primitives discuss freezing meals

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/115717795

Oh my.

monique2 (12 posts)    Wed Dec 5, 2012, 01:43 PM

Need some help.

My son will be having his second bone surgery on the 17th. He is the cook at home. His wife does not cook. I would like to prepare some casseroles that can be frozen so when he gets home all it needs to be done is popped in the oven or microwave. He won't be able to cook for almost a month. I need recipes too.
 
What is the best way to freeze them and in what.

Thank you all.

Forgot to mention two adults and a 4 yr old

Arkansas Granny (13,852 posts)   Wed Dec 5, 2012, 01:54 PM

1. I learned a great tip about freezing meals many years ago and it really works.

Decide which baking dish you will be reheating the meal in and line it with a generous amount of aluminum foil.

Assemble the casserole so it's ready for baking, wrap the rest of the foil around it and freeze. When it is frozen solid, use the foil to lift it out of the baking dish and wrap with plastic or freezer paper, label it with contents, date prepared and thawing/reheating instructions and store in the freezer.

When you are ready to prepare the meal simply remove it from the freezer, take off the plastic or paper wrap and put it back in the dish you froze it in while still wrapped in the foil. After the meal, pull the foil out of the dish and discard or rewrap the leftovers. Your baking dish stays clean and it's not tied up in the freezer.

cbayer (114,381 posts)    Wed Dec 5, 2012, 02:00 PM

2. When I had a regular freezer, I used tupperware type containers, but....

I have a teeny freezer now, so tend to put things like this is ziploc bags. You can freeze them first, then transfer to a bag. You can write on them as well.
 
I had a cookbook for once a month cooking at one time. Basically you prep for everything, make large amounts of sauces and casseroles, then label them for easy assembling. Each recipe came with ideas for easy side dishes (salads or fresh v*****s).
 
It also laid out all the freezer storage guidelines for each meal. There are several books about this, as well as a number of websites.

^^^lives on a small boat; freezer is a one-pint Thermos jug, as that's the only thing that'll fit.

<<<still wondering what the cbayer primitive's son did, that he had to be scared straight of.

pinto (96,026 posts)   Wed Dec 5, 2012, 04:22 PM

3. Maybe make a casserole, portion out a meal for 3 and freeze. I like small aluminum loaf pans.

Covered tight with aluminum foil, they can be set in the oven and reheated. Or freezer bags, they can be microwaved.
 
(side idea) Some single, small servings might be good for your son to have on hand. For a quick bite if his appetite fluctuates.

Warpy (65,976 posts)    Wed Dec 5, 2012, 05:22 PM

4. The best way to freeze casseroles is in plastic or glass with tight fitting lids. Foil over a bowl will work, but you'll start to see freezer burn (dehydration, really) within a week. Things frozen in plastic should be nukable with no crust on top. If it needs to be defrosted and baked, with crunchy stuff on top, use glass.
 
Things like meatloaf can be wrapped tightly in foil.

And let them know that if they get desperate, the freezer case can produce some very nice things--salty, but nice.

^^^Ms. Hindenburg; needs no further introduction.

csziggy (13,105 posts)    Sat Dec 8, 2012, 11:01 PM

5. You can get oven proof paper "casseroles"

My husband found some when I asked him to get something for me to take food to holiday parties. He found them at the local supermarket for about $1 each (or maybe $1 for a package of two). The containers are about 8" square with a pop on plastic lid. I wouldn't trust those lids for freezer use - they are not air tight and do not really stay on well. The supplied lids are domed so they would be good to put over a small frosted cake.
 
The things are Hefty brand 2 quart casserole pans, safe for oven & microwave. They do say "Always use cookie sheet", which would be needed to support the paper container.
 
They would be perfect to put various recipes into, freeze and then give without worry on your part or your son's family's part about returning a casserole dish.

[Celtic Rose]

I'm trying to figure out what is meant by "His wife does not cook."  Is she incapable of boiling spaghetti?  How about pouring Italian dressing over chicken breasts and baking them?  Pouring a can of soup in pot and heating it?  Making meals for busy families is great and to be admired, but why can't the wife step up and learn some basic recipes?   

[franksolich]

I'm trying to figure out what is meant by "His wife does not cook."  Is she incapable of boiling spaghetti?  How about pouring Italian dressing over chicken breasts and baking them?  Pouring a can of soup in pot and heating it?  Making meals for busy families is great and to be admired, but why can't the wife step up and learn some basic recipes?   

That's what I was thinking too.

Isn't part of the matrimonial deal that if one partner is temporarily unable to do something, the other partner pitches in best he or she can?

I thought it was, but maybe not.

[Ballygrl]

cbayer (114,381 posts)    Wed Dec 5, 2012, 02:00 PM

2. When I had a regular freezer, I used tupperware type containers, but....

I have a teeny freezer now, so tend to put things like this is ziploc bags. You can freeze them first, then transfer to a bag. You can write on them as well.
 
I had a cookbook for once a month cooking at one time. Basically you prep for everything, make large amounts of sauces and casseroles, then label them for easy assembling. Each recipe came with ideas for easy side dishes (salads or fresh v*****s).
 
It also laid out all the freezer storage guidelines for each meal. There are several books about this, as well as a number of websites.

Well I went searching for a book like that because it sounds like a great idea, 1 book got a majority of good reviews, but it had 3 1 star reviews, so I decide to read the 1 star reviews and look at what I see, do these people ever get tired of being outraged?

If you are not a devout Christian, you may find this book as offensive as I did. There I was, thinking I was going to get a cookbook to help me get homemade meals on the table a little more often...but what I got was a bunch of proverbs to begin each chapter, and a table talk discussion guide (excuse me, but I think I know how to talk to my own family) that was filled with Jesus questions. As a Jew, it offends me to have spent my money on a religious tract when there was no hint whatsoever that that was what I was purchasing. The funny thing is, if I had known ahead of time that it was full of religious content, I could have made a decision to just ignore it and try the delicious-sounding recipes. But being blindsided by the authors and the publishers left such a bad taste in my mouth that I'm unable to even consider trying them. The book is back in the box, on its way back to Amazon. I hope the next person who gets it is at least forewarned.

This is a response the person got:

Seriously, your offended? I have several great cookbooks by Jewish authors who incoporate family traditions and stories in their books, the Cake Bible and Rose's Christmas cookies to name two, see any irony there? You can't cook from your book because no one told you a human may have written it and put something of themselves in it? Life is too short to get all blocked up like that.

[I_B_Perky]

I'm trying to figure out what is meant by "His wife does not cook."  Is she incapable of boiling spaghetti?  How about pouring Italian dressing over chicken breasts and baking them?  Pouring a can of soup in pot and heating it?  Making meals for busy families is great and to be admired, but why can't the wife step up and learn some basic recipes?   

I assume his wife is a dummie. Dummie could not pour piss out of boot with the instructions printed on the heel.

[NHSparky]

I'm trying to figure out what is meant by "His wife does not cook."  Is she incapable of boiling spaghetti?  How about pouring Italian dressing over chicken breasts and baking them?  Pouring a can of soup in pot and heating it?  Making meals for busy families is great and to be admired, but why can't the wife step up and learn some basic recipes?   

Seriously, go down the frozen food section of any grocery store.  Is it that hard, is she that stupid, or just that lazy?

[Carl]

My God,they can`t figure out how to freeze something?

Then they call us stupid.

[Carl]

On top of that what is so damn hard about cooking.

Go to the store and get some green peppers,core them and freeze them.

Later on get some burger,some rice,pasta sauce,taco flavoring, shredded cheese and sour cream.
Brown the burger,drain the fat add the rice and pasta sauce and simmer,mix in the seasoning.

Put the peppers in a baking dish,stuff with the mixture and cover with cheese.
Bake covered in oven for around an hour at 350 then when cooled eat with a covering of sour cream.
Refrigerate the leftovers.

It is not rocket science unless you think cooking has to have some unpronounceable name attached to the dish.

[BlueStateSaint]

My God,they can`t figure out how to freeze something?

Then they call us stupid.

They have to wait for the winter months, Carl.

[GOBUCKS]

What sloven, lazy, useless people the 0bamaites are.

[franksolich]

What sloven, lazy, useless people the 0bamaites are.

I'm wondering if we lost one, another one of the pie-and-jam primitive's best buds, this year.

The chronically-helpless primitive, the Paper Roses primitive, an ancient woman who packratted, filling up her house, consigning it all to an eBay seller, and once the house was empty, jammed it full again.

She was last seen complaining that because she leaves things on the stove top, and then goes off to yak on the telephone or watch a soap opera, the stuff in the pots boil over and make a mess of the stove top.

That was the last.

Either the chronically-helpless primitive went up to that Great Garage Sale in the Sky, or her adult children finally put her in a nursing home.

[Karin]

What sloven, lazy, useless people the 0bamaites are.

You got that right!  This woman has a four-year-old and "does not cook."  Well, then she shouldn't get to eat.  That is sheer laziness to not even step up to the plate and try when her spouse is facing a month of disability.  They're going to rely on his mom to feed them 3 times a day?  This is very dysfunctional. 

[vesta111]

You got that right!  This woman has a four-year-old and "does not cook."  Well, then she shouldn't get to eat.  That is sheer laziness to not even step up to the plate and try when her spouse is facing a month of disability.  They're going to rely on his mom to feed them 3 times a day?  This is very dysfunctional. 

Is this what they call enabling ?????

A son is a son until he takes a wife, a daughter is a daughter all of her life.

Mother needs to step back and allow her son to take charge of his own life.   Son no longer needs to rely on his mommy, he now has a wife and child to care for.   Seems this has been going on for at least 4-5 years. 

All this time he has been with a wife that does not cook, so who feeds the baby ????

Mommy Dearest needs to butt out, stop making her son more dependent on her then his wife. I can see an occasional meal for the family, times of Hollidays or times of a short distress.

Time for this Mother in law from Hell to let go and allow her son to make some decision's on his own.