Freezing Meals

[hermione]

My husband is returning to campus in the coming weeks for the first time since March 2020. I want to have some meals made ahead for us because not having one of us home all day to figure out dinner will be a shock to our routine. I’m unsure of the “rules” for freezing meat that has been cooked already. For instance if I brown the meat and sausage, can I put a lasagna completely together (complete with sauce and cheese) and freeze it it? Then thaw and bake it when we want it?

What else do you make ahead?

[eb777888]

You can definitely do that! I used to do that every year for Christmas. A tip, I don't cook the noodles. I put them in out of the box and it soaks up all of the excess. This also works if you make it the day before and put it in the fridge. The noodles soften and it's so tasty.

The only thing I currently freeze is taco meat. We eat a lot of tacos so I love to make like five pounds of taco meat and portion it out in baggies, label and freeze.

[cricketwife]

Yes, you can do that. You can even bake it without thawing, but it takes longer, of course.

I personally don’t prefer making meals for the freezer most of the time, so ignore the rest of this is you don’t want ideas that aren’t freezer meals. I do a lot of sheet pan meals and prep on the weekend. For example, we are having sheet pan gnocchi this week. I spend a little time on a Sunday morning doing the prep work for the week (mostly chopping things). All the vegetables (butternut squash, red onion, red pepper) are already got up in the fridge so tomorrow I will literally dump it all on a sheet pan and bake. I do keep pre-cooked chicken in the freezer and can throw enchiladas together in 10 minutes (active time). We no longer eat red meat, but I used to keep browned ground beef in the freezer for easier meals prep on weeknights. For me, meal planning and doing some prep ahead is waaay easier than trying to make a whole lasagne or whatever on the weekend. Another quick and easy meal is “Indian chicken” . Chicken breast with any simmer sauce (doesn’t even have to be Indian), throw In a pot for 20 minutes, serve with naan, done.

[VillainV]

Aug 14, 2022 17:21:56 GMT -5 hermione said:

My husband is returning to campus in the coming weeks for the first time since March 2020. I want to have some meals made ahead for us because not having one of us home all day to figure out dinner will be a shock to our routine. I’m unsure of the “rules” for freezing meat that has been cooked already. For instance if I brown the meat and sausage, can I put a lasagna completely together (complete with sauce and cheese) and freeze it it? Then thaw and bake it when we want it?

What else do you make ahead?

We do this often. We’ll smoke a whole pork shoulder or cook up a ton of taco meat in the crock pot, the freezer what we don’t use. I vacuum seal with the food saver in smaller portions so I can just pull it out, thaw, and make another meal.

[Nonny]

As the others have said, you can definitely cook meat and then refreeze it, either as part of an assembled meal or stand-alone to use in other meals.

When we do freezer meals generally we are making two of something (or a giant pot of soup) and eating one fresh that night, and then freezing the other one. For something like lasagnas where it's a giant pain in the ass to make one, but only a slightly larger pain to make two, it's worth it for us to take the extra 10 minutes to save ourselves hours later. I don't batch cook for the freezer like some people do. Cooking all day would drive me bonkers, even if it saved me time later.

Our freezer meals include:
My MIL's lasagna recipe (we do par cook the noodles though, because her sauce isn't particularly liquidy.

Mexican lasagna, which uses store-bought tortillas instead of noodles.

"Sauce" - my H's secret recipe that's not spaghetti sauce but that we over spaghetti; this is probably 4-5 meals.

Pizza stromboli.

Jalapeno popper chicken casserole - one batch is two meals for us, because I use smaller pans. I also add panko and Trader Joe's crispy jalapenos for a crunchy topping, but I don't freeze that because it would get soggy, I put it on just before baking.

Cheesy hamburger soup - I also make and freeze extra pepper jack cheese rolls to go with it.

Beef soup - this is also my H's recipe and gives so many freezer meals, because he makes a GIANT stockpot full, that feeds us for two nights plus another 4-5 meals, and gives 4-5 bags of shredded beef to freeze. We use the beef for enchiladas and shepherd's pie (but we don't freeze those two things).

Shredded chicken - I make this in the crockpot (season how you want) and then pull out for quesadillas or if we're scrounging around we might use it to make quick burrito bowls.

Carnitas / Cuban Pork / Pulled Pork - I don't make any of these very often, but when I do, it's usually in the crock pot and I usually try to double the pork so that I can pull out extra later for sandwiches, bowls, etc. I'll toss it in a pan or under the broiler to crisp it up, since that gives better flavor and makes it less soggy.

[namasteak]

I love freezer cooking. I find it best to leave the meats that will go in a crockpot raw but anything else gets cooked.

[isabel]

I don't have suggestions for freezer meals, but FWIW, I only cook on the weekends. Today I made a large batch of eggroll in a bowl and a quinoa/black bean/corn dish that we'll eat as a bowl with avocado and tortilla chips (could also use it for tacos).

I can't handle cooking and cleaning up during the week (mostly mentally, I just find it really taxing), so this is something I've done for the last few years. It's honestly hard for me to even consider going back to cooking during the week.

[thebreakfastclub]

I freeze turkey taco meat, carnitas, marinara sauce, and sometimes chili. Otherwise I don't like pre-cooked stuff. We try to choose basic weeknight recipes if it's not a wfh day.

[chickadee77]

Aug 14, 2022 20:31:04 GMT -5 isabel said:

I don't have suggestions for freezer meals, but FWIW, I only cook on the weekends. Today I made a large batch of eggroll in a bowl and a quinoa/black bean/corn dish that we'll eat as a bowl with avocado and tortilla chips (could also use it for tacos).

I can't handle cooking and cleaning up during the week (mostly mentally, I just find it really taxing), so this is something I've done for the last few years. It's honestly hard for me to even consider going back to cooking during the week.

I'm intrigued by this. So, do you eat the same thing all week? I thought leftovers (or cooked food in general) were only good for three days max - how do you keep things fresh/safe? (No snark here - I'm genuinely curious because I spend so.much.time cooking and would like that to change!)

[okla]

We do a kind of what Isabel does, but do end up with some freezer stash, too. There are just two adults, and my H doesn’t take lunch to work.

On Sundays, we will typically make three recipes, each serving about 4-6. Two are for our dinners for the weekdays, and one is for me to take for lunch all week. I try to have one of the meals be freezer-friendly so if we don’t eat it all, we can add it to the freezer. We almost always have something in the freezer we can pull out in a pinch.

So, today, we made black bean and sweet potato taco bowls that won’t freeze well, a baked penne pasta dish that will, and grilled chicken breast and chopped veggies for salads for my lunches.

I get a lot of ideas from the Workweek Lunch Instagram and website, and I bought her cookbook, which has been consistently great.

Stuff I’ve found that freezes well are pasta bakes, non-dairy soups, and curries like butter chicken, etc.

[ssmjlm]

Most freezer meals make too much for us, so I stopped them after trying way too many times to make it work.

Honestly, what works best for us is to meal plan and have an idea of expectations. We don't make fancy stuff and I've had to be ok with leftovers, but it's better than scrambling or take-out.

We grill a lot and then have a simple side and veggies.

I will buy pre-made from costco for an easy heat and eat.

Don't discount soup and grilled cheese in the winter, costco has great soups in 2.5 person portions (although my kid won't eat soup, so she just gets grilled cheese).

Breakfast for dinner

Honestly I would come up with some recipes that you already like and try to plan out 3-4 meals a week. We try and have the meat cover at least 2 dinners and then change up the sides the 2 nights.

[VillainV]

Aug 14, 2022 23:01:21 GMT -5 chickadee77 said:

Aug 14, 2022 20:31:04 GMT -5 isabel said:

I don't have suggestions for freezer meals, but FWIW, I only cook on the weekends. Today I made a large batch of eggroll in a bowl and a quinoa/black bean/corn dish that we'll eat as a bowl with avocado and tortilla chips (could also use it for tacos).

I can't handle cooking and cleaning up during the week (mostly mentally, I just find it really taxing), so this is something I've done for the last few years. It's honestly hard for me to even consider going back to cooking during the week.

I'm intrigued by this. So, do you eat the same thing all week? I thought leftovers (or cooked food in general) were only good for three days max - how do you keep things fresh/safe? (No snark here - I'm genuinely curious because I spend so.much.time cooking and would like that to change!)

Cooked meals, if stored properly, should be safe to eat for a week. It might lose something in texture, but it’s safe. I prep all my lunches on Sunday and they’re fine (often even tastier) through Friday.

[isabel]

Aug 14, 2022 23:01:21 GMT -5 chickadee77 said:

Aug 14, 2022 20:31:04 GMT -5 isabel said:

I don't have suggestions for freezer meals, but FWIW, I only cook on the weekends. Today I made a large batch of eggroll in a bowl and a quinoa/black bean/corn dish that we'll eat as a bowl with avocado and tortilla chips (could also use it for tacos).

I can't handle cooking and cleaning up during the week (mostly mentally, I just find it really taxing), so this is something I've done for the last few years. It's honestly hard for me to even consider going back to cooking during the week.

I'm intrigued by this. So, do you eat the same thing all week? I thought leftovers (or cooked food in general) were only good for three days max - how do you keep things fresh/safe? (No snark here - I'm genuinely curious because I spend so.much.time cooking and would like that to change!)

I don’t worry about things going bad after three days. I’ve never had anything go bad that quickly. I cook on Sunday and if there’s anything leftover, it usually gets tossed on the following Saturday (so six days). FWIW, I have a degree in restaurant management and used to work in restaurants, so I’m not totally ignoring food safety.

Yes, we eat the same thing all week. Usually I eat one dish for lunch and the other for dinner. Sometimes I’ll switch it up on wfh days and eat veggies/fruit/crackers with a dip or salami or something like that.

I can’t eat the exact same thing all the time, but it’s fine for a week or so, and then we switch it up for the following week. The key is making stuff that I really enjoy eating. Otherwise it goes to waste because I don’t feel like eating something several days in a row.

Also, this week everything is fully prepped, but some weeks there’s assembly required. Like I’ll make meatballs, rice, cucumber salad, and tzatziki and then I’ll warm the rice and meatballs and add the cold salad and sauce. It helps leftovers feel fresher.

[af1212]

Aug 14, 2022 23:01:21 GMT -5 chickadee77 said:

Aug 14, 2022 20:31:04 GMT -5 isabel said:

I don't have suggestions for freezer meals, but FWIW, I only cook on the weekends. Today I made a large batch of eggroll in a bowl and a quinoa/black bean/corn dish that we'll eat as a bowl with avocado and tortilla chips (could also use it for tacos).

I can't handle cooking and cleaning up during the week (mostly mentally, I just find it really taxing), so this is something I've done for the last few years. It's honestly hard for me to even consider going back to cooking during the week.

I'm intrigued by this. So, do you eat the same thing all week? I thought leftovers (or cooked food in general) were only good for three days max - how do you keep things fresh/safe? (No snark here - I'm genuinely curious because I spend so.much.time cooking and would like that to change!)

There is a whole group of people who do Once A Month Cooking (OAMC) - they have blogs, message boards, Fb groups, etc. You could google and even if you don’t want to be that extreme I bet they would have great tips and ideas for you.

[sunshineandpinot]

I love freezer meals! Dh made meatloaf last week and we just doubled the meat, cooked one and froze the other. It will make for a great weeknight meal and it's hardly any extra work to make two.

I made butter chicken last night. We ate half and I will freeze the other half. I'm going to write it in my calendar 2 weeks from now so it doesn't get lost in my freezer.

I do tend to forget about my freezer meals so I'm going to take a little inventory and start putting them in my paper calendar, where I plan my weekly meals.

Rice freezes beautifully and my kids love fried rice, which needs to be made with leftover rice. So often I'll cook a double batch and freeze for fried rice later on.

ETA I don't love frozen chicken unless it's in a sauce or soup. Italian food freezes beautifully. I'm a little picky about what I'll freeze but I've gotten really good about freezing leftovers if we're not going to eat them and they have sometimes been lifesavers. ex- dh made cheeseburgers the other night. We had three leftover and went oot so I just popped them in the freezer. I pulled them out maybe two weeks later when we had no food and I didn't want to go to the store, They were delicious. I'm going to have him make double going forward just so I can have some for leftovers. 

[sadie]

Aug 14, 2022 20:31:04 GMT -5 isabel said:

I don't have suggestions for freezer meals, but FWIW, I only cook on the weekends. Today I made a large batch of eggroll in a bowl and a quinoa/black bean/corn dish that we'll eat as a bowl with avocado and tortilla chips (could also use it for tacos).

I can't handle cooking and cleaning up during the week (mostly mentally, I just find it really taxing), so this is something I've done for the last few years. It's honestly hard for me to even consider going back to cooking during the week.

Do your kids eat these batched meals also or do you prep separate stuff for them? My major issue is prepping stuff that everyone will eat.

[CrazyLucky]

One of the best presents I got when I had a baby was from my MIL. She gave me this book: www.amazon.com/Taste-Home-Freezer-Pleasers-Cookbook/dp/0898217113/ref=sr_1_25?crid=C2L3UVBJ385H&keywords=freezer+meal+cookbook&qid=1660575306&sprefix=freezer+meal+coo%2Caps%2C456&sr=8-25
And she made four or five meals from it. We use it all the time. It's so nice to be able to have something pre-made when we're trying to get to two kid activities in different towns at different times.

[hermione]

Aug 15, 2022 9:56:35 GMT -5 CrazyLucky said:

One of the best presents I got when I had a baby was from my MIL. She gave me this book: www.amazon.com/Taste-Home-Freezer-Pleasers-Cookbook/dp/0898217113/ref=sr_1_25?crid=C2L3UVBJ385H&keywords=freezer+meal+cookbook&qid=1660575306&sprefix=freezer+meal+coo%2Caps%2C456&sr=8-25
And she made four or five meals from it. We use it all the time. It's so nice to be able to have something pre-made when we're trying to get to two kid activities in different towns at different times.

Thanks. My library doesn't have it so I just inter library loaned it.

[definitelyO]

we're toward the end of a kitchen reno and I froze a bunch of stuff in individual serving sizes before we started.

sloppy joes
variety of indian curry (served with the microwave rice)
bbq chicken
lasagna
burrito/taco mixes

none of this is very exciting - but then we'll cook vegetables/potatoes and other meat on the grill/smoker.

[chickadee77]

Aug 15, 2022 8:06:52 GMT -5 af1212 said:

Aug 14, 2022 23:01:21 GMT -5 chickadee77 said:

I'm intrigued by this. So, do you eat the same thing all week? I thought leftovers (or cooked food in general) were only good for three days max - how do you keep things fresh/safe? (No snark here - I'm genuinely curious because I spend so.much.time cooking and would like that to change!)

There is a whole group of people who do Once A Month Cooking (OAMC) - they have blogs, message boards, Fb groups, etc. You could google and even if you don’t want to be that extreme I bet they would have great tips and ideas for you.

Yes, I've explored them before, a long time ago - they tend to cook, freeze, and reheat, which, to me, always tastes like - well, reheated food, lol. Le sigh, haha. My current system isn't awful (I do all prep/assembly on the weekends and then cook as needed) but I'm always looking for ways to improve!

90% of my cooking woes would probably be solved if I could just be stricter about making the kids eat what I make. So I take full accountability.

[isabel]

Aug 15, 2022 9:32:24 GMT -5 sadie said:

Aug 14, 2022 20:31:04 GMT -5 isabel said:

I don't have suggestions for freezer meals, but FWIW, I only cook on the weekends. Today I made a large batch of eggroll in a bowl and a quinoa/black bean/corn dish that we'll eat as a bowl with avocado and tortilla chips (could also use it for tacos).

I can't handle cooking and cleaning up during the week (mostly mentally, I just find it really taxing), so this is something I've done for the last few years. It's honestly hard for me to even consider going back to cooking during the week.

Do your kids eat these batched meals also or do you prep separate stuff for them? My major issue is prepping stuff that everyone will eat.

My kids eat like 5 things, so I’ve always just made them their own stuff. Frozen nuggets, sandwiches, etc. I prep fruit and cut up veggies on Sunday that lasts all week, so making dinner for them is like 5 minutes of work.

I cook on Saturday and Sunday for those nights and try to involve them in that or make stuff with components they’ll eat.