Thursday, March 31, 2011
Cooking Question
It's been a long time since I've cooked with the intention of freezing a meal. Leftovers are so easy to eat the next day. However, I noticed that I have room in my freezer and thought it might be a fun thing to do with my girls. I'm curious, what's your favorite freezer meal that doesn't call for too many exotic ingredients?
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When Mom and have done our big freezer cooking days we've made lasagna, meatloaf, meatballs, chicken pot pie, beef enchiladas, chicken enchiladas, tater tot hotdish, shredded BBQ checken or sloppy joe mix (for sandwiches), Chicken noodle soup, chili...seems like we've done more than that but I can't remember for sure. :) We've been really happy with the way all those things have turned out, and we'd be happy to share any of those recipes if you'd like!
ReplyDeleteAlso, here's a link to a blog I enjoy reading...she often does a freezer cooking day, and has a section of those recipes.
http://moneysavingmom.com/recipes
This is one of my favorite topics :-) Here's a few:
ReplyDeletechicken enchiladas
http://recipebox.wordpress.com/2006/11/26/chicken-enchiladas/
swedish meatballs
1 cup minced onion (I puree them w a little water in the blender, just because I hate pieces of onion in my meatballs. The water boils out when you saute them).
2 tablespoons butter
1 egg
½ cup milk
½ cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 ¼ teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 pound ground beef
½ pound ground pork
1 tablespoon butter (optional)
3 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper
1 cup water
¾ cup half and half
Sauté onion in 2 tablespoons butter. In bowl combine egg, milk, crumbs and seasonings. Add meat and sautéed onions; mix until well blended. Shape into 1 ¼ inch balls. Place in two lightly buttered 9x13-inch baking pans. Bake in a 350 F oven until lightly browned, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer meatballs to ovenproof serving dish or casserole. Scrape fat drippings from baking pans into saucepan. Add 1 tablespoon butter if necessary. Stir in flour, 2 teaspoons sugar, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper. Gradually add water and half and half; stir over low heat until mixture comes to a boil; boil and stir 1 minute. Pour gravy over meatballs. Bake uncovered, in a preheated 325 F oven 20 to 25 minutes.
If made ahead and refrigerated, allow 15 to 20 minutes extra baking time.
lasagna
pulled pork
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sarges-EZ-Pulled-Pork-BBQ/Detail.aspx
(leftovers of this make really good pork tacos - mix w green chilis or taco seasoning)
Slow Cook Thai Chicken
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Slow-Cook-Thai-Chicken/Detail.aspx
I make this ahead for the freezer -put the ingredients that you add in at the end in a sandwich baggie and stick in the freezer bag/pan before freezing. Thaw, dump in crock pot in the a.m., add the other stuff near the end. Voila.
I do not enjoy cooking and the thought of doing the multiple meal/freezer cooking just about overwhelms me, though I've done it in the past. I sometimes make dishes and freeze them in disposable containers for a Christmas gift for my daughter in law. She appreciates them very much. She says that chicken and noodles turned out very well when I froze them and she cooked them later. I've done fruit pies as well and you don't bake them first. That works fine. It's been a long time, but I think I put them in the oven frozen and baked til bubbly. We find it just as easy to do our canning and freeze bits of leftovers as they "happen." But then, we are a small family of three now and the needs are different than feeding lots of hungry teens. Pizzas freeze well (unbaked) and I've done that before or just made crusts and frozen them to make into pizzas later. I also freeze homemade bread and dinner rolls to get out on a moment's notice as well as cakes and sweet breads. Blessings on your endeavor!
ReplyDeletePS to my earlier comment: I have had some aluminum foils get little holes in them just when covering certain food items in the fridge. Pizza was one of the items. I suggested that as a freezer meal, so maybe there's good packaging tips for foods that I didn't know about.
ReplyDeleteWhen using aluminum on acidic or fatty foods it causes the aluminum to disintegrate for some reason. You can cover it with plastic wrap first and then aluminum it does fine. Also, when I do that type of cooking, which has been a long time since I've done it, the more air you can get out of the packaging the longer it will last in the freezer. So putting plastic wrap over and getting as much air out first works well. The aluminum foil helps it last longer over the plastic wrap.
ReplyDeleteWe do meatloaf raw in the freezer. Also when using pasta make sure that you don't cook it all the way or it will get mushy. Rice does pretty well in the freezer if it's mixed in your recipe for a casserole, but does not do well alone, at least not for long. I hope these tips help.
Krystal says her favorite frozen food is ice cream and frozen bananas with chocolate and sprinkles.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could say I do freezer meals, but with 5 men in the house it's pretty tough being the only cook to make enough for an extra meal or two! I do need to get better at it, though, since life gets so busy once we start in the gardens. Think I'll make a copy of all the good recipes in your comments!
ReplyDeleteWe don't have to much freezer room but we do cook up and freeze a bunch of rice once and awhile.
ReplyDeleteCamille,
ReplyDeleteWill you send me the recipes for your corn chowder, cheeseburger soup, and the fried icecream dessert? If they're in your cookbook, just let me know--I have it (too late to go look now).I'm getting inspired to make these as freezer meals after my rummage sale this weekend! Love the pictures that go with your posts!
I really enjoy your blog--thanks!
Annie W.