When to freeze meals; any easy meal ideas?

[Wilsonfamily4]

I do a lot of double cooking. I just make a recipe twice as big and freeze one. I won't eat it that week since we just ate it but in a week or two I will pull it out. I do lasanga, enchiladas, mexican soup, tamale pie, taco meat, chiecken pot pie, etc. On the pot pies you can freeze the crust but I like mine fresh so I make that the day I cook it. Same with the tamale pie. I add the corn meal topping before cooking. But they can be frozen with them. I alos wrap with saran wrap, tape that closed then add foil. I always put the name of the meal and the date on the foil. I will also cook a lot of chicken up, shred it and thrown in zip lock bags for easier cooking later. I always feel so good when I add something to the freezer. On Christmas I made cinnamon rolls and put two packages in the freezer and that just made my night.

 

[Spoodleink]

This is my Favorite meal to freeze. My mom has me make it for her when ever they are going anywhere in their RV

Chicken Enchiladas

INGREDIENTS
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 onion, chopped
1/2 pint sour cream
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/3 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
8 (10 inch) flour tortillas
1 (12 ounce) jar taco sauce
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a medium, non-stick skillet over medium heat, cook chicken until no longer pink and juices run clear. Drain excess fat. Cube the chicken and return it to the skillet. Add the onion, sour cream, Cheddar cheese, parsley, oregano and ground black pepper. Heat until cheese melts. Stir in salt, tomato sauce, water, chili powder, green pepper and garlic.
Roll even amounts of the mixture in the tortillas. Arrange in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Cover with taco sauce and 3/4 cup Cheddar cheese. Bake uncovered in the preheated oven 20 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before serving.

I make it in 2 9x9 pans and bake cool and freeze

 

[marshallandcartersmo]

I love these ideas!!

But just to be specific (for those cooking challenged people like me) do most of you cook, cool, THEN freeze...........or just prepare and freeze? It seems like that's a big deal to me. thanks

 

[disneymom3]

I love these ideas!!

But just to be specific (for those cooking challenged people like me) do most of you cook, cool, THEN freeze...........or just prepare and freeze? It seems like that's a big deal to me. thanks

It depends on the meal. For lasanga I prepare it up to the point it goes in the oven and then freeze it. Same for enchilladas, spaghetti pie and any casseroles I do. For meats I just put them in with whatever marinade I plan to use and freeze them raw. The thing with meats is that you cannot defrost a meat, semiprepare it and then refreeze it without cooking. So I have a recipe for chicken strips and I cook those before freezing. Most of mine I do not cook before freezing. I just make sure that I either am putting raw, never frozen meats in marinades etc or that I am cooking the meat before adding it to the entree such as in lasagna or casseroles.

 

[Wilsonfamily4]

I should have been more clear when I posted what I freeze. When I make lasanga I follow directions. Which includes cooking any meat used. I then freeze before cooking. Enchiladas I cook the meat before I make them and then freeze before cooking, Actually all the meals I listed previously I cook all meat I use ---but freeze before cooking. I like things as easy as possible and I find the flavor is better if not already cooked. My preference. I will take out the night before and set in fridge then cook the next night. Or just add more time to cooking if frozen. You can also freeze twice baked potatoes. Just another idea.

 

[marshallandcartersmo]

It depends on the meal. For lasanga I prepare it up to the point it goes in the oven and then freeze it. Same for enchilladas, spaghetti pie and any casseroles I do. For meats I just put them in with whatever marinade I plan to use and freeze them raw. The thing with meats is that you cannot defrost a meat, semiprepare it and then refreeze it without cooking. So I have a recipe for chicken strips and I cook those before freezing. Most of mine I do not cook before freezing. I just make sure that I either am putting raw, never frozen meats in marinades etc or that I am cooking the meat before adding it to the entree such as in lasagna or casseroles.

I should have been more clear when I posted what I freeze. When I make lasanga I follow directions. Which includes cooking any meat used. I then freeze before cooking. Enchiladas I cook the meat before I make them and then freeze before cooking, Actually all the meals I listed previously I cook all meat I use ---but freeze before cooking. I like things as easy as possible and I find the flavor is better if not already cooked. My preference. I will take out the night before and set in fridge then cook the next night. Or just add more time to cooking if frozen. You can also freeze twice baked potatoes. Just another idea.

thanks so much!! It's sad to be as cooking challenged as I am.

 

[bettyann29]

what a great post...

 

[Chickysmom]

One of the easiest meals to freeze is Baked Spaghetti. When I make spahghetti, I make a double batch of sauce and noodles. After we eat, I mix the leftover noodles into the leftover sauce. I then put this in a pyrex dish and top with whatever shredded cheese I have on hand...usually a mixture of mozzarella, cheddar, and parmesean. Cool in fridge, then Freeze.

When ready to eat...thaw in fridge overnight and bake for 40-45min. at 350.

We use our leftover speghetti for a caserole as well but layer in the dish the speghetti, drained canned corn (or creamed corn) then top with cheese and heat/melt in oven...

it's a great way to use up those overs!

 

[PartyOf5]

Wow, this post really took off. Thank goodness we have some gourmets on this board! LOL Thank you all for your advice! And Marshallandcartersmo...sounds like we are in the same cooking boat! LOL

 

[swilshire]

Well, I'm ashamed to admit it, but my freezer dinners come from the grocery store. Stouffers makes some great things that my family enjoys. The chicken and broccoli is our favorite, but the meat lasagna is decent, too. Maybe our standards are just low. I watch for sales and can buy family size entrees for around $5. I also sometimes buy those prepared meats, such as Hormel brand, in the grocery section. Nuke the meat, add a couple of veggies, and dinner is ready.

We do cook quite a bit, but only freeze parts of it when we just absolutely make too much of something. It has been hard to adjust to the two biggest eaters going away to college.

Sheila

 

[seagee]

Keep the recipes and ideas coming! Thanks

 

[me4disney]

Thanks for the ideas.

 

[Local_Girl]

Great ideas so far...thanks to all "in the know" and taking the time to post. We too eat out WAAAYYY too often and I'd like to try freezing some meals ahead so we have better, less expensive options. This will help us save for our next Disney trip!!

I have a question...is there anything that doesn't freeze well? I know about not refreezing raw meat (that had been previously frozen)...but any sauces or add-ins that just don't freeze well?

Thanks again for the recipes, advice and tips so far!

 

[denecarter]

Ground beef idea...

When I buy a huge package of ground beef (like at Costco) I usually don't like the taste of it if I cook it and put it in the fridge plain. To get around the funny (to me) taste, I cook all the meat... after it is browned, I add onion and garlic and salt. After the meat is totally done, I divide it up and season it for specific uses. For instance, in some, I'll put chili powder, cumin, etc for chili... basically everything except the tomato sauce is put in a freezer bag. Same for spaghetti sauce... all the seasonings without the tomato sauce.

I especially like the chili this way... very quick and easy to finish it off for dinner.

 

[barkley]

no need to freeze this one-it's a no brainer and takes just a few minutes in the morning to set up. buy the least expensive roast at the store (don't worry that it will be tough-the cooking process tenderizes it)-put it in the crockpot with an entire bottle of bbq sauce. let it cook all day. when you are ready to eat-remove the roast and it will shred with a fork. with hamburger buns you now have 'bbq beef sandwiches' (you can substitute a pork roast for bbq pork sandwiches). you can use the same process only substitute canned enchilada sauce for the bbq sauce-shred the meat, put it in a flour tortilla and fill a baking dish with these-cover with some of the ench. sauce in the crockpot and cover cheese. just bake at 350 until the cheese melts (takes maybe 10 minutes in a preheated oven).

for freezing foods-do up large batches of ground beef (browned with onions, salt and pepper only). put them into freezer bags, pull one out in the morning to defrost and that night you can make-

tacos (throw cooked beef in pan add taco seasoning and a bit of water, heat until ready to serve),
spagetti sauce (throw cooked beef in pot of jarred sauce and add basil, oregano, garlic-just heat and mix),
'brown bag chili' (the packages only take 15 minutes once the meat is browned-so you've eliminated the big time factor).

for fish fans-take fish and put inside a peice of foil with a bit of butter and some fresh or frozen veggies-season as you like. toss into the freezer, and when you want to prepare-take out about an hour beforehand to defrost-then put them in a 350 oven for about 20 minutes or so. the veggies 'steam' the fish so it ends up nice and moist.

chicken strips-buy boneless breasts or thighs-cut into strips, coat with ranch dressing and then apply shake and bake. bake according to the package directions. when cool put into a freezer bag for a quick meal (they can be reheated in the microwave or oven). the same can be done with pork chops.

about the only thing i don't like to freeze is stuff with potatos in it-they seem to change in consistency with the freezing process and release allot of water into whatever the dish is.

my family's favorite foods tend to be italian, so i tend to make huge batches of meat sauce and freeze them in containers. i can pull one out in the morning and throw spagetti or frozen ravioli into a pot for a good meal, i can also fry up italian sausages (which i buy and freeze) and pour the sauce over them on french rolls. also-if you have spagetti sauce and yet another cheap roast-you can toss it into the crock pot and make a good 'pot roast'-we like to have this with rigatoni (again a quick item to cook up in a few minutes).

sheppard's pie freezes realy well-and it's just ground beef (seasoned) with carrots, peas (any veggie you like) topped with a layer of mashed potatos. these can be made in advance in oven safe containers and can be cooked from frozen.

i think one of the best 'innovations' for freezer cooking has been the gladware disposable freezer/oven containers. they come in a variety of sizes and despite being priced in the 'disposable' range-they can be used over and over and over.

 

[katerkat]

I have a question...is there anything that doesn't freeze well? I know about not refreezing raw meat (that had been previously frozen)...but any sauces or add-ins that just don't freeze well?

I've found that potatoes don't freeze well, nor does rice. (But rice is fairly easy to throw together as you're reheating!) I don't freeze pasta unless it's in a dish - ie, ziti casserole. I just make regular pasta when I'm reheating frozen sauce. Some cream based sauces don't freeze well for me (pink sauce does, things I make with cream of chicken soup don't.)

 

[momz]

subscribing

 

[suffolkprincess]

We eat a LOT of soup. My DH does most of the cooking at our house, and he likes to throw together leftovers in his big stainless steel pot (its HUGE) with stock or broth, some water, leftover wine sitting around the bar, etc.

Somehow, it ALWAYS turns out.

Especially yummy-- throw leftover rice pilaf (which doesn't freeze great) into a soup, any pasta, or... make soup with leftover baked potatoes/ twice baked potatoes.

At Thanksgiving time he bought a LOT of potatoes (and sour cream and cheese) and butternut squash on sale. Made a HUGE batch of twice baked potatoes, used some for Tgiving dinner, then froze some of them and turned some into soup, some of which we also froze. We used the twice baked potatoes again on Christmas Eve, and we will use some of that soup for New Year's Day. To turn the potatoes into soup-- scoop out the insides, mush it all up in a big pot, and add chicken stock and milk/ cream to get a consistency you like. I like to add some chopped scallion or leek at this point also.

With the butternut squash, he roasted it all up, made some into ravioli (he uses sheets of pasta that he buys at a deli and making the raviolis is very easy) which we froze and then turned the rest into a delicious soup which freezes incredibly well.

We make baked ziti in huge batches anytime we bother to make it, and we freeze it. Our recipe is very simple-- sauce, ricotta, parmesan, shredded mozzarella, and ziti (cooked al dente only!) which is tossed together and spread into the aluminum pan. Then, we cool it, triple wrap, and freeze. When it is time to cook-- take it out, add more shredded cheese on top, and bake.

 

[barbmouse]

Great post! I'm subscribing. I don't freeze a lot other than what has been mentioned...spaghetti sauce, lasagna, etc.