Freezing meals

[Night Elf]

My frugal thread made me think about this. How do I freeze foods? I don't have any decent storage containers, at least I doubt they seal as well as they would need to store frozen food. For example, we always have enough spaghetti left over for another meal but I just put it into the fridge. Very little of it gets eaten and I end up throwing it out. I couldn't do the once a month batch cooking though because my freezer is tiny. Can cooked meat be frozen, like roast beef?

[VaKim]

I just use those glad bowls or whatever for freezing. I always freeze leftovers I know we won't eat soon. I usually make double on purpose, then have enough frozen for another meal. If you use it within a few weeks, it will be fine. I have frozen roast and it was fine. Now, I doubt something like a steak would come out very good. 

[almondbutterandjelly]

I freeze everything.  We buy ziploc freezer bags (quart and gallon size) from Sam's for the best price.  Noodles should be frozen separate from sauce, as it will tend to make the noodles too squishy.  Yes, cooked meat can be frozen.  Really, most things can be frozen.  I make meals all the time from the contents of my freezer.  Chili is easy to make from leftover beans, tomato or spaghetti sauce, and any beef.  Pot pies are also easy to make from frozen leftovers.  Tonight we are having leftover (frozen) waffles and leftover (frozen cooked) turkey bacon with frozen orange marmalade.

[unsinkable]

My frugal thread made me think about this. How do I freeze foods? I don't have any decent storage containers, at least I doubt they seal as well as they would need to store frozen food. For example, we always have enough spaghetti left over for another meal but I just put it into the fridge. Very little of it gets eaten and I end up throwing it out. I couldn't do the once a month batch cooking though because my freezer is tiny. Can cooked meat be frozen, like roast beef?

My first thought is don't cook so much if it is consistently going to waste.

 

The trend of freezer meals doesn't work for everyone. You need to adjust to what works for you.

 

What part is leftover?

 

The sauce? Then 2 days later, use it as the basis for baked pasta.

 

The pasta? Cook less.

 

Meat? Use for sandwiches 2 days later.

[zoobie]

You can freeze the sauce easily. If I make a big batch, I let it cool in the fridge, then bag it in meal portions in freezer ziplocs. Get the air out, zip, and gently smush it flat. Label the bag first with a Sharpie with the item and date, and keep a list on the freezer door of what you have and the date. We prefer freshly cooked noodles.

 

I also freeze meatloaf before it's cooked in portion sizes (I use a 1/2 cup measure to shape the mini loaves). Lay them on a sheet pan to freeze solid, then pop them in a labeled freezer bag once they're hard. Works for chicken parm meatloaf, meatballs, etc. You can bake them from frozen. Add time and check the internal temp.

 

We freeze meat in marinades. Thaw and grill, roast, or bake. It should be fresh (not previously frozen and thawed) for best results once you thaw and cook it. I've also made pre-seasoned and shaped burgers (sheet pan to get hard, then a piece of parchment or freezer paper and do two side by side, flip over paper, two more, flip... Easier than cutting little sheets of paper!).

 

Big batch of BBQ or French dip beef or Mexi-beef or chicken in the crock pot--those leftovers freeze nicely. Portion in meal sizes in bags. Same with cooked ground beef--season before freezing for tacos or lettuce wraps or freeze plain.

 

Beans freeze well. They taste better than canned beans and are cheaper. Cook a big batch, cool, and freeze in 2 cup portions (I scoop using the cup measure) in ziplocs.

 

Chili and vegetable soup freezes well. You can freeze in muffin tins then pop in ziplocs to pull out smaller serving sizes. I don't prefer any noodles or rice frozen in with soup. Rice freezes well on its own.

 

It really depends on what you usually eat. The old-style freezer recipes didn't work well for my family. We generally prefer things not all mixed together. Same with many crock pot recipes. If you figure out what works and you like, it's a great time and money saver. Maybe try double batches of meals you already know your family enjoys first and see. If you're on Pinterest, there are bazillions of freezer cooking links.

 

You don't have to cook a month at a time--this site has a variety of recipes. You don't have to subscribe either to try just the ones that sound good to you.

http://onceamonthmeals.com

[kewb]

I find I do better freezing ingredients instead of meals. I keep things like breaded cutlets or grilled cutlets and meatballs on hand in the freezer. That way I can pull out what I need for what I am preparing. Other then soup and chili I found that when freezing meals it went to waste.

 

I freeze in ziploc bags most of the time. Sometimes I will line a container and when the contents are frozen I will pop it oit for easy stacking.

[Excelsior! Academy]

Keep an empty ice cream bucket in the freezer and fill it with small amounts of leftovers and make a big 'ole pot of soup every couple of weeks.  Everything goes in except fish and salad type veggies.

 

If you have lots of little bits that are not compatible freeze those bits in baggies.  Once a month set out them out for a make-your-own tv dinner day.

 

Really, even a tiny freezer can hold quite a bit of food.  Freeze baggies laid flat and stack them vertically after they are frozen solid.  You can store several this way.

[Excelsior! Academy]

My frugal thread made me think about this. How do I freeze foods? I don't have any decent storage containers, at least I doubt they seal as well as they would need to store frozen food. For example, we always have enough spaghetti left over for another meal but I just put it into the fridge. Very little of it gets eaten and I end up throwing it out. I couldn't do the once a month batch cooking though because my freezer is tiny. Can cooked meat be frozen, like roast beef?

 

Yes.  Toss that beef in a baggie with bbq sauce.  Another day toss it in the crockpot for yummy bbq sandwiches.

[Occasionally]

Before DS6 was born, I froze a lot of meals in these freezer-to-oven containers. I still use them, and will freeze leftovers in them if there are enough for a whole new meal. Sometimes I cook enough to do that on purpose. Since I can put them right in the oven on a baking sheet, it makes using the leftovers super simple for me.

[Danestress]

I am not a huge fan of frozen meals. I don't find that it takes that long to saute fresh meat (chicken, fish) with a sauce or seasoning and steam some vegetables. But I have found that freezing Individual portions can keep my sons happy - they do eat a lot and like hefty meals.

 

I use muffin tins. I have regular sized ones and also the big 'Texas' sized ones. I will bake individual meat loaves and let them cool and then freeze the pan. Once frozen, I pop them into double ziplock freezer bags and have them on hand to microwave. I do the same with meat sauce for pasta, chicken chili, etc. I also freeze meat in marinade. I cook breakfast sausage with onions and peppers and freeze this way so that I can make breakfast burritoes.

[Night Elf]

Just to explain, I use a pound of ground beef to make spaghetti. The only other dish I make with ground beef is tacos, but it's not a favorite meal so we rarely have it. I buy ground beef and freeze it. I didn't know if I could thaw it out, use half of it, then refreeze it. I thought I read that wasn't a good idea. So that means using the whole pound at one time.

 

I like the look of those oven ware containers. That could come in very handy.

[Occasionally]

Just to explain, I use a pound of ground beef to make spaghetti. The only other dish I make with ground beef is tacos, but it's not a favorite meal so we rarely have it. I buy ground beef and freeze it. I didn't know if I could thaw it out, use half of it, then refreeze it. I thought I read that wasn't a good idea. So that means using the whole pound at one time.

 

I like the look of those oven ware containers. That could come in very handy.

 

My grandfather (who was a butcher) always said that if there were still some ice crystals in the meat, you could refreeze it. Can you partially thaw, divide, then refreeze? Or get in the habit of portioning out the meat when you buy it and freeze in smaller portions?

[Night Elf]

My grandfather (who was a butcher) always said that if there were still some ice crystals in the meat, you could refreeze it. Can you partially thaw, divide, then refreeze? Or get in the habit of portioning out the meat when you buy it and freeze in smaller portions?

 

Oh my gosh! I never thought about portioning it out before I freeze it! That's a great idea, thanks.

[ajfries]

Just to explain, I use a pound of ground beef to make spaghetti. The only other dish I make with ground beef is tacos, but it's not a favorite meal so we rarely have it. I buy ground beef and freeze it. I didn't know if I could thaw it out, use half of it, then refreeze it. I thought I read that wasn't a good idea. So that means using the whole pound at one time.

 

I like the look of those oven ware containers. That could come in very handy.

 

You could brown & season all of it at once (which really doesn't take any more effort than just 1 portion) then divide it out & freeze it. Then all you have to do is thaw it/warm it in the microwave or stove top.

[shawthorne44]

Just to explain, I use a pound of ground beef to make spaghetti. The only other dish I make with ground beef is tacos, but it's not a favorite meal so we rarely have it. I buy ground beef and freeze it. I didn't know if I could thaw it out, use half of it, then refreeze it. I thought I read that wasn't a good idea. So that means using the whole pound at one time.

 

I like the look of those oven ware containers. That could come in very handy.

 

What I do for ground beef is buy the 5 pound tubes.  (Or the 10lb tubes at Sam's)

 

Before they go in the freezer I get out the chef's knife and divide it up.  I do 1 lb chunks, but you just as easily do 1/2 lb chunks.  Often they just go in one big freezer bag with the ring of plastic still on the chunks.

 

I don't have many freezer worthy containers. 

1. If it can go straight in a ziplock, it goes straight in.  We always have a bag of chopped onions, a bag of chopped tomatoes/onions/peppers and also mixed veggies.  Like the PP mentioned they freeze flat.
2. Anything that can be frozen in individual servings is frozen that way in ziplocks.  e.g. lasagna.  This is convenience food.  
3. If it has to be frozen in one piece, I freeze it in a corning ware and then dump into a ziplock when frozen.  Bonus is that for re-heating it just plops right back into the same container.  

Freezing isn't just about saving money.  It is also a convenience food replacement and time saver.  For example, I love love love breakfast burritos.  Particularly mine. I will start with a tube of breakfast sausage and make a great many at once.  Then freeze individually.  One heats up in 50 seconds.  

[duckens]

 

SparklyUnicorn says:

One of the best uses of leftovers for me is soup.  I make a pot of soup about once a week.  My husband takes it for lunch throughout the week.  Another good use is mixed in eggs for breakfast.

We do this.

 

We also do a lot of fried rice.  We use leftover rice, leftover pork (bacon or ham or sausage), 1-2 scrambled eggs, a little leftover onion, and miscellaneous leftover vegetables.  It cooks up fast (because everything except the onion and the eggs are precooked and precut), and our girls eat it well.  You could add whatever seasonings you want to it, but we just use soy sauce on our individual bowls.

[Storygirl]

Just to explain, I use a pound of ground beef to make spaghetti. The only other dish I make with ground beef is tacos, but it's not a favorite meal so we rarely have it. I buy ground beef and freeze it. I didn't know if I could thaw it out, use half of it, then refreeze it. I thought I read that wasn't a good idea. So that means using the whole pound at one time.

 

 

Another idea is to brown the whole pound of meat when you take it from the freezer, use half, and return half of it to the freezer, already cooked for the next time you need it. So the first time it is frozen, it is raw, and the second time it is frozen, it is cooked. 

[KungFuPanda]

If you used browned ground beef a lot, buy a bulk pack, brown it ALL, and freeze in meal-sized portions. I wouldn't bother to freeze leftover spaghetti noodles, but if you ALWAYS have leftovers that go uneaten, it's time to cook less pasta. Mt family doesn't eat a whole pound of pasta, so I started buying the 2 lb boxes and getting three meals from them. I try not to have unplanned leftovers because we're not great about finishing them.