Freezer food ideas

[Sararwelch]

My work schedule is going to get very hectic starting next week, so this weekend I'm planning to do a lot of cooking to stock the freezer with meals or meal components that I can easily put together when I come home. Here are my ideas so far:

Pureed vegetable soups
Manicotti
Ravioli
Homemade bread
pizza dough
meatballs
turkey burgers

Any other ideas? Thanks

 

[Katie H]

One of the things I used to do when both Buck and I worked outside the home and were raising 5 children was to brown up several lots of ground beef with chopped onions and a little garlic. I usually browned a pound of beef at a time along with about 1/2 to 1 cup chopped onions and a minced garlic clove. Drain it all and freeze it in Tupperware containers. I would keep about 6 of those containers in the freezer.

Many quick casseroles begin with those three ingredients and having the cooking and draining part already done was a great help when I was in a hurry.

I could make a quick spaghetti sauce, lazy lasagna (using no-boil noodles), or any number of other dishes. One of my family's favorites was beef stroganoff.

Add a can of cream of mushroom soup (undiluted), a can of cream of chicken soup (undiluted), a can of mushroom stems and pieces (drained) to a package of my browned meat/onions/garlic. Stir until heated through, salt and pepper to your taste and finish by stirring in about 1/2 cup sour cream. Serve over rice or noodles. Quick and tasty.

I also always have some quantity of cut up cooked chicken. If you don't have time to stew or bake a chicken, just purchase one of the rotisserie ones from the grocery store and cut the meat from it. I use the chicken in enchiladas, salads, etc. Again, quick and delicious.

Another thing you might consider is having some chopped ham on hand in the freezer, too. Great in pea and potato soups. Or use to make a stuffed baked potato with a salad for a quick meal.

Just a few ideas. Best wishes and happy eating on a busy schedule.

 

[miniman]

One of the things we do sometimes is roast a turkey, slice the breast and dice the other meat. We then freeze portions of these. I usually use the breast slices for sandwiches, or my boys love baked potatoes with slices of turkey in gravy and some vegetables.

The chopped bits can be used in almost anything, our favourites are turkey rice (like a risotto), the meat cooked in a tomato sauce or in a curry.

 

[RajunCajun]

I just went through this exercise. I made lasagna, chili, and red beans. For the red beans, all you have to do is make some rice. The others are ready to heat and eat.

In the past, I've also grilled up some chicken breasts and hamburgers. The burgers are self explanatory; the chicken can be thawed and used as is or sliced for sandwiches, etc.

This is a good thead for me since I'll be looking for some follow up menu items.

Paul

 

[Katie H]

In the past, I've also grilled up some chicken breasts and hamburgers. The burgers are self explanatory; the chicken can be thawed and used as is or sliced for sandwiches, etc.
Paul

Paul's suggestion of having grilled hamburgers in the freezer is excellent, too. They are great broken up in chili. They really give the chili a great smoky flavor especially if they were grilled outside on the grill.

Also, miniman's suggestion about having some cooked turkey is wonderful, too. I have a great recipe for white chili, which uses cooked turkey or chicken and white beans, etc. Delicious and quick.

 

[VegasDramaQueen]

You don't even have to cook the rice. I freeze mine. I love brown rice cooked in chicken broth, but brown rice takes almost an hour so I make about 6 cups of rice and freeze it in half cup containers (serves 1) and this works out great. I only have to defrost the rice for couple of minutes and heat it and it's ready. If you're adding the rice to a dish then you don't have to defrost it completely. When I cook, I usually make enough of a recipe for 4 to 6 servings so I can freeze the leftovers. There are days when I have a lot to do, an active social life or I just don't feel like cooking so I just defrost, heat and eat. I make a lot of spaghetti sauce, beef stew, pot roasts, chili, chicken thighs in the crockpot, roast chicken or turkey and freeze along with a couple of containers of gravy. The possibilities are endless. And the best thing is I can freeze anything in containers for a day or so then transfer to a Food Saver bag to take up a lot less room in the freezer. Most things freeze well and if you make servings for 4 it's just as easy to make for 6 or 8 and freeze the rest. And don't forget soup. You can freeze just about any soup except cream soups - they tend to separate. So I add the milk or cream later.

 

[carolelaine]

I keep chopped onions and green peppers to add to all sorts of things. When we make boston butt pork roast or turkey, I always freeze some for quick dinners later. Also, bread and pasta and extra pie crusts.

 

[jkath]

Here's a link to a thread that has some freezer meal recipes:
http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f17/does-anyone-do-freezer-cooking-17865.html?highlight=freezer

 

[BrazenAmateur]

I have about a dozen ziploc bags filled with different curries that I've made.

Massaman, green fish curry, red duck breast curry, etc....

They're single-serving.

I just fire up the rice cooker for 2 cups, thaw the frozen bag in hot water for 10 minutes, then dump it in a small saucepan and heat. By the time the rice is done the curry is hot, and voila.


Other things in my freezer:

-Bacon. I break each pound I buy into 1/4s, ziploc and freeze them. I never go through a whole pound of bacon at once so this eliminates waste. I can defrost one ziploc in a few seconds in the microwave, then either fry it up or blanch it in water and cook with it.

-Beer Biscuits: This sounds odd, but my muffin-like beer biscuits freeze great and thaw out in the microwave in about 50 seconds when wrapped in a paper towel. They taste like the day I baked them.

-Chicken Salad: I *always* have a chicken salad made up in a casserole dish (small) in my freezer. I like to stick it right in the oven and serve it hot. Comfort food at a moment's notice.

-Ham: I go to the Honeybaked Ham store twice a year, buy a huge ham, cut it up, and stick it in.........yep, ziplocs. Little single-serving amounts. I use ham in everything all the time, and it keeps great in the freezer.

 

[Claire]

Almost all soups, stews and chillies (I make green chili, meat chili, vegetarian bean chili!) freeze well. And I agree, curries do very well and I make a lot of them.

 

[BreezyCooking]

As others have mentioned, chili freezes well.

I also always try to have an assortment of different flavored chicken & turkey sausages in the freezer - especially the precooked types. Served with pasta or sliced over mixed green salad or heated canned white beans, they're fast (can be nuked or pan-sauteed - you're just heating them through) & good for you too.