Freezer Friendly Meal Ideas

what we have in our freezer is containers of cooked meat (sometimes mince, but usually diced steak with tomatoes, herbs etc), when I need them they're taken out and put in the bottom of the fridge to defrost. I don't like defrosting (or cooking) in the microwave - it changes the integrity and taste of the food.

With a little work they can be turned into sketti-bog (throw in an extra tin of crushed tomatoes when you reheat), lasagne (make up some white/cheese sauce & throw between pasta sheets), shepherds pie (make up some mash), individual meat pies (in a soufflé dish, scoop in the meat mix, top with frozen puff pastry, throw in oven).

Or a macaroni cheese, cooked & then frozen - defrost in fridge overnight and then throw in oven to heat up.

What else is brilliant are frenched lamb shanks (the small ones), put them and potatoes in the oven at the same time and in 30 mins you have a quick & easy roast lamb dinner.

Cook up a container of rice at the start of the week, use it for rice salads (can of corn, some celery); fried rice (corn, celery, diced meat, egg & some soy sauce) - heck I even love rice on its own with just some butter.

For salads - what about having a head of lettuce in the fridge, boil some eggs, have grape or cherry tomatoes (so you don't have to cut them up), cucumber, mushrooms and other salad stuff - just throw it together into a container and serve with a bit of steak.

When my SIL had her last, there were 5 of us at home (other than her & the baby) and there had to be easy to get together food for me to feed the family with (I was 14), so things that only needed basic cooking skills were great - hence the above stuff.

Sharon, we often do the same with a good stew/casserole with a little fresh baby spinach you give it new life, can be added to pasta or even a risotto base for a quick yummy meal :D Or just served over rice.

Hi ladies,

I know this has probably been asked and posted loads of times, but I am after some ideas on meals etc to freeze for when bub comes to save on cooking times. So far on my list I have:

Pasta Sauce
Pumpkin Soup
Curried Sausages
Patties
Meatloaf Mix

Any different ideas would be much appreciated. I get stuck and everything I think of is to do with mince as it is so easy.

Thanks so much in advance,
xxx Nita

A great idea is to marinate cuts of meat in plastic ziplock bags - just throw in the raw meat and marinade and freeze. Then you just need to defrost, throw them in the oven or frypan, throw on some oven fries and some veges in the microwave and you have a pretty good dinner.

We marinate chicken breasts or pieces in a mixture of olive oil, crushed garlic and oregano, lemon juice and salt and pepper. We just guess the amounts it always tastes good LOL. Then you can just fry up or chuck on the barbie.

Another good marinade is honey, wholegrain mustard, oil and a bit of curry powder.

Steaks marinated in garlic, red wine, olive oil and herbs

Other stuff we cook and freeze:

Beef stroganoff
Apricot chicken
Pasta bakes (cooked pasta and all - it freezes fine)
Sausage/beef/chicken casseroles
Meatball spaghetti sauce
Lasagne (chicken and beef)
Enchiladas
Curried Chicken
Indian curries

You should find all of that stuff freezes well...good idea to do all your cooking now, you will be so glad you did :)

If you get the foil containers you can put it in serves for 2 ... just wack in the oven to heat up.

Hint: brush the top of frozen lasagnes / shepards pie with butter before reheating in the oven, it stops it drying out.

I also did shepards pie, cottage pie, pies in general...

If you know anyone with a mini pie-maker borrow it for a week or so and when you make up shepards pie / cottage pie / casseroles / curries just make individual pies with the mixture as well - or use your oven ...

Frozen shortcrust on the bottom, puff on the top. You can also use the mega-muffin tins to make the pies in.

What else ...

Muffins (sweet & savory)
Fruit cake (lasts forever without freezing)

Learn how to use your microwave for cooking rice, and serve with the meals.
Mashed potato, pumpkin etc.

Has anyone seen these? They look awesome I think I'm going to have to get them both, there is 2 I think (could be more) one is her first book entitled "Frost Bite" the second is "Frost Bite - From Toddlers to Teenagers" She teaches how to cook yummy gourmet meals and how to freeze in advance so that it can be pulled out for those on the go! How cool is that! And so helpful for busy mums!

Ooh cool, I'll definitely need to have a look at those :)

that sounds really good. I'll check them out.

I actually laybyed the second book (tots to teens one) recently, without having really looked through it. I initially put it in the trolley at Big W, along with the AWW "Cook" book (the big red book) during their recent toy sale, so I would be able to go through them both and see if they were any good whilst waiting in the SUPER LONG queue at lay by. I was in the queue for 1 hour, but didn't get the chance to go through either book, as only a few minutes in, Steph wanted out of the trolley, so I had to keep my eye on her as she terrorised all the other children in the line!

So, has anyone bought the book, and can tell me if I should still get it? I have lots of good intentions to do lots of cooking and freezing before bub2 is born, but I'm not sure if it will eventuate!

*bump*

chicken bol - can be reheated as is, or top with cheese/cheese sauce for a pasta bake (we make in bulk in the slow cooker). spag bol the same.

vegie bake in cheese sauce (basically stirfry finely diced vegies with a bit of garlic butter, make up a cheesy sauce, mix all the veg through - we put cauli and broccolli too) - freezes beautifully, can be something on it's own with crusty bread, or with a steak or chicken. we've also made it go further by mixing through pasta. made it more of a stand alone meal by adding some chicken breast...

any casseroles that you can make in the slow cooker

ummm, maybe egg and bacon pie pre cooked (just) and ready to go in the oven

meatloaf ready to go (not pre cooked, just ready to pop in the oven)

ummmm, we freeze a lot of stuff for DH to take to work, and i love the slow cooker cos we can make in bulk with minimal effort....

Oooh, we're just about to pick up a deep freeze so i'll be watching this with interest!

Whatever you do, don't freeze raw potatoes, cook them first, I learned the hard way :lol:

When I was near Noahs birth I prepared heaps of potato bake which is where I learned not to freeze raw potato and homemade mac and cheese which was cooked prior which turned out fabo. I just cooked the mac and then drained, put the mac back in the pot and added heaps of tasty cheese with some milk and capsicum. I then put them in oven safe dishes and added some ripped up bread to the top and froze. To eat I let defrost overnight and then cooked in the oven.

I will definitly keep my eyes on this thread for some new ideas too.

hey,

i have the book for toddlers to teenagers and its fantastic! awesome recipes - all quick and easy and usually with stuff you'd normally keep in the kitchen.
it gives some awesome tips on how to freeze different foods and meals.

highly reccommended!

Yep I have the Frost Bite book. The author is a regular mum who has developed recipes for babies through to teenagers that can be prepared in advanced and frozen. The recipes are quick, easy and yummy and suitable for the whole family! It's one of my recipe bibles :)

I'll have to keep my eye out for it... I freeze lots of meals already so that on days that I work I can just pull one out and zap it in the microwave and zap some veges too. I

I'm planning on cooking some meals before bubs arrives & freezing them in a chest freezer.
How long can cooked food be frozen for? I'll be making things like soups, lasagna, meat sauce, curries, pies etc if that helps.
Thanks in advance.

I wouldn't use after 3months, but all those things freeze really well!

I found this guide online, it might be useful?

Casseroles - 2 to 3 months
Frozen Dinners - 3 to 4 months
Meat (cooked) - 2 to 3 months
Poultry (cooked) - 4 months
Soups and Stews - 2 to 3 months

HTH :D

Thanks girls. That's heaps of time!! I was afraid it might've only been a couple of weeks or something.

My DH and I like to eat main meal at lunchtime (a remnant of our life in Spain I think) so when he is working normal office hours (sometimes he works 3-11 so we get to have meal together) he takes his meal to work and heats in microwave. He is very organised (it scares me!) and cooks up loads of meals and puts in the freezer ready. I get a bit concerned his diet isn't varied enough (he prob has four dishes he has, spag bol, bean chilli, sweet sour chicken, and something else) so am always looking for new dishes. I got a book out of the library about freezing food but most of it is not suitable for a simple microwave reheat - anyone got any good recipes (or know of a good book) for food that can be frozen and then just heated up in microwave (or even stuff I can make day before and put in fridge overnight for next day) - particularly interested in any recipes with fish?

no idea re fish based meals, but you can do almost anything in the slow cooker with a saucy/gravyish base and reheat in the microwave. DH does it all the time - faves are braised lamb/beef (with lotsa veg), spag bol, chooken bol, sweet and sour chicken, curried chicken... ummmm any pasta/sauce dish will generally heat well. most stuff, as long as high in moisture, will reheat well from freezing.

we make a mean chicken vegie/pasta bake - lotsa veg, chicken, white/cheese sauce. doesn't have to be baked, can be frozen as is and reheated - tastes awesome - if it's baked, it's just a little yummier. had it without baking last night - tonight i'm baking it. droool!

We freeze this Moroccan fish stew, by Bill Grainger - it is light and yummy. Sometimes I just freeze the base and add the fish on the day or freeze the whole lot.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 cinnamon stick
pinch of cayenne pepper
400g tin chopped tomatoes
pinch of sea salt
500g firm white fish fillets (such as cod, snapper or ling), cut into chunks
400 g (14 oz) tin chickpeas, rinsed
2 teaspoons honey
freshly ground black pepper

To serve
fresh coriander leaves
flaked almonds, lightly toasted


Serving Suggestion:
Serve garnished with coriander and flaked almonds

Method:
Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-based pan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic, ginger, cumin, turmeric and cinnamon and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes more, or until fragrant.

Add the cayenne, tomatoes, salt and 250 ml (1 cup) of water and cook, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes.

Add the fish and simmer for 5 minutes, or until the fish is just tender. Add the chickpeas and honey and cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Season to taste.

HTH.

fish curry - you can look up goan fish curry or do this quick one i do when i dont have time to do the whole shebang...

cut up some firm white fish (ling or snapper is great)
toss in garam masala and turmeric
cut up a white oniona nd some garlic, fry in a little olive oil with some sea salt until soft. add fish and spices
add some more indian spices such as curry leaves, mustard seeds, cardamon, cloves (whatever you have) and some cut up red chillis (to taste)
pout in a tin of lite coconut creama nd some tamarind paste - bring to simmer...
simmer about 10-15 mins until fish cooked through - may want to add more spices depending on taste
add some spinach or bok choy leaves and cover - simmer 5 mins and wilt greens
serve with rice
i sometimes also chop up some corriander and sprinkle on top.
delicious (kids also love this)

I also make a fish and preserved lemon tagine which freezes well.

you can freeze portions of the curry with rice and the tagine with cous cous

Thanks for the replies I will def try those fish recipes and I had never thought of freezing pasta bake cheers BG

I want to start making DH's lunches in batches and freezing them (hes more of a meal person than a sandwich person) I dont mind making his lunches as i love cooking. They have fridges and microwaves at his work which is a new thing for us we are used to having to find lunches that are ok to sit in a warm truck all day.
So does anyone have any suggestions on what i can make fairly cheaply in bulk for DH's lunchs
TIA

Pasta sauce
Macaroni Cheese
Lasagna (but I guess that can get expensive)
Curried Sausages
Chicken Casserole
Beef Casserole
Soups
Fried Rice
Risottos
Quiche
These are some meals I make & freeze for our dinner.
If you get a vac sealer & freeze in portions the meals will last for months.

I can't believe not many replies for this.....

Well potato and couscous do not freeze well as sides, but potato is ok in casseroles for some reason. Rice and pasta freeze and thaw well. Gravy won't do the freeze/thaw process either.

Theres' heaps we do

stirfries
apricot chicken
savoury mince
bolognese
curries
rissoles
meatballs in sauce with spaghetti
stoganoff
salmon/tuna mornay...


Just depends on what he likes.
Get him to make a list.

MrsS,
Go to the Taste website and search "freezer friendly", there are over 400 recipes to get you started :)

we tend to look at what you can have in a sauce/gravy sort of base and use that - it generally freezes and reheats well... we do things like cottage/shepherds pie, pasta (with any number of sauces), vegie bakes etc... basically anything we can make in a saucy base we'll freeze. we mix rice into the meal rather than having it seperate - it seems to reheat better (IMO)

thanks heaps! for some reason (dont know why!) i thought you werent allowed to freeze pastas and rices etc and that the sauces would go funny if creamy

excess tomato and zucchini (for a start) - the weather here has the plants going insane! we're averaging about a kilo a day of tomato and heaps to go (dropped tomatos have self seeded and newplants coming on!). and the zucchinis are just insane! there is at least 5kg of lrge zuc's to pic, and the plants have a huge number of flowers still!

we dont want to waste any of it obviously, and have already given away zuc's to everyone we can think of - so, spam me with suggestions for freezable recipes... would love some tried and tested spag bol sauces etc if you have them


TIA
BG

ooh, also uses for excess snow peas (the bubba is eating them flat out but we can't keep up with the plants)... beans are going to get blanched and frozen...

I've just dug out my 'bible' for you again LOL. I hope you have loads of jars...

Tomato Paste
Makes 9 x 250ml jars

8 litres peeled, cored and chopped tomatos (about 4 dozen large tomatoes)
1 1/2 cups chopped sweet red peppers (about 3)
2 bay leaves
1tsp salt
1 clove garlic whole (if desired)

Hot Pack: Combine first 4 ingredients and cook slowly for 1hr. Remove bay leaves and press through a fine seive and return bay leaves to mix and add garlic clove if desired. Continue cooking slowly until thick enough to round up on a spoon, about 2 1/2 hours. Stir frequently to prevent sticking. Remove garlic and bayleaves. Our boiling hot paste into hot 250ml jars levaing a 7mm head space. Remove air bubbles, wipe jar rims, adjust lids and process in boiling water bath for 45 minutes (250ml jars)

Zucchini relish
Makes 4-5 x 500ml jars

4 cups finely chopped zucchini
3 cups finely chopped carrots
4 1/2 cups finely chopped onions
1 1/2 cups finely chopped green pepper
2-4tsp salt (or to taste)
2 1/4 cups vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp celery seed
3/4 tsp dry mustard

Combine all ingredients i na large saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook 20 minutes or until all vegetables are tender but still crisp. Pat hot relish into hot clean jars leaving 13mm head space, remove air bubbles, wipe rims adjust lids and process in boiling water bath for 20 minutes (500ml jars)

Mixed vegetable leather (like fruit leathers)

2 cups chopped cored tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped celery
1 small onion, chopped
salt to taste

cook over low heat in a covered saucepan 15-20 minutes. Puree and then cook till thickened. Spread on a tray covered with plastic wrap and dry at 60degrees.

Freezing Zucchini
Choose young vegetables with tender skin. Wash and cut into 13mm thick slices. Water blache 3 minutes, cool promptly, drain and pack leaving 13mm head space, seal and freeze (I just used snaplock bags and made sure I got all the extra air out.

I have a few more different recipes if you want them. We had a bumper crop of zucchini too this year and we only had two plants! We found it best to pick them when they were only about 3/4 inch in diameter as we used them quicker. A few grew really large really quick after we had rain so I made a meat and vegetable stuffing for those ones and baked them.

Oh and you can freeze the snow peas too - do the same as for beans.

i think i'm going to go and harvest all the zuc's - there are a few bumper ones out there that we'll have to use up at hte moment, then we'll try keeping on top of picking and blanching them for freezing.

don't have any jars, so everything will have to go into containers for freezing - will that stuff freeze ok? we have a spare freezer and a heap of containers, just no jars (was on the "to get organised" list before DH lost his job - and then fell by the wayside)

I don't see why it can't be frozen, because its just a sauce really, not a lot different to if you were making a straight sauce for spaghetti

i think tomorrow we might have a bit of a cook up

we have friends going away next week for a couple of weeks who want us to use their tomatos too! oops!

Zucchini Slice/pies??
Not sure if you can freeze them though? I can't see why you can't.

I was also going to suggest Zucchini Slice, or savory muffins. Muffins freeze well, not sure about the slice and it never lasts long enough around here to freeze :)

We also have heaps of Zucchini at the moment, so as well as slice I have also been making a puree and freezing in small serves for bubs. I have also made a few recipes off the taste website, and health food guide website.

With tomatos I have been blanching, peeling and roughly chopping them and then freezing in containers to add to pasta sauce / casseroles.

Now I just need to work out what do with all my excess passionfruit!! :lol:

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Now I just need to work out what do with all my excess passionfruit!! :lol:

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Passionfruit cheesecake keeps well ;)