Need ideas! :)

[fdcutee]

I'm thinking ahead and would like to get some one dish dinners together that I can freeze, then cook them for dinner after the baby comes home from the hospital. I'm already planning on lasagna and cheese shells, but what else freezes well?

[willsana]

I posted this one awhile back. (I think the pictures don't show anymore)
http://www.dachsie.org/vbb/showthread.php?t=27853

Maybe it will be something you would like to try. Folks posted some nice ideas for tweaking it.

:wavesmile:

[Melisande]

Stir frys and fried rice cooks fast and re-heats really well. When I cook I usually cook a HUGE batch because my fiance is like a human garbage disposal!

You must be getting so excited!

[MicheleS]

Almost anything with rice freezes well.

[fdcutee]

Soups, stews, and chili.... do they tend to freeze well?

[fdcutee]

Stir frys and fried rice cooks fast and re-heats really well. When I cook I usually cook a HUGE batch because my fiance is like a human garbage disposal!

You must be getting so excited!
Very excited!! :Sun2:

[Schatz's Mom]

Soups, stews, and chili.... do they tend to freeze well?

Yes these freeze well too. When we make spaghetti sauce we freeze it into several dinners. That is always our easy night dinner. Just thaw the sauce and cook some noodles.

[Orchid Crazy]

Yes, sauce freezes very well. I normally do a huge thing of sauce and make meatballs and freeze them in portions so I can pull out, heat noodles and eat.

If you are going to freeze, I would really recommend investing in a food saver. It's what I freeze all but sauce in but sauce could be done as well. You have to freeze up the open bags of liquid stuff before you can seal. You will have NO freezer burn and stuff stores very well for up to a year. I absolutely love mine.

Soups, etc. would store just as nicely. Another thing would be to bread and fry up chicken parm patties for chicken parm to go with your sauce. I make a bolognese sauce that I will freeze in batches then use for cannoli or spaghetti with bolognese sauce.

In a food saver, you can pretty much freeze any main course meal you two like.

Another thing to invest in if you don't have one is a crockpot, you can make easy, tasty soups and stews by throwing stuff in them in the morning and letting them cook away all day. I don't use mine in the summer, but do use it all winter.

How far to go now???

[Camilla]

Do you have a crock pot? You can get a bunch of frozen meat/fish/etc. and then do some simple crock pot meals. Last night I made this BBQ chicken (shreded) on rice and everone loves it. It's amazing that the prep time was less than FIVE MINUTES between the crock pot and rice cooker.

Soups like split pea and carrot dill freeze well, as does chicken parm, etc. I don't do a lot of freezing though b/c I never end up using it. I am into quick meal prep though...get some of those Rachel Ray speedy recipes! :)

[Suzanne R]

I have a vacuum sealer, for freezing leftovers/pre-made meals, and a crock pot and I use one or the other almost daily - GREAT inventions!! When you work 40 hours a week, a crock pot is almost indispensable.

[Orchid Crazy]

Know what I love about my vacuum sealer? I just got back from the store, large pgks of boneless chicken breasts and london broil were on sale. I just bought $56.14 worth of beef and chicken for $28.72, came home made my bags (I buy the rolls from Costco versus buying premade bags). I will get 7 meals (minimum of 9 with the leftovers from the london broil) that cost me an average of $4.10 per meal to feed my family of 5, throw in the leftovers and it's down to $3.19. Lovely contraption! I don't use the containers, just the bags.

Oh and here's a lift of recipes that supposedly freeze well:
http://www.recipelink.com/rcpmenus.html I did a google search on 'what foods freeze well'. Saving that link to my favorites!

If hamburger goes on sale, you can freeze the packages inside the vacuum sealer bags and they will come out of the freezer as red as the day they go in, no more brown hamburger meat.

[fdcutee]

Do you have a crock pot? You can get a bunch of frozen meat/fish/etc. and then do some simple crock pot meals. Last night I made this BBQ chicken (shreded) on rice and everone loves it. It's amazing that the prep time was less than FIVE MINUTES between the crock pot and rice cooker.
I am into quick meal prep though...get some of those Rachel Ray speedy recipes! :)
I love Rachel Ray recipes! She makes things so simple.


Oh and here's a lift of recipes that supposedly freeze well:
http://www.recipelink.com/rcpmenus.html I did a google search on 'what foods freeze well'. Saving that link to my favorites!

If hamburger goes on sale, you can freeze the packages inside the vacuum sealer bags and they will come out of the freezer as red as the day they go in, no more brown hamburger meat.

Yes, sauce freezes very well. I normally do a huge thing of sauce and make meatballs and freeze them in portions so I can pull out, heat noodles and eat.

If you are going to freeze, I would really recommend investing in a food saver. It's what I freeze all but sauce in but sauce could be done as well. You have to freeze up the open bags of liquid stuff before you can seal. You will have NO freezer burn and stuff stores very well for up to a year. I absolutely love mine.

Another thing to invest in if you don't have one is a crockpot, you can make easy, tasty soups and stews by throwing stuff in them in the morning and letting them cook away all day. I don't use mine in the summer, but do use it all winter.

How far to go now???

I'll have to keep in mind the food saver. I use the "press and seal" stuff when I divide up stuff for the freezer and stuff usually stays pretty well that way. I have two crock pots.... love 'em! I usually make soups, stews, and roasts in them. I need to find some new recipes to try out in them.

Thanks for the link. Looks like there are plenty of good ideas there.

About two and a half months left. :)


Yes these freeze well too. When we make spaghetti sauce we freeze it into several dinners. That is always our easy night dinner. Just thaw the sauce and cook some noodles.
Good idea. I'll have to make up a big batch of sauce.

Great ideas and tips ladies! :thanx:

[Suzanne R]

Sandy, you're so right about the vacuum sealer! I can't tell you how much meat (i.e., $$$$!) I was throwing away due to freezer burn. Now I buy in bulk (SO much cheaper!) or in the area where they mark down meats that are almost beyond the freshness date, break it all down into meal size portions, and vacuum seal it. And it seems to last, frozen, forever - as long as no air gets to it, it stays in great condition for a LONG time!! I haven't had much luck with the press-and-seal wrap, tho.

[JacksonsDaddy]

Third or Fourth (who all said they had one??) to the vacuum food saver. LOVE MINE!!! I've tried the press and seal stuff, and this actually does work much better. I do what Orchid said, buy a ton of meat when it's on sale (like this weekend for the 4th) and then spend some time vacuum packing it! I'll portion out exactly what we're going to use for a meal plus a portion for leftovers for lunches. Once it's frozen, I'll just thaw in the fridge or in a sink of warm water.

What's even better about the food saver, is you can prepare an entire meal, plate it, and then vacuum pack that in the freezer as well. Just make sure you use a plate that is freezer/microwave/oven safe depending on your reheat method. And you can vacuum liquids, just put them in a non-stick bread pan first, freeze, and then vacuum. You can then drop the whole thing, bag and all, into a pot of boiling water for re-heating!

Not to sound like a sales pitch, but I truly think everyone could benefit from one of these! ;)

[Lambygyrl]

When I worked full time I would buy the huge package of ground beef, the 93% lean one, about 6 lbs., and dice an onion, and saute that in my dutch oven until it was all cooked, nice & brown (a WHILE !) and then split it up 3 or 4 ways in freezer bags & mark on the freezer back what it was for - like @2lbs. for chili, @1 lb. for tacos, etc. Then you can take it out & make what you want from almost scratch pretty quickly. I also do the same with chicken breasts, cook about 4 lbs. and wrap then in 3s.

One old tried & true recipe that I love to make in the winter - freezes great, too. Been cooking this one for over 20 years... never a complaint yet....

3 lbs. good quality beef, top round cut into 1" cubes
2 cans golden cream of mushroom soup (campbells)
1 package of lipton onion soup mix
1 can low sodium beef broth

I also sometimes add: 1 large onion, chopped and 1 packages of sliced mushrooms.

Saute been until browned, (onions & mushrooms too) season with garlic powder & pepper, dash of thyme (if you have it). Add 2 cans campbells soup, rinse the cans a little too. Add lipton onion soup mix. To make it more "saucey" add some beef broth. Simmer on low heat for at least 2 hours, better for 3 or 4 (you can also do this in the crock pot!!)and then serve it over wide noodles or rice. GREAT to make ahead & freeze. I don't know what its called, but its really delish!

[fdcutee]

Not to sound like a sales pitch, but I truly think everyone could benefit from one of these! ;)
I'd love one.... it's just going to be a matter of actually buying it (we've got a ton of stuff to buy these next few months as I'm sure you can imagine :D ). If nothing else, it'll be on my Christmas list this year.


When I worked full time I would buy the huge package of ground beef, the 93% lean one, about 6 lbs., and dice an onion, and saute that in my dutch oven until it was all cooked, nice & brown (a WHILE !) and then split it up 3 or 4 ways in freezer bags & mark on the freezer back what it was for - like @2lbs. for chili, @1 lb. for tacos, etc. Then you can take it out & make what you want from almost scratch pretty quickly. I also do the same with chicken breasts, cook about 4 lbs. and wrap then in 3s.

One old tried & true recipe that I love to make in the winter - freezes great, too. Been cooking this one for over 20 years... never a complaint yet....

I'm going to have to try that recipe..... sounds yummy and so easy!

I've never thought of cooking meat ahead of time and then freezing it for meals. Great tip!

[Heidismom]

Not to mention, there is always putting the fresh or canned pumpkin into mini muffin pans, freeze, and drop them into a food saver bag, seal, and put them anywhere in your freezer they can fit!


Btw, cooked noodles freeze well, too! I use a lot of plates of pasta and spaghetti sauce, and I fix chicken and noodles on those freezer-to-microwave plates, too.

[3doxies]

When I make chicken casserole, I divide the recipe between two 1-qt casserole dishes. I bake both of them and then freeze one after it cools. I'll be glad to share the recipe with you.