grated cheese and more (fridge and freezer stuff)

lambanana

if I grated a lot of cheese and put it in a container how long could I keep it in the fridge? I hate grating cheese but use grated cheese a lot. Obviously I don't fork out for the pre-grated stuff but would like to grate the stuff less often and was thinking of doing a fair bit and keeping it in the fridge for a couple of days.

Also I want to make some mini calzone pizzas to put in my packed lunch but would want to do them as a batch and freeze some, would I bake then freeze or prepare and freeze whole then defrost and bake as needed?

Also (last one I promise) back to how long things keep in the fridge, if I made up a basic salad (say lettuce, cucumber, grated carrot) how long would that keep in an airtight container in the fridge?

I love having packed lunches and having a variety of things, just want to make it a quicker process by doing things all one night and then just throwing it into my lunch box in a couple of minutes every evening rather than chopping and fussing every night

Thanks in advance for any help.

oldMcDonald

lambanana wrote: »

if I grated a lot of cheese and put it in a container how long could I keep it in the fridge? I hate grating cheese but use grated cheese a lot.

I tend to grate odds and ends of cheese into a tub and keep it in the freezer, then just chuck it in / on stuff when I am cooking. Seems to last forever like this

lambanana wrote: »

I love having packed lunches and having a variety of things, just want to make it a quicker process by doing things all one night and then just throwing it into my lunch box in a couple of minutes every evening rather than chopping and fussing every night

It's worth being aware tha you can freeze most sandwiches. When DS1 was at school I used to make up a months worth of cheese / marmite/ choc spread etc rolls for him and chuck one in his luch box each morning. It defrosted by luchtime and kept the rest of his lunch cool. Just don't freeze salads, mayo etc....stuff you would normally not freeze

oldMcDonald

lambanana wrote: »

Also I want to make some mini calzone pizzas to put in my packed lunch but would want to do them as a batch and freeze some, would I bake then freeze or prepare and freeze whole then defrost and bake as needed?

Either, but for quickness I would freeze when cooked and pull it out of the freezer in the morning, but the base may be soft?

lambanana wrote: »

Also (last one I promise) back to how long things keep in the fridge, if I made up a basic salad (say lettuce, cucumber, grated carrot) how long would that keep in an airtight container in the fridge?.

Several days. I have a salad going in the fridge for a good four / five days - depends how fresh the veg is when you prepare it. I also throw a load of peppers/tomatoes/onions/courgettes into the oven on a Sunday, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt, pepper and rosemary, this makes a lovely base to add to rice / pasta/ cous cous/ pittas etc.

tr3mor

I'm not sure about freezing and reheating calzone pizzas, you might find that you can never get the middle hot enough. That's one to experiment with I think.

daysieblue

oldMcDonald wrote: »

I
It's worth being aware tha you can freeze most sandwiches. When DS1 was at school I used to make up a months worth of cheese / marmite/ choc spread etc rolls for him and chuck one in his luch box each morning. It defrosted by luchtime and kept the rest of his lunch cool. Just don't freeze salads, mayo etc....stuff you would normally not freeze

Sorry for sounding stupid, but DS's favourite is cheese and ham, could I freeze these?

db xx

nic82

daysieblue wrote: »

Sorry for sounding stupid, but DS's favourite is cheese and ham, could I freeze these?

db xx

Yes you can. I've done this several times. Just don't add any tomato to it, otherwise you'll end up with a soggy mess!

joey_2

I always grate a huge tupperware tub full of cheese and it lasts a week, could probably last longer but we always eat it in that time.
I also make a salad up and that lasdts about 4 days I'd say.

lil_me

I've always put a piece of kitchen roll in with grated cheese, something my Grandma used to do said it helped it keep for longer, change it when it gets damp. Must admit last time I didn't as I ran out of kitchen roll it only lasted a few days and was swimming in water.

lambanana

lil_me wrote: »

I've always put a piece of kitchen roll in with grated cheese, something my Grandma used to do said it helped it keep for longer, change it when it gets damp. Must admit last time I didn't as I ran out of kitchen roll it only lasted a few days and was swimming in water.

ah will try that thanks

anything for a quick evening lunchbox preparation! I like variety and healthy food but can't be bothered with chopping and faffing.
Hadn't planned on re-heating calzone so may just bake them then freeze them and defrost to eat.

Queenie

Calzones - I make, bake and freeze these fairly regularly. I always bake first - no soggy botty's for us

Cheese - the *only* downside of grating too much cheese in advance is if it should develop any mould. On a block of cheese, you can slice the mould off and the rest of the cheese is ok; on grated cheese, clearly that's not the case. You could grate it and put small portions in a bag and freeze them.

janeawej

the other day i made a realy nice salad for dd2's lunch box
cooked soume quinoea, added some couscous near the end of cooking time, then addes the following,
chopped tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper,
some seeds
zest of a lemon, some lemon and oraNGE JUICE (FRESHLY SQUEEZED)
salt, pepper, fresh herbs

it was lovely and kept for 3 days in the fridge on the last day i added some tinned salmon to it but you could add tuna, ham or cheese i would think.