Freezer containers (merged threads)

mrsbez_2

Hi all,

I've searched the forum for this but i cannot find anything on the subject.
Baby no.2 is due in March and i've got a 2 year old toddler and hubby to feed. So i'm hoping to freeze alot of meals in advance.

What are the best containers to buy for freezing meals that you can then transfer to the oven.

Also i never seem to have enough room in my freezer, can you all let me know if you manage with small freezers (i.e fridge freezer), or do you have large chest/upright freezers.

All and any advice welcome!

ariba10

We have an upright freezer in the kitchen and a chest freezer in the garage.

We use almost any plastic container that has a lid with it.

TKP_3

Hi mrsbez. We have 2 upright freezers (one in the kitchen, one in the garage). I freeze most things in freezer bags personally, as I find I can pack more in that way (I always let all the air out then seal with a freezer sticker - saying what is in the bag and the number of protions)Great idea to cook ahead and freeze - it should make your life much easier when the new little one comes

Gingham_Ribbon

Someone on another thread said they freeze stuff flat in freezer bags, then when they are frozen they put them on their sides in a row like books.

Pink.

Hi Mrsbez,

I think freezer size is a matter of personal choice and depends on your lifestyle and the size/appetites of your family.

There are five of us with big appetites and I do a lot of batch cooking and shopping for reduced items so I have a chest freezer and a fridge freezer which are usually both full to bursting.

For help and ideas on what containers to use for freezing have a look at this thread: Freezer containers

Pink

mrsbez_2

Thanks,

Yes i am making do with 3 small draws of freezer space and i like to freeze a weeks worth of bread. Which takes up room.
May have to weigh up the cost of an upright freezer!

blue-kat

I got some oblong pyrex dishes with plastic lids for freezer to oven, also useful if you don't like storing food in plastic.
pyrex pronto dishes:
http://!!!!!!!.com/yds9s5
sometimes on offer - sorry can't remember where.

Places like Wilko, £land etc, sell take-away style plastic food boxes in various sizes, or search on ebay for 'microwavable plastic food container'.

could always line with baking paper if you want to be able to lift the food out to place in oven dish.

all the best with your pregnancy

Queenie

My preferred method is to put a freezer bag INSIDE the dish (Pyrex more often than not) that I intend to reheat the food in and then freeze the bag in the dish until firm, remove the dish (that way I can use the dishes in the meantime). The frozen bag of food will already be 'dish' shaped and makes it easier to tesselate the items in the freezer in the meantime.

I freeze a LOT, so to invest in multitudes of freezer to cooker dishes would be a huge investment and (to me!) a waste when the dishes would spend the majority of time in the freezer, so freezer bags serve their purpose. I don't shy away from washing out my freezer bags and re-using them either, which makes them more economical.

Addiscomber

blue-kat wrote:

I got some oblong pyrex dishes with plastic lids for freezer to oven, also useful if you don't like storing food in plastic. pyrex pronto dishes:

These were reduced in my local Woolworths just after Christmas - £2.50 each instead of £4.50, I think.

Like Queenie, I wash out freezer bags and reuse them. The only problem is finding somewhere to hang them up this time of year. They are driving my DH mad.

jcr16

we are a family of 4. 2 adults 2 children. and i have a fridge freezer plus a chest freezer in shed. i have always had 2 freezers ever since hubby and i have been married. although our second freezer was always a tiny on. until we moved house about 3 years ago and bought a chest freezer. i find that being thoughtful about how u stack a freezer can make u have more room than u thought u did.