Freezer Tips

A few tips:

• #1 tip (thank you, Jennifer) - freeze your meat like a flat donut - with a big hole in the middle.  You'll be amazed at how fast it thaws.  Big lumps of food take a long time to thaw. (This is in a small baggie because **horrors!** I used my last big bag!  You get the point though.)

• Label your meals, including the date.
• Rotate your freezer meals. New goes on the bottom of the stack or back of the freezer and older gets moved up
• Don't place your hot food directly in the freezer. Let it cool slightly, at least 30-45 minutes on the kitchen counter
• If you are adding your meal from the freezer to the oven, you will need to increase the cooking time
• If you are using potatoes combine with a liquid or moist ingredient. Potatoes don't always work well in freezer meals
• If you are including rice or noodles in a freezer meal, leave them out and add before cooking. Or under cook them slightly and make sure they're included in a sauce before freezin
• Include frozen vegetables, bread rolls, loaves of bread or dough for side dishes to your freezer recipes

Why use freezer meals?

• Saving money on your food budget. It will cut back on those last minute don't know what to eat so let's go out to eat moments.
• Healthier than choosing fast food.
• Time-saver
• How about all those tempting (expensive) convenience products available? I'm thinking of marinated prepackaged meat or chopped shredded chicken. It is so easy to buy several pounds of meat and separate it into smaller portions yourself. You can add seasoning of your own place in a baggie, seal and freeze. Voila, you have your own convenience foods at a minimal price.
• Options.  Ever have those nights where you are crazy enough to please people that you would willingly make 4 different meals just to get some peace (or to get an almost 3 year old to just eat SOMETHING!?)?  I can get lucky and have frozen homemade chicken nuggets for one, chicken enchilladas for another, pancakes for another - in a flash.  I'm sure I'm the only one that's tempted to make multiple meals on grumpy nights, right?