freezing food/pasta

[dreamin_disney]

I have a big bag of free pasta I got with my free coupon. My question is dh and I wont be able to eat the whole bag. I'm making baked zit but using penne rigate pasta. Could i make the whole bag and save time and energy and just freeze half of it? If so do i just store it in a tubber container and freeze or glass? If you frreze cooked pasta meals does it taste just as good when you re heat it?

I'm thinking this will save me money and time in the future. Would like adivice. Thanks

by the way heres the yummy super easy recipe I'm using

Baked Ziti
Reynolds recipe




Reynolds® Parchment Paper
1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
4 cups (about 32 oz jar) chunky garden-style pasta sauce
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, divided
1 package (16 oz.) ziti pasta, cooked and drained
1 package (8 oz.) shredded Mozzarella cheese, divided
1 container (15 oz.) ricotta cheese OR cottage cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Line a 13x9x2-inch baking pan with Reynolds Parchment Paper.
COMBINE ground beef, pasta sauce and 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning. Stir pasta into meat sauce; spread half of mixture evenly in parchment-lined pan. Top with half of Mozzarella cheese.
COMBINE ricotta cheese, egg, 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese and remaining Italian seasoning; spread over Mozzarella cheese in pan. Spread remaining pasta mixture over ricotta cheese mixture. Sprinkle with remaining Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.
BAKE 35 to 40 minutes or until hot and cheese is golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

my budget way.....
I dont use parmesan
I use cottage cheese
I dont use the parchment paper I use use my glass dish
as itlian seasoning i just use oregano

 

[mdrob214]

My kids eat a ton of pasta (they swim so lots of carbs). I make penne often before swim meets and we eat it for dinner with sauce, salad, etc. What I do is make an extra box and put some into a gallon sized freezer bag. When he's hungry on the weekend, he just takes some out of the freezer, opens, and zaps it in the microwave(he likes his plain, but I often have extra sauce that I freeze in those little 2C Ziploc bowls). It takes less than a minute to warm from frozen, usually. He loves it and I don't have to cook/wash a pan! I do this with spaghetti sometimes, too.

 

[dreamin_disney]

well the dish i make is baked (think lasgna) so half of that already cooked and cheese melted -could i freeze that and it taste good

 

[Marionnette]

I do it all of the time and it tastes fine. I don't put it in plastic tubs. I line acouple of square baking dishes with heavy aluminum foil and then bake the pasta in them. We eat one and freeze the other. Just cool, cover with plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. Freeze solid and then remove from the baking dish so I can use the dish. Place back in the baking dish and thaw in the fridge for a day before I need it. Then remove the plastic wrap, put the aluminum foil cover back in place and heat in the oven for about 20 minutes. Add extra sauce if the pasta appears dry.

 

[pezaddict231]

I froze some leftover lasagna a while back. I just put it in a freezer ziplock bag. The day before I wanted to eat it I put it in the fridge to defrost and just heated in the microwave. It really was still good! I've not been so successful freezing things in the past, so I was really excited. I'm definitely going to do this from now.

I'm going to try just freezing plain cooked pasta too. I buy frozen pasta from Trader Joe's and it's really convenient.

 

[dreamin_disney]

I ended up cooking 1/2 the pasta and used my smaller rectangle glass dish not sure the size. I think i might have a serving to freeze and play with. Thge 13x9 is just too much food for us but it would make a great 2nd dinner or a few extra servings for lunch @ work.

When i told dh about trying to freeze it he looked so disgusted but i told him there are people that freeze future meals.

Just being on a budget is making me think differently and not wanting to over cook the amount of food needed .

 

[mdrob214]

well the dish i make is baked (think lasgna) so half of that already cooked and cheese melted -could i freeze that and it taste good

Sorry--I misunderstood.

Absolutely! I freeze all the time. Sometimes I make 2 pans and put one in the freezer. I cook in a foil pan and then wrap well in foil/or put in a large freezer bag before putting in the freezer. I defrost int he fridge if i remember to pull it out, or bake on a cookie sheet from frozen (but it takes a long time!) Also, we freeze DH's lunches in the small square Ziploc containers. I put them in the freezer and each week he grabs 4-5 and puts them in the freezer at work. He microwaves them.

 

[twinglesmome]

I would freeze it in whatever container you plan to bake/reheat in oven for later. Cover it with foil and then plastic wrap.

If you are going to microwave it later, I would store it in a glass container.

 

[ceecee]

I always made two pans of baked ziti and froze one. Now with Pyrex shattering I'm nervous to do that (although my Pyrex is over 10 yrs old and probably okay). Mine is really budget, because we don't use any meat.

 

[disykat]

It's hard for me to imagine anyone being disgusted by freezing food. I do it all the time!

I find it easiest to make an extra pan and freeze it right at the "ready to put in the oven" point. I try to serve it about two weeks later - long enough to not be repetitive but short enough so it doesn't get forgotten and found months later.

When I have already baked casserole dishes left over I freeze smaller portions to reheat for lunches.

My dh thought he hated leftovers before he married me, then he realized how nice it was to have a warm meal at lunch. He'd literally never taken reheatable leftovers for his lunch so he just THOUGHT he hated leftovers. I guess he thought "leftovers" meant mixing a bunch of random half spoiled food together and calling it dinner.

 

[dreamin_disney]

It's hard for me to imagine anyone being disgusted by freezing food. I do it all the time!

Well we both grew up where things were made fresh and from scratch. Plus both coming from big families leftover didnt exist-lol!

It's just 3 of us here and dd12 is picky. If she does eat she eats like a bird. We will have leftovers once in a while but never more then 1 day old.

We are also picky about leaving meat in freezer. We wont ever leave it more than a month. Weird I know cant help it but i'm trying new things. hehehehe

 

[disykat]

Well we both grew up where things were made fresh and from scratch. Plus both coming from big families leftover didnt exist-lol!

It's just 3 of us here and dd12 is picky. If she does eat she eats like a bird. We will have leftovers once in a while but never more then 1 day old.

We are also picky about leaving meat in freezer. We wont ever leave it more than a month. Weird I know cant help it but i'm trying new things. hehehehe

Actually, I think you're right about the meat. I think it loses moisture being frozen too long. I'm also quite picky about how long things stay in the freezer, and generally try to use things within a few weeks. I don't think things keep as well in the new frost free freezers. I'm also very picky about how long to keep things in the refridgerator - precisely why I like my freezer so much!

I grew up with a full sized freezer and I have one too. One of the reasons is because we like fresh food. In fact, one of my fond memories of my grandma was walking into town to go to the storage freezer where she had a rented spot. It held her butchered cows, chickens, and produce picked from her garden - can't get very much fresher of from scratch than that!

I never knew I was so fond of freezers before hearing there are some people who don't like to use them!

 

[dreamin_disney]

Actually, I think you're right about the meat. I think it loses moisture being frozen too long. I'm also quite picky about how long things stay in the freezer, and generally try to use things within a few weeks. I don't think things keep as well in the new frost free freezers. I'm also very picky about how long to keep things in the refridgerator - precisely why I like my freezer so much!

I grew up with a full sized freezer and I have one too. One of the reasons is because we like fresh food. In fact, one of my fond memories of my grandma was walking into town to go to the storage freezer where she had a rented spot. It held her butchered cows, chickens, and produce picked from her garden - can't get very much fresher of from scratch than that!

I never knew I was so fond of freezers before hearing there are some people who don't like to use them!

well I went to package up the leftovers but dh walked up behind me and said dont freeze it we'll eat it. I reminded him we are going to a bbq tomorrow
@1pm . He said well we can eat it for dinner . I told him I'll be full! He then said we can eat it on Monday-lol! hmmm sounds like someone is avoiding the freezer-lol!