Freezer Cooking

Do you like the convenience of frozen meals but not the cost?
Are you spending too much money eating out because there's nothing to fix at home?
Learn how to cook your favorite meals ahead of time.

You can cook a month of meals or more in only a day. The following information can help you on your way to making meal time a little less stressful.
You don't need any fancy equipment or a large freezer to cook and store meals ahead. The following list is all you need to get started:

Your own cooking equipment
Ziploc™ Freezer bags (1 gallon size - the 2 gallon size will fit a 9 x 13 foil pan)
Permanent markers
Straws
Plastic bin (it holds way more than your largest bowl-just make sure you mark it for food only!)
Comfortable shoes
Sense of humor
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Starting the Process

In the beginning...

The first step is deciding what to make and how many of each recipe to make. Start with recipes you know your family will eat. If you're not sure, try one recipe out on them first. There's no sense having five casseroles in your freezer if your family won't eat them!
Second, carefully write the recipe out on a worksheet like the the example recipes. Then even more carefully multiply times however many recipes you are going to make.
Third, re-check your math!
Next, make a list of the ingredients and the amounts you will need for each recipe. This can be a bit tricky if you're adding ½ cup margarine from one recipe to 6 Tablespoons of margarine from another. A good cookbook should have measurement conversions or use the table below.

Shopping Day...

We usually devote one day to selecting and writing the recipes and doing the math, and a second day for shopping. Wear comfortable shoes and take a calculator and a measurement conversion table.

Make sure your refrigerator has been cleaned out. You will need to store refrigerated items overnight and they can be bulky. The picture at right shows our fridge after shopping.

You will be able to get most of what you need at a food club-type store. There will be some items you will want to or need to buy from a regular grocery store. It all depends on price and quantity. Don't buy a gallon-size container of garlic powder if you only need two Tablespoons.

Do Ahead...

If your recipes call for cooked chicken, fill a crock-pot with chicken pieces (even frozen ones) and cook overnight the night before your cooking day. In the morning, you will have cooked chicken and lots of chicken broth for soups. Place chicken broth in storage bags and freeze.
Some recipes, like Beef Stroganoff, can be cooked in crock-pots overnight and they will be done and ready to bag in the morning.

Cooking Day!...

Here are some helpful hints:

Clear work surface of all unnecessary items
Have a large trash can or box lined with trash bags
Tape recipes on cabinets at eye level
Start with the most difficult or involved recipe first
When pasta or rice is called for, only cook half way. When you cook the meal, add some liquid and the pasta/rice will finish cooking and won't be soggy
Label and date freezer bags BEFORE you fill them with food. Many items look alike when in a dark freezer.
Line large plastic food containers (like sour cream or coffee shown at right) with your freezer bags. It helps them stand up while you fill them.
Buy everything you need to complete the entree. If you will need shredded cheese added at the end of cooking, bag the cheese in sandwich-size bags and then place in a larger freezer bag.
It helps to have an ice chest with ice (freeze some water in your ziplocs ahead of time) to help with the cooling process
Don't overload your freezer with warm food. Let it cool in the refrigerator or ice chest.
Make an inventory of what you placed in your freezer and tape it to your freezer or a cabinet
Keep a sense of humor - especially if you're cooking with a friend
Plan on eating out that night. You'll be tired!

So, just pick a recipe and start assembling. It is best to work on one recipe per person at a time.
When sealing your freezer bags, you will want to remove as much air as possible to minimize ice crystals forming. You can do this in several ways:
* If you are bagging soup or chili, carefully press the air out as the bag is sealed
* If you are bagging chicken breasts or meat patties, etc., seal the bag most of the way, then insert a straw (cut long straws in half) and suck the air out. Be careful if the meat is breaded, or you could inhale crumbs!
* You could invest in a vacuum sealer, but why spend $150 when you have straws!
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Do I have to have a partner to cook?...

There are many different ways to freezer cook. Cooking with a partner is just one way. It is a fun way to spend time with a friend and can help the cooking day pass faster. Plus, if any questions come up, two heads can be better than one. Here are some other ways:

When you find a sale, cook for it. If you find ground beef or chicken on sale, buy in quantity and make a lot of your recipes that call for the sale meat.
When you are cooking dinner, double the recipe and freeze half. Your cleanup will not be any greater than if you made one recipe.
Form a cooking co-op. Form a group of people, for example 10. Those 10 people each make one recipe times 10. Then get together and each member takes one from every other member.
Ask your church if you can use their kitchen for your group if you "tithe" the meals you make to give to the sick or homebound in the congregation.
Freezer meals are great to have on hand to give new mothers, people recovering from an illness, or someone who has done you a favor.
Having company? Just pull out two meals instead of one. No problem.
Want to start small? The next time you buy ground beef, cook it and bag it in one-pound portions. It's a great start to tacos, sloppy joes, chili, soups, etc.
Like lasagna but a recipe is too much for your family? Divide one recipe into two 8 x 8 aluminum pans.
Divide a recipe into individual serving sizes to give to people who live alone.

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Learn from your (and my) mistakes!

Avoid making the following mistakes when freezer cooking. How do I know they're mistakes? Because I have made all of them!

Don't freeze a lot of meals you and your family have not tried. It may sound delicious on paper, but it's no fun having six meals in the freezer your family hates.
Don't put warm food in the freezer. Your freezer doesn't like that. Cool it in the refrigerator or in an ice chest first.
Don't skip the "Do Ahead" steps. Anything you can get done the day before you assemble, the better.

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