Freezer Meals

[Michele]

What do you freeze? Recipes to share? I always see lists of freezer friendly meals, but I never know how to handle them. Do you freeze it cooked or raw? Do you bake it straight from the freezer or does it need to thaw first? If I need to remember to thaw it, then does it thaw on the counter or in the fridge? How long will it take? I freeze lasagna unbaked, and then bake them from frozen but only on nights when I can bake longer if needed. Never if I need a meal on the table in 30-45min. Also the pans I have make too much lasagna for Russ and I. The boys won't eat it.

My ideal freezer meal would be one I could take directly from the freezer and put it into the oven and then serve after 30-45 minutes.

I read a tip about lining the casserole dish or pan with aluminum foil, then freeze. Once frozen, remove the foil lined food from the pan, wrap up, and refreeze. That way you can reuse the pan. When ready to eat, unwrap the foil from the food and put it in the pan. Bake from frozen?

I also read about lasagna rollups. Boil the noodles, then place the ricotta mixture on the noodle, roll-up jelly roll style. Freeze on a baking sheet seam side down for an hour or two, then transfer frozen rolls to a bag or other container. To cook, remove appropriate number of rolls, top with sauce and bake. Again, I assume bake from frozen?

[ides]

I've done lasagna but baked it first then when cooled a bit cut into serving sizes, wraped individually in tin foil then in a freezer bag. We'd then pop in how many pieces we wanted into the oven in it's tin packet until hot - around 20-30 minutes.

I've heard about people making large quantities of rice or beans then freezing serving sizes for later use.

I haven't done any others but am interested in it. I think enchiladas would be good too done in a similar manner as the lasagna.

[ladymoreta]

I don't make freezer meals as often as I'd like, but they're really nice to have around. I usually cook the meal before freezing it, then I can just thaw/heat it in the microwave when I'm ready to eat it. I use containers that can go from oven to freezer to microwave. They're kind of hard to find, but they're pretty cheap. I found these at Target on the aisle with the microwaves. This size is more of an individual portion, but they have bigger ones that would be better for family meals that my MIL uses to make dinners for us sometimes.





What I do is mix up the ingredients and put them into this container, then bake it in the oven. (I do casseroles.) Then I let it sit on the counter for a few minutes to cool a bit, then put it into the refrigerator for at least an hour. After it's cooled in the refrigerator for awhile, I take it out and put a layer of saran wrap tightly over the top of it (to prevent it from drying out), then put the lid on it. Then it's ready to go into the freezer. All I have to do is microwave it to heat it up. I don't even use the defrost setting, although that probably wouldn't hurt.

Here are a couple of recipes that I have from my MIL that freeze well. I think I've shared them before, but I don't remember which threads.

Heavenly Hamburger

1 pound hamburger (a little more is good)
1 chopped clove garlic
1 tsp salt
dash fresh ground pepper
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
6 green onions chopped
1 cup sour cream
1 8oz pkg cream cheese
1 8oz pkg shell macaroni, cooked and well drained
1/2 c grated cheddar cheese (or more; whatever it takes to cover the surface of your casserole(s) )

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Brown meat. Add garlic salt, pepper, tomato sauce, mushroom soup and onions.
Let simmer for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. Grease (or Pam) 13 x 9 baking
pan (or smaller ones) Remove the meat mix from heat. Stir in sour cream and cream cheese. Place a layer of macaroni in dish, then spoon on a layer of meat(be sure pasta is well covered). Top with cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and slightly brown.
8 servings.

Brown Rice Hamburger Casserole
1 cup uncooked brown rice
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1/2 small onion chopped
1 c chopped celery
2 tablespoons chopped green pepper
1 (10 3/4 oz) can condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 " " mushroom soup, undiluted
1/2 tsp garlic powder or salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1 4 oz sliced mushrooms drained
1 (2 oz) package slivered almonds

Prepare rice according to package directions: set aside. (Regular brown rice in a bag takes 40-45 minutes to cook)
Brown ground beef and next 3 ingredients in a large skillet, stirring until beef starts to crumble;drain.
Combine ground beef mixture, rice, chicken soup, and next 3 ingredients in a large bowl; (if mixture seems a little dry and it always does to me, I add a little milk or part of one more canned soup)spoon into a lightly greased (or Pammed) 13X9 baking dish( or
smaller ovenproof/microwave dishes)
Bake at 325 for 1 hour. (less for smaller dishes-bake till top is lightly browned.

Melt butter in a small skillet over med-high heat; add mushrooms and almonds, and cook until almonds are lightly browned. Sprinkle over casserole. Serve immediately.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

[SuzySunshine]

A friend sent me this link when I was making freezer meals before R was born, I thought it was very helpful.

http://www.southernliving.com/food/w...0400000009133/

[Meenah]

I make large batches of soups, stews, chili, casseroles and cook them, then freeze them in smaller containers (enough for one meal) and I will defrost/reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.

[SoonerTexan]

I've been making a lot of pulled pork for DH (sandwiches, baked potatoes)

I do the same thing with steak and chicken for salads--grill them and cut them up to put in salads--snack baggies work well

[Michele]

Thx. I guess the consensus seems to be cook ahead of time and reheat.

What about quiche?

[SuzySunshine]

I've made a mac&cheese, a ravioli lasagna and a quiche which I froze uncooked. I do everything up to putting it in the oven then freeze it. Thaw it in the fridge and then cook as normal. For the quiche I froze the filling separate from the crust, thawed both put the filling in the crust and then baked it.