Since it appears that Hurricane Irma will make her appearance in Florida this week, I thought I would share my meal prep work and what our menu will look like during the upcoming hurricane. I will have to alter our meal plan that was originally set for this week and start meal prepping before another potential natural disaster touches down.
With all the devastation that Hurricane Harvey has done and is still doing to Texas, it can really put you into “prep” mode. Â The boy scout motto, “be prepared,” comes to mind immediately.
This is our second hurricane since moving to Florida from New Jersey. Last year, thankfully, we were only without electric for about 30 hours. Â The smartest decision we made at the time was buying a generator before the hurricane started. Again, being in preparation mode helps.
In case we do lose power, and since our stove is electric, I have to get busy prepping food. We currently have so much meat in the freezer that it would be upsetting if it went bad from not having any electricity. Â We have more than enough to share with our neighbors as well. So this is my plan:
Meal Prep Work Prior to a Potential Natural Disaster
Freezer Food Prep
- 5 packages of Split Chicken Breasts – (Defrost) – We paid .99¢/lb at the time of the sale.
- 10 packages of Ground Turkey Chubs – (Defrost) We paid .79¢/lb at the time of the sale.
- 1 Bottom Round Roast Beef  (Defrost)
- 6 containers of Sweet Red Pepper Potato Soup – (Defrost) (Recipe here)
- 20 lbs of Chicken Legs – (Defrost) – We paid .39¢/lb at the time of sale. This is for our dog.
Split Chicken Breasts
Chicken Salad
Buffalo Chicken & Ranch Wrap
Warm Shredded Chicken Sandwich
Turkey Meat (Ground)
Ground Turkey Tacos
Ground Turkey with Rice
Turkey Spaghetti Sauce
The above meals are what I’m going to have prepped before the storm. Â I will bake the split chicken breasts all at once, bone them, shred or slice the chicken and refreeze. Â I will defrost the cooked meat right before the storm and mix the chicken salad, etc.
The ground turkey I will cook with onion, garlic, salt, pepper etc. and freeze cooked and crumbled. I will make the spaghetti sauce beforehand and refreeze in containers. Â I will make a bunch of pasta before the storm and pour the sauce over it and place it in a large microwavable container. Should we lose power, the generator can be on for a short time so we may use the microwave.
As far as the roast beef is concerned, I am going to cook it and slice it for sandwiches. The soup is already in 2 cup containers and can be microwaved as well.
The chicken legs are super easy to cook for the dog. I just throw them all in a disposable pan and bake for 2 hours. The “hard” part is peeling the meat off the bone. Â I get about 7 quarts of meat and the price cannot be beat. It’s a shame we don’t like the whole chicken legs!
I may do some quick breads or muffins too. Â I will put my sun tea jars outside as well so I have enough sweet tea. Â In the meantime, I’ll be crossing my fingers and hoping Irma won’t be too angry.
Regardless of a natural disaster or not, it is always good to have things made beforehand in your freezer ready to go. Â Especially with the upcoming cold and flu season, it helps to have meals ready to go if you don’t feel well enough to cook.
Remember, you will be happy you took the time to do some meal preparation should an emergency happen.
If you do any freezer meal cooking on a regular basis, send some recipes my way. Â I am always happy to have a few different freezer recipes to mix it up a bit!