Cooking for the Freezer..

thriftyniftyme

Oooh where did you get your containers please? They sound cheaper than what I pay (or pizza is expensive your way! :rotfl:)

Pictures and recipes would be awesome. Good luck and enjoy your time off!

camNolliesMUMMY

I'd make up some chilli, spag Bol, curry etc even pizzas part bake the base and top then cover with cling n freeze?

kettlenic

soup is also great at this time of year x

afeitar

Yes bolognese freezes well, if you add grated carrot, peppers and red lentils to it too it bulks it out more. Chillis and stews freeze good too. Pasta freezes okay and so does rice but risotto doesn't freeze too great. I hate throwing away any food so everything gets used up for lunches or frozen! We made a big veggie chilli yesterday and had 5 servings left for lunches. The only problem is running out of room in the freezer/running out of tupperware! :rotfl:

Rav3n

I really need to do something like this. I have a habit of rushing in the mornings and not making lunch. Even if I do it's just a sandwich. On Sunday night I made some pasta for work on Monday but I've made nothing today so will be forced to buy something.

Will definitely do this.

kettlenic

You can get ziplock packets at poundland - now if you have patience you can fill one with the food you intend to freze put that in a tupperware...after a few hours remove from the freezer -remove ziplock packet and it should have frozen in a nice rectangular/square shape - easy for stacking and no wasting tuppawares

Pinzy

I'd like to keep an eye on this, the posts above are very handy for knowing what freezes well and what doesn't.

I just need a bigger freezer! We have a small chest freezer but it's no good for my back bending into it. Must keep an eye on ebay!

vgstar44

You could freeze pre made sandwichs too. I do it all the time for the kids. Take them out the freezer in the morning and by lunch time they are ready to eat.

I find cold meat like chicken, ham and beef ect work well with cheese.
Just mke the sandwich up as normal with marg/butter put in the filling pop in a bad then freeze! Wraps would work well.

Salad wont freeze tho so you would need to take it seperate and add when you were going to eat f you wanted to add that.

babyshoes

Thats a good way to start it - if you want to carry on with the plan then you won't need to do such an extreme marathon next time - as you use up your plastic containers of food, wash them out and aim to re-fill them at the weekend or on a night that you're cooking something which will freeze. Whenever I have the time/energy to cook a freezable meal, I try to bulk it out and make several extra portions out of it - some go in the freezer and some go into lunchboxes for week lunches.

Those foil containers are super handy for portions of lasagne (made with half a giant batch of bolognese) or free foraged fruit crumble, both of which can go straight from the freezer into a low oven for an hour or so. (though you may need to put a bit of foil on top if it's browning too fast.) Remember that you can't really re-use the foil containers though, so when you are getting low on empty ones it is time to re-order!

I don't bother freezing things like rice or pasta unless they are part of the meal, like lasagne or pasta bake - they are so quick and easy to cook while you heat up your sauce there's no need to fill up your freezer with food that can be more easily stored dry in your cupboard...

Remember that a lot of things will keep for a few days in the fridge too - I often keep a week's worth of leftovers for work lunches in the fridge and take them in to microwave at work.

It would be interesting to see your list, perhaps we can add to it or give you helpful suggestions.

Herbgirl

I bought the cointainers off ebay, tried using bags and freezing them in square shapes but I dont have the patience waiting for them to freeze
So far the list is
sweet and sour chicken
Sausage, mash and peas
chicken tonight (honey and mustard)
chilli
shepards pie
beef lasagna
chicken, spinach, mushroom lasagna
pork in mushroom sauce
Peri Peri Chicken
scones
brownies
pancakes
fry ups (egg, sausage, beans and hash browns)
fritata
quiche
chicken and mushroom slices
Roasted Med Veg
Sandwiches with ham and cheese

Now Im not the best cook in the world so a few things are cheats - like the sauces are bought, the scones etc are mixes (from tesco 3 for 2) but I dont think that matters as if I was buying the items as I would normally do from the local shop or at work it would cost so much more.

The idea is that this food will feed me and anyone who pops over for dinner (which is often) for 2 months - until christmas.

The scones are done- 80 mini ones!!