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Just wondering here. . .does anyone do much freezer cooking? I’d like to start doing more, to get food put back for when this little one arrives. I’m just not sure what to put up, and am a little limited on energy at the moment too. ;O)
We have a huge upright freezer but will be downsizing to a somewhat smaller one because this one doesn’t work that well. Instead of stocking up on huge 9×13 casserole size dishes, I’d like to put some components up – like cooked taco meat, cooked and seasoned ground beef, etc. because they’ll take up a little less room than a bigger dish would.
In the past, I’ve done pizzas (make crust ahead of time, assemble, then freeze), chicken and broccoli casserole, lasagna, shepherd’s pie, and I forget what else.
What are your favorite freezer meals? Got any good sites to link to?
Thanks so much!!!!
My spouse and i freeze chopped onions, peppers, and celery all the time. Most recipes call for sauteing them till clear, so it really is quicker than beginning with fresh cut. I dont notice any decrease of flavor, but it does save money as you throw away less. Bessie Fetchko
We do that too. It’s a huge help.
Melody,
I prepare my filling for stuffed shells then what I do is boil your jumbo shells for about 8-10 mins, they will not be soft but they will be workable. Drain and cool. I stuff the shells then place them on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with Pam or oiled and then cover with plastic wrap and freeze. Once they are frozen I pop them off the tray and put into a gallon zip bag.
I started doing this 10 years ago because dh loves stuffed shells and the recipe makes a whole box, there was no way we were going to eat a whole box there was only 2 of us then. Now there is 5 of us and we still don’t use a whole box. Freezing them is the greatest thing.
To prepare from frozen this is what I do. That your baking dish I normally use a 9×13 casserole dish, I spray it with cooking spray, spread some of our favorite sauce on the bottom then place your frozen shells on the sauce, and because dh is a meat eater and wants meat with every meal I place frozen meatballs between the stuffed shells, then pour more sauce over the entire dish, cover with foil that you have sprayed a bit with cooking spray and bake at 375-400 for about an hour, if you like you can take the foil off during the last 10mins or so top with some extra mozzerella cheese and then let it melt and brown to your liking, I don’t normally do this because I usually make enough for dinner and dh’s lunch the next day and for me the extra cheese gets dried out and nasty I think the more you reheat it. The shells don’t get this way because they are covered in lots of sauce.
I hope this helps you!!
Dana
Ohhh – that sounds delicious! I’m hoping to go grocery shopping later today; it’s tempting to pick up the ingredients to try the stuffed shells for dinner. They sound SO good! Thank you!!!
Let me know if you try it, how you like it!!
Also I’d be curious to see what you are cooking up for the freezer.
The way I did it was I didn’t go all OAMC and try to get it all done in one cooking session, I was way to pregnant and tired for that LOL I just each week made extra of whatever and froze it or worked up one batch of something and froze or canned it for after the baby was born. I don’t know how much time you have left till the birth but good luch with whatever plan you choose!! Having the freezer full of yummy ready to go dinners was so comforting because it took that one more worry off of me about what I was going to be able to do for my older children. Good Luck!!
99 days as of this morning. :O) I’m hoping to do it gradually, like you mentioned. Between regular summer canning and regular day-to-day stuff, I’m not sure there’ll be enough energy left over for a traditional OAMC session.
I’ve been working on a post with some of the foods I’m considering, but am not sure when it’ll be done yet.
Whoooa! love the ideas pouring out in here. I love the idea of freezer cooking I really think it is a life saver. Keep it coming mommies. 🙂
:O) I like the ideas too!
I’ve been thinking about this, too. There are 3 other pg ladies in our church- 2 due before me, so I’d like to have some meals in the freezer for them & myself. I froze a pasta dish (kind of like lasagna, but with shell noodles) & an apple pie the other day.
My pastry recipe makes 5 pastry crusts at a time, so I freeze them in balls- they thaw very quickly for pot pies or fruit pies.
I’ll definitely be watching the comments in this post!
Pies – yummy. Our neighbor has apple trees that they don’t eat from so I’m really hoping to get apples put up from them again this summer. Apple pie sounds wonderful at the moment!
I hope you get some good ideas. What I put up last time helped, but a good bit of what I froze had ingredients that ended up bothering baby’s tummy (like the chicken and broccoli casserole. It was delicious but really bothered Anna). This time I’m hoping to keep that in mind a little more.
Check out my friend’s blog: http://fortheloveofgrub.blogspot.com/
She does some freezer cooking. This particular blog is all her recipes. Most of the recipes she will tell you are or are not good for freezing. She will also tell you how she does her freezer cooking. She does not have a freezer other than the one that comes with the fridge.
Thank you so much!!!
I tend to just cook the meat – hamburger, stew meat, rotissary chicken, so that I can make something quick. Pasta and potatoes don’t freeze well, unless you like mushy pasta and gritty potatoes.:-) I have a turkey breast in my deep freeze that I need to thaw and cook. Thanks for the post, and the reminder to get that out.
Thanks for the reminder to cook stew meat – hadn’t thought of that.
Yum! Thank you for the ideas! How do you do the stuffed shells?
I read Heavenly Homemakers, but completely forgot that she does the freezer cooking too. Thanks for the reminder!
I forgot to add muffins to the freezer list!!
I love freezer cooking when our 3rd child arrived it really was a life saver!! It made it very easy on my hubby who took off work to help me during recovery from my 3rd c-section.
Things I love to make ahead are:
Taco meat
Pot Pies
Waffles
pancakes
sausage sandwiches (sausage patties on english muffins)
Lasagne
Spaghetti Sauce
Stuffed Shells
Alfredo Sauce
Meatloaf
Meatballs
Soups- I usually can these up ahead of time then just serve jiffy mix corn bread with them. But you can certainly freeze them. I have frozen, chili, beef veg soup.
Here is a couple sites that do some freezer cooking and I’ve tried alot of the recipes and they are really good.
http://lifeasmom.com/
She does freezer cooking alot infact her post today is on vacationing with freezer cooking
http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/
She has all boys so she does alot of freezer cooking!!
Good Luck!! If you have the energy post what you made!! I would love to see what you came up with!!
Dana