Meal Freezing Tips Made Easy

Did you realize that if you implement a cook once, serve twice (COST) strategy in the kitchen you will save time and money?  Really, if you do it double, it will save you time and money later.

Here are some tips to stock your freezer with lots of delicious, nutritious meals for the summer.

• Label item with the date, product information, and reheating instructions
• Watch freezing expirations: Chicken 9-12 months, Beef 4-12 months, Pork 3-4 months, Ham 1-2 months
• Make sure items cool to room temperature before placing in freezer. This cuts down on the accumulation of ice crystals
• Fill bags flat and release as much air as possible when packaging
• Mix and freeze 4 batches of cookie dough (either all one kind, or 2 batches of 2 different cookies. The prep time is less than 5 minutes. You can use a scooping tool and scoop the cookie dough balls while watching your evening T.V. show. Put them in the freezer during a commercial break and when the balls are hard, you are ready to put in your freezer bags labeled with cooking instructions.
• Bake two batches of muffins-Strawberry, Pumpkin, Applespice or Banana Bread. The baking time is only 20 minutes, and if you have 2 muffin tins, you can do both batches at once.
• Bake multiple batches of loaf bread (pumpkin, banana, basic bread). Be sure if cooking several tins at the same time to switch the top to bottom and vice versa in the oven. Also remember the frozen loaves will slice quite nicely so you can cut what you need and put the rest of the loaves back into the freezer.
• Make meatloaf ahead.  Mix up the meatloaf mixes of your choice and place in disposable aluminum loaf pans. Cover tightly with foil. Place in fridge if cooking within the next 24-48 hours. If freezing before cooking place tin into freezer bag and freeze raw. Cook at 350 degrees for 45 minutes if frozen or 30 minutes if raw.
• Make meatballs ahead.  Freeze raw. Place on baking sheet as if you were going to place in oven. Cover with foil and freeze for an hour or so. When hardened, transfer to freezer bag. Then bake frozen at 350 for about 20 minutes. Use as many or as few for meals as needed.
• Make chicken dishes ahead. Dice and stir 10 lbs of chicken breasts. Even when they are frozen when you start, you can easily get this job done in 30 minutes. Throw into pre-heated pan with a small amount of oil, sprinkle with  a seasoning mix. Now you can put them into freezer bags with 2 cups in each. They will be ready to pull out and you have the beginning to 10 great meals. You can use various seasoning mixes such as Garlic, Basil, Southwest Marinade, Garlic Lemon Marinade, Fajita seasoning.

 

So, go ahead and take one of those rainy summer afternoons and stock your freezer with some of these meal ideas.  You will enjoy the ease of being able to provide these delicious, nutritious meal solutions for your family.

 Yvette Mason is a stay-at-home mom, “domestic engineer”, and Meal Planning Consultant with Homemade Gourmet®. She enjoys helping bring families back to the dinner table with the products, ideas and services that make today’s home-cooking easy for people with busy lifestyles. Yvette was born, raised and has lived in the Eastern Panhandle her entire life. When not busy with her home business, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends by enjoying all that this beautiful area has to offer. Visit Yvette’s website for more tips on enjoying mealtime with your family