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Likely not much help at this point.

In my experience, it’s usually the texture that suffers rather than the flavor. YMMV For umpteen years, I brought frozen meals to work for my lunch every freaking day. Lasagne, soups, chili, enchiladas, bean stews, lots and lots of pasta with vegetables (chunky shapes, cooked very al dente, both the pasta & veg) hummus and other bean dips. Always accompanied by a zip top bag of raw carrots, celery, snap peas, broccoli, cauliflower, jicama, radishes, cherry tomatoes which offered a nice textural contrast. Not everyone cares as much about texture as much as I do and even those who do may be satisfied with less of it when feeling under the weather. There have been times when I’d have preferred all nutrition be something I could sip through a straw so I didn’t have to chew anything 🙃 Along those lines, if I were having surgery, I’d be filling my freezer with smoothie kits that could be dumped into the blender with juice, milk or yogurt. I’ve got lots of combos with a couple servings of both fruit and veg, protein and fiber. It’s not going to feed the rest of the family but there have been times that’s all I could stomach!

Another dessert in the again category. Galatorie's Sweet Potato Cheese that I made for my neighbors 98th birthday get together.

The FDA's Bad Bug Book is an excellent (fascinating/horrifying) resource. It's free to download. https://www.fda.gov/food/foodborne-pathogens/bad-bug-book-second-edition

Speaking of listeria, here's yet another enoki mushroom recall. This one's (so far) BC-specific. https://recalls-rappels.canada.ca/en/alert-recall/mushmoshi-brand-enoki-mushroom-recalled-due-listeria-monocytogenes

What a great variety - interested to hear what you think of the krauts - I've never had anything but the original type - which I love.

Lunch was SV pork steaks that were cooked about two hours at 141F.

This is another option that I have used a few times now.

No cream and no cheese. I emptied a jar of some kind of Classico tomato sauce for pasta...the jar is long gone and I'd never used one before...and a can of Rotel.

Yes, jarred sauces can be very good and as Smithy said, you can have them over rice, pasta, potatoes. You don't even need to freeze. You can buy par-cooked rice in microwave bags. Heat one up, put in a bowl, pour some sauce over it and gently nuke a little more until the sauce is hot. Sprinkle a little shredded cheese over and voila!

I got a gift certificate for Olive My Pickle for Christmas. My order just arrived. I got Dill Pickle Kraut, Smoked Black Pepper & Garlic Kraut, Classic Kosher Dill Pickles, Spicy Kosher Dill Pickles, Horseradish Pickles, Veggie Medley (giardiniera) and a free Kosher Dill Brine. I'll be a real sour puss now!!

Tomato - based (like spaghetti sauce, with or without meat and veg) Herb based - basil pesto, for instance Cheese sauce (might need to investigate how to do this without sauce breaking on reheat) Butter and garlic Soy sauce based...out of my wheelhouse but someone here can help Hollandaise (don't know if it would break) There's a peanut sauce, like you'd find in mafe, that I think would freeze well. Lemon and butter I'm freewheeling here, but I can imagine all those things over rice or noodles, with or without meat and veg, that would take the dish in very different but delicious directions.

seems they have been having some success - https://dm.cms.aldi.cx/is/content/prod1amer/ALDI_2026 Growth Press Release_FINAL 1.5.26pdf """. . . . In 2026, the company’s 50th anniversary in the U.S., ALDI will open more than 180 new stores across 31 states...""" we have a new one two stones throw from Giant and Weis - when they first opened it was glorious. later visits showed gaping holes in inventory. like, , , no onions . . . huh?

Another note from my desk: SAUCES What are good sauces for dishes that will be frozen? VARIETY Methinks that more variety could be introduced by using noticeably different sauces in the same batch. Use different brined foods (tangy and salty) Suggestions welcome.

Much followup to do but I'm wanting to get rid of stack of notes on my desk! PRE-COOK If I'm only doing the pre-cooking of food components (onion, garlic, bacon, chicken, etc.), can I used dried vegetables (onion, garlic, carrot, celery, bell pepper, mushrooms*, etc.) WITHOUT any soaking or cooking, as long as I ADD water or other fluid to the dish? HERBS & SPICES Considering that reheated frozen food doesn't taste as good as the first cook, what can be done to improve the flavour? Can I (and is it effective to) double the dried herbs double the spices in dry rubs reduce the offensive spices (e.g. allspice) use more volume of flavourings, e.g. mustard, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, Maggi, More Than Gourmet demi glace I want to thank everyone for their support. I'm going to be convalescent for a couple months at least; my operation is very soon, so I don't have time to do m/any more trial runs. It will be disastrous if everything tastes awful; I don't want to rely on drab takeout pizza, or chicken pies from the grocery. 😒 Edited to add: * Notwithstanding that @weinoo says I have to soak the mushrooms so I can get the dirt out.

Another topic you may find useful is here:

That. Topic. Is. Brilliant! I'd forgotten all about it! Thanks for bringing it up!

Sauteed zucchini, chorizo, and roasted chile Poblano, topped with diced avocado. Sauce was onion, chiles, garlic, and cilantro with a little yogurt. Cilantro, thyme, and Mexican oregano for aroma.

i finally tried some of these last night. The texture was a bit firmer than I'd expected: more solid than a good meringue cookie, but certainly softer than a "firm" cookie like an Oreo. The flavor is good, at least for the vanilla and chocolate. I'm no more fond of the strawberry flavor than I am of frozen strawberry ice cream! But that's just me. 😀

@TdeVSeveral years ago I was looking for ideas for meals/foods that I could freeze in portions to take to my Grandpa. This thread may be helpful to you? Edited to say: A tip that @Jaymesgave on that same thread was really helpful. Freezing in containers is good BUT there is the added chore of washing and putting away said containers. If you can freeze meals in ziplocks you can just trash the bags when you're done. Granted, not everything can be frozen in those but it's an idea to think about. Here is the post where she discussed more in detail what she did for her father.

Arancini, a dot of tomato sauce, cubed mozzarella, spicy aioli. Butter lettuce, tomatoes, vinaigrette.

@TdeV Take a look at page 9 of @JAZ's book Super-Easy Instant Pot Cookbook.

I am the cook in this house so- if I'm going to be down for any amount of time, I pre-make options (when its a planned outage). Example-I have dental surgery tomorrow. So there are leftovers for Partner that will cover him for days. (he is happy to eat the same thing every day and he loves a leftover. Thank God!) For myself I bought some protein shakes and yogurt and there are soft leftovers when I decide I want real food (pasta, mashed potatoes, stuffing with gravy). We wont starve this week. When Partner is down (surgical) I also pre-plan and have appropriate foods ready. (usually a soup with homemade stock and a ton of veg) Our last bout of covid, he got sick first. I knew I had 24 hours, 48 max, before I was down for the duration. I mad-dash made pick up orders and got to making 2 different soups. (Pick up was for things like cough drops, gatorade, restock veg etc.) Generally there is some sort of pre-made (by me) stuff in my freezers and enough fill-ins from the pantry that even if I was catastrophically ill, Partner would still eat. He may not know whats available but there's food if he looks. Off the top of my head- enchiladas, cooked chicken, gumbo, pulled pork in the freezer, along with various veg. Tuna, beans, salsa, vension and taco meat that I've canned. Pantry has microwave rice along with pasta, veg, snack stuff etc. One of us could easily eat from what we have being tossed in the microwave (or oven) just to reheat for weeks before real cooking had to occur.

My favorite product at Trader Joe's was back in stock this morning: Less expensive than anywhere else I can buy it!

A food item that has been freeze-dried has indeed survived the freezing process. Importantly, it has never been subjected to the thawing process. Instead, the ice crystals are removed via sublimation. Pretty much anything containing moisture can be successfully frozen. Thawing? That’s a different story! If you are keen to dive into making freeze-dried meals, like backpacking or emergency rations in multiple servings, that’s going to require a significant investment in equipment but rereading that thread would be an excellent primer.