Freezer cooking is a method of preparing meals or other foods and storing them in your freezer for future use. We’ve talked a little about the advantages of freezer cooking and using your meals to bless your family and others in need. Let’s talk about actually planning your freezer cooking menu. This is especially good advice for those of you who are first-time freezer cooks and don’t know where to start!
Using the Right Food Items and Produce
First, it’s important to understand that some things freeze well while others do not. Foods that do not freeze well include cooked eggs, watery vegetables like lettuce, cucumbers and radishes, and creamy dairy items such as sour cream, yogurt and mayonnaise. All vegetables except peppers and onions must be blanched before they are frozen. Most fruits, with the exception of raw apples and citrus fruits, can be frozen but will be mushy when thawed, so it’s important to consider the texture when deciding how to use them in your meals.
Most meats can be frozen, but if you thaw frozen chicken or other meats for your meals they must be cooked before freezing them again. I’ve had great success with freezing cheeses, soups and tomato-based sauces.
Even the foods that do freeze well need to be properly prepared beforehand to ensure good quality. For instance, if you’re preparing macaroni and cheese that will have a breadcrumb topping, the topping should be frozen in a separate bag so that it doesn’t become mushy when baked.
Think About Your Schedule
Before you pick some tasty recipes for your cooking day, take a look at your calendar and mark the days of the month when you will be in need of your freezer meals. Try to choose what meals you will eat on which days, depending on the amount of baking or cooking time necessary once you thaw the food. This way you won’t make too few meals or end up eating pizza burgers three days in a row at the end of the month!
Choosing Your Recipes
When you’re first choosing recipes, it’s ideal to have a freezer or once a month cookbook on hand. When I started freezer cooking, I only chose recipes out of two books: Once a Month Cooking Family Favorites and The Freezer Cooking Manual from 30 Day Gourmet. Once I had a grasp of what froze well and how to cook it once removed from the freezer, I chose some of my own recipes.
In the beginning it’s great to choose foods you know your family will enjoy. Experimentation can always come later! Look for recipes with a small amount of prep so you don’t get discouraged and worn down at the end of your cooking day. Some basic items that freeze well are unbaked lasagna, cooked ground beef, homemade spaghetti sauce and cheese shells. I’ll share my spaghetti sauce and cheese shells recipes with you soon!
Making Your Grocery List
Once you’ve gone through your cupboards to see what you already have on hand, it’s time to make a grocery list! My method involves grabbing a piece of paper and going through my chosen recipes, writing each ingredient and how many I will need. This way you only have to write each item down once with marks next to it to denote the amounts needed. For instance, I may write “crushed tomatoes – 32 ounces” or “onions – ////”.
I try to choose my recipes around sale items, but it’s not always possible. Even if you can’t get everything on sale, think of how much you’ll be saving your family by having meals ready at home! Having a well-stocked pantry or your own garden produce helps with cost savings, as well.
After you’ve done your shopping, it’s time to prep and cook your meals! But we’ll talk more about that later…
Photo Credit: aMichiganMom on Flickr
I did this before having my daughter, to get us through the postpartum no-housework-happening period. It was handy, although we got a little sick of the same dishes – I tried to freeze a variety of meals, but we had a LOT of beef stew and mince in various forms. (And of course, DH left all the lentil dishes until last…)
One thing I’ve considered is freezing uncooked crockpot meals. Can that be done? I’m thinking of freezing raw, chopped beef with all the seasonings – red wine vinegar, a can of tomatoes, rosemary, brown sugar etc – in a solid chunk, so I could chuck the frozen lump in the crockpot liner the night before (in the fridge) to defrost a bit, then put it on in the morning. Has anyone tried this? I’m thinking I might have to brown the onions before freezing them, for flavour, and not add too much wine to the mixture in case it inhibited the freezing process. Thoughts?
You can freeze uncooked meat as long as you prepare it for the freezer fresh from the store or market. You shouldn’t thaw uncooked meat and then refreeze it without cooking it. That’s an excellent idea, to make crock pot meals! I’ve never done that before, but I’m sure it would work great! Sometimes the flavors of certain things are heightened after freezing but from what I’ve read it’s mostly for vanilla and other sweet seasonings.
Let us know how it goes.