A Crash Course in freezer meal basics...
1) Plan an entire day (once a month) if you plan on doing your shopping and cooking all in one day, or break it up- shopping during the week and an afternoon or morning to prepare the meals.
2) Plan ahead and make your shopping list. Be sure to include the essential 4 items (Preparing for Freezer Meals) on that list and have room in your freezer.
3) After I have all of my items, I set up shop, throw an apron on, and sometimes pour a glass of wine…
Something I usually try to do... Start with a base meat (if you are using meat) and base sauce. I usually brown up 1lb of ground turkey with chopped onion and green peppers. The mix goes with many things. In another pot I either “dress up” some basic tomato sauce with garlic, onions or basil, or make my own tomato sauce using a petite diced tomatoes (a couple large cans), basil, olive oil and garlic. See how creative you feel that day and assemble some meals.
Freezing:
I freeze two types of meals- Crock Pot meals and baked casserole type meals.
Once you have created a meal, (see Recipes) it's time to freeze:
For Crock Pot meals- Pour/Place in a gallon sized freezer ziploc bag. (Tip: I sometimes place the bag inside a small mixing bowl to be sure it freezes in a size to fit in my crock pot. It's a sad day when you are trying to chisel an ice block to fit in the crock as you are running out the door for work) Label the bag with what you made, date and cooking instructions.
For baked casserole meals- Place prepared food in an aluminum tin that will fit in your freezer. Cover with tin foil and a plastic bag for extra protection against freezer burn and for labeling. (Tip: The brownie tin sized aluminum tins fit into the gallon sized freezer ziploc bags).
Thawing:
Crock Pot thawing- I don't thaw my crock pot meals. Put them in the crock as a frozen block and they turn out fine. I sometimes have to dip the plastic bag in warm water if I have a hard time getting the food out.
Baked Casserole Meals- Take tin out of the freezer a day ahead of time. If you forget, that's fine it will just take longer in the oven. I do not recommend taking a meal out of the freezer and popping it in the oven. It will take a very long time to bake and you will probably be eating dinner at 9:00pm.
1) Plan an entire day (once a month) if you plan on doing your shopping and cooking all in one day, or break it up- shopping during the week and an afternoon or morning to prepare the meals.
2) Plan ahead and make your shopping list. Be sure to include the essential 4 items (Preparing for Freezer Meals) on that list and have room in your freezer.
3) After I have all of my items, I set up shop, throw an apron on, and sometimes pour a glass of wine…
Something I usually try to do... Start with a base meat (if you are using meat) and base sauce. I usually brown up 1lb of ground turkey with chopped onion and green peppers. The mix goes with many things. In another pot I either “dress up” some basic tomato sauce with garlic, onions or basil, or make my own tomato sauce using a petite diced tomatoes (a couple large cans), basil, olive oil and garlic. See how creative you feel that day and assemble some meals.
Freezing:
I freeze two types of meals- Crock Pot meals and baked casserole type meals.
Once you have created a meal, (see Recipes) it's time to freeze:
For Crock Pot meals- Pour/Place in a gallon sized freezer ziploc bag. (Tip: I sometimes place the bag inside a small mixing bowl to be sure it freezes in a size to fit in my crock pot. It's a sad day when you are trying to chisel an ice block to fit in the crock as you are running out the door for work) Label the bag with what you made, date and cooking instructions.
For baked casserole meals- Place prepared food in an aluminum tin that will fit in your freezer. Cover with tin foil and a plastic bag for extra protection against freezer burn and for labeling. (Tip: The brownie tin sized aluminum tins fit into the gallon sized freezer ziploc bags).
Thawing:
Crock Pot thawing- I don't thaw my crock pot meals. Put them in the crock as a frozen block and they turn out fine. I sometimes have to dip the plastic bag in warm water if I have a hard time getting the food out.
Baked Casserole Meals- Take tin out of the freezer a day ahead of time. If you forget, that's fine it will just take longer in the oven. I do not recommend taking a meal out of the freezer and popping it in the oven. It will take a very long time to bake and you will probably be eating dinner at 9:00pm.