lot prepped & frozen - yule log sponge, cookie & gingerbread doughs (can be cooked from frozen), mince pies, cauli cheese, dauphinoise, red cabbage, pates, bread sauce, salmon en croute, nut roast. I've successfully frozen tiramisu, sticky toffee pudding & lasagne in previous years.