dinners for freezing

"S_S" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

There seem to be many companies springing up that let you come in,
prepare several packaged dinners with fresh ingredients and take home
to freeze. Dream Dinners (www.dreamdinners.com), Super Suppers
(supersuppers.com), and My Girlfriend's Kitchen
(www.mygirlfriendskitchen.com)are examples I saw in an article in
Epicurious.

However since I like to cook at home, but would like to have a few
homemade frozen dinners for the days I need something fast, I'd like to
create these at home. I'm sure its also more cost effective to do this
at home.

I've looked before for dinners that are easy to freeze online, but tend
to find the type of recipes that involve several cans of stuff instead
of fresh ingredients.

Does anyone have any recipes for dinners, including vegetarian ones,
that use fresh, healthy ingredients and keep well frozen?

Thanks! Sharon

Pasta e fagiole freezes well, but don't add the grated cheese - it loses
flavor and makes the food gooey. Add when serving.

Meat loaf is pretty obvious. Slice and freeze in little zip lock bags. If
you freeze several slices together, put waxed paper between the slices so
you can separate them more easily when they're partially defrosted.

Brocolli's easy to freeze. Wash as usual, then blanch by dropping pieces
into boiling water for about 20 seconds, then move them immediately to a
large bowl of ice cold water. Shake off excess water and freeze. Be sure to
use a pot that'll hold so much water that the addition of the brocolli won't
stop the boiling.

Prepare meat for tacos and freeze in whatever portions make sense. It'll get
a bit dehydrated usually. Add some sauce or a touch of water when reheating.

.....and, don't forget that fish like salmon keeps nicely when frozen because
of its oil content. Since it cooks so fast, there's no point in freezing the
cooked product.

S_S said:

There seem to be many companies springing up that let you come in,
prepare several packaged dinners with fresh ingredients and take home
to freeze. Dream Dinners (www.dreamdinners.com), Super Suppers
(supersuppers.com), and My Girlfriend's Kitchen
(www.mygirlfriendskitchen.com)are examples I saw in an article in
Epicurious.

However since I like to cook at home, but would like to have a few
homemade frozen dinners for the days I need something fast, I'd like to
create these at home. I'm sure its also more cost effective to do this
at home.

I've looked before for dinners that are easy to freeze online, but tend
to find the type of recipes that involve several cans of stuff instead
of fresh ingredients.

Does anyone have any recipes for dinners, including vegetarian ones,
that use fresh, healthy ingredients and keep well frozen?

Thanks! Sharon

Since you like to cook at home just about any meal you cook can be
frozen to be used later. Make ahead freezer meals are quite easy. You
can get a lot of recipes at the Once a Month Cooking website or just
google for the same. Here's a couple to get you started
http://busycooks.about.com/od/makeaheadrecipes/a/cookOAMC.htm
http://www.realfood4realpeople.com/oamcrecipes.html

Personally I do a lot of this type of thing but as far as recipes go
most are just things I do and not written down. Mine if a full meal
tend to be meat and veggies or casseroles or soups or stews. I keep a
good supply of sauces, side dishes, and quick fixes on hand in the
freezers. Quick fixes are pre-cooked things like chicken for wraps,
already seasoned taco meat, meat & gravy, already browned gr. beef, etc.

"Doug Kanter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

....and, don't forget that fish like salmon keeps nicely when frozen
because of its oil content. Since it cooks so fast, there's no point in
freezing the cooked product.

Pot roast with gravy freezes well and makes an easy dinner over bread or
cooked rice (which freezes well too.) Swedish meatballs make a good freezer
item. Beef or chicken stews work well, as do hearty vegetable, beef, or
chicken soups that make a meal with bread and perhaps a salad.

Kathy

S_S said:

There seem to be many companies springing up that let you come in,
prepare several packaged dinners with fresh ingredients and take home
to freeze. Dream Dinners (www.dreamdinners.com), Super Suppers
(supersuppers.com), and My Girlfriend's Kitchen
(www.mygirlfriendskitchen.com)are examples I saw in an article in
Epicurious.

However since I like to cook at home, but would like to have a few
homemade frozen dinners for the days I need something fast, I'd like to
create these at home. I'm sure its also more cost effective to do this
at home.

I've looked before for dinners that are easy to freeze online, but tend
to find the type of recipes that involve several cans of stuff instead
of fresh ingredients.

Does anyone have any recipes for dinners, including vegetarian ones,
that use fresh, healthy ingredients and keep well frozen?

Thanks! Sharon

Garfield Food!

1 box lasagna pasta
1 lb. ground beef
1 large can of bits and pieces of mushroom
1 pkg fresh spinach
1 Large bag of Mozzarella cheese
1 (16 oz.) sm. curd cottage cheese
1 med. size Ragu or Newman's sauce or your favorite prepared sauce.
Parmesan cheese I like the one from the refrigerated counter.

Brown ground beef and drain; add to prepared sauce and simmer for 30
minutes. Remove from heat and cool. Cook pasta according to package
directions and drain. Coat with Canola oil cooking spray bottom and
sides of a 9x13 pan. Layer ingredients in this order: small coat of
sauce on the bottom of the pan then pasta, dotted spoonfuls of
cottage cheese, sprinkled shredded Mozzarella cheese, and meat
sauce. Only one fairly thick layer of wilted (with hot water)
spinach is used.
Continue layering to depth of approximately 2 inches or fairly
close to the top of the pan. After last layering, should be meat
sauce, sprinkle Parmesan cheese generously over the top of the
casserole.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes uncovered on middle rack of oven.

This will provide six servings that can be cut after cooled and
placed in the Glad 6"X 6"X 2" plastic storage containers. To prepare
just slip container in the Microwave and defrost.
I call it Garfield Dinner.

--
BILL P.
Just Dog
&
ME

"Doug Kanter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Prepare meat for tacos and freeze in whatever portions make sense. It'll
get a bit dehydrated usually. Add some sauce or a touch of water when
reheating.

Also, stuffed peppers, spaghetti sauce, mac n cheese ...
those are all winter type of foods. Take a look in the
freezer case at your supermarket, see what dinners they
make that look good to you, just to get suggestions of
what to make.

nancy

You can freeze most stews and pasta sauces, if not all. They reheat
well. I do it all the time.

The same goes for chili and the like.and mashed potatoes, and curries.

Chili, soups, stews tend to freeze well. Grilled chicken breasts
freeze well -- just thaw them out and have with some green salad or
frozen veggies and you have a quick meal. I like to have precooked
ingredients on hand in my freezer -- grilled chicken breasts,
precooked shredded chicken for burritos or casseroles (I cook chicken
quarters in my crockpot on low all day, shred, and freeze one cup
portions in ziploc bags), browned hamburger meat.

Tara

"S_S" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

However since I like to cook at home, but would like to have a few
homemade frozen dinners for the days I need something fast, I'd like to
create these at home. I'm sure its also more cost effective to do this
at home.

I've looked before for dinners that are easy to freeze online, but tend
to find the type of recipes that involve several cans of stuff instead
of fresh ingredients.

Noting special is needed. We make extra for dinner and I take the leftovers
for lunch. Often they are frozen, especially something like a big turkey
for the holiday.

I like the Rubbermaid partitioned containers. Lid seals well, plenty of
room. Others will work too.

If you buy any frozen meal, you find they have certain things in common.
The ingredients are spaced out evenly for even reheating. You don't find as
much baked potato as they do not freeze well and lose texture.

If you use mashed, make them a bit creamier than usual by adding more milk
or butter. That gives them better texture. Don't put a huge glob of mashed
potatoes and a thin slice of meat. Better to make two smaller portions or
even a hole in the center to promote more even heating. If you have cooked
veggies, just add them in. If you don't have enough veggies, you can add
some frozen veggies right from the bag and they will cook sufficiently while
the rest of the meal heats.

S_S said:

Does anyone have any recipes for dinners, including vegetarian ones,
that use fresh, healthy ingredients and keep well frozen?

Quiche freezes pretty well.

Neither my chili nor my marinara sauce is vegetarian, but I always
freeze half of what I make for later (though technically neither is a
complete dinner).

Last Thanksgiving, I froze complete turkey dinners; that seemed to work
out very well (of course, Swanson's been doing that for decades..)

If you actually care about texture, I wouldn't freeze anything with
vegetables in recognizable chunks.

Jeffs

S_S said:

There seem to be many companies springing up that let you come in,
prepare several packaged dinners with fresh ingredients and take home
to freeze. Dream Dinners (www.dreamdinners.com), Super Suppers
(supersuppers.com), and My Girlfriend's Kitchen
(www.mygirlfriendskitchen.com)are examples I saw in an article in
Epicurious.

However since I like to cook at home, but would like to have a few
homemade frozen dinners for the days I need something fast, I'd like to
create these at home. I'm sure its also more cost effective to do this
at home.

I've looked before for dinners that are easy to freeze online, but tend
to find the type of recipes that involve several cans of stuff instead
of fresh ingredients.

Does anyone have any recipes for dinners, including vegetarian ones,
that use fresh, healthy ingredients and keep well frozen?

Thanks! Sharon

If you would review a previous post of mine "Dont Worry About It
Cooking" You will see where I cooked far more than one individual
could consume in a day or so. I froze these items and am happy to
report that I am setting here eating the last turkey led, it is
absolutely delicious. Just removed them from the foil wrap after
cooking and transfered them to plastic bags and then to the freezer.
I would make a suggestion here and that is to have separate entry
frozen items. Or stated another way have entries frozen separately.
That way you can mix and match depending on current hunger desires.

--
BILL P.
Just Dog
&
ME

S_S said:

There seem to be many companies springing up that let you come in,
prepare several packaged dinners with fresh ingredients and take home
to freeze. Dream Dinners (www.dreamdinners.com), Super Suppers
(supersuppers.com), and My Girlfriend's Kitchen
(www.mygirlfriendskitchen.com)are examples I saw in an article in
Epicurious.

However since I like to cook at home, but would like to have a few
homemade frozen dinners for the days I need something fast, I'd like to
create these at home. I'm sure its also more cost effective to do this
at home.

I've looked before for dinners that are easy to freeze online, but tend
to find the type of recipes that involve several cans of stuff instead
of fresh ingredients.

Does anyone have any recipes for dinners, including vegetarian ones,
that use fresh, healthy ingredients and keep well frozen?

Thanks! Sharon

Now this is an interesting thread. Lots of replies, but only a few that responded
to Sharon's question. ie "Homemade, frozen, dinner". I translate "dinner" to
mean and entre and two sides. Further she specifies heat and eat which leaves
out most fresh products. It happens that I routinely follow a cook it, freeze it
and keep it philosophy myself. Here are some of the items commonly found
in my freezer on any given day. All items are precooked and need only thawing
and heating to eat.

Vacuum Packed Items

Spareribs
Beef short ribs
Beef ribs
Pulled pork
Roast beef
Brisket
Pork tenderloin
Polish sausage
Kielbasa

Freezer container items

Individual items

Green beans
Peas
Spinach
Collard Greens
Yellow ear corn
Whole kernel corn
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Navy beans
Lima beans
Pinto beans
Kidney beans

Prepared entre's and sides

Chicken Cacciatore
Paella
Beef stew
Bean soup
Chili
Goulash
Spaghetti sauce
Pot Roast

The list is endless, but this should give you some idea of what you
can put together quickly and on short notice.

Vacuum packed items and others in boiling bags in a single pot of
boiling water is a good way to go without dirtying up all your pots
and pans. No prethawing is necessary. Just pick out an entre and
your choice of sides, drop into a pot of water, bring to a boil and
then simmer until the bags begin to swell from steam pressure.

Use your kitchen shears or a sharp knife to open the bags, dump
and serve. Rinse the pot under the faucet and you're done.
--
The Brick said that (Don't bother to agree with me, I have already changed my mind.)

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Thanks to everyone for your suggestions.

Brick - how do you prepare the Spareribs you keep vacuum packed ?
Thanks!