Freezer Cooking Help Needed

I freeze just about everything. Soup is a good one making a large batch and separating it out into containers for family size servings.

Casseroles a simple one is 4 cups elbow noodles a can of cream of chicken or mushroom, 2 cans of tuna, one can corn, one can peas. Cook, cool separate into serving sizes and freeze.

Enchiladas flour tortillas, red enchilada sauce from a can, shredded chicken, shredded cheese. Dip your tortilla in the sauce roll chicken and cheese into a burrito place in a casserole pan bake @350 degrees let it cool. Place in freezer. When you reheat it you can pop in back into the oven or microwave it.

Hope these help.

2 moms found this helpful

Check out http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

This gal di d365 recipes in the crockpot. MAny of them can be frozen after cooking and reheated. One of my favorites is the 'original crockpot soup'. It fills to the brim or my 6 qt crockpot. I feed my family with it and have between 3 - 4 qt size freezer bags to freeze and reheat later.

Hope this helps!

1 mom found this helpful

If you like Mexican food here is a super easy one that freezes well:

Mexican Manicotti

1 tsp. Oregano 1 lb. Hamburger
1 tsp. Cumin 1 can refried beans
1 tsp. Salt 1 cup salsa
1 tsp. Pepper 1-1/2 cups water
1 box manicotti 1 can sour cream
Longhorn cheese (as desired) Jack cheese (as desired)

Brown hamburger with oregano, cumin, salt and pepper. Drain fat. Add refried beans and warm. Stuff each manicotti shell with hamburger/bean mixture. In 13x9x2” baking dish place manicotti. Cover with salsa and water. Cover with foil and bake 350 degrees for one hour. Remove foil and top with sour cream and cheese. Place in oven until cheese melts. Top with olives, tomatoes and lettuce.

Just put in dish and put foil on top and through in freezer, let thaw before cooking especially if using a glass dish.

Here's another one that freezes well:

Heavenly Chicken

1 10 oz. pkg. frozen, 1 c. cracker crumbs
chopped spinach 1 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 c. sliced green onions 8 boneless chicken breast halves
2 tbsp. margarine skinned, about 3-3/4 pounds
2 tbsp. flour 1 cup cooked cubed ham
1 c. milk

In a small saucepan, cook spinach according to package directions; drain well. In a medium saucepan, make white sauce; sauté onions in margarine over low heat until tender. Stir in flour, adding milk all at once. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until bubbly. Boil and stir 1 minute more until smooth and thickened. Combine cracker crumbs and cheese. Dip chicken breast halves in crumb mixture to coat lightly. Arrange breast halves in a 13x9x2 inch baking dish. Seal leftover crumb mixture in a 1 qt. bag.

Stir spinach and ham into white sauce; spoon sauce over chicken breasts. Allow to cool and cover baking dish with foil, attaching bag of crumb mixture to side of dish.

To prepare for serving, thaw dish, and bake covered in a preheated 350 degree oven for 60-75 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle top with crumbs. Bake 10 minutes more. Makes 8 servings.

Enjoy! It's great you are getting organized ahead of time.

K.

1 mom found this helpful

Here are a few recipes I like that are easy to prep, freeze and cook later.
CEASAR CHICKEN
1 lbs frozen skinless chicken breast or chicken tenders
1 bottle Creamy Ceasar salad dressing ( I like Ken's)
2-3 cloves of Garlic
Grated Parmesan Cheese
1. Place chicken, dressing a garlic in gallon size freezer bag, make sure chicken is coated well.
2. Freeze
3. Defrost in fridge the day before you want to cook it.
4. Dump contents of bag into baking dish, cover with foil and bake at400 degrees for 40 minutes (30 minutes for chicken tenders)
5. Remove from oven and sprinkly with Parmesan cheese
6. Serve with salad or over cooked pasta

PORK BABYBACK RIBS
2 lbs Pork Babyback Ribs
3/4 c Ketchup
1 tsp Chili Powder
1 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tbs Vinegar
1 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
1 Sliced Onion

1. Cut rack of ribs in half and place in gallon-sized freezer bag.
2. Add all remaining ingredients to bag except onion
3. Mix well in bag and make sure ribs are coated.
4. Freeze
5. Thaw in fridge the day before you plan to cook
6. Dump contents of bag into baking dish
7. Top with sliced onion
8. Cover and bake at 400 degrees for 1.5-2 hours

MUSHROOM CHICKEN
2 lbs frozen boneless skinless chicken breast or chicken tenders
1 can Golden Mushroom soup
1 cup Milk
8 oz fresh Mushrooms, sliced
4 slices Bacon,crumbled
2-3 cloves Garlic, minced
2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbs Lemon juice
Grated Parmesan cheese

1. Combine all ingredients except Parmesan in gallon-sized freezer bag
2. Freeze
3. Thaw in fridge the day before you plan to cook
4. Dump contents of bag into baking dish
5. Cover and bake at 400 degrees for 40-45 minutes for chicken breasts (30 minutes for tenders)
6. Top with Parmesan and serve over rice or pasta

Hope these work out for you.
Congratulations on the new baby

1 mom found this helpful

Make large batch of things like stew, spagetti, or lasagna. I make all my own. Some dinners we do grilled cheese and soup or corn dogs and soup. Also wrap hot dogs in crescent roles and bake even slice the hot dog down the center, not all the way thru, and add a little slice of cheese. S.

try super suppers or one of those type places. you go in, make 12 meals and then pop them in the freezer, They feed me and my husband for 3 nights each so you really get 36 dinners. Each month offers new selections.

Lasangna is a great dish for the freezer. If you want to make single servings, after it is cool and firm cut into desired sizes and wrap individually. It will microwave easily to warm or you can use the oven.

If you have a favorite soup or chili that you like to make, those will do well in the freezer also.

Good Luck

Meatloaf is a good thing for the freezer. I do a double batch and cook one and freeze the other. You can cook it first and then freeze it, but it doesn't warm up as well. Meatloaf is one of those things that a lot of people only like their own, but I will give my recipe just in case you don't have one.
1 pound of hamburger
1 cup of milk
1 slice of bread broken up and soaked in the milk
1 egg (beaten)
salt (about 1/2 teaspoon)
pepper (about 1/2 teaspoon)
cook at 350 for about an hour. When I am cooking a frozen one I put it in the oven when the oven is still cold then turn on the heat. You don't have to defrost it first, although I usually do. It usually takes about an extra half hour to cook when frozen.

BRAVO for geting organized in advance...
However instead of trying to do it all yourself might I suggest the following...
If you haven't already had a baby shower (I am assuming you don't need much if you kept the items from your first son, I didn't with mine after the first one) I asked for meals and/or chores for gifts.
bewtween friends and relatives I didn't cook a meal or do a load of laundry the entire first month. It was heaven!
Just a thought...