Cooking Ahead

[amykhar]

A couple of weeks ago, I bought a chest freezer. They really aren't as expensive as I thought. My plan is to be able to buy things when they are on sale and stock up.

But, I also want to do some cook-ahead meals that I can freeze. Bob does most of the weeknight cooking, and I figure if I stock up he'll have a few easy nights when the girls have a lot of homework and such.

Basically, I intend to make double batches of some things and then freeze half for later.

Do any of you have any tips on cooking ahead and freezing or any good recipes that you use? Is there anything that really doesn't freeze well?

Amy

[magenta321]

That's exactly what I've been doing. I'm actually taking the weekend off from cooking because I've got enough in the freezer, believe it or not.

I haven't found anything that didn't freeze well yet. I've been making whatever I want, and just using common sense. Get as much air out as possible, and keep it wrapped well.

I guess something that doesn't reheat well, like steak, would be a bad idea. I don't eat that, so I don't worry about it.

In my freezer currently is italian meatloaf, parmesean crusted chicken, the insides for fajitas, spinach and mushroom calzones, and cavatelli and broccoli.

[thinkerlady[$]]

I don't like cooked pasta after it is frozen. But the sauce is easy to freeze. Also soups are good. You can marinate chicken breasts in ziplock bags, and freeze them in the marinade, then just cook them.
Stuffed peppers with rice and tomato sauce freeze well too.

[amykhar]

What kind of containers do y'all freeze in? I'd like Bob to just be able to pull things out of the freezer in the morning and put it in the fridge, then throw them in the oven after work.

[thinkerlady[$]]

I use zip lock bags, or the zip lock containers--or left over margarine containers!!! You can pick up the glad or zip lock ones at Target. Another good one is to get fresh veggies, wash them and cut them up, and put them on a cookie sheet. After they are frozen you can bag them and just take out what you need.

Lasagna without meat freezes well, Chili does too, but I don't like the beans after they are frozen. So I don't use beans if I am freezing.

[emeleel]

Here are some tips on pasta:

Tip: Freezing spaghetti cups in Tupperware | Lunch in a Box: Building a Better Bento

Tip: Freezing unsauced pasta | Lunch in a Box: Building a Better Bento

This is a fun site, although it's not really what you're looking for. But there are several posts in various places about freezing certain items, so some things might be helpful.

[phoenixx[$]]

A) Ziplock bags over any other kind of container

B) Sharpies to date your items

C) Whenever possible freeze things in portions, not in a big chunks (Cut lasagna into squares, for example, instead of freezing a whole pan)

[magenta321]

I have some tupperware type containers that are from when I was in college that I've been freezing most of my stuff in. I do freeze pasta. I've not noticed one bit of difference in taste, consistancy, or anything. I put my whole meal together the way I would like to eat it in the tupperware. Then I just take out tupperware in the morning instead of a Lean Cuisine, and I take it to work. I throw another one in the fridge in the morning so it'll be somewhat thawed by dinner.

I also have been freezing things with beans. My beans were frozen to begin with, so I don't know why it would change them at all. They have tasted the same to me, just like the pasta.

I seem to have a good freezer though, admittedly. I don't notice much frost on my food. I've had freezers where if you froze something for a week you had to chisel the frost off before you heated the food.

I also am freezing bread successfully for the first time in my life. I'm absolutely amazed by it, but, I can freeze bread and it doesn't taste funny when I thaw it. I have tasted a lot of really awful frozen bread in my day...

Maybe it's something you will have to play with.

[mjfrombuffalo[$]]

Cooking Ahead: First, make sure it's fully detached from the body. Then... oh wait, that's not what you meant. Sorry. Y'all please continue.

[emeleel]

(Is that detached enough?)

[amykhar]

Gotta stop it from rolling before I can cook it.

[frazzledspice]

There are websites for OAMC (Once a Month Cooking.)

I've never tried it, although I sometimes freeze individual recipes, or cook double so I can have leftovers.

Feed the Freezer! Complete Freezer Cooking Guide - Organized Home

[magenta321]

Amy how is the cooking ahead going?

Today's the first day I've really cooked in two weeks :o and it's because I have company coming over.

[magenta321]

I just remembered something saw the other day on tv.

They recommended turning your freezer into a "food library." They stacked frozen foods like books on a shelf.

To do this they froze the food flat in ziploc bags. Once frozen, they lined the foods up in the freezer, one besides the next, like books. They had labeled each bag with the contents and the date.

They put a list on the outside of the freezer of everything in it. As they used it they crossed it off the list.

They also suggested freezing in small portions. I've been doing this. If I have a recipe that calls for half an onion, I'll chop the other half and put it in a ziploc bag for when I need it (rather than have a half an onion rotting in my fridge like my parents would have done...)

[hadassahchana[$]]

I did the OAM cooking for a while, and I loved it! It made mealtimes so easy, I just had to remember to cross the item off the list inside the freezer. And I did it when I only had a top freezer on my fridge - you can fit an amazing amount of stuff in if you use ziplocs and stack.

My book on preserving food says that fresh veggies need to be blanched for a minute before freezing- this stops the enzymatic activity which won't stop even when frozen. This apparently means that if you freeze some good broccoli, it can be yellowed and not taste as fresh. I don't blanch fresh fruit, but then it doesn't last long enough to go off.

I also found that in addition to the list inside my freezer, another list inside the kitchen was heppful - I would write the frozen meal, what side dishes would go with, and how long it would take to reheat. That way, on really hectic days I didn't have to think.

[amykhar]

I think Bob likes it. When I make freezable stuff, I make double batches and throw some in the freezer. And, on weekends, I try to make a few meals for the week. It makes week nights less hectic. I don't think I would ever enjoy cooking once a month. I keep seeing recipes and things I want to try, and being locked into a menu for a month would lose all spontaneity.

Amy

[emeleel]

I'm going to start doing more of basically what Amy's doing soon. After we move, DH may be coming home more for lunch - and I don't want to feed him canned stuff or frozen convenience meals all the time, nor do I want to fully cook a whole lunch for everyone every day. I always make his lunch anyway, but if he can come home for lunch, then I'll have more flexibility in what he can eat vs. what can be easily packed in a lunch container.

[hadassahchana[$]]

Oops, Amy, you're right. Being locked into a set meal plan for a month at a time would not be fun. I just cooked and froze between 15 and 20 meals at a time, and then used them as I felt like it. My menu would change depending on how frazzled I was (this was when #4 was just new) and what good veggies/fruits were in season. I just liked having a lot of meals stockpiled, like for an emergency. Because I can consider anything an emergency - when the weatherman even hints there might be snow, I fill my pantry, buy extra milk and canned milk, batteries, candles, bottled water - I go seriously nuts. So, having a lot of meals ahead of time sort of fell into that 'just in case' category.

[amykhar]

Em, speaking of lunches, you've created a monster. That lunch in a box site really got me going. The girls now have divided Lock & Lock containers for school lunches and I got this for them too:





The girls love having warm lunches and the more artful kid friendly 'Bento' lunches. No more boring lunches!

[emeleel]

Isn't that just the coolest site?

[drmomentum[$]]

I'm jealous. I've wanted a Zojirushi bento for a while.

[amykhar]

Hey Em, thanks to you Kiki declared me the Queen of Lunches today.

Daddy was anointed the Princess of Breakfast, which I don't think thrilled him quite so much.

Yesterday, I got a shipment from Japan containing two hard boiled egg molds and three tiny condiment containers. The family was quite amused at the heart shaped hard boiled eggs that went in today's lunch box.

Amy

[hadassahchana[$]]

amykhar said

Daddy was anointed the Princess of Breakfast, which I don't think thrilled him quite so much.