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We've tried some freezer meals and most turn-out great but some things don't hold-up well to freezing. Pasta can be tricky depending on how long it was cooked. Cream-based sauces tend to break as do some gravies. Potatoes in a slow-cooked stew tend to fall apart after freezing, so I use red potatoes and they hold-up well. And my least-favorite frozen food item - anything fried.
Gumbo freezes well and turns-out great if slowly reheated on the stove-top.
If all you have as freezer space is what comes with a smallish fridge/freezer, there isn't going to be much space to store frozen homemade meals. You might want to consider buying a freezer if you are going to do this in a meaningful way.
After every shopping trip, I wash, dry, prepare and cook everything that I bring home, then divide them into meal portions and freeze them, so we always have a couple weeks of ready to thaw meals (and there won't be anything in the fridge to spoil.) In addition, I make tomato sauce and pesto all year long and freeze them, so those might or might not count as meals. Early in the autumn, I also make soup and again, freeze them for snow days when we don't want to go to the market.
Our freezer doesn't have room for ice, but it's always packed with frozen homemade meals, all made from scratch.
Any recommendations for containers? Or will any container do, if you pop it out onto a plate and then microwave? (This would be for single servings).
I've used some from Tupperware that are a hard container with a soft lid, that also have a pop-up "steam hole" for microwaving. Not sure if all freezer containers are good for the microwave, though.
Any recommendations for containers? Or will any container do, if you pop it out onto a plate and then microwave? (This would be for single servings).
I've used some from Tupperware that are a hard container with a soft lid, that also have a pop-up "steam hole" for microwaving. Not sure if all freezer containers are good for the microwave, though.
That's the same kind I use, the Tupperware (actually, it says Sterilite on the lid so that must be the name of the company, and they're sold in Target) with steam hole, although the lids are as hard as the containers and with the same hard ridges.
I would either thaw the food in the fridge if I have time or use the defrost function of the microwave when time is short, then transfer it to a plate for reheating. I don't reheat food with sauce while it's still in the container because the stain is harder to clean.
I don't spend money on freezer bags or aluminum foil. Bought a value pack of Ziploc freezer bags from Costco three years ago and still have plenty of them left. Aluminium foil lasts me forever as well.
Last edited by Ol' Wanderer; 04-18-2013 at 07:11 PM..
That's the same kind I use, the Tupperware (actually, it says Sterilite on the lid so that must be the name of the company, and they're sold in Target) with steam hole, although the lids are as hard as the containers and with the same hard ridges.
Whoa. "New saving price" of $125 for seven containers? I would have to use them to keep family heirlooms instead of food.
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