The version of me grocery shopping on Sunday has wildly different ambitions than the version of me making dinner on Thursday. These meal starters are built for optimistic Sunday people and exhausted Thursday people.

the freezer project

week 3. make some meal starters.

BAILEY SISSOM

May 17, 2026

The concept of a store-bought freezer meal is fantastic. The execution never has been.

The vegetables go mushy. The chicken gets that unmistakeable freezer meal texture. Everything is overly salty.

I especially love the ones that pretend to be healthy while quietly containing three pieces of broccoli and enough sauce for an entire hibachi restaurant.

Still, I kept buying them. Because the dream of dinner being mostly handled by someone who is not me is powerful.

So this week, we're making our own freezer meal starters: protein, vegetables, and sauce prepped together and frozen.

The freezer used to be a graveyard of manager's special meats I never fully trusted. We're fixing that.

Week one was chicken. Week two was vegetables. This week is meal starters.

There’s a high-effort meal starter, a medium-effort one, and a low-effort one that barely qualifies as cooking.

This week, pick one of these meal starters and put it in your freezer. You do not need to make all three.

You probably won’t feel like doing it. Do it anyway. There is a Tuesday coming where you walk in at 6pm with no plan, and this will be the reason dinner happens.

Save or print the recipes below and come back when you need them.

lemon parmesan meatballs are the high effort option, but also the one I would make again first. Meatballs and broccoli go in the freezer alongside a small disc of compound butter (garlic, lemon zest, parmesan) that melts directly into the pasta on dinner night and becomes the sauce. Freezer meatballs sound bleak until you factor in the butter.

tandoori coconut chicken are the medium effort option. Chicken thighs, peppers, onions, garlic, ginger, spices. Coconut milk gets added at the end which feels annoying until you taste it.

teriyaki chicken rice bowls are the low effort option. Chicken thighs, broccoli, edamame, teriyaki sauce. Add rice and you're done. This is not the most exciting dinner in the email. It is the one you make when everyone is hungry and you are tired.

Pick one. Save it. The rest will be here when you need it.

• Chicken thighs. Always chicken thighs. They hold up better in the freezer and stay far more forgiving during cooking.​
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  You can use chicken breasts if you prefer them, but they cook faster and dry out more easily after freezing, so keep an eye on them.
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• Broccoli, peppers, and onions all get softer once they've been frozen and thawed. For some recipes that's fine. For others, you want the vegetables to go straight from frozen into the pan. I'll tell you which is which.
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• Frozen rice, frozen garlic cubes, frozen ginger cubes. Buy all of them. Non-negotiable, all three.

Lemon Parmesan Meatballs

Serves: 4

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 1½ pounds ground beef
• ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
• ⅓ cup breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• 2 Dorot garlic cubes, thawed
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper

Vegetables

• 4 cups broccoli florets

Flavor Butter Pack

• 4 tablespoons salted butter, softened
• 2 Dorot garlic cubes, thawed
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 ½ tablespoons finely grated parmesan cheese
• 3/4 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon chicken base
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• pinch red pepper flakes

For Roasting

• olive oil
• kosher salt
• black pepper

For Serving

• 12 ounces pasta (I used fusilli)
• lemon wedges
• extra parmesan

Instructions

Assemble the freezer starter:

Mix ground beef, parmesan, breadcrumbs, egg, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper until combined. Roll into small meatballs, about 1 tablespoon each. Smaller meatballs cook more evenly from frozen.

Place the meatballs and broccoli florets on separate areas of a parchment-lined sheet pan. Freeze for 1 hour, or until firm.

Stir together butter, garlic, lemon zest, parmesan, chicken base, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Scoop onto a small piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap and flatten into a thin square. Freeze until solid.

Transfer the meatballs, broccoli, and flavor butter pack to a large freezer bag. Freeze flat for up to 3 months.

Dinner night:

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Spread the frozen meatballs and broccoli on separate areas of a sheet pan. Drizzle the broccoli lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Roast for 20–25 minutes, stirring the broccoli halfway through, until the meatballs are cooked through and the broccoli is browned around the edges. Depending on the size of your meatballs and broccoli florets, one may finish before the other. Pull things off the pan as they’re done.

Meanwhile, boil the pasta in well-salted water until al dente. Reserve at least 1 cup pasta water before draining. You will likely use more than you think.

Return the drained pasta to the pot. Add the frozen butter pack and 1/2 cup reserved pasta water. Toss until the butter pack melts and the sauce turns glossy. Add more pasta water as needed to loosen the sauce.

The sauce tightens as it sits, so don’t be afraid to add another splash of pasta water before serving. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper as needed. This matters more than people realize it does.

Top with the roasted meatballs and broccoli. Finish with extra parmesan and lemon wedges.

Tandoori Coconut Chicken Skillet

Serves: 4

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

Chicken & Vegetables

• 1½ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
• 2 bell peppers, sliced
• 1 small yellow onion, sliced

Flavor Pack

• 2 Dorot garlic cubes (or 2 cloves garlic, minced)
• 2 Dorot ginger cubes (or 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger)
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 ½ tablespoons garam masala
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

For Cooking

• 1 (13.5-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk

Finish and Serve

• 1 lime
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• cooked rice (prepared frozen rice works great here)
• hot sauce (optional)

Instructions

Assemble the freezer starter:

Add the bell peppers and onion to a large freezer bag.

In a small bowl, stir together the garlic cubes, ginger cubes, tomato paste, olive oil, soy sauce, garam masala, paprika, cumin, turmeric, salt, and cayenne.

Add the chicken thighs to a separate freezer bag. Pour the flavor mixture over the chicken and toss until evenly coated.

I like freezing the chicken and vegetables separately for the best texture later, but I usually place both freezer bags into one larger gallon-size freezer bag and freeze the whole thing flat to keep it neat and easy to grab during the week.

Important: Transfer the flavored chicken to the refrigerator the night before cooking and thaw overnight. Keep the bell peppers and onion frozen until ready to cook for the best texture.

Dinner night:

Heat a large skillet over medium heat.

Add the thawed flavored chicken to the skillet. Cook for 5–6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is nearly cooked through.

Add the frozen bell peppers and onion directly to the skillet. Continue cooking for 6–8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften and the chicken is fully cooked.

Pour in the coconut milk and stir well. Simmer uncovered for 8–10 minutes, or until the sauce thickens slightly.

Squeeze the juice of 1 lime over the skillet and stir to combine. Taste and season with additional salt if needed. Serve over rice and finish with cilantro.

This skillet is intentionally mild and family-friendly. Add hot sauce at the end if you want more heat.