Help freezing food please

[FlyingDumbo]

Hi there! I have a baby due in a few weeks and would like to get some food in the freezer for after. I have not had much luck with freezing food! It never comes out quite right. Any tips would be appreciated.

What type of container?
What types of food freeze well? I am thinking baked ziti and chili.
Any foods you recommend?
Any tips to prevent the food from getting freezer burned?

We have also been wasting way too much so what else do you normally freeze? Bread? Milk? Do they come out ok?

 

[jameyh]

I have frozen a stuffed pasta and it turned out great. I usually use those foil pans, cover with plastic wrap tightly then foil on top (just remove plastic before cooking). I also have a chicken & rice casserole that freezes great:
2-3 chicken breasts (cooked and chopped)
1 1/2 c dry rice
8 oz sour cream
2-3 cups chicken broth
cream of chicken or mushroom soup
townhouse or ritz crackers 1 sleeve
1 stick butter

Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray, then add dry rice to pan. layer cooked chopped chicken on top of rice and pour about 1 1/2 cups of broth on top. In seperate bowl, mix sour cream, soup and enough broth to make it soupy (1c or so) pour over chicken layer. crush crackers and spread on top, melt butter and drizzle over crackers.

bake 45 minutes at 350*
enjoy and congrats on baby!


also lasagna freezes good too! you could also pre-cook some hamburger meat for spagetti, or pasta sauces.
i typically store meat in freezer bags.

 

[hlg22]

Congrats! Things that freeze well - pasta sauces (tomato based, pesto, etc.), soups, such as chili or minestrone, lasagna or other casseroles. If you like Indian food, I have an easy channa masala recipe that freezes beautifully that I'm happy to share. Spanakopita and calzones are easy "pocket" foods to eat while holding a baby in one hand and both freeze really well - I flash freeze on a tray and then transfer to a freezer bag.

For breakfast, quick breads (banana bread, zucchini bread, etc.) freeze well, as do muffins (freeze baked). Scones are a dream to freeze (freeze unbaked, just add a few mins. to baking time when you bake).

With respect to your other specific questions, bread freezes fine - not sure I would freeze a loaf of wonder bread, but I will often slice and freeze the remainder of a loaf of sourdough or other heartier breads if I am not going to finish it quickly. I would not freeze things like creamy soups or milk, or leftover cream cheese, sour cream, yogurt, etc. as it can separate and get gross. If you are concerned about waste, things that can be frozen are things like extra tomato sauce/paste (I will put tomato paste in 1Tbsp. increments in a ice cube tray, they turn them out into a freezer baggie once they're frozen). I also freeze lemon and lime zest and juice.

I mostly freeze entree type things in those BPA-free plastic reusable containers (not sure what brand, but they have blue lids and my grocery store sells them in a variety of sizes). They are microwave and dishwasher safe.

 

[Jill in Chicago]

Not freezing, but something else that helped us after babies was to gather all of the ingredients needed for a casserole and have them in place with a planned recipe. For instance right now you could grill additional chicken, freeze that, and have it ready to use in a casserole. We now have one of those vacuum sealers and it works really well, BUT you can also wrap up the cooked chicken breasts individually in plastic wrap. Then drop them all in a large gallon zip lock. That way you can pull out just what you need.

Most soups freeze well. You could make some in a crockpot now, and freeze the leftovers. Just put the ziplock bag, filled, on the counter and gentle press out all the air.

As to leftover food, anything cooked (meat and vegetables) freezes well. You can then put the leftovers into stir fry, casseroles, scrambled eggs.... You can cut up raw peppers and onions, and bag those in dinner size portions. I just use a sandwich size baggie and double bag.

Hunks of cheese do not freeze well, but grated cheese, in dinner size portions freezes great.

I've never done milk. I always buy pudding on sale. When there is an excess of milk make pudding.

Whenever you buy a roasted chicken save the cooked chicken in one bag, for tacos, stir fries, casseroles and freeze. Save save the bones and ALL that juicy stuff to make chicken stock. You can also add some cheap raw chicken from the store. (dump in the chicken bones, goop, carrots, celery and onions NOT diced. simmer for hours. Pour through a colander and PRESTO chicken stock. Freeze the stock in ziplocks. Now when you have carrots and celery about "to die," make a quick soup.

Best of luck with your new little gift!!!

 

[hlg22]

Also with soups...to make things even easier on yourself, you can freeze in "single serving" increments - either by ladling into freezer bags and then storing flat, or in containers that you turn out into a large freezer bag once frozen (i.e., giving you soup "pucks" that can just be dropped into a bowl and reheated).

 

[howlongtildisney]

Congratulations! I'm expecting #2 in July and will be doing some freezer prep soon as well. I warn you that it can be addicting - I tend to cook from the freezer a lot even when there isn't a newborn in the home. Here are some resources I've found helpful:

Instructions for freezing foods in general - http://joelens.blogspot.com/2010/05/freezer-meals-preparations.html
Freezer-friendly recipes - http://joelens.blogspot.com/2007/01/freezer-friendlymake-ahead.html

Books that I have and use regularly for freezing meals - http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Panic-Di...&keywords=don't+panic+dinner's+in+the+freezer, http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Me...&sr=1-1&keywords=everything+meals+for+a+month, http://www.amazon.com/Fix-Freeze-Feast-Delicious-Money-Saving/dp/1603427260/ref=pd_sim_b_2

Good luck! I have never had a problem with freezer burn when following the recommendations from the Joelen blog or from one of the books.

 

[peanut12392]

I make alot of different things ahead of time and freeze them. If you use a plastic container or casserole dish, fill the empty space with crinkled up wax paper, then cover it. It does a good job of preventing freezer burn.
I brown ground beef (with onions)and freeze it in freezer bags. It makes it easy to make alot of different things if the meat is ready to go ie: tacos or chili. I also prepare chicken breasts and cut them up and put in freezer bags. I use them for a fast stir fry or chicken casserole.
Congrats on the new baby! Hope this helps!

 

[2bearsmom]

I make stuffed shells all the time, I must boil the shells a little under what the box says. After I stuff them I line them on a cookie sheet and freeze, then throw them in a ziplock bag. It's so easy to just pull put as many as you need for a quick dinner or lunch. You could even assemble them in pans with sauce and then freeze I'm sure.

 

[shells4]

You have gotten some great suggestions here. Something I haven't noticed posted yet is sauces/gravy/stock. I always try to make extra and then whatever is left over I freeze in ice cube trays. Makes great individual servings that reheat well. I frequently make extra mash pot and freeze them in small serving sizes in ziplock baggies.

I also make corn bread, muffins, biscuits and freeze them in gallon size ziplocks. Great as a side for dinner or a quick breakfast. We make breakfast tortillas and can grab and microwave on the run also.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

For my family of 4, I can make a regular-size batch of lasagna or chicken tetrazinni or chicken pot pie and put it into 2 8x8 pans instead of one 9x13. One for now, one for later. I either use metal baking pans (I rarely use them day-to-day, preferring Pyrex) or the plastic Glad-ware freezer-to-oven pans. They hold up well and I have used them over and over again.

 

[epsmith921]

Also try makeaheadmealsforbusymoms.com


Love this site for budget items. There are a ton of good recipes on there and not everything winds up coming out of a casserole dish. Oh and your slow cooker is your friend.

I also make extras of dinners and put them in the freezer. Makes things so easy to just pull out a whole Pyrex dish and throw it in the oven. Wish we had done more of it before the baby. Basically I try to cook for a couple hours on Sunday and have everything ready for the rest of the week

 

[wiigirl]

Also with soups...to make things even easier on yourself, you can freeze in "single serving" increments - either by ladling into freezer bags and then storing flat, or in containers that you turn out into a large freezer bag once frozen (i.e., giving you soup "pucks" that can just be dropped into a bowl and reheated).

Good tip!!

 

[lukenick1]

Congrats! Things that freeze well - pasta sauces (tomato based, pesto, etc.), soups, such as chili or minestrone, lasagna or other casseroles. If you like Indian food, I have an easy channa masala recipe that freezes beautifully that I'm happy to share. Spanakopita and calzones are easy "pocket" foods to eat while holding a baby in one hand and both freeze really well - I flash freeze on a tray and then transfer to a freezer bag.

For breakfast, quick breads (banana bread, zucchini bread, etc.) freeze well, as do muffins (freeze baked). Scones are a dream to freeze (freeze unbaked, just add a few mins. to baking time when you bake).

With respect to your other specific questions, bread freezes fine - not sure I would freeze a loaf of wonder bread, but I will often slice and freeze the remainder of a loaf of sourdough or other heartier breads if I am not going to finish it quickly. I would not freeze things like creamy soups or milk, or leftover cream cheese, sour cream, yogurt, etc. as it can separate and get gross. If you are concerned about waste, things that can be frozen are things like extra tomato sauce/paste (I will put tomato paste in 1Tbsp. increments in a ice cube tray, they turn them out into a freezer baggie once they're frozen). I also freeze lemon and lime zest and juice.

I mostly freeze entree type things in those BPA-free plastic reusable containers (not sure what brand, but they have blue lids and my grocery store sells them in a variety of sizes). They are microwave and dishwasher safe.

I would like the channa masala recipe

 

[BadgerGirl84]

Thanks for all the tips! I'm expecting my first little one at the end of July and I was planning on getting a jump start on some freezer meals this weekend. My goal is to have a month's worth of meals in the freezer to use after the baby is here.

 

[FlyingDumbo]

Thank you everyone!

How long would I reheat a baked ziti? What temp? I am concerned about it drying out or staying frozen in the middle. I made a big pan of it so I am going to freeze half! This weekend I am going to try some other things.