Wow, where do I start? I think I have frozen just about everything at some stage. Some things successfully, others…..well, we just won’t go there. But freezer cooking is something every mum should try, even if you only reach for that frozen meal in an emergency, it’s still worth it’s weight in gold. Something I have learned since having six kids.
My fascination with freezer cooking actually started back when I only had one child. One child who would only eat casseroles. He ate his meat and veges alright, as long as they were in the form of a casserole. Why? I have absolutely no idea, but my husband and I pretty soon grew sick of casseroles, and I started freezing them in single serve portions for our fussy son. If I was making something for dinner that I knew he wouldn’t eat, or knew he would be super-tired after a swimming lesson and need an early dinner, I would just pull one from the freezer, defrost and heat it up for him. Next to no effort required. Did I mention they had to be served with rice, which I also started freezing?
There are endless ways freezer cooking can make your life easier, whether you bulk cook monthly and eat from your freezer daily, freeze home-made baby food, buy the specials and freeze the excess, or my personal favourite, freeze muffins, muesli bars and biscuits for lunch box snacks. I recently doubled a couple of recipes each week, ready to take with us on our beach holiday. Take-out on a daily basis can be pretty expensive for a family of eight.
So, as promised, here are some of our family’s favourite freezer meals. There are heaps more, so maybe I will get around to making a list that I can keep adding to, but I’m sure you’ll find something you like on this list. Just make sure you label each dish with the name of the recipe and the date it was cooked and frozen. There’s nothing more frustrating than going to your freezer and pulling out a bag of Something Mince!?
1. Ragu Alla Bolognese: I freeze this sauce is a large snap-lock bag and cook the pasta while it re-heats and I bath the kids. This is also the meat sauce I use in my lasagne, which I prefer to assemble on the day I plan to serve it.
2. Chicken Pot Pie: I generally just freeze the filling in a large snap-lock freezer bag and keep the pastry on-hand for when it is needed. I find this avoids the disappointment of soggy pastry.
3. Spaghetti and Meatballs: I freeze the meatballs in the sauce in a large snap-lock freezer bag. There’s less chance of your meatballs drying if they are reheated in the sauce.
4. Chicken Parmigiana: Once your chicken and the sauce are cooked, lay your chicken in the baking dish, pan or freezer bag you plan to freeze the dish in, and pour the sauce over the top. To cook, remove from the freezer, defrost, place in baking dish/pan and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Place in the oven at 180C, covered with foil and cook until heated through, removing foil 5 mins. before finished to add a nice golden colour to your cheese. Your pasta can be cooking while this dish reheats.
5. Aussie Burgers: Because these patties contain egg, I cook them before flash-freezing them on a tray, then placing them in a large snap-lock freezer bag. Because they have been flash-frozen they shouldn’t stick together meaning you can easily take out the number required.
6. Taco Mince: Freeze in a large snap-lock freezer bag.
7. Nacho Mince: Freeze in a large snap-lock freezer bag.
8. Cottage pie: I freeze this fully-assembled in a disposable baking tray, carefully sealed with tin foil and then placed in an extra-large freezer bag. Alternately you could just freeze the filling in a large snap-lock freezer bag and make your mashed potatoes on the day.
9. Baked Chicken Dijon: I prepare this dish to the point that the chicken in crumbed and ready to cook, but instead of cooking it, I place the crumbed chicken on a baking tray and flash-freeze it, then I place it in a large snap-lock freezer bag, expelling as much air as I can before sealing the bag.
10. April’s Chicken Marinade: I freeze the chicken in the marinade in a large snap-lock freezer bag. Sometimes I slice the chicken into strips, freeze in the marinade and use to make a stir-fry once defrosted.
11. Chicken Enchiladas with Home-made Enchilada Sauce
15. Lamb Rogan Josh
Just starting out? Then just pick one recipe and double it. Eat one that night and freeze the left-overs.
Good Luck!