Best Way to Make " FREEZER MEALS " and Best " Containers for Freezer "

There is a great book, "Taste of Home: Freezer Pleasers." Many of the recipes are to make two, one to eat now and one to freeze, or freeze both. There are sooooo many tips on freezing. Some of the meals are things I already make, but I like how it tells you what to do and not to do on freezing it. It is listed on Amazon right now for $3.46 + $3.99 shipping. My friend got hers at 1/2 price books for about $5. Worth the investment.

Hi,

I do as Laurie posted also. I freeze lot of pieces of grilled chicken and then I freeze them in Ziploc plastic bags, the regular ones. I put about 2 or 3 pieces in each bag.
I do the same with ground beef . I cook 3 trays of it and then I freeze it by portions in 3 different bags. It is good for pasta, tacos, hamburgers (ground chicken for chicken hamburgers also!), I freeze cooked spaghetti and some vegetables too. I freeze soups too (lentil, carrot, spinach and chicken soups)
I don't know if it is the best way to freeze, but I just use the normal Ziploc bags (sandwich or storage) and works for me!

My ex husband has a seal a meal type thing. He uses it all the time.
You can get pouches for things like stews or lasagnas. He also buys meat in bulk and then puts them in individual packets according to serving sizes. If he buys a pack of 36 tortillas, he splits them into 6 packets of 6 and freezes them.
Glad makes some pretty cool containers that you can freeze in and throw out, but they last longer than one use, for sure, and I wash them and reuse them.
Like I said, my ex uses his seal a meal thing for everything and he just tosses the packaging when he's done. The air sucks out so there is never any freezer burn.

I hope you get some great suggestions.

It matters on how you plan on cooking them. I make things like casseroles and freeze them then throw them in the oven and have dinner in an hour. I buy the throw away tin baking pans because I accidental warped some good pans in the freezing process... The tin ones can be used a again and again so long as they are not cut though.

To freeze foods I have the Ziploc vacuum and purchase the bags.
I keep a sharpie pen in the kitchen so I can label the bag and date it(there is a space on the bag to write). They seal them at the Grocery store.. IF you like the way this works, you could consider purchasing an electric sealer.

I like to grill lots of chicken breast at one time with just salt and pepper, then I freeze 2 of them together.

If I make Brown rice and have leftovers. I freeze it.

The vacuum allows these foods to not take up so much space in the freezer and no air to freezer burn the food or give it that frozen flavor.

I use gallon ziploc bags for larger quantities of single ingredients: cooked rice, browned ground turkey, baked chicken breast. That way I can take out and heat what I need and put the rest back in the freezer.

For portions of casseroles, soups and stews, I've been using a set of pyrex glass bowls and pans with leak-proof lids. They go from freezer to microwave and I don't have to worry plastic peeling or leaching chemicals into the food when I reheat.

I make a large pot of chicken noodle soup and a big crock pot of turkey chili and freeze lunch sized portions in ziploc quart sized freezer bags. HEALTHY, HEALTHY. Each night, I take out a bag and toss it in some warm water to thaw and then stick it in a bowl to take to work the next day. I just made a total of 25 bags this past weekend from both meals. Takes a few hours, but i am set for a month.

No matter what you use to freeze your foods, the idea is to take away as much air as possible that touches the food. This will keep the food from getting freezer burn.....where the ice crystals from the air freeze along the food.

You might also try Press and Seal or Saran wrap to place against your foods inside a container.

And to stay healthy, DO NOT heat foods with the microwave in any plastic container or bag.

Best of luck!

We have done lots of Once a Month Cooking with several friends.
If that might interest you, look up www.onceamonthmom.com She has recently started a healthy menu.
C.

I recently discovered that Sterilite has put out a container set for the kitchen.
I love their storage tubs because they are water proof, insect proof and critter proof.
I have discovered their kitchen set is just as good. They lock down better so no air gets in like sometimes happens with ziploc and glad containers.
hth
~J.~

Vacuum seal them. They will lay flat and stay fresh for a long time. I do that for my son in college!

I use the disposable/reusable faux-tupperware containers. I usually buy the Kroger brand because they are 3 packages for $5 (so about 15 containers depending on size). Whenever I cook, I portion out the leftovers 1 serving size per container. I use a permanent marker and write on the lid: "Carrot soup, 4/5/2011, 65 calories" etc. It is a lot cheaper than the Weight Watcher's freezer meals, and I feel better knowing what ingredients are in there and knowing there aren't preservatives and excess sodium, etc.
The only issue I have ever had is the containers break easily if you drop them when they are frozen, so be careful when you are cleaning out your freezer. I have dropped and shattered a few and felt bad about the waste. Since I freeze them in individual meal sizes, they only take2-3 minutes to heat up in the microwave.

make sure you are freezing food that has already cooled down. Hot food right in the freezer tends to crystalize and gives the freezer burn effect quicker. I use the Glad containers fill them seal them and put them in the fridge for an hour or two then move them over to the freezer.