Freezing leftovers?

[hereyago]

Hi.

Well, I have been kicking around idea of freezing leftovers to be more economical and less wasteful. I just haven't done it before and not sure what all I can freeze.

WHich is better? freezer bags or freezer containers? does it matter? also, what is the most amount of time say a month that it can be frozen?

Stuff like: chili, spagetti, can you do beef stroganoff? also what would be the easiest thawing out procedures? Thanks in advance.

 

[mom0299]

If I have leftovers and don't plan on taking them for lunch the next day I will usually freeze them. I use freezer bags so I can flatten them out and they take up less room. I freeze mashed potatoes and use it in potato soup. I freeze leftover vegetables for homemade soup. I put leftover soup in individual containers so I only have to defrost what I need. That makes for quick lunches. As far as how long you can freeze I think it depends on what it is and how well it is wrapped up.
Go for it! I love knowing I'm not wasting food.

 

[wide awake]

I freeze most everything. Containers over bags, thinking of environment. Just remember to do this in single servings, lots easier to use for lunch or breakfast.

 

[kirstenb1]

I don't really freeze leftovers, per se. Usually I just serve them for lunch or dinner. But I often make double batches of things like lasagna, baked ziti, taco meat or chicken and rice. I really like the Pyrex oblong glass pans with the lids. They go straight into the freezer. Then I just thaw in the fridge for a day or 2, and pop them in the oven.

 

[Suz D]

I freeze (and then throw away) lots of leftovers. The biggest problem for me is that I forget about them.

Here are some suggestions:

Keep a list of what you've frozen

Make "casseroles" when you can (for example, with leftover TG dinner I put mashed potatoes, the turkey, then corn, then stuffing, then gravy, in a casserole dish. Covered with plastic wrap and then foil. I'll freeze it for no longer than a month).

I personally use bags to freeze things but re-use some of the bags (I don't if it had meat in it).

The key is to make sure there is as little air as possible in the container.
When I freeze something I try to keep my eye out for a use for it. (for example, two weeks ago we had couscous with peas and carrots for a side dish. We had a TON left over so I froze it. Then I ran across a recipe for Paella using shrimp-which I had 1/3 package left, sausage (again 1/2 left), and chicken (I froze a big chunk of our leftover turkey from TG). What a nice meal that will be (when I finally make it )

Experiment with freezing different things. I didn't know if cooked rice could be frozen so I froze some leftover. Then I pulled it out one night and used it with leftover pork chops and frozen peas and carrots and made fried rice. It worked great so now I always make more rice than we need and freeze it for a quick meal.

Same goes with bananas. I mash three bananas and put them in a bag and freeze. Then I make banana bread with them.

I also freeze chocolate chip cookie dough. If I make a whole batch of cookies, I will EAT a whole batch of cookies . I make a batch of dough and then bake about 9-12 of them. I then use my cookie scoop (like a little ice cream scoop) and scoop the rest of the dough out on a big cookie sheet and freeze the dough balls. You can put them really close together when you freeze them. When they are frozen I put them in a bag and pop them in the freezer. Then when we want homemade choc chip cookies I take 9-12 out of the bag and bake them. It usually takes about 3-5 minutes more since they are frozen. I just start watching them after the time on my recipe plus 3 minutes.

I'm sure this was WAY more info than you wanted but I hope it gives you some ideas you can use.

 

[ChisJo]

We freeze quite a bit. If I make a batch of soup, chili, lasagna, spaghetti sauce, it usually is too much leftover for just me and my husband. We put them into individual containers so if we are in a hurry in the morning before work, we just take a container of food.

One thing to do is label everything with whats in the container and the date it before putting it in the freezer. We have a strict rule in our house not to have anything in the freezer over 3 months.

We just use tupperware containers to freeze.

I also freeze veggies from the garden, fruit (to make pie, jam or banana bread later), bread (to make stuffing, bread crumbs, croutons, etc). We rarely waste any food.

 

[lovesmurfs]

to what everyone's said.

Also, leftover veggies!!! I also freeze the ham bone (split pea soup) and turkey/chicken carcasses for soup (below)

Every meal, I take the leftover veggies (usually 1T to a cup or more) and freeze. I have a running gallon-sized freezer bag going and just keep adding to it. No one in our family generally will eat the leftovers when I store them in

When the bag is full, I take a turkey carcass and boil with onions, bay leaf, seasonings, etc. Then add the frozen veggies after deboning the turkey. Makes a great soup that lasts several meals, and I feel smug for making a "free" (and healthy) meal.

 

[mafibisha]

I just found sweet corn (cut from ears) that I froze in Sept 2009

And peas I froze in January 2010 !

Since they're veggies and frozen solid, think they're still okay?

(I love threads like this! But why do I keep finding stuff like this? )

 

[msmama]

One tip that I haven't seen yet - LABEL what you freeze. Once it's frozen, chili looks a lot like spaghetti sauce which can look a lot like a casserole, etc.

I also date everything. I am probably at the extreme end, but if it looks okay I'll eat it up to a year (though most things don't last that long).

I, personally, freeze for another meal, not single sized portions. So when I make chili, I make sure I make enough for 2 whole meals (and then freeze half). Last night I made spaghetti pie and it turned out I had enough for 2 - so one is frozen (before it was baked).

You can also freeze parts of meals. For beef stroganoff, I would make the meat mixture (minus sour cream) and freeze that. Then cook the noodles and heat the meat mixture through and then add sour cream on the day.

I love my freezer meals. When I make a meatloaf, I make at least 2 (usually more) and freeze them for later.

If I get a good sale (usually during farmers market season) I make my own frozen veggies even.