Freezer Cooking Tipsby Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 06 Apr 2009 12:09 PM
Go Easy on the Spices Some spices can change or grow stronger when placed in the freezer. Make sure to season lightly. You can usually add more spices when reheating. Know How to Reheat Some foods, especially dairy, may separate when frozen. This usually isn't a problem if you keep sauces separate from the other parts of the meal and reheat them in a saucepan, for example. Knowing exactly how to reheat or cook a freezer item can make all the difference. Wrap Well Some freezer cooks swear by food sealers, some by freezer paper and others by freezer bags. Whatever your method, wrap your items well and try to get out as much air as possible before you freeze something. "Sticky" Foods Should be Flash Frozen First If you have items such as peas, blueberries or even slices of meat loaf that might stick together when frozen, lay them first on a cookie sheet or jelly role pan so they can freeze for about 20 minutes without touching. Then you can place them all in a bag, a container or a wrap, and they won't stick together Label Your Food Proper labeling can make a big difference in freezer cooking. When you know what you have frozen and even the reheating instructions, you are more likely to actually use it. Don't rely on memory alone. I also add the date a meal is frozen to help keep my inventory fresh. Use a permanent marker, so your labels won't get smudged. Do you have any great how to freezer cook tips? Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, creating a home in the Home Blog, caring for little ones in the Baby Blog and now relationships in the Marriage Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here or subscribe to the blog using the subscription box on the right. Favorite Deal Websites: Related Articles: Flattening Your Freezer Cooking Incorporating Freezer Cooking into Your Life Making Your Freezer and Crock Pot Work Together Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantfrugal tags User Comments AuntJamelle (125) 17 Apr 2009 08:04 AMSome tips: 1.) For some things, instead of flash freezing, I use this trick - Fill a ziplock bag about half full of the items (like shredded, cooked chicken or cooked sausage chunks, etc.) -- Seal the bag almost all the way, leaving a small gap for air to escape --Roll the bag over on itself to squeeze out as much air as possible - Seal the bag completely -- Using your hands squeeze and move the contents inside the bag to lay out in a flat layer instead of one big clump -- Lay ziplock on cookie sheet and freeze until hardened. This allows you to easily break off the desired amount and put the rest of the bag's contents right back in the freezer. I pull out shredded cooked chicken all week long - just enough for each meal - and it works great! 2.) When filling a ziplock with raw meat (like ground beef, ground sausage, etc.) use the same sealing and flattening trick as listed is Tip #1 but after the bag is sealed you can use your finger to "draw" seperations into the meat - once again allowing you to break off just what you need for a meal, instead of forcing you to use/thaw the whole bag. 3.) If actually making a meal to be frozen (lasagna, casserole, etc.) line your baking dish with heavy duty aluminum foil, leaving plenty overlapping on both sides. Line again going the other direction (so each of the 4 sides of the dish have foil hanging over) -- Spray with PAM or grease -- Fill with dish -- Cover and freeze -- After food is frozen, lift out of dish - insert in ziplock bag and freeze until time to use. You may want to write what dish you used on the ziplock - if you think you might have trouble figuring out which one to pop the frozen "block" back into when it is time to bake. That way you avoid having to buy special freezer dishes or having your dishes tied up in the freezer all the time.  Mary Ann Romans (26791) 04 May 2009 04:42 AMI really like all of your tips! Do you have some suggestions for shredded chicken meals? Community Tags Freezer Cooking, frugal food, OAMC, Once a Month Cooking Discuss this article
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Ready to start some freezer cooking? It can save you quite a bit of money when you take advantage of bulk buying and having meals prepared ahead of time. Here are some basic freezer cooking tips that you can use to get started.
