Freezer Sessions 2023...

[AuntJamelle]

Anyone planning on freezer cooking this year? Please share what you've been considering - or even better - what you've been doing!!!



Anything you are freezing is fair game! If you have a tried and true freezer recipe please share! Or if you use your freezer a bit differently by freezing certain ingredients or sauces, etc., share that too! If you are just focusing on stocking your freezer with certain purchased items please chime in with what those are and how you use them!

Does anyone use a vacuum sealer system? Are they worth it?

Who has good advice on keeping track of what you have frozen?

Anyone using their Corning Ware for a freezer-to-oven wonder? Shout out to @missjane for the wonderfully informative thread for Christmas in July - Christmas Through the Decades 1950's: What's Going on in the Kitchen? that included information on the history and uses of Corning Ware!

Looking forward to seeing what others are thinking about this year!

 

[Lori K]

Does anyone use a vacuum sealer system? Are they worth it?

I am a household of one, so making freezer meals doesn't really work for me (or I don't find it truly beneficial). BUT, I do buy my chicken and ground beef in family packs and use a vacuum sealer to freeze my meats in single serve sizes. I have a FoodSaver (Model FM2435-ECR) and I love it. I also still have my original one in a bin somewhere, but I like this one because it has a "wet" setting, if I'm sealing juicy meats or produce. NOTE: I do NOT buy the branded bags; I've had no trouble with the more generic bags from Amazon.

I freeze chicken breasts one-per-package and put my ground beef in 1/2# packages, pressed flat for better storage and for quicker thawing. Italian and polish sausage get packaged 2 links to a bag. Breakfast sausage gets frozen in 2 patty or 4 link packages. Any large bags of veggies I get on sale, I'll break them down into single servings, so that bag of peas or brussels sprounts don't become a huge iceberg.

For me, it helps prevent freezer burn and I can quickly grab what I need for dinner, and I'm not over-cooking and tossing food that goes bad before I use it up. If I'm cooking a larger batch, I just take out an extra package.

I label each package with the date I packaged and froze it, and with meats, I add where I purchased it (in kind of a shorthand, in case there's a recall). My chicken goes in one bin, beef and sausage in another, and veggies in a third. Breakfast meats go in the freezer door. When adding, I add to the back of the bin/basket, and push the older items toward the front. Once or twice a year, I go thru the freezer and tidy up my organization and take inventory of what I'll need to stock up on.

Hope this helps!

 

[luludou]

I need to buy a freezer-bag seal machine!

 

[halimer]

Lori - you are impressively organized!

 

[Lori K]

Lori - you are impressively organized!

Seriously, you should see the inside of my freezer after a couple of weeks. LOL!!!

 

[Ahorsesoul]

Anyone planning on freezer cooking this year? Please share what you've been considering - or even better - what you've been doing!!!

View attachment 2382

Anything you are freezing is fair game! If you have a tried and true freezer recipe please share! Or if you use your freezer a bit differently by freezing certain ingredients or sauces, etc., share that too! If you are just focusing on stocking your freezer with certain purchased items please chime in with what those are and how you use them!

Does anyone use a vacuum sealer system? Are they worth it?

Who has good advice on keeping track of what you have frozen?

Anyone using their Corning Ware for a freezer-to-oven wonder? Shout out to @missjane for the wonderfully informative thread for Christmas in July - Christmas Through the Decades 1950's: What's Going on in the Kitchen? that included information on the history and uses of Corning Ware!

Looking forward to seeing what others are thinking about this year!

I love my Food Saver vacuum sealer Too. Not only for food but things I pack away that I do not want to get wet or damp from being in the basement.

Before our last move I used a magnetic wet erase board on top of my freezer lid to keep track of what was inside. Just have not started it back up.

 

[Minta]

over the weekend I sliced up, seasoned, precooked, flash froze 7 lbs of chicken breast. Perfect for sandwiches and salads. For dinner the other night I made pioneer womans salisbury steak and froze the leftovers. I have 2 bags of taco meat in the freezer and sometime next week I plan on making breakfast burritos and freezing them.

 

[sweetpumkinpye]

I have not done any freezer cooking for a while. The freezer is quite full at the moment but would love to start organising some meals for over the Summer months.

 

[Holiday_Mom]

Our freezer is packed! We will be eating out of it for the rest of the month. I have cooked pinto beans, black beans, lentils, rice, ground beef and chicken. I also have bags of store bought frozen vegetables. I froze fresh grapes, blueberries and sliced bananas for a cool snack on a hot day. I also froze soda in ice cube trays to flavor my water.

 

[Myron's Mom]

Can’t imagine my life without a vacuum sealer. I use it all the time. I freeze everything, a lot fast than to can something. Like everyone else I buy meat in large quantities and freeze portion size for the 2 of us. I even vacuum seal my extra flour to store in the freezer. If you are buying a sealer definitely get one with a wet/ moist setting. I’ve only had issues with one off label brand of bags. My cousin bought them and neither of us liked them. I pick some up at kohls if they are on sale and I have a 40% off coupon, if I’m lucky I get some kohls cash too.
What I’ve done the last few weeks: low sugar strawberry freezer jam, pie crusts, 7 quarts of chili, red raspberries and 10 pounds of baked sweet potatoes. Today I have a roaster full of baked beans in the oven, and made chicken tortilla soup and gumbo. The soups are spice mixes from southern living. Tried them on a whim, we really like them and they freeze well. You still have to add a ton of stuff to them. Don’t usually buy mixes, but husband says my time is valuable and they are “semi” home made.
This afternoon (if my back says it’s ok!) I’ll make the base for beef stroganoff and my mothers dumpling stew.
Tomorrow I’ll roast bones and veggies for beef stock and actually make the stock on Friday.
On my list as things come into season:
A few blueberries - need to get this weekend
Tomatoes- I blanch and freeze whole
Applesauce
Peach butter
Cabbage- for cabbage rolls
Peppers- for stuffed peppers
Then it will be time for a few Christmas cookies and strudel.
For organization: I use dishpans from DT to keep like items together in my bigger freezer. In my smaller freezer I organize by each shelves. Every now and then I have to tidy things up. I can pretty much see what I have in both because neither is so large things get lost.

 

[halimer]

I made strawberry freezer jam and I always make large quantities of pasta sauces in the slow cooker and freeze them.

Amelia - could you share the spice recipes for the gumbo and tortilla soup?

This is the one I use for fajitas:

2 tbs chili powder
1 tbs sea salt
1 tbs cumin
1 tbs oregano
1 tbs smoked paprika
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tsp black pepper

Use 2 tsp for 1 1/2 lb of meat
.Paleo and gluten free and keeps well in the pantry

 

[Lori K]

This is the one I use for fajitas:

2 tbs chili powder
1 tbs sea salt
1 tbs cumin
1 tbs oregano
1 tbs smoked paprika
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tsp black pepper

Use 2 tsp for 1 1/2 lb of meat
.Paleo and gluten free and keeps well in the pantry

Do you season before freezing your meat, or once thawed?

 

[Myron's Mom]

They are actually packaged mixes not a recipe. If any body has a gumbo or tortilla soup recipe please post!
I’ll have to try your fajitas recipe. I’ve been looking for one but haven’t been happy with the ones I’ve made.

 

[halimer]

Do you season before freezing your meat, or once thawed

When it is thawed.

 

[AuntJamelle]

@Myron's Mom - Not sure if you've seen me post this before but this is the fajita recipe go to at our house:

Oven Chicken Fajitas for the Freezer

This makes enough for 2 plus a little leftover. But you could double or triple to feed a larger amount.

First you make the marinade:

• 1/4 cup lime juice (or lemon) - should be fresh or from the freezer
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2-4 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• ½ tsp cumin
• ½ tsp chili powder

Place roughly 1 to 1/12 lbs of raw chicken breast meat, cut into strips - the thinner the better - into a Ziploc bag with the marinade and freeze flat.

To Make:

Defrost bag overnight in the fridge. (By the way you don’t have to freeze it, that is just an option! Just let marinate at least a couple hours before cooking!)

To prepare, place thin strips of onion and bell peppers on a cookie sheet or sheet pan that has been lined with foil or parchment paper and spritzed with cooking spray. Use enough onions/peppers to spread over bottom of the pan - more or less to taste.

Dump contents of bag on top of the veggies. Use tongs to separate the pieces of meat as necessary. Stir/toss everything slightly to get some of marinade on the veggies.

NOTE: Frozen bell pepper strips/onion strips work great for this - no thawing required. Or you can thaw and drain off the water, blot with towels, etc.

Pop pan into 400 degree oven for 35-40 minutes, stirring once about half way through. If you feel there is too much liquid in the pan at the halfway point you can carefully drain some off. Less liquid allows the veggies to crisp up on the edges.

The meat and veggies should caramelize and give you that flavor and effect you get from restaurant fajitas.

Just have shells and other desired toppings on hand to pull together the meal!

 

[AuntJamelle]

@Lori K - You have got a great system! Your idea on noting WHERE something was from is brilliant!!! Recalls seem to happen more frequently now and it would be horrible to have to toss items just in case they were included!

@Ahorsesoul - SUCH a good idea to use food saver for non food items that need to be protected from the damp! I will have to remember that!

@Minta - I am a big proponent of making extra at dinner to purposefully freeze the leftovers! Or making two casseroles or lasagnas - one to bake and one to freeze!

@sweetpumkinpye - Usually our freezers are jam packed all the time! I have been trying to get better at using things up or giving them away to friends if they aren't going to get used! I did that earlier this summer and it helped a LOT!

@Holiday_Mom - THANK you for reminding me about freezing grapes! That is such a great and healthy snack! DH loves them too!

@Myron's Mom - I need to look at our vacuum sealer to see what it can do! It was from the Amazon bargain store so it was an impulse purchase and I haven't tried to use it yet - life has been too crazy! I love the idea of freezing baked sweet potatoes! That is a big time saver! Your cabbage for cabbage rolls - how do you prepare it before freezing?

@halimer - I need to remember the idea about using the slow cooker for pasta sauces to be frozen! Do you have favorite recipes you use for that?

 

[AuntJamelle]

So to share a little of what I have in my freezer right now:

- 1 Tb "ice cubes" of lemon juice and lime juice (I freeze in ice cube trays then pop out and put in freezer bag)
- Bags of the halved lemons and limes that I juiced
- Chicken Stock (frozen in 1 cup and 2 cup portions)
- Shrimp Stock (leftover from making shrimp cocktail shrimp)
- Whole jalapenos
- Ripe bananas (for making banana bread, muffins, nice cream, etc.)
- Taco Soup
- Slow Cooker Chicken Burrito Filling
- Fat Free Instant Pot Refried Beans
- Sheet Pan Banana Pancakes
- Chocolate Banana Muffins

On my immediate to do list:

- 2ID personal size pizzas
- Grapes!
- Crab cakes (uncooked)
- Not sure yet!!!!

 

[Myron's Mom]

Thank you for posting the fajita recipe!! I’ll have to try that soon.

I have 2 different recipes for cabbage rolls. One with tomato, one with out. Pretty much prep my cabbage leaves all the same way. I cut the core the best I can put of the cabbage then put in boiling water until I can start pulling leaves off. Be careful, ask me how I know! I pack my leaves in sour kraut for a few days to soften and flavor them more. I fully bake my rolls so all I have to do is defrost and warm up. I’ll dig out my recipe and post some time this week.

We love baked sweet potatoes but they seem to take so long to cook and not something I remember in time to do for dinner. Sweet potato casserole freezes well to.
I manage to get all my food done last week. Part of my beef stock I reduced and froze in small blocks. First time that I’ve done that. It does save room in the freezer. Will see how it works for cooking.

 

[Lori K]

@Lori K - You have got a great system! Your idea on noting WHERE something was from is brilliant!!! Recalls seem to happen more frequently now and it would be horrible to have to toss items just in case they were included!

Thank you, @AuntJamelle. I shop at a variety of stores these days, watching loss leaders and specials from the meat case. Because I may not remember which store I bought what ground beef (in particular), I've started including a reference to the store and date that I bagged it on my packaging. There's been so many ground beef recalls in the past months, I'd hate to pitch it all because I didn't know what came from Meijer vs. Jewel vs. Aldi, etc. this way I know, and also have good reference to the purchase date.

 

[frostythesnowman]

Ive just froze about 10ib of raspberries....4ib strawberries and 7ib of blackberries from my garden....Still alot of rasperries to come so going to make jam with it...