Frozen Meals

[Milagai]

Morningstar veggie nuggets.

Frozen veggies (e.g. green beans, chopped spinach,

drumsticks - the moringa veggie, not the fowl legs -, frozen grated

coconut, etc ) for weeknight sabzi in a hurry....

LOTS of pkgs of frozen Malaysian parathas and other kinds

of parathas - I like first, Swad, and second, Deep, brands.....

These 400-calorie-per-paratha monsters have somehow

become a staple because I have 2 super skinny kids who love

to eat these. If they develop weight problems post-puberty

they'll have some trouble kicking this frozen paratha habit....

frozen pizza, usually Amy's or Di Giorno....

frozen samosas

So I guess my frozen food is not pre-packaged dinners

but things to make dinner from.....

Milagai

[Tess]

Another fan of Amy's tamale pie here. I discovered it on Weight Watchers: very filling and low points. There's another Amy's pie that fits that description too; I forget what it's called but it's good.

I am also a fan of Dr. Praeger's frozen products, like little spinach pancakes. Everthing but the fish sticks actually (I made that mistake once.)

A food market in the Chicago suburbs, Foodstuffs, sells frozen tubs of soup and chili that are tasty and in some cases rated for Weight Watchers. I always have a few of those stashed away. At around $5/tub, they are a bit expensive for what they are but I get a whole meal out of one.

[dividend]

As far as commercial products, I love Stouffer's mac & cheese. And CPK chicken garlic alfredo pizza. And the occasional two pack of White Castle cheeseburgers. Those are solely for post-drinking craving though. Does ice cream count? I almost always have a pint of vanilla bean Haagen Daas. If you press plastic wrap tightly against the surface of the ice cream before you close the pint, it stays good a long time, and I can eat it in tiny amounts without worrying about it going bad.

As for the homemade frozen goodness, blocks of chicken stock, portions of smoked meat, soups, berries, homemade twice baked potatoes, homemade meatballs, corn, homemade wedges of mac & cheese, prosciutto and bacon (frozen flat and sealed in individual portions as I live alone). All of this is flash frozen and then vacuum sealed. I love my foodsaver.

My parents eat a lot more frozen food then I do, mostly bulk stuff from Sam's/Costco. Alot of it is preprocessed crap, but I think Mom just got tired of cooking every night. So now they go for quick and easy.

[bleachboy]

I'll second or third or fourth or fifth the votes for Amy's products. We have a full selection of their frozen burritos on hand always for quick hangover cures or whatnot.

Tater Tots.

My wife has a fetish for those cheapo Totino's (?) Party Pizzas stemming from her childhood.

The stuffed chickens from Poche's in Lousiana. Thanks to Mayhaw Man for turning me on to them. You could serve 'em at an elegant dinner party if you were so inclined. Not that I've ever done that.

[daniellewiley]

I have more than I might normally have just because I have a nanny home all day with the baby, and frozen foods are the easiest way for me to feed them both, without having to come downstairs from my home office and cook.

We always have Tyson's chicken nuggets (thanks to chrisamirault), Trader Joe's meatballs, frozen pizza (I like CPK, but the kids like Tony's plain), Trader Joe's french toast, Trader Joe's steelcut oatmeal, potstickers, and lots of frozen veggies. We always have French green beans, peas, broccoli and corn. I usually have frozen organic raspberries on hand for a quick breakfast (yummy mixed with Fage Total yogurt and some honey).

I also just have been turned on to the frozen one pound packs of organic ground beef from Costco - great emergency dinner!

[lesfen]

I always have a stack of Totino's pizzas in my freezer for those REALLY lazy night when I can't even be bothered to pick something up, much less cook something. I love the crust.

That's really about it... as far as what I actually keep in the house. I will admit that I do love many, many frozen meals. Someone useed to make boil in a bag beef and gravy and turkey and gravy. I loved those over toast. Taquitos. Yum. Pot pies. Double yum. Meatball Hot Pockets. Sigh.

[FistFullaRoux]

Tater Tot, Stouffers lasagna, Hebert's stuffed chickens, and a mess of tasso.

[MGLloyd]

I like the peach and mixed berry strudels from Trader Joe's. I find the apple somewhat bland, however.

[C. sapidus]

Tonight was the perfect example of why we keep frozen meatballs and frozen veggies around. My wife is at a conference, the fridge is empty, and two of the boys’ friends unexpectedly showed up for dinner. The friends are nice kids but picky eaters. No problem: spaghetti and meatballs (jazzed up with garlic, cayenne, and herbs); and peas and corn microwaved with butter. Kids scarf down dinner, and suitably recharged, burst outside to play hide and seek and run and scream.

Originally, I had planned to grill drumsticks that were marinating in drained yogurt, onions, ginger, garlic, cayenne, cumin, S&P, and lime juice. That would not have gone over well with the picky eaters. Eh, the drumsticks will be even better tomorrow for lunch.

[LynDel]

Chicken pot pie

french fries

always ice cream

okra because we've been having trouble finding good quality fresh ones in Boston (go figure)

[maggiethecat]

When it comes to frozen, I'm Trader Joe's. Their petit pois are actually from France. Their frozen fish is excellent and relatively cheap. I make my own potstickers, but I always have a backup bag from TJs.

Apart from these items and the occasional bag of frozen veg or berries, I don't ever buy frozen pre-prepared stuff. They are just too expensive, and not good enough to ratioanlize the expense.

[KatieLoeb]

Trader Joe's tamales, Smart Ones Macaroni & Cheese (Less fat and calories than the others and still taste good) and Stouffer's Spinach Souffle. I LOVE Stouffer's Spinach Souffle! It's my favorite go to side dish for steaks or roast chicken. I always grate a little fresh nutmeg onto the top and stir it in. Yum!

[tejon]

I have a lot of ingredients frozen: meats, herbs, nuts, berries, tofu (I like the texture once it's been frozen), vegetables (edamame, corn, and peas) yeast, and stock at the moment. There are a few prepared things, but not many: ice cream (home made peach), some sausages, pork dumplings I made a while back, and whole wheat bread.

That's just at the moment, though. There is often a good assortment of pre-made stuff from Trader Joe's in there. You'll often find a bag or two of TJs chicken potstickers in there, often sitting side by side with a bag of Orange Chicken .

[kellycolorado]

Before we left California, I'd always have Trader Joe's things in the freezer, especially the mini spanikopitas and the haricots verts.

Now, for packaged items we'll usually have a box of Costco's El Monterey steak taquitos, Whole Foods tater tots, a couple bags of frozen veggies and maybe a couple frozen dinners for emergency lunches.

[KatieLoeb]

This thread got me going over to Trader Joe's today to stock up on a few items. Since I'd taken a turkey breast out of the freezer to thaw I had some room to purchase a few things. I bought an Alsace Onion tart, a chicken and noodle bowl thingie and a Tamale pie topped with cornbread they were sampling. I also picked up some of that awesome Total Yogurt with Honey. That's going to be breakfast tomorrow...

[chicagowench]

I would kill to have a trader joe's nearby, I love their frozen stuff. Sigh.

We have a ton of the Alexial frozen potatoes, several varieties, and the mozarella sticks at all times. Also potstickers. If all else fails, the kid will wolf down a dozen of those.

[kulebyaka]

I love to cook, eat out, dine well...... but SOMETIMES, I love to be able to "fire up" a frozen dinner...

Will you confess?

I love my own mac 'n cheese, adore it, really... but in a pinch, Stouffer's will do.

I recently had a crippling craving for cheese enchiliadas, and without close proximity to a mex food restaurant, and no energy for cooking.... I found Amy's Organic Cheese Enchiliadas... with an addition of extra cheese, sour cream, diced avos...  it was an eating treat!

I also love Stouffer's Swedish Meatballs (GASP!) with extra sour cream.

Pretend I'm your food "priest" and CONFESS!

What frozen food do you have in stock, and eat when the spirit moves you?

(You will be forgiven!) 

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[kulebyaka]

I love to cook, eat out, dine well...... but SOMETIMES, I love to be able to "fire up" a frozen dinner...

Will you confess?

I love my own mac 'n cheese, adore it, really... but in a pinch, Stouffer's will do.

I recently had a crippling craving for cheese enchiliadas, and without close proximity to a mex food restaurant, and no energy for cooking.... I found Amy's Organic Cheese Enchiliadas... with an addition of extra cheese, sour cream, diced avos...  it was an eating treat!

I also love Stouffer's Swedish Meatballs (GASP!) with extra sour cream.

Pretend I'm your food "priest" and CONFESS!

What frozen food do you have in stock, and eat when the spirit moves you?

(You will be forgiven!) 

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[Darin Smith]

Frozen Egg rolls are a weakness for me......heat them up in the oven and then dip in sweet chili sauce.....YUM

[kulebyaka]

This is truly embarrassing. I love and actively seek out Morningstar Farms vegetarian corn dogs, which are not always easy to come by. Just the fact that I like corn dogs is humiliating enough. I eat them with homemade Russian style mustard, which sounds, and is, a bit incongruous. As I'm an occasional carnivore, I'm in a position to state that these fake franks have a taste, texture and mouthfeel which could almost fool participants in a blind test. These corn dogs are not deep-fried, BTW, so that greasy carnival quality is absent - which is OK by me.

[snekse]

My lunch diet is composed almost entirely of frozen food. Weight Watchers, Lean Cuisine, South Beach. It's quick, easy, cheap, potion controlled, and fairly nutritious. Which all allows me to eat whatever the heck I want during the weekends and whenever I feel like a weeknight splurge.

[Chanterelle]

My tiny freezer is usually so crammed with homemade stuff (chicken broth, shrimp shells, last year's plum compote...) that I can barely squeeze in an ice tray. But recently I've discovered frozen onion kulcha (4 to a package) and frozen coriander chutney (4 tiny tubs to a box). Both made by Deep Foods in NJ, but probably not the only brand out there. Nuke the chutney, kulcha in the toaster oven, a dab of mango chutney and some yoghurt -- heaven!

I've been disappointed by most of the Trader Joe's frozen offerings I've tried, though the rack of lamb is pretty good. I'll have to try the Alsatian tart.

Another vote for Tater Tots and Stouffer's spinach souffle, though I haven't bought either for a long time.

[chuchelo]

Let's see. Off the top of my head I think I've got...

Amy's Tofu Lasagne

All manner of frozen fruit

Trader Joe's Meatless Meatballs

haricot verts

TJ's organic broccoli

[MarketStEl]

Stouffer's frozen food items are relativley decent and, although I am not going to say that they are as good as a homemade original, they do fill a need ...

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Nihil domo similior.

Oops! Make that Nihil domo similius.

[MarketStEl]

Now, on to my own confession:

Usually, my freezer is filled with ingredients more than it is with prepared foods to nuke or heat. I always keep plenty of frozen veggies on hand, and after a friend brought some over recently, I now need to add Acme frozen tater tots to the list of freezer staples. (Instant childhood memory, don'tcha know.)

But there are times when I go through phases. For instance, when the moon is in the seventh house and the sale at the Super Fresh aligns with the coupons in my collection, I binge on Hot Pockets for lunch.

And then there are the times when I remember to toss a DiGiorno, Freschetta or Tombstone frozen pizza into the cart for something quick, dirty and tasty.

And when the currently incarcerated roomie returns, I will resume purchasing frozen dinners--mainly Stouffer's and Hungry-Man (roomie likes the quality of the former and the quantity of the latter)--to keep around for him to nuke during the day.

Partner went to Whole Foods a month or two back and returned with a couple of 365 Organic frozen entrees and a couple of Amy's frozen meals. I fixed one of the former (something with shrimp) and found it good; the latter are still in the freezer, awaiting the day when I'm out, I've left nothing fixed for dinner and he remembers they're there and is hungry and motivated enough to fix one.