Freezer Sessions 2021

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Holiday_Mom

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Sep 12, 2009
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Anyone else ready to start a new year of freezer cooking? Over the weekend, I decided that the deep freezer was low enough in food that I could store the frozen food into one cooler and then defrost the freezer. Well, it was more like two coolers were needed. Dh helped me with defrosting our deep freezer and cleaning it out. It had really bad frost build up on the inside.

This week I cooked up 4 lbs of shredded chicken and 7 lbs of ground beef. I also bought 5 lbs of London broil. I am still good on pork chops and ham for now.
 

MinnieCo

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Apr 10, 2008
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I'm going to be gone for probably 3 weeks when my granddaughter is born, so I've been clearing it out still and then need to do some cooking over the next few weeks. Just some basics, so my husband and brother can survive without me...LOL My husband doesn't cook and my brother does only depending on how he's feeling, so it should be interesting how they feed themselves for the time I'm gone. I use to make enough food for the week or two I'd be gone , but they wouldn't eat other stuff, so I'm going to do some prep, but not a ton.
 

Holiday_Mom

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I'm going to be gone for probably 3 weeks when my granddaughter is born,
Oh, that's exciting! This year has been a different kind of year for my freezer meals. In the fall, when colleges started, I went from 7 people to 3 people for sure and possibly up to 5 during the week. Then for the last two months, I went back to cooking for 7. Now it's 4 to 5 people. I've decided to keep cooking for 7 and if the leftovers are way too much for us to finish in a week, I'll freeze it for a future dinner. I may have to make changes to this but it's a start in figuring out a new season in life.
 

MinnieCo

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That I understand....Since my daughter left I basically still cook the same becuase my brother lives with us and he'll eat any left overs the next day because it's fast and when he's having a bad mobility day it helps.
 

sweetpumkinpye

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Apr 23, 2008
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We still have not hit our routine since DS moved out. Freezers are still fuller than I thought they would be so will work on that.
I think I will make a few of our favourites in the next few weeks. Autumn starts soon so I think some chicken pot pies and potato bakes will be a welcome addition to the freezers.
 

DecemberisComing

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Jun 22, 2020
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I made Chicken and Noodles in the slow cooker on Saturday and froze 2 cup servings. I use the frozen Reames Egg Noodles because I think they freeze better than the dried ones. I had some 2 chicken breasts leftover and after cooking them I added them in with some dressing and cranberries and put 2 servings in the freezer as well. I am cooking for one these days and am always glad to rely on the freezer at least 2 nights a week.
 

MinnieCo

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I had my hubby bring home a bunch of ground beef, so I cooked up 3-1 pound packs plain, 2-1 pound packs of taco meat, 1 -3 pack of hamburgers (we also ate 3 that night) and I made up meatballs with 4 pounds. We had spaghetti and meatballs last night and the rest went into the freezer for future use. Today I made a big pot of Green Chili, so we had that for dinner with burritos, I saved some for Breakfast later this week and a quart went into the freezer. Hopefully I can keep going for at least another week before my daughter calls and says the baby is on the way. That way they have some basics to survive while I'm gone.
 

DecemberisComing

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Jun 22, 2020
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Today I cooked up some mild Italian sausage and turkey sausage to make 3 Breakfast Casseroles and have 3 bags of meat ready for 3 more. I also bagged up 6 sets of waffle sandwiches. I recently made some muffins to have on hand too-- I can't believe how much nicer the mornings are when I can rely on my freezer.

IMG_2884.jpgIMG_2911.jpg
 

sweetpumkinpye

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Apr 23, 2008
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The weather has definitely changed here, very Autumn like weather. The very mild Summer we had means that I did not utilise a lot that I had in the freezers. We had a lot of ice cream and other "Summer" type foods. Time for me to sort it all out, bring some of it into the inside freezer and start seeing what we will use over the next few months as it cools down.
 

Miss JoDee

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Apr 22, 2011
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I know some cook ground beef and freeze it. Are you vacuum sealing it? I have tried freezing it seems to have a different taste to it once thawed. I am guessing vacuum sealed beef prevents it. Yes?
 

Holiday_Mom

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I know some cook ground beef and freeze it. Are you vacuum sealing it? I have tried freezing it seems to have a different taste to it once thawed. I am guessing vacuum sealed beef prevents it. Yes?
I just put it into freezer bags. It isn't vacuum sealed. I can't comment on the taste difference because I've only cooked or baked the ground beef and then froze the cooked meat.
 

sweetpumkinpye

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I can't say that I have ever tasted a difference. I do not vacuum seal just place in lidded containers.
 

sweetpumkinpye

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Emptied and cleaned both freezers. Not a lot in there and have used all my pre made meals. Still a few pork roasts in there and some basics like chips and frozen veggies. Will talk to Mum this week about setting up a freezer baking day. My list will include chicken pot pies, potato bakes, french onion penne and some ham and pea soup. Not sure what else. Have written a list of what worked for us over the Summer and will add that to the planner and will start some batch cooking maybe around October or November for next Summer.
 

sweetpumkinpye

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First freezer session of the year done. Well worth the effort that it took. About 20 freezer meals for about 3 hours work. Will keep us going for a while.
 

sweetpumkinpye

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AJ, will be interested to see what you prepare for Summer. I am always looking for new ideas.
 
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