76 replies to this topic

[OliverB]

we have two kids, 6 and 2 and my memory of those days is fading fast, but I did not cook anything in advance. Both kids were good sleepers, mom was tired too so she hung out with baby in bed or on the couch and I had more time to cook than ever. Especially with #1. We had the good fortune that my wife could take quite some time off after each baby, and that both were such good sleepers and otherwise just happy campers. Sure, in the beginning you're up several times for feeding and all that, but nobody says dinner has to be at 6pm either, just work food into your schedule where it fits.

Of course, that's just our story.

For freezer, I'd see that I have enough chicken breast, one or two per pack. Those thaw in no time in a sink filled with cold water, if you forget to pull something out the day before.

Pasta sauces of all kinds
Pesto! Costco sells a really good one, I'd suggest to pack it in smaller portions in ziplock bags and freeze those.
Ravioli etc (again costco) can be thrown into the boiling water while still frozen.
Yes, I'd have frozen pizzas in there too.
Stock, make a bunch of chicken stock, freeze it in portions. Great for almost anything.
Fish can be great too, super fast to cook. (but there was plenty time for one of us to go to the store for fresh fish)
Soups? I don't know. We had some and never made them, my wife wanted more light stuff than heavy homey things.

Also be prepared NOT to like certain things anymore all of a sudden. My wife does no longer like red or green peppers (the sweet ones) anymore, nor does my son who was born first. She did not have odd cravings (chocolate dipped pickles etc). Different for everyone.
I'd make sure you have the basics, have some comfort foods from the past (mac&cheese, chicken-noodle soup, gummy bears, chips) in boxes, bags, and cans and get delivery/take out menus if you want to treat yourself or are just too wiped out. And it'll be nice for your of you to go run the occasional errand too. But unless you really like casseroles, I'd stay away from them. We got some as gifts and did not find the idea of them very appealing.

Oh, and congratulations and good luck! Enjoy the time with your little one, it's special and way too short. S/He will be asking for car keys sooner than you can ever imagine :-D

[maggiethecat]

I made duxelles this afternoon to use up some mushrooms in late middle-age and a couple of tablespoons of sherry left in a bottle. Into the freezer they went, packed flat in a freezer bag so I can break off bits. And then I thought of this topic ...

(I used Julia's recipe from "Mastering" -- the book so old and well-used it's lost its front cover.)

[snowangel]

Do not freeze things with cukes in them!

If I have lemons and limes I'm not going to get to before they shrivel and die, I freeze them. The zest and juice is just fine.

[petit cochon]

I'm very new to the whole 'stock the freezer' thing - but am very excited about the onion confit and rogan josh curry I've stashed away so far! Looking forward to experimenting over the coming months... but am wondering if anyone can share some dos / don'ts regarding freezing cheese? I seem to recall seeing elsewhere on EG that parm freezes well - but I'm guessing I might have varying degrees of success with other cheeses depending on moisture level?

I think I'll toss the leftover Comte from my first batch of onion soup into the freezer w/ the leftover onion confit and see what happens! That way it will be on hand for next time - and it'll end up broiled anyway, so might be ok? I'm guessing that wouldn't be the case for, say, a half-eaten Epoisses on the other hand... ;-) Would be very interested to hear about others' experiences freezing various cheeses!

[JAZ]

Do not freeze things with cukes in them!

If I have lemons and limes I'm not going to get to before they shrivel and die, I freeze them. The zest and juice is just fine.

You can also juice the fruit and freeze the juice in ice cube trays.

[LindaK]

I'm also trying to get the hang of stocking my freezer. Ordinarily the only things I ever make purposefully to freeze are pestos and herb butters to get me through the winter. I'm going to try the duxelles, onion confit, and curry pastes. I've also had good luck freezing whole soft rind cheeses when I've found myself with an abundance. Definitely save the rinds from depleted wedges of parmesan cheese--throw them into simmering vegetable soups, tomato sauces, or stews for great flavor and extra body to the broth/sauce.

One thing I've found is that the components of many dishes freeze well, while the final dish does not. Leftover cooked and uncooked seasoned meat fillings for cabbage rolls, stuffed pastas, etc. are great to save. Not an instant dinner but lets you pull together an otherwise time-consuming dish quickly. Seasonings usually need to be adjusted, though.

[Peter Green]

Well, my opinion is that the second best thing is to have sauces frozen. Even husbands like me can make rice or pasta or polenta to go with a good sauce.

The best thing for those new baby times (but it depends on the community) is for someone to take up the reins and organize meals for the family (at least for the first two weeks). We've done a number of sessions of delivering fresh cooked meals (or cooking them for them) at peoples' homes.

Yeah, it seems like a bother, but not once you see the smiles. Plus, it's either a payback for things done for you in the past, or good karma for the future.

[OliverB]

as for freezing cheese, I'd only do that with hard cheeses that I intend to use in sauces, pizza, pasta etc. Not something I'd plan to slice and eat on a sandwich or serve on a cheese plate.

I have family in Regio Emilia where all the good stuff comes from. When they visit they usually bring a big piece of the best parmesan with them. We used to shred it all up and pack individual packages in baggies to freeze, that seemed to work well and you had instant cheese to put on your pasta. I have not done that in years, as you can't bring cheese into the US without a hassle, I now buy it at Costco. they have the real stuff, though it's much harder than the one my uncle used to bring us, and they also have one made in the US (Wisconsin I think?) that's quite good and a lot cheaper, but you have to buy a much larger piece. Might try this shred and freeze thing again with it, see if it's actually working as well as I remember from way back when :-)

[mkayahara]

One thing I've found is that the components of many dishes freeze well, while the final dish does not.

On the other hand, one thing I've learned about myself is that, if I freeze applesauce, I'm much less likely to thaw it in order to make applesauce gingerbread than I am to thaw and eat an applesauce gingerbread that's already been made. Ditto pumpkin puree (except it's pumpkin muffins or loaf, rather than pumpkin gingerbread). But maybe that's just me...

[MelissaH]

On the other hand, one thing I've learned about myself is that, if I freeze applesauce, I'm much less likely to thaw it in order to make applesauce gingerbread than I am to thaw and eat an applesauce gingerbread that's already been made. Ditto pumpkin puree (except it's pumpkin muffins or loaf, rather than pumpkin gingerbread). But maybe that's just me...

It's not just you.

MelissaH

[LindaK]

One thing I've found is that the components of many dishes freeze well, while the final dish does not.

On the other hand, one thing I've learned about myself is that, if I freeze applesauce, I'm much less likely to thaw it in order to make applesauce gingerbread than I am to thaw and eat an applesauce gingerbread that's already been made. Ditto pumpkin puree (except it's pumpkin muffins or loaf, rather than pumpkin gingerbread). But maybe that's just me...

Good point, very true, so long as I remember to make enough extra applesauce gingerbread to freeze some. I'm bad about making extras of finished dishes, better at stocking my freezer with the building blocks.

BTW, I've never heard of applesauce gingerbread and would love a recipe. Sounds scrumptious.

[petit cochon]

Thanks all for the cheese tips - sounds like I should be ok as far as broiling on the top of french onion soup is concerned!

Just added some rocket pesto to my freezer stash... I'm definitely taking the 'building block' approach for the most part, although I'm thinking of trying to make (and then freeze) ma po tofu this weekend. Any good/bad luck freezing tofu?

[snowangel]

Tofu, well, you can freeze it, but it won't be the same. I wouldn't ever freeze tofu again (been there, done that). It gets very "curdy." Why not freeze the Ma Po and add the tofu when you reheat it?

[petit cochon]

Snowangel, thank you so much for saving me from a big disappointment! Glad I asked!

Good advice re keeping the ma po separate - I'll come up w/ some other use for the rest of the tofu while it's still fresh!

[FataMagistra]

In addition to the usual suspects already mentioned (e.g. pesto, tomato sauce, curry pastes, chili (beef & chicken versions)and thick vege soups like squash and tomato), I've successfully frozen pureed mushroom soup (without the cream finish - add that when reheating), Chinese chicken & corn soup (shred the chicken and leave out the beaten egg to be added when reheating), homemade hamburger patties (separated by wax paper), meat-based potsticker/dumpling stuffing, cookie batter and egg whites; all mostly in freezer bags.

In the "not home-made" department, I like to have on hand frozen baguettes and puff pastry, edamame (shelled - for salads, and unshelled - for snacking), frozen raspberries and mangoes (for almost-instant desserts), shrimp and mussels, a packet or two of frozen chopped spinach and mixed vege, and several frozen standbys from Trader Joe's: fish fillets (e.g. cod and sole), a tarte d'alsace and chocolate croissants :)

BTW, I freeze my home-made stock in ice-cube trays (I use the ones that have a sliding cover - I think they're made by Oxo). I'm also not a big fan of the microwave, so I tend to reheat on the stovetop or in the oven.

P.S. Love the idea of prepping and freezing little packets of mirepoix!

[Snadra]

Bump!

Anything new to report since 2009?

I post not because I am expecting the ptiter ptater of typographically-challenged little feet, but rather because I am the main user of the kitchen in our house and we will be spending most of the next 6 months apart. I'm planning to do a fair bit of cooking and freezing to ensure that there are some easy single serve meals in the house so that my sweetie eats,weel while we're apart. The idea is to have a main dish or its components in the freezer, then he will just cook a starch and side to go with it. We will buy a foodsaver so the meals can be vacuumed packed. I would take some of this planned bounty with me, but it's a 6 hour drive to where I'll be living.

My cooked meal ideas so far include:

• Meatballs (in tomato sauce for pasta and in brown gravy for potatoes)
• Beef rendang
• Georgian pork stew (a Darra Goldstein recipe)
• Ragu (Marcella Hazan)
• Par-baked pizza bases
• Caramel chicken

I am also thinking of some quick cook things:

• Perogies - quick boil and they're ready to eat
• Individual chicken breast/steak/pork chops - to grill and serve with salad

If I have a chance I will probably also make some cookies and squares as well.

Soup is an obvious option, but it's not his favourite, and as the weather will be warm for sometime yet it's overkill anyway. There's plenty of hearty stuff on the list already. I'll also print out some suggestions for a veg to go with each dish.

[Snadra]

So, I'm slowly stocking my freezer (and finding a few bits of forgotten things than are irretrievably crusted in ice in the process). The foodsaver is fantastic! Why didn't I get one years ago?!

So far I have made meatballs in both tomato sauce and In gravy, ragu bolognaise and Vietnamese caramel chicken. We have also prepared chicken breasts with flavoured butter, to be gently cooked in the bag, marinated thighs to be grilled or broiled, burger patties, seasoned stir fry chicken and pork.

Still to make: perogies, beef rendang and Georgian pork stew. All of this is moving a little slowly because I'm generally purchasing meat only when it's reduced. And then I'll probably repeat the process for myself when I move!

Has anyone else come up with good freezer friendly meals lately?