Batch Prep & Freezing

[jgm]

In the last year, I've gone from being employed full-time, to being employed full-time with two parents in a nursing home. Unbelievable. But better than having them at home, which was even more unbelievable, time-wise. Truth be told, I'm probably not that much busier than your average employed-outside-the-home parent.

I've been trying to think of strategies I can employ so that I can cook more. I've had way too much McDonald's and other restaurant food lately.

It's occurred to me that I could probably chop and sweat onions, celery and carrot, and freeze them in half-cup portions, which would (theoretically, anyway) give me a head start on many of my recipes. The idea is to just put the frozen vegetables in the pan, heat it, and continue. The beauty of the idea, as with most prep-ahead techniques, is that not only is the prep done ahead, the cleanup is done ahead, too. Believe me, with ordinary day-before techniques, such as chopping and refrigerating vegetables, measuring dry ingredients, etc., having not only the prep, but the cleanup done ahead can make a huge difference when your day has been way too long, and you haven't had a home-cooked meal in more days than you want to count.

Has anybody tried this?

What other components do you freeze ahead? I'm thinking carmelized onions and shallots, roasted garlic, and a lot of other things can be done ahead. I'd love some ideas.

[tsquare]

Frozen vegetables (especially as we head into winter) are your friends. We keep spinach, corn, and some bean type mix (TJ used to have a great mix with dark leafy greens and edamame, but it's out of rotation at least) along with peas and mixed vegetables. Last night, the spinach went into a quick Joe's Special.

Stock, if you can find the time. Slip in some frozen chinese dumplings for a comfort meal.

My chef is going to take some local squashes and cook them up and portion them off in the freezer - add to soup, some left chunky for vegetable ladened hash nights.

That's about all we have that is prepped.

[Chris Amirault]

I just spent the weekend doing freezer prep. Some ideas:

• Go through the freezer and create a list of what you have in there; if you've dated things (you should) star the ones that are oldest. That way you know what to pull first before it goes bad.
  
• When you make anything freezable, make double and triple batches as a matter of course.
  
• Learn bulk prep and cooking techniques, which are often different than those for dinner portions. I used to sauté meatballs in a pan and now cook them in a hot oven in a roasting pan, for example. Though larger sizes, often the amount of time you spend does not increase proportionately.
  
• Freeze everything in sizes that allow one meal and one set of leftovers.
  
• Wash and reuse your Ziplok or Foodsaver bags -- a lot less trouble than you think and a big savings if you do this sort of freezing.
  

I'm eager to hear others!

[PopsicleToze]

I chop vegetable seasonings in advance, too. It's a great time saver. The ones I tend to use most are onions and celery, so I sweat those down in butter over the weekend and keep them in the refrigerator (IMO works better than freezing them) in a mason jar during the week to spoon out what is needed for dishes. It's an unbelievable time saver. I keep a roux in a mason jar in the fridge, too, which keeps for a long time. With that , frozen stock and a protein -- you can work miracles.

A few easy from-the-pantry dishes to always be ready for provides a great comfort zone, also. Mine is linguini in white herbed clam sauce (more often than not that herb tends to be just parsley) but no complaints yet. Another one that's good is white bean and tuna salad. Canned beans are also a great friend to have on hand.

[Anna N]

BACON!!!!

Buy a couple of pounds of your fave bacon. Spend an hour cooking it to just this side of your idea of perfection. Let cool. Layer between paper towels and freeze.

A few seconds in the m/w and you can have:

A BLT

A bacon sandwich

A "McMuffin"

A cheese and bacon melt

A garnish for a soup or salad.............

The list is virtually endless. My freezer is rarely without a supply of frozen bacon and my fridge rarely without the bacon grease.

[jgm]

The ones I tend to use most are onions and celery, so I sweat those down in butter over the weekend and keep them in the refrigerator (IMO works better than freezing them) in a mason jar during the week to spoon out what is needed for dishes. 

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Can you expand on why it works better to refrigerate than freeze? Is it just more convenient, or do the vegetables deteriorate?

[annachan]

Trader Joe's frozen French beans are really food. They are inexpensive and cooks up very nicely. I also always have spinach, corn and peas in the freezer.

To make simple pot pies, I keep puff pastry on hand. I like puff pastry as it's versatile and quick. I've even used it as a base for quiche.

Frozen meatballs are good to have on hands. They're not the healthiest, but it's still better than MacDonalds.

TJ's mandarin orange chicken is not bad in a pinch. Make sure to bake the chicken in the oven instead of microwave. Serve the sauce on the side. With a little rice, it's a decent meal.

Frozen shrimp and calamari are quick to defrost. I can make a curry with them in about 10 minutes.

Someone suggested Chinese dumplings. I always have them on hand. I usually like to get pot stickers as well as boiled dumplings. It's important to read labels when getting them as many brands use MSG.

In the pantry, I always have pasta, couscous, rice, pasta sauce, curry sauce, canned chicken/tuna and a variety of stocks on hand. I rely on them for quick entrees, sides and soups. I recently got some dehydrated onion flakes from Costco. I add some to soups and sauces when I don't have any onion on hand or don't want to just chop up a small amount.

Eggs are always in the fridge. Bacon and ham are good to have on hand. Always have some Chinese sausage as well.

[PopsicleToze]

The ones I tend to use most are onions and celery, so I sweat those down in butter over the weekend and keep them in the refrigerator (IMO works better than freezing them) in a mason jar during the week to spoon out what is needed for dishes. 

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Can you expand on why it works better to refrigerate than freeze? Is it just more convenient, or do the vegetables deteriorate?

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IMO the taste is off when the vegetables are frozen. They tend to break down more and are a little "watery" for my lack of a better term. They last great in the refrigerator and I don't see a need to freeze them. I do a huge dutch oven full -- they cook waaay down, and all of that fits in 1 qt-size jar. Spoon out whatever little or big amount you need.

Rhonda

[Chris Amirault]

Watery is exactly how they are. From Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking:

[F]reezing kills plant tissues, which suffer two kinds of damage. One is chemical: as the water crystallizes, enzymes and other reactive molecules become unusually concentrated and react abnormally. The other damage is physical disruption caused by the water crystals, whose edges puncture cell walls and membranes. When food is thawed, the cell fluids leak out of the cells, and the food loses crispness and becomes limp and wet.

That's why Clarence Birdseye made all that money quick-freezing stuff: if you're fast and cold enough you keep those ice crystals wee.

[John DePaula]

Like Anna, I buy bacon in bulk and freeze individual portions (though I hadn't thought to cook it before freezing...).

I think you've already mentioned caramelized onions, very handy. Stock, already mentioned, frozen in ice cube trays for quick retrieval.

Stews (Star Anise Pork a fave), beans, chopped tomatoes, coconut milk (I never seem to use a whole can at a time), maybe some chopped garlic, green onions for sure, sausages, lasagna.

[Anna N]

Like Anna, I buy bacon in bulk and freeze individual portions (though I hadn't thought to cook it before freezing...).

I think you've already mentioned caramelized onions, very handy.  Stock, already mentioned, frozen in ice cube trays for quick retrieval. 

Stews (Star Anise Pork a fave), beans, chopped tomatoes, coconut milk (I never seem to use a whole can at a time), maybe some chopped garlic, green onions for sure, sausages, lasagna.

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I also freeze raw bacon as discussed in another thread where I explain how I roll it up jelly-roll style. Nice to pull out just 2 slices of bacon or 4 or 6......

[qrn]

Pasta freezes well. I cook 1 pound of linguini and end up with 3 pounds of cooked.

divide it up into either single or multi person serving packets in flat cheap1 gallon plastic bags. make sure its spread out in a thin layer in the bag and it thaws in a couple minutes with hot tap water...This saves 25 minutes when you are at altitude as We are. sea level its probably not worth it...

Pizza dough, again in the cheap thin 1 gallon size bag,and make it so it is thin and spread out so it thaws very fast. The frozen dough takes 5 mins in the M/W on really low and 45mins, on the counter at 70º or so, to rise and be able to use.

Bud

[maggiethecat]

Make twice the mashed potatoes you need. Freeze a bunch. Dot with extra butter and microwave them. Perfect every time.

[Chris Hennes]

I like to make big batches of meatballs and freeze them in meal-sized portions in foodsaver bags. To reheat, toss the entire bag into the boiling water with the pasta: they will be done at the same time. No mess, no extra dishes, perfection. A simple bolognese can be frozen as well and reheated in the microwave, or just use pureed canned whole tomatoes and some olive oil. Beats Prego anyday...