How do you freeze meals?

missamoo

I was watching Desperate Housewives the other day - someone ended up in hospital and true to US film form, all the neighbours turned up with various casseroles etc to keep the family going. Mostly in pyrex dishes.

So my question is - can you freeze pyrex dishes? Else how else are all those meals going to last?

Seriously tho, I made a shepherds pie the other day, then decided i needed to freeze it but it was in a pyrex dish and I didn't know if I could put it in the freezer. I have plenty of plastic dishes but I would like to be able to put things straight from the freezer into the oven.

irishwexford

I have dishes that go from freezer to oven so I use these if not using containers or bags. I would not put a pyrex dish into freezer but it could be ok. On the subject of US tradition of taking meals to neighbours, a few years ago my MIL died and my SIL who is from US was amazed that we were providing food for the mourners. Over there everyone takes a pot or dish of something around. I do think this is a nice idea. (sorry getting off the subject).

House_owner

I have frozen meals in pyrex dishes before, and it has been fine.

anguk

I often freeze things in pyrex dishes, I bought one dish from Woolworths a few years ago and it has a plastic lid which I found better than the glass lids for freezing (you can't put the plastic lid in the oven though).

Mine's like this but round, it's currently in the freezer filled with mince & onions:
http://www.johnlewis.com/230770515/Product.aspx

jamespir

i have frozen meals in pyrex dishes

Penny-Pincher!!

I have frozen in Pyrex dishes before, but Lakeland now have foil trays with either 2 or 3 compartments which you can freeze in. I have used them and washed them out and used again..lol

valk_scot

I freeze meals in portion sizes. I have a variety of freezer and oven proof dishes so I line one of these with cling film, add the meal, freeze, remove the dish and put a second wrapping on the meal. When I want to cook the meal I remove the wrappings, pop it back in the appropriate dish and reheat/cook in that.

I personally didn't like being snowed under with food in the days directly after a bereavement. One or two things yes, but I was much more appreciative of the neighbour that just took the laundry away and did it over the following couple of weeks. Also four weeks after I would have LOVED to see some of these friends with a casserole dish, when I had time to sit and chat.

Icey77

anguk wrote: »

I often freeze things in pyrex dishes, I bought one dish from Woolworths a few years ago and it has a plastic lid which I found better than the glass lids for freezing (you can't put the plastic lid in the oven though).

Mine's like this but round, it's currently in the freezer filled with mince & onions:
http://www.johnlewis.com/230770515/Product.aspx

I have those, 2 small rectangular ones and 1 large one. Great for making crumbles and then freezing them. I put the plastic top on and freeze as usual and then take it off to defrost.

horsechestnut

I freeze food in 500g margarine tubs. Just enough for a single portion. If people come to visit then I can take out more than one tub, and of course they defrost more quickly than one big lump.

Winged_one

I have a couple of pyerx dishes specificlaly for freezing as they are the glass dish with a plastic lid - freeze, defrost, remove lid and bake.

flissh

I used to use plastic freezer bags then into an oblong type sandwich box to make a brick shape when freezing, then I had all these brick blocks in the freezer.

Now though I use foil take-away type containers with cardboard lids. Easy to store, easy to write on.

I always cook in bulk then store a whole meal in one container. This week I made a fish pie, let it cool, put it in the fridge so that I could cut it in to easy to handle blocks, (do this with sheperds pie too) put one meal size block in a container with cabbage and carrot/swede mash. I made six yummy portions. I also made a huge veg chilli, I put rice in the container, pushed into one half, the put a couple of ladles of the chilli in.

The main reason I do this is because I work shifts and find ready meals make life easy for my daughter and I to get a dinner, even if I'm not around, but shop bought ones are expensive and not always full of good stuff or filling enough. Now I make my own 'ready meals'