moonlight Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 i really like this concept especially since one of my goals for the year is to eat homemade meals more often. we eat out and order in A LOT! i'd like to make meals ahead of time and then just take them out and throw in the oven in the evening. what kind of supplies do i need other than a deep freezer? i'm thinking freezer bags. what kind of containers do you put your casseroles in? i live out of the country so a trip to the dollar store for those disposable casserole dish is not an option. :-( do i need to just buy a whole bunchof metal bakeware? does anyone who does this have any other advice for me? what are things that freeze well? what doesn't freeze well? thanks, seema Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the4Rs Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
secular_mom Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 I made a couple of extra lasagnas last time I made it, when the extras had cooled off I dumped them upside down onto regular plastic wrap, then completely wrapped them in it. Then I wrapped them in heavy duty aluminum foil, stuck them on a cookie sheet and froze them. That way I didn't need any extra containers to hold them in the freezer, and they fit perfectly back into the glass dish that I used to bake them originally. We have already eaten one of the extras and it was good. Of course, I took the foil and plastic off before heating it in the oven. I put mine in the fridge about a day before I heated it up at 325. I started the timer for 30 minutes and then just checked to see if it was hot enough. I think it took about 45 minutes before it was 'done'. I've bought large packs of ground beef at Sam's before and boiled it in my stock pot, then put it into freezer bags in portions. I lay them flat in the freezer until they are frozen and then they stack nicely later either lying flat or standing upright. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edithcrawley Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 I have read of people lining a casserole dish with foil and plastic wrap, assembling the casserole in it, wrapping the top and freezing it for a few hours til it is solid, then taking it out of the casserole dish and putting the food in the freezer. When they want to heat it up, they unwrap it and toss it back in the dish. This way, you don't use up all your dishes, and you know the casserole will fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 I have read of people lining a casserole dish with foil and plastic wrap, assembling the casserole in it, wrapping the top and freezing it for a few hours til it is solid, then taking it out of the casserole dish and putting the food in the freezer. When they want to heat it up, they unwrap it and toss it back in the dish. This way, you don't use up all your dishes, and you know the casserole will fit. :iagree: Yes. This. I have done Once a Month cooking (starting with Mimi Wilson's groundbreaking book) since 1993. It has changed my life in a very good way. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 I've tried the once-a-month thing and it's never worked out for me. :confused: Some things I learned that might help you... Keep a good freezer inventory. I'd go manic setting everything up, then totally forget what was there and never use it. Then it was a huge waste. Know what your family will eat. I ended up trying a few new things that flopped. Now I do things I know we'll eat - pasta sauce, meatballs, sloppy joes, cooked chicken. Schedule when you'll eat what you've put up. I never did this - hence the waste and the freezer-of-the-lost-food. Make sure you plan on defrost times, etc. I am just now getting the true hang of menu planning and actually getting the meat out and defrosting before 5 pm. With the freezer meals I just kept getting tripped up that lasagna took 2 1.2 hours from frozen to cook. I know - nuts - but it lead me to failure! I think the once-a-month is a great idea, it just didn't work well for us. I hope my mistakes will help! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lostinabook Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 For dishes that can be poured into a casserole dish I just use Ziploc freezer bags. I think a lot of recipes just don't taste very good when they've been cooked, frozen, and reheated so, for us, it often worked better to do "kit" type meals. I bought a downloadable set of recipes from Leanne Ely & we've liked just about all of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugarfoot Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 For dishes that can be poured into a casserole dish I just use Ziploc freezer bags. I think a lot of recipes just don't taste very good when they've been cooked, frozen, and reheated so, for us, it often worked better to do "kit" type meals. I bought a downloadable set of recipes from Leanne Ely & we've liked just about all of them. I did these, as well, and it was the best we'd ever eaten for that long of a stretch of time. IOW, we had a homemade dinner nearly every night. We didn't resort to carry-out or delivery, and we only ate out when we planned to! I did the ground beef set and the chicken set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlmom Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 I used to do this and loved it. I've gotten away from it over the past few years but you've inspired me to start up again! One thing that always worked for me was to make double or triple of all the meals. It's usually not any harder than making 1 and saves a lot of time and energy. I originally wanted to buy one of those contraptions that sucks the air out of bags but never got around to it. If you seal a ziploc almost all of the way and then use a straw to suck out the rest of the air it works just as well! I would make something like waffles and then freeze them on a cookie sheet before transferring to a ziploc. Like others said, removing a foil-wrapped lasagna saves you from buying so many pans. Also, I could never make more than 7 or 8 meals in a day, so plan more than 1 day to do it all. This saves so much money. I found that I could spend the same amount on ingredients for 1 huge cooking day that would feed us for a month as I would on a "normal" trip for a week. I don't know how, but it worked! Good luck and let us know how it goes! I'd love to see some new recipes!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Dh hates to eat freezer meals night after night, and we try to eat healthier options, so freezing parts of meals works for us. For example, I have fish cut into portion sizes and frozen, frozen bags of vegetables, frozen cooked and raw chicken cut into strips/chunks/breasts, etc. I also freeze spaghetti sauce with meat in quart bags, meat/vegetable pies (pasties) wrapped in foil, etc. The one thing I do freeze whole is lasagna. I use the disposable aluminum pans. I also use those for delivering meals, so I always buy a bunch when they are on sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarcyB Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 I tried OAMC a few times and wanted to like it, but it doesn't work for me. However, Batch Cooking DEFINITELY worked for us!! It's where I double and triple a meal that I'm making one evening, storing the extras in the freezer, and do that continually with meals that we love. This way, I have a good variety to help in meal planning, and don't end up wasting away a weekend+days on preparing when weekends are so sacred to us. Most meals freeze well unless they're high in dairy. Special notes..if you're freezing pasta, be sure to cover it completely in sauce, it helps tons on reheating. For casserole type dishes, I freeze in the dish, remove it once it's frozen, wrap, and store. When I'm ready to use it, I unwrap it, put it back into the container, let it thaw, then cook/reheat as usual. There are some casserole dishes that can be frozen unformed, which I just use ziplocks for. One big hint...GET THE AIR OUT! No matter what system you are using, having air in your container will be the death of good taste to your food. Use a foodsaver, use a straw to help suck air out of ziplocks..fill your containers (but leave a gap for expansion). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaKinVA Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 I do more "kits" than anything... another person with texture issues :D Spaghetti Sauce Taco Meat Chicken Chili (just thaw & pour into the crock-pot) Black Beans (these are soaked over night, I put all of the spices in them, just add broth to crock pot to simmer all day) Chili Stew (do not put fresh potatoes cut up in the stew to freeze, they will turn black. You either need to blanche the potatoes, or cut them up prior to cooking, the rest of the veggies I put are already frozen, so it's not an issue) home-made chicken fingers mac & cheese (again pour into crock-pot & cook) chicken or beef in marinate beef & broccoli (just the beef in the marinate, I add the broccoli at cooking time, cook the rice fresh) Soups... There are tons of things that you can do. When it comes to soups, I usually make a triple batch and freeze. Also, make sure you CLEARLY LABEL whatever it is... I have a couple of unkown packages in there right now... they aren't huge. Schedule and follow your plan -- or you will wind up with a mess. Don't cook more than you can eat in about 2-3 mos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonlight Posted January 3, 2011 Author Share Posted January 3, 2011 awesome awesome awesome ideas...i'm going to start with batch cooking rather than once a month cooking and see where it takes us. it will also allow me to figure out what tastes good and what doesn't. i've noticed a few people mention that it changes the texture of the meal?? how so? i made cherry muffins today and froze some in ziplock bags. the muffins came out super duper awesome!! i'd be happy to share a recipe if anyone is interested. i don't know how well they will freeze though... what do you guys mean by "kits" thanks! seema Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara in Colo Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 An easy way to start is to double every meal this week and freeze half. Another easy thing to do is to freeze ingredients in portions. For instance, I buy a "london broil" cut and thinly slice the meat with a mandolin slicer. I wrap the slices in portions for stir fry or stroganoff, the rest (the chunks left so I don't slice my fingers) are stew meat. After cooking a turkey, shredd the leftovers for enchiladas or bbq sandwiches. Cook a ham and leave a meat bone in the freezer for split pea soup and smaller chunks for morning omlets. I find I'm happier if I have a lot of the work done,, but still have choices. Lara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saja1029 Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Here's a book just for this: "Fix, Freeze, Feast: Prepare in Bulk and Enjoy by the serving - More than 125 Recipes," by Kati Neville I haven't tried any yet, but I was able to borrow it from the library:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommee & Baba Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 I want to revive this post! I really think it's great and wonder if anyone else is about to start their OAMC? Or do you still do it? I use to do this but stopped and really MISS it! If done right it's really GREAT for our family and saves us ALOT of money...I can cut our grocery bill for a family of 5 down to $300/mo IF I do OAMC! So I'm about to begin this up again and look forward to THE BIG COOK day that I've got planned! Anyone else? This is the blog I follow. http://onceamonthmom.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 (edited) I'm another batch cooker. I've done OAMC but I tend to find it more manageable to take a weekend afternoon and freeze maybe 2 weeks' worth of food. That gets staggered w/ fresh meals in between. I also freeze a lot of starters, like cooked, plain ground beef. My favorite thing is that I can cook a few things at once and then the cleanup is much easier day to day. I freeze in pyrex because we tend to avoid plastic when possible. It was an investment but I switched over about 7-8 years ago and my containers are still going strong. I think it saves money as well, especially if I make a few batches of some things w/ overlapping ingredients. That way I'm not using up half a jar of something. I use up the whole jar making 2 of an item, if that makes sense. Or I look for a few recipes with several common ingredients and that makes it easier to use up my purchases w/ less waste. I'm planning to do a few sessions before the fall. Almond and coconut flour muffins and waffles, low carb pizza crusts, casseroles, plain cooked ground beef, soups, chili, and a few other things. I freeze soup for my kids in the freezer safe canning jars. It works out well as it is just right for about 2 servings for my kids for lunch. Almost as easy as dumping out a can, really. Edited August 5, 2011 by Momof3littles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RahRah Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 I've done both approaches, not for routine daily life, but for occasions when cooking wasn't going to get done! For 'kit' type approach, when I've traveled with DS (before baby was born) and was going to be gone a couple of weeks, I'd set up dinners in the freezer for DH to have to make each night....all he'd need to do is either A) take out the bag in the AM on his way out to thaw in the refrigerator and heat when he got home, or B) remove and cook the components that needed cooking and heat up what was already cooked. For example, one meal might be steak, green beans and mashed sweet potatoes. Big bag contained a smaller bag with steak in it, another bag with the green beans and a pat of butter, and the last bag with the sweet potatoes - DH would take the big bag out of the freezer in the morning, put it in the refrigerator so the steak could thaw....then when he got home, fire up the grill for his steak and pop the two veggie bags in the microwave. Within 10-minutes he had dinner. When I've traveled I've set him up with however many days I'll be gone worth of meals - it works, he eats and I don't come back to a crazy kitchen since the only thing he needs to get in the dishwasher is his dishes and then remember to run it every few days when it's full. From then on, I know he just keeps living out of the dishwasher for plates, cups, etc. Fully-cooked meals I've done before having the baby - that way, I could (or my mom who was helping us, or DH) just grab the meal and let it thaw and then re-heat. Even when I've set up DH when I've traveled some of the meals were already cooked and just needed to be re-heated. Things like lasagna, chili, stew, spaghetti sauce & meatballs/sausage, etc. all keep well in the freezer and many can be stored in ziploc bags instead of containers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaMa2005 Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 My goal this summer was to get the freezer stocked with at least one month worth of meals. I took a Saturday and spent 12 hours and got it done. Now that I have a good base, I make a couple meals here and there to freeze. DH estimated that I spent approximately $140 on the meals - enough for 22 complete casseroles, 8 diced ham containers, 10 mashed potato containers (made from scratch), and 10 bags of cooked rice. I just stocked up on frozen vegetables at $1 a bag (each bag is good for 2 meals). So far, everything we have eaten has been fine taste and texture wise. I was a little concerned, but all has turned out great. The savings have been wonderful and the stress of not worrying about dinner is an absolute DREAM. I did splurge and ordered disposable aluminum casserole pans with lids as well as some smaller containers from a restaurant supply company. It was worth every penny! I can write on the lid (contents, cooking directions, etc.) and they can be recycled with our waste company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommee & Baba Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 (edited) Just to clarify. Majority of the meals I cook and freeze during my OAMC day isn't casseroles. My dh doesn't like casseroles and the ONLY casseroles I usually cook in a months worth of meals is 2 or 3. Just today I cooked and froze homemade. 24 frozen fruit cups 24 corn dog muffins 24 individual macaroni & cheese 12 eggwiches 1 loaf monkey bread 2 batches of pizza dough 16 ham & potato pockets 1 Slow-Cooker Pesto Lasagna 8x8 Peachy Shaved Ice Not a single casserole :) Edited August 8, 2011 by mamaofblessings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 I don't know if that has been mentioned or not...didn't have tie this morning to read all of the posts...but when I didn't have time to cook a lot in one day, I discovered that it doesn't take any mmore time to make 3 meatloafs when I am making one for supper...I just freeze the other 2. Same with most every meal I try to make...I just make them in multiple. I also brown TONS of hamburger in the oven at a low temp and stir once in a while...and then season (if you want) and bag in 1-2 pound bags...2 cups of cooked beef is about 1 pound. LOVE this...use it all of the time. I also make and freeze marinades along with the meat...so as the meat and the marinade is thawing, the meat gets marinaded...very slick tip a friend gave me once. Hope this helps and give everybody some new ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs.m Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 There are so many cookbooks that help with the casserole problem. When I cook for the freezer, I rarely make a casserole. Many meats can be prepared ahead of time and don't require cream of something soup. ;) Check out these books. Don't Panic--More Dinner's in the Freezer: A Second Helping of Tasty Meals You Can Make Ahead Holly Clegg's Trim & Terrific Freezer Friendly Meals and this blog: The Freezer Chicks One of my favorites to freeze is Pioneer Woman's Marlbaro Man Sandwiches. I just make the meat ahead and we have a quick meal one night in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommee & Baba Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 One of my favorites to freeze is Pioneer Woman's Marlboro Man Sandwiches. I just make the meat ahead and we have a quick meal one night in the future. That sandwich looks so good! I'd love to have the onions and meat frozen for that! However I don't cook or eat beef, so I think it'd be great with pork or even chicken! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsbaby Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 I just did a two week plan straight from the Once A Month Cooking book. I am loving it!! I don't think I'll do an entire month, but I'm already planning my next two weeks. Eventually I'll add in some of my own reaps, but for now I like the extra guidance and shopping lists:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonia Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 I've tried to cook things ahead. The problem is only certain things lend themselves well to that. How many casseroles does a person want to eat? KWIM? I kind of like how Rachel Ray does one week in a day. She cooks part of the meals and then the final assembly is very quick, but the food is interesting and varied. Have you seen the Sept. issue of her magazine Every Day? There's a great section that uses 5 "base recipes" (pulled pork, tomato sauce, roasted veggies, pulled chicken, and rice pilaf) to make 20 different meals. Basically, you make the 5 base recipes on your cook day and freeze in portioned containers. Then, when you're ready to make one of the 20 recipes, you thaw 2-3 of the base ingredients needed for the recipe and some fresh ingredients and you're ready to go. Really love this idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommee & Baba Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 I think batch cooking or even bulk cooking is just as beneficial as once a month of cooking. Many people cook their meat ahead and freeze. I use to do that only. Now I do full on main course meals and freeze. I use to cook an additional lasagna if I was already making one as it didn't take anymore effort really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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