Feeding the Freezer

I've tried freezing meals before, but they never seem to be flavorful when I do this. What container do you use when you freeze these meals? I like to cook with glass containers, but that's not do-able with frozen dinners. I really would like to learn more about this. Thanks! ;0)

My mother-in-law prepared and froze (uncooked) Quiche and casseroles for me when I came home after my daughter was born. All I had to do was set the oven, and throw them in.

I have been experimenting with mild and sweet Indian curries (with just about any kind of meat), my girls love it and the spices - cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, etc. - are very good for the digestive and immune systems. I add veggies to it as well - tomatoes, spinach, pumpkin (any squash really), broccoli, etc. Its a saucy-type mix which freezes well and I serve it with basmati rice or Asian buckwheat noodles (which are healthier and lower in starch than Western wheat products), which take just a few minutes to cook. Dont forget about your fruits and veggies - they freeze well too. We have a small garden and have had great success with bush beans this year. Just one 8' row has given us enough beans to freeze 3 lbs every other week, plus dinner for 4 on a regular basis. Squashes, various fruits and even tomatoes freeze well too. I make my girls smoothies all the time using frozen strawberries and bananas, blueberries, peaches (instead of ice - reduces "brainfreeze"), organic yogurt (from Walmart), and orange or lime juice. For my girls' school parties, I make about a gallon for the class - its so much healthier than chips and cookies, and all the kids rave about it. My smoothies are the talk of the school!
My fiance is the baker in the family and makes breads on a regular basis - muffin type breads freeze well. I always make sausage and egg biscuts but dont always have the time to make em fresh, so I make a double batch and freeze those too. Walmart carries a precooked sausage patty (you could do your own too). So in the time it takes to cook an egg, and with a side of fruit and OJ, I have a morning meal.

I am a young breast cancer survivor and have been doing a lot of research lately on the connection between cancer and poor diet (80% of all cancers, in fact), so I have a ton of ideas and recipes for safe, natural alternatives to restaurant and processed foods, soups, sauces and spice mixes that are kid-friendly, but just dont have the time to put together a recipe book right now. I would love to share em with someone who does :}

I used to sell Homemade Gourmet and LOVE to feed the freezer!~. I freeze spaghetti sauce, chili, all soups sanz the noodle or rice. (I add that after defrosting). I love chicken and dressing so I make a HUGE batch and freeze quart containers uncooked, and then thaw and cook in the oven, wonderful. I make up meatballs, burger patties and individual meatloafs in several flavors. I freeze on cookie sheets and then put in freezer bags. I pull out what I need and bake in oven from frozen. Freezing uncooked you would never know they had been previously frozen. THey only take about 20 mins to bake. I marinate, steaks, chickens, roast, and pork and then freeze. so when you take it out to good that step is already done and you can go straight to the crockpot with your frozen marinated meats! or defrost in fridge and head to the grill. I make big batches of filling for stuffed shells,tacos, stuffed peppers and freeze in meal size bags. just defrost and stuff. This makes your grocery budget shrink and makes it so much easier to feed your family well. Another tip is that you can put any meat in the crockpot frozen and it will be tender, delicious and ready at meal time. I do this all the time with chops, chicken and expecially roast. I find the days that I need a crockpot meal are the same days I don't really have time in the morning to put it together. SO, The night before I line my pot with a roasting bag, I fill it with my meat, veggies, sauce etc.. I seal it up and put in the fridge, the next morning, I simply pull the bag out, put back in the pot, open and drape top of bag over edges of crockpot. Not only do I have a great meal put a clean crockpot as well. Lastly, When we use the smoker We fill it up, it doesn't take anymore time to smoke a full smoker as it does one roast. SO , I then freeze my ribs, chicken, sausages etc and warm in the oven later. Delicious!!!1

Check out www.savingdinner.com - they have books or menu subscriptions including one for freezer meals. It's the best website for meal planning I've come across!

I have a freezer meals cookbook called "Everything Meals for a Month" that I love. It includes recipes for breakfasts and dinners, slow-cooker or grill prep, different ethnic flavors (I love the curried chicken and the enchiladas), appetizers, desserts, vegetarian and seafood recipes. Some recipes call for rich ingredients, like the oh-so-yummy Turkey Meatballs and Couscous, but I'm sure you could do some substitutions. :) I've enjoyed every recipe from this cookbook and the food stores quite well when packaged properly.

i like to freeze grilled chicken. it freezes great, thaws out quickly, and i use it for faaaast fajitas, taco salads, chicken alfredo, and chicken and rice.

Yea, Can you just ship all that to my freezer!! Sounds great! Now I am hungry and it is only 9:30. I use to do that and have forgot in my busy schedule. I need to fit that in. Beats running through a drive through and tastes better. I would love your poppy seed chicken recipe. That sound good and different.

A.
"Get MonaVated"

I did a bit of this before my daughter was born, I froze chili and brown beans just by making a big pot and freezing half. I also make spagetti sauce and freeze it. You can also freeze steaks or pork chops in a marinade, so as they thaw it saves the extra step of marinating.

boy i have no advice for you i need your discipline and recipe's sincerely gail

Two things that I have heard are NOT good to freeze are recipes with curry in them, and recipes with cumin! Both end up tasting musty or moldy.

L.

Don't Panic Dinner is in the Freezer. It is a good book that tells you how to shop the loss leaders and how to wrap the foods for the freezer. It has some very good recipies from simple to semi-fancy. Including desserts, soups, and more.

Martha Stewart publishes a magazine called Everyday Food. It has a section in every issue devoted to freezer friendly dishes. I haven't checked but I bet you could find the recipes at marthastewart.com. Knowing Martha, there are probably some pretty creative dishes in there!

I put chicken alfredo, baked ziti, chili, meatballs(for subs or sauce ect), pot pies, and homemade soups in the freezer. So i guess you could add that to your list,lol.

I cook chicken breast tenderloins in salsa (or I use something like a large jar of Pace Picante sauce) and freeze it. When I am ready to use it, I make some brown rice (the boil-in-a-bag stuff is quick and easy), mix in a drained/rinsed can of black beans and corn, then pour the thawed chicken/salsa over the top. Pop into the oven for about 30 min. I then top it with a little bit of shredded cheddar or a fiesta blend cheese, and pop it back into the oven for a few min. until cheese melts. It is a wonderful/healthy dinner.

We like sausage rice casserole. It is quick any way, but I usually make two at a time and freeze one. For one:
Brown 1 lb. breakfast sausage with 1 small chopped onion. Drain. Mix with 2 -3 cups brown rice and two cans diced tomatoes (do not drain). Put into 1 1/2 qt. casserole dish and top with grated sharp cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 min or until bubbly.
I also freeze homemade mashed potatoes; my own stir-fry veg. mix with onions, squash, red pepper, mushrooms, broccoli; cooked green beans; meatballs and meatloaf; chicken and dressing; chicken pot pie. you may contact me if you would like some of the recipes I use. (Although it is kind of scary giving recipes to a dietitian!:)

I have a friend who does a four meals in four minutes program with Home Made gourmet. Everything is always delicious. If you are interested in her contact information, you can respond to this and I'll forward it to you. Her goal is to help mom's provide healthy, easy to prepare meals for their families.

HI C.,
Looks like you are getting LOTs of advice LOL. So I will just add two recipes for you:

Turkey Pot Pie:

I make a whole Turkey and let is cool, then I pull off all meat and place in a large pot with peas, carrots, frozen pearl onions, cream of celery soup ( or you can make up your own broth depending on the energy you have that day) add some water. Then I freeze this is several large freezer zip lock bags for a Turkey pie later. One turkey, about 14 lbs makes 5 to 7 pies. When we are ready to eat I just thaw out bag, take the chill off with a few minutes in microwave, add to frozen or unrolled pie crust (after it has been cooked for a couple of minutes, put the top on and you have a great supper that tastes like you just made it fresh, not frozen.

Steak:

Yes I actually freeze cooked steak :o). We have a large family so at times we make too much steak and I take some pieces not over cooked and freeze them. When I thaw them out I cook in frying pan with Montreal seasoning and Lea n Perrins sauce, my husband loves it, and he doesn't have to go out and cook on the grill.

Hope that helps
God Bless,
T.

meatballs , all kinds

macroni (spagetti ) sauce

C., Somewhere I have seen recipes for a beef master mix that can be made in large batches and frozen and used as a base for a lot of different recipes. I thought it was in Taste of home, but when I searched their website I couldn't find it. It started out with (5 or 6 pounds)ground beef (your quality preference), then after draining meat, added the basics like onion, bell pepper, garlic and tomatoes. Then once it is cooked, like spaghetti sauce, divided into meal size portions and used for spaghetti sauce by adding a few ingredients like oregano, or chili by adding beans and chili powder, or enchilada sauce.

You might look on the web.

B. M

Robin Miller (on the Food Channel) makes this great 2 bean turkey chili, then you freeze the leftovers and turn them into these super yummy burritos, tostadas or a 3rd thing (I forget). Anyway, you literally take the chili and add 3 things (corn, green chilis and succotash), roll it into whole wheat tortillas (takes about 10 min total to get it into the oven, then bake it for about 10-15 min. Super fast, really yummy and quite healthy. I love it! It's in the Quick Fix Meals cookbook - Greatest cookbook for we with children. Great balsamic asparagus that preps in 2 min and cooks for 10. Also has a great morph section with a basic recipe you make and eat, then use the leftovers to turn into 2 or 3 other different meals. If this sounds like it's up your alley, email me and I'll try to type out the recipe for you.