Cooking for the Freezer..

buxtonrabbitgreen

I asgree with all the above except stew. I think that is quite disgusting when it has been thawed out. And by the way don't do what I did and freeze cauli without blanching, it went all brown and I had to throw it away.

lil_me

My stew always defrosts and reheats lovely, never had it turn nasty yet, wonder what difference there is

npsmama

Stew freezes and thaws wonderfully!
It's my favourite freezer meal.

Lil_Me has given a great list of freezer meals. I do all those too.

One question though...do you freeze pasta salads? If so, what goes in them.

Hope the op and recovery go well.

lil_me

Pasta salads I don't tend to freeze as it usually lasts a couple of days in the fridge (and tends to be eaten within that), if I cook too much pasta I do, sometimes seperately just freeze the pasta rather than waste it. Most important thing for me when doing that is to make sure the pasta isn't overcooked or doesn't freeze well, make sure it's still 'chewy'. I find if I do ones with chicken, tomato based sauce and pasta they usually freeze ok. It's more I think thinking about what ingredients go in, if it's salad veg it defrosts icky too much water, things like courgettes, carrots, peppers etc I find are ok.

Another few ideas when looking at my 'whats in the freezer list' (basically batch cooks or left overs)

Sausage casserole/in gravy
Yorkshire puddings
Canneloni
Garlic bread
Cakes
Breads - various types and rolls
Soups
Mixed veg - handy when part cooked as cooks quicker

sammy_kaye18

Thanks for some of the helpful ideas

Im having a creative day today

Ive batch made

- soup so far.
- Ive got 2 shepherds pies because there was 800g of mince which i forgot
to divide when i brought it so have one to freeze and one for tea tonight.
- there is dough proving and ready to go soon.
- also half of that is to be used in a fruit loaf too
- a tomato sauce so its there ready for pasta, or pizza topping etc as i plan
to make some baguette style rolls
- ive grated a load of cheese for the fridge so its quick and easy for
sandwiches/ pizzas/toasted sandwiches/pasta topping etc
-have a frozen chicken thats been in the fridge since just after Xmas (has
never been out do you think its ok to eat still??) anyway was hoping to
cook it up tomorrow at some point for sandwiches, soups, pie making etc.
- victoria sponge cake/fairy cakes and a banana cake all made as treats over
the next few days as bf is feeling a bit sorry for himself now and i think hes
a bit nervous but he wont admit it

not a bad days work

Lil_Me - could i have the sausage casserole recipe please because i have plenty of sausages in my little freezer to use up - plus even though my little freezer is tiny it still seems to be holding up pretty well with all the food ive batch cooked

exlibris

I currently make shepherds pie (with chicken) Lasagna (Veg ) and fish pies in bulk to freeze as a meal. I do add fresh or frozen veg to the meal to make sure we get our quota of veg.
We don't eat red meat and are not keen on spicy food like chili.

Does anyone have any ideas for dishes that can be taken out of the freezer, put in the fridge to thaw and then heat in the microwave please?

blondy24

Do you eat vege-mince? If so you could try making quantities of spag bol sauce and freezing it.

blondy24

Chicken casserole is another alternative which you can easily freeze, along with vegetarian moussaka, if I think of anything else I will let you know.

Gingernutmeg

Would you eat turkey mince? It makes a nice ragu sauce that freezes well, and you can make mild chilli with it too - it doesn't need to be 'spicy' and the beans etc make it quite cheap. Also you could make things like enchiladas and burritos with it, they'd freeze and again, you don't have to make them spicy. Turkey mince is cheap, too.

nesssie1702

What about making the filling for a chicken and veg pie and then you can make the pastry topping at the time and cook it off in the oven?