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Post by wineallthetime on Dec 31, 2017 6:42:04 GMT -6
Ok, I'm posting way too much today. Sorry! So, my goal is to make 1 dinner a week that freezes well so I can make extra to pull out later.
What are your favorite freezer meals, I need ideas??
The ones I typically make are: Chili Cheeseburger casserole Egg bake Taco meat
ETA: and stuffed peppers
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Post by ladystrat on Dec 31, 2017 6:50:48 GMT -6
We do a big meat of some kind and freeze the leftovers in meal size portions. We've discovered a great little trick for reheating food that might otherwise be dry. I put it in a baking dish, add chicken broth, cover with foil, and heat at 350 until warm. We've often had it be more moist this way than it was originally.
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nam2013
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Post by nam2013 on Dec 31, 2017 7:35:10 GMT -6
wineallthetime pasta sauce, lasagna & soup freeze well. ETA as does curry sauce.
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guster
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Post by guster on Dec 31, 2017 8:21:27 GMT -6
I don't know how to freeze anything properly. Is there a system? Paging the queen of freezer meals ( tgrimes)
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Post by wineallthetime on Dec 31, 2017 8:29:10 GMT -6
I don't know how to freeze anything properly. Is there a system? Paging the queen of freezer meals ( tgrimes) Curious what tgrimes says! For chili/soup I let it completely cool, put in tupperwear and freeze. For things like stuffed peppers I cook the filling, put it in the pepper, wrap each pepper in plastic wrap and put in freezer bag (or just freeze the filling in a tupperwear and stuff the peppers when ready to bake).
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guster
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Post by guster on Dec 31, 2017 8:33:33 GMT -6
Nothing special to prevent freezer burn?
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klong11
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Post by klong11 on Dec 31, 2017 8:37:34 GMT -6
guster. If you put plastic wrap on the top of your soup or chili before freezing it should prevent freezer burn. Like actually have it touching the surface so no air is in between, if that makes sense.
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guster
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Post by guster on Dec 31, 2017 8:42:44 GMT -6
guster. If you put plastic wrap on the top of your soup or chili before freezing it should prevent freezer burn. Like actually have it touching the surface so no air is in between, if that makes sense. It does! I am such a newbie to this that I'll take all the details. So if you're freezing muffins, do you put them in her freezer Ziploc bag and just take all the air out or do you individually wrap all of the muffins? Yes it wouldn't be a big deal to wrap the regular sized ones, but mini muffins ?
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Sunny41
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Post by Sunny41 on Dec 31, 2017 11:42:53 GMT -6
guster. If you put plastic wrap on the top of your soup or chili before freezing it should prevent freezer burn. Like actually have it touching the surface so no air is in between, if that makes sense. It does! I am such a newbie to this that I'll take all the details. So if you're freezing muffins, do you put them in her freezer Ziploc bag and just take all the air out or do you individually wrap all of the muffins? Yes it wouldn't be a big deal to wrap the regular sized ones, but mini muffins ? I follow once a month meals and they have good tips. For bulk stuff like muffins you could put on a cookie sheet and flash freeze them then put them in a bag. That way they won't stick together in the bag. Same for individual egg cups
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tgrimes
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Post by tgrimes on Dec 31, 2017 12:53:59 GMT -6
guster. If you put plastic wrap on the top of your soup or chili before freezing it should prevent freezer burn. Like actually have it touching the surface so no air is in between, if that makes sense. It does! I am such a newbie to this that I'll take all the details. So if you're freezing muffins, do you put them in her freezer Ziploc bag and just take all the air out or do you individually wrap all of the muffins? Yes it wouldn't be a big deal to wrap the regular sized ones, but mini muffins ? For muffins, I put them on a cutting board evenly spaced and freeze for 20-30 minutes. Then put them in quart size freezer bags. I line the freezer bags with wax paper and try to suck the air out of the bag. The smaller the bag the better because you’ll be letting too much air in every time you open it if you use a gallon size bag.
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tgrimes
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Post by tgrimes on Dec 31, 2017 12:56:30 GMT -6
For lasagnas/casseroles I usually use foil tins. Some recipes you can find that you don’t have to cook it all the way, you just build it and then freeze. If you do have to cook it, then let it cool completely like wineallthetime said.
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tgrimes
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Post by tgrimes on Dec 31, 2017 12:56:49 GMT -6
guster. If you put plastic wrap on the top of your soup or chili before freezing it should prevent freezer burn. Like actually have it touching the surface so no air is in between, if that makes sense. This is good advice.
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tgrimes
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Post by tgrimes on Dec 31, 2017 12:59:38 GMT -6
My sister sent me an email with a bunch of freezer meals. It was off an aldi thing. I’d have to email it though because it’s a pdf. I’m making one of the pot roasts in it today. But it’s mainly dump recipes. Dump everything in the freezer bag, freeze it, thaw in the fridge the day before, then heat it cook the next day.
I have a really good taco soup recipe that’s good from the freezer or just to throw everything in a soup pan and heat it.
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mwhip
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Post by mwhip on Dec 31, 2017 16:51:45 GMT -6
I have a bunch of freezer meals on my Pinterest, you're free to stalk it.
When I make them, I double bag. Put everything in one gallon ziplock (do not buy cheap), flatten out so that flavors mix, then put the other bag on. This way they sit well in the freezer.
I've seen people who also freeze the bags in bowls, so you can put them frozen, in your crockpot. I haven't tried this, but makes sense for my IP.
But double bagging is important so that if any liquid leaks, it doesn't get all over your freezer.
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Post by lahdeedah on Jan 1, 2018 12:43:10 GMT -6
Pioneer Woman’s chicken spaghetti freezes well. It makes a lot, so I always divide it into two meals. I bake one dish, and put the other dish in the freezer for a later date. I take it out the night before and bake it according to the recipe. I usually leave it in an extra 5-10 minutes because it’s cold.
Eta: I also use Costco rotisserie chicken for it instead of boiling a cut up chicken. When doing the pasta, I do half chicken broth, half water to give the same effect.
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Post by melaniesue on Jan 1, 2018 14:44:18 GMT -6
My sister sent me an email with a bunch of freezer meals. It was off an aldi thing. I’d have to email it though because it’s a pdf. I’m making one of the pot roasts in it today. But it’s mainly dump recipes. Dump everything in the freezer bag, freeze it, thaw in the fridge the day before, then heat it cook the next day. I have a really good taco soup recipe that’s good from the freezer or just to throw everything in a soup pan and heat it. Can you send me the recipe please?
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tgrimes
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Post by tgrimes on Jan 1, 2018 15:31:43 GMT -6
My sister sent me an email with a bunch of freezer meals. It was off an aldi thing. I’d have to email it though because it’s a pdf. I’m making one of the pot roasts in it today. But it’s mainly dump recipes. Dump everything in the freezer bag, freeze it, thaw in the fridge the day before, then heat it cook the next day. I have a really good taco soup recipe that’s good from the freezer or just to throw everything in a soup pan and heat it. Can you send me the recipe please? Yes! Do I have your email address?
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Post by flamingo on Jan 1, 2018 19:31:37 GMT -6
My go-to freezer meal is chicken tetrazzini. So delicious and my recipe makes a ton; I usually split the batch and cook half immediately, and freeze the other half for later. I do like klong11 said and press saran wrap onto the top, then cover with foil.
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