If you freeze meals, I have questions

[helena]

I've been cooking in bulk this week and freezing the extra food. It's been fun because I'm using 1qt. baggies and freezing them perfectly flat. They're labeled and dated and stack up the the most organization freak kind of way. It's glorious! At this point I think the way it looks in the freezer is the most exciting part of the process. 

My husband said he likes fresh food.  :willy_nilly:

My kids... may or may not want to eat the stuff I put in there. Grr...

They're eating it all and liking it!! I really think this is going to make my life easier and that the kids will eat a little healthier. 

 

My questions are:

1. What are your favorite homemade frozen meals? 

2. What should I never try to freeze?

3. What are your favorite containers or baggies?

4. How do you reheat? I don't have a microwave... Do you take the food out the night before and put it in the fridge?

5. Can I freeze cooked pizza slices? How do you freeze/thaw/reheat it? 

6. Any general tips? 

 

In case it matters I only cook vegan. So far I've done potato leek soup, chili con carne, dahl, and pinto beans.

Thanks for any help. :)

 

 

[Joyofsixreboot]

I usually just make two of whatever we're having and freeze one. Lasagna, soups, meatloaf, chicken rice casserole are some we like. I also brown ground beef and cook chicken breasts so I can add them quickly to make dinner. I just freeze in any old thing-Baggie, casserole dish, plastic container( not an organization freak obviously). We don't notice it tastes any different from " fresh". Can you fix it where they won't see ;)

[Miss Tick]

Sometimes I will double a recipe and divide it into three meals. Then I make a vegetable side-dish to go with it.

 

Yes, freezing is only half the job, getting it out early enough to be thawed in time is the other half! Sometimes it takes two days to thaw in the refrigerator.

 

I freeze soup in gallon bags inside large Tupperware, then take it out of the Tupperware for longer storage.

 

Spinach-mushroom lasagna is really popular here. Also did a cheese-chard quiche recently.

[freesia]

I freeze in ziploc bags usually. I do things like taco meat--you could do spiced beans or refried bens. Split Pea Soup freezes well. I freeze chopped onions, too.

 

Potatoes don't freeze well, nor does lettuce. Pizza slices do.

 

You can reheat on stove in a covered saucepan--add a bit of water. Pizza would be reheated in the oven as would casseroles (which you can freeze in a plastic wrapped lined casserole and then remove and place in a freezer bag so it doesn't tie up your casserole. Then you pop it back in the casserole for reheating)

 

I am definitely not an expert so will be listening in.

[kewb]

I tend to freeze ingredients instead of meals. Works out better for me.
Things you will find in my freezer at any given time :
Meatballs
Grilled chicken breasts
Cooked ground beef/turkey
Steak in marinade
Beans
Chicken stock
Assorted soup
Bag of chicken bones to make stock with
Bag of vegetable scraps for making stock

Pizza freezes beautifully. Potatoes not so much.

The challenge for me is remembering how far in advance to remove from the freezer to thaw.

 

I use ziploc bags for most items.  Soup I use plastic containers and/or freezer safe mason jars.

[helena]

I usually just make two of whatever we're having and freeze one. Lasagna, soups, meatloaf, chicken rice casserole are some we like. I also brown ground beef and cook chicken breasts so I can add them quickly to make dinner. I just freeze in any old thing-Baggie, casserole dish, plastic container( not an organization freak obviously). We don't notice it tastes any different from " fresh". Can you fix it where they won't see ;)

I will definitely be doing sneaky defrosting. He's just being a brat. I made the mistake of cooking huge fresh Mexican meals when we were first married, and it's all been down hill from there for him.  :lol:

[helena]

Sometimes I will double a recipe and divide it into three meals. Then I make a vegetable side-dish to go with it.

 

Yes, freezing is only half the job, getting it out early enough to be thawed in time is the other half! Sometimes it takes two days to thaw in the refrigerator.

 

I freeze soup in gallon bags inside large Tupperware, then take it out of the Tupperware for longer storage.

 

Spinach-mushroom lasagna is really popular here. Also did a cheese-chard quiche recently.

I remember back in my latch key kid days  ;) my mom would buy frozen meals which you would drop in boiling water. Mmmm... that's how I learned about chicken ala king! 

I'm freezing small amounts, more like lunch servings. Hopefully they'll thaw quickly.

[Momofeat]

 

 

My questions are:

1. What are your favorite homemade frozen meals? 

2. What should I never try to freeze?

3. What are your favorite containers or baggies?

4. How do you reheat? I don't have a microwave... Do you take the food out the night before and put it in the fridge?

5. Can I freeze cooked pizza slices? How do you freeze/thaw/reheat it? 

6. Any general tips? 

 

In case it matters I only cook vegan. So far I've done potato leek soup, chili con carne, dahl, and pinto beans.

Thanks for any help. :)

 

1. I've been freezer cooking for around 15 years. I used to do it once a month, but now I cook huge amounts of food in the summer and during Christmas break. I cook at least 4 meals of anything I want to freeze, unless it's a new recipe. Whenever something is questionable, I google it. You'd be surprised how many things can be frozen. Because of my family's various dietary needs (2 can't have dairy, one can't have wheat, and one has acid reflux), I have found myself freezing ingredients rather than meals more & more the past few months. I also will cook things in bulk for individual family members and then freeze them separately. Ex: I make a couple of dozen muffins with gluten-free flour for wheat sensitive dd, and she pulls them out of the freezer as she wants them. Since gf flour is expensive, I also make 2-3 dozen of regular muffins for the rest of us. Probably the favorite family recipe is Blueberry French Toast casserole. I even found a GF version that dd loves. I also freeze LOTS of blueberries and other fruits. Sometimes I'll freeze the fillings for cobblers. B

 

Before we realized that we had special dietary needs, we ate lots of casseroles, lasagna, chicken pot pie, and soups.

 

2. I thought I could freeze crepe batter, but it turned a funny color. I was afraid to feed it to everybody. Also, one time I forgot to pre-cook potatoes for a chicken pot pie, and they turned black! That was probably my biggest freezer disaster because I had made 4 of them. Ouch!

 

3. Baggies take less space, but I prefer glass whenever possible. I use a combination of baggies, plastic storage containers, and glass.

 

4. Without the microwave, I guess the fridge would be the way to defrost. You'll have to think ahead, though! I often use a steamer to reheat.

 

5. Pizza is great to freeze. I would heat it in the oven.

 

6. Flash freeze when you want to pull things out one at a time, or if you want to freeze something that might stick together, like blueberries or pancakes.

 

[Momofeat]

 

 

My questions are:

1. What are your favorite homemade frozen meals? 

2. What should I never try to freeze?

3. What are your favorite containers or baggies?

4. How do you reheat? I don't have a microwave... Do you take the food out the night before and put it in the fridge?

5. Can I freeze cooked pizza slices? How do you freeze/thaw/reheat it? 

6. Any general tips? 

 

In case it matters I only cook vegan. So far I've done potato leek soup, chili con carne, dahl, and pinto beans.

Thanks for any help. :)

 

1. I've been freezer cooking for around 15 years. I used to do it once a month, but now I cook huge amounts of food in the summer and during Christmas break. I cook at least 4 meals of anything I want to freeze, unless it's a new recipe. Whenever something is questionable, I google it. You'd be surprised how many things can be frozen. Because of my family's various dietary needs (2 can't have dairy, one can't have wheat, and one has acid reflux), I have found myself freezing ingredients rather than meals more & more the past few months. I also will cook things in bulk for individual family members and then freeze them separately. Ex: I make a couple of dozen muffins with gluten-free flour for wheat sensitive dd, and she pulls them out of the freezer as she wants them. Since gf flour is expensive, I also make 2-3 dozen of regular muffins for the rest of us. Probably the favorite family recipe is Blueberry French Toast casserole. I even found a GF version that dd loves. I also freeze LOTS of blueberries and other fruits. Sometimes I'll freeze the fillings for cobblers. B

 

Before we realized that we had special dietary needs, we ate lots of casseroles, lasagna, chicken pot pie, and soups.

 

2. I thought I could freeze crepe batter, but it turned a funny color. I was afraid to feed it to everybody. Also, one time I forgot to pre-cook potatoes for a chicken pot pie, and they turned black! That was probably my biggest freezer disaster because I had made 4 of them. Ouch!

 

3. Baggies take less space, but I prefer glass whenever possible. I use a combination of baggies, plastic storage containers, and glass.

 

4. Without the microwave, I guess the fridge would be the way to defrost. You'll have to think ahead, though! I often use a steamer to reheat.

 

5. Pizza is great to freeze. I would heat it in the oven.

 

6. Flash freeze when you want to pull things out one at a time, or if you want to freeze something that might stick together, like blueberries or pancakes.

 

[helena]

I freeze in ziploc bags usually. I do things like taco meat--you could do spiced beans or refried bens. Split Pea Soup freezes well. I freeze chopped onions, too.

 

Potatoes don't freeze well, nor does lettuce. Pizza slices do.

 

You can reheat on stove in a covered saucepan--add a bit of water. Pizza would be reheated in the oven as would casseroles (which you can freeze in a plastic wrapped lined casserole and then remove and place in a freezer bag so it doesn't tie up your casserole. Then you pop it back in the casserole for reheating)

 

I am definitely not an expert so will be listening in.

Love the casserole dish idea! I'm going to do that next. So would I defrost it before putting it into the oven? Or put it in frozen...  at 350* maybe? Do I cover the dish with foil?

[helena]

I tend to freeze ingredients instead of meals. Works out better for me.

Things you will find in my freezer at any given time :

Meatballs

Grilled chicken breasts

Cooked ground beef/turkey

Steak in marinade

Beans

Chicken stock

Assorted soup

Bag of chicken bones to make stock with

Bag of vegetable scraps for making stock

 

Pizza freezes beautifully. Potatoes not so much.

 

The challenge for me is remembering how far in advance to remove from the freezer to thaw.

 

I use ziploc bags for most items.  Soup I use plastic containers and/or freezer safe mason jars.

I'd never thought of freezing veggie scraps! I love making fresh broth. This is an idea that I'd use for sure. 

 

Are there any tricks to using mason jars? My worry is how to store them so they don't get knocked around in the freezer. I'm looking at them now on Amazon and it looks like they ship in a shallow cardboard box. Maybe I could use that to keep them secure. 

[redsquirrel]

I do a lot of freezing individual portions and then putting them in a bag while frozen. I freeze because we are often running in different directions and need food at different times. If I were freezing pizza slices I would freeze them on a baking tray and then once frozen I would quickly wrap them and put them in a large plastic bag. But, I would be more likely to make calzones for freezing. That way the cheese is covered by dough and won't stick to anything while defrosting. I would freeze sauce in small amounts and have it available with the calzone.

 

I freeze lots of things in muffin tins and then pop it out for later use. Things like soups, homemade red sauce, hummus all freeze nicely in small portions. I also freeze things in smaller portions. I have ice cube trays that I use specifically for pesto.

[freesia]

Love the casserole dish idea! I'm going to do that next. So would I defrost it before putting it into the oven? Or put it in frozen...  at 350* maybe? Do I cover the dish with foil?

Just pop it in frozen (think frozen lasagna in the store). Yes, cover it. It would probably take 45-60 minutes to cook at 350. You could thaw, but then you'd loose the casserole shape advantage.

[Desert Strawberry]

I use gallon size freezer bags, because they do stack so nicely. Canning jars are great, but they take up a lot of space. We need at least 4 quarts for a meal, and that just isn't practical anymore :( 

Let it thaw in the sink overnight. In the morning, move it to a dish, if necessary, and put it in the fridge. Heat on the stove or in the oven, depending on what it is. 

I do crock pot meals. Cajun red or white beans, chili, stew, split pea soup, cooked dry beans-plain to be used later, veggie soups. 

I also like to buy ingredients in bulk and freeze. Onions, potatoes (cooked, chopped, frozen, ready for recipes), green beans, fruit, cooked mashed squash. 

Casseroles, I have frozen right in the pan. Dollar Store pans work for this. I bake it, cool it, cover it with foil, freeze. I haven't stored these very long. For long term storage, I would transfer to a bag. 

 

 

Eta: I forgot pancakes, waffles, muffins, bread, cookies. Anything that I can bake a large quantity and freeze the left overs for easy eating later. These I thaw, and then warm in the oven if necessary.