Freezing pre made dinners

[kelly]

Hello all I am new here and have a question about freezing pre made dinners. I have a surgery coming up on Friday, and I am making and freezing as many dinners as I can. ( I am the only one that can find the stove ).I am unsure on certain things like homemade mac & cheese and baked ziti. I have already made stuffed shells I know I can freeze those, and I am doing stuffed cabbage. Any help on the mac & cheese and Ziti would be great, and any other ideas for meals would be appreciated Thanks and have a great day. Kelly

 

[tancowgirl2000]

see here for the mac and cheese...I dont know about Ziti cuz I just dont know what it is ....hope this helps...welcome to the boards btw....

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14437&highlight=freezing+cheese

 

[Andy M.]

kelly:

Welcome to DC. You're going to like it here.

Sorry to hear about your upcoming surgery. I'm sure all will go well.

You should have no problem freezing the baked ziti. If the mac and cheese is the baked variety, that should freeze well too. Stove top mac and cheese could suffer a little in texture but will still taste great.

Chili freezes well as do most soups. Also stew and lasagna.

You could make a batch of tomato sauce and freeze that. Of course, someone would have to find the stove to cook some pasta.

 

[kelly]

Thanks so much I'm off to the kitchen now.

 

[pdswife]

split pea soup





2 cups green split peas
8 cups liquid. I used 4 cups chicken broth
and 4 cups water but, feel free to use what ya want.
1 pound bacon, most of the fat removed
2 carrots, diced small
1 large onion diced small
3 pieces of celery (including leaves) diced small
salt and pepper to taste



Directions:
Remove fat from one pound bacon, dice in small chunks. Fry.

Remove all but a tablespoon of grease.
wash peas.
Put everything in to a large pot.
Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for an hour or until peas are soft. Stir often. I always kind of squish my peas and veggies. Yummy! You can add more veggies or leave some out. It's all up to you.

 

[kelly]

pdswife Pea soup

Thanks so much for the recipe it sounds great (comfort food) I love pea soup, and it just so happens that the rest of the gang does too, except my 8 yr old that will be her mac and cheese day. Thanks again pds have a great day. Kelly

 

[Constance]

I like potatoes in my split pea soup, too, pds.

Kelly, you might also stock up on a few convenience foods. Campbell's Chunky Soups has some delicious flavors that are great for lunch, and are a lot healthier than a lunchmeat sandwich! Should be easier on your tummy after surgery, too.
Kraft Easy Mac takes 3 minutes in the nuke, and tastes pretty darned good. Sometimes I add half a can of tuna to it. (feed the rest to the cat.)
I have frozen just about every kind of leftover, including cooked spaghetti. The only thing I haven't been satisfied with is beef stew...the gravy suffers in texture and the potatoes get a little mushy.

 

[PA Baker]

Welcome to DC, kelly! I've frozen ziti many times without a problem. I just make sure to cook the pasta to less than al dente (about 5 minutes, tops, if water is boiling), assemble the pan, top with cheese and then freeze--I don't bake it first.

Good luck with your surgery!

 

[pdswife]

Thanks so much for the recipe it sounds great (comfort food) I love pea soup, and it just so happens that the rest of the gang does too, except my 8 yr old that will be her mac and cheese day. Thanks again pds have a great day. Kelly

You're very welcome Kelly!

 

[kelly]

Thank you PA BAKER

Thanks PA BAKER. I believe I saw your picture while bopping around the site, and I think you have the nice round baby belly. ( forgive me if im wrong ).If it is you congratulations. Ok then thanks for the ziti tips I am doing ziti tomorrow that is the last cooking day before I am off to surgery It's only a one day thing but 3 weeks of doing nothing . Life is throwing me a lemon and I plan on makin lemonade.

 

[KAYLINDA]

Best of luck on your surgery Kelly! I'll be praying for you! Enjoy your time off afterwards too....time off doesn't come around real often in life!

 

[purrfectlydevine]

Good luck with your surgery.

 

[bluespanishsky]

hey kelly,

i just wanted to wish you luck on your surgery.

take care.

 

[kelly]

Thank You Everyone

Thank you all for your well wishes It has really touched me.
I will let you all know Monday how things went. ( I will sneak on for a bit ) and let you know how successful at least a couple of the meals went. again Thanks Kelly

 

[Constance]

Load up on movies and baby yourself! Don't do like I did after my hysterectomy and think you have to tend to chores. I ended up with an incisional hernia from lifting clothes baskets and going up and down the basement steps...had to go back and get it fixed.

 

[kelly]

I have already set up all my netflix movies all lined up, and have my drawing pad and color pencils ready to go. I am not allowed to bend, twist, reach or lift more than 5 lbs YUCK. and sponge baths only :x for 3 weeks I think.