Freezing Food

I don't know where you live, but have you tried a prepared dinner place, like www.thedinnerstation.com? There is one in Plano and Highland Village. They give you the ability to take home ready to cook or freeze and cook later meals. Great gift ideas for things just like this, too.

savingdinner.com freezer meals to die for! Dirt cheap, but with Free samples, too!

Have fun!

Here's a recipe that my husband and I love. It's easy, and you can make 1/2 the recipe or the whole thing, and it tastes great after its been frozen!

Crock Pot Lasagna

2 lbs of ground meat (we typically use 1/2 beef & 1/2 turkey or chicken)
2 reg size jars spaghetti sauce
1 box macaroni shells or any type shell pasta
16 oz sour cream
8 oz shredded mozzerella cheese
8 oz provolone cheese (or whatever kind you wish)

Brown and drain meat. Add spaghetti
sauce to meat. Mix well. Cook and drain shells. Layer ingredients in large crock pot in this order: sauce, shells, cheese, sour cream--end with cheese. Heat on low for 3 hrs until all the cheese melts. Enjoy!!!

I make 2-4 pies of quiche at a time. We eat one and I freeze the rest. When I'm ready to use the next one, I just bake it for 15-20 minutes or thaw in the fridge that day and bake for less time in the evening. Quiche is sooo easy to make. Basically, you start with an empty pie crust. In a bowl, mix any combination of veggies and meat with eggs and a few spices. I do...
turkey bacon (or turkey sausage)
3 beaten eggs
1/2 bag frozen broccoli
honey
salt
pepper
maybe some onion or garlic if you'd like

I freeze this one alot:

Chicken Tetrazini
1 pre-cooked rotisserie chicken -de-bonned ( like from Walmart)
1pkg egg noodles- cooked
1c cream chicken soup
1c cream mushroom ( add 2 for creamier consistancy)
1c La Seur peas ( this brand is just better imo)I dont drain the peas..keeps a frozen casserole moist when re-heating.
1 jar diced pimentos
2 cups chredded sharp cheddar

sautee about a cup to 1 1/2 c trinity mix ( onion bell pepper & celery) I buy the pre cut frozen kind its easier ) in a bit of butter or oil until soft.

mix all together put ina casserole dish and bake until warm. Its already all cooked so youreally are just heating it up to melt the cheese. My kids LOVE this !!! Serve w salad and french bread

T., I do my cooking for the week on Sunday and freeze meat loaf and roasts all the time. I also make an enchilada casserole that freezes and then cooks well. I cut up grilled chicken strips and combine with a can of refried beans and a jar of salsa. Then I layer in a 9x13 corn tortillas, the meat mixture, cheese, etc. then top with a can of Hatch Enchilada sauce. I cover with foil and then the plastic lid that came with my pan and freeze until needed. Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes.

You can freeeze King Ranch. I sometimes make 2-3 and wrap really good in Saran Wrap and then a tight layer of foil... Just be sure they know you have put saran wrap under foil so it can be removed before baking.

You are a very thoughtful friend... This will be a big help to them.

Dear T.,
I know meat loaf & Roast will freeze well,don't know about King Ranch.
Good luck and God Bless.
Happy Thanksgiving
J. G

I've frozen all three of these with great success. I usually make multiple batches at once and freeze them. King Ranch Casserole works well either frozen before cooking, or after.

Practically any recipe will work for the freezer, except that veggies will get softer when frozen, so recipes with crispy (al dente) veggies aren't as good.

It would be a good idea to check to see if she'll have any diet restrictions, such as low salt or low cholesterol.

Something I love to freeze is meatballs. Just use any meatloaf recipe, but make meatballs instead of the usual loaf. Then, whoever is doing the cooking can use however many meatballs are needed for however many people are eating. Chili also freezes well, and that might be a nice dish to have on hand, with the weather getting cooler.

Sorry I'm not more help!

Sure you can! You can freeze the meat as long as it is cooked.

I just froze a KR casserole this weekend. I didn't cook it, just mixed it up and wrapped it really well in the casserole dish and will put it in the fridge to thaw the night before we plan to eat it. Then all I have to do is pop it in the oven. You can also freeze lasagna or broccoli and rice casserole. I have frozen hash brown casseroles and ham sliced thick. I never cook the casseroles before freezing, always after but that's just because my Mom always did it that way.

All of th items you mentioned may be frozen. Also: lasagna, turkey/chicken pot pie,chicken enchilada casserole. Just think about what you have seen in the "frozen" section of the supermarket and work from there. Another good source would be to do a google search for "once a month cooking". You will find some wonderful recipes that work well with the freezer.

D.
SAHM Mom of three:19,18,and 5
Home Baker and Candy Maker (see MAMASOURCE Perk). Married to the same wonderful man for almost 12 years.

I'm sorry but I don't know what "King Ranch Casserole" is; however, most casseroles you can. I have frozen meatloaf and know other people who have too. One thing that I usually make a big thing of and have left overs to freeze is chicken and noodles. It's not what comes out of a can either, I use the frozen egg noodles, put in chicken chunks (I've started to use the rotisserie chickens you get pre-cooked at Tom Thumbs/Walmart/ etc) and use a couple cans of chicken broth. Thicken it up with a little corn starch. (It's sort of like a chicken and dumpling sauce) You can buy the precooked mash potatoes you can put in the microwave, and pour that on top of. It's easy to make and easy to freeze and thaw out.
I pray your friends surgery goes just fine, she very bless to have a good friend like you.
God Bless YOU!

T., I know this is terribly late, but you can always use ideas for freezing food! I'm not a huge fan of freezing and thawing out, but I just did a KR chicken casserole myself, to have for the holidays. I was also going to do a chicken spaghetti, but I tried a different recipe and wasn't pleased with it, so I didn't freeze that one. My mother-in-law always makes up meatloaf ahead of time and freezes that, also homemade spaghetti sauce or chili. I have a delicious homemade veg. soup (that was my mother's) that I freeze all the time. In fact I just put a whole stock pot full (in individual containers) in the freezer today! I would love to share the recipe with you if you email me. PS I also make up (from scratch) homemade dumplings for my MIL, she freezes them and then pulls out what she needs for a pot full of dumplins for she and her husband. Good luck and your friend is going to LOVE you!

D. ____@____.com