Recipes that Freeze well

[LilyLily]

I'm going to attempt to be better about meal planning this year.  I have looked at tons of websites, but am not finding anything that really seems like it would be good.  What recipes do you have that freeze well?  I have one for lasagna and that's about it.

[Run Amok]

Anything casseroly freezes well. Most soups will freeze well. I also do ingredients that are time consuming like sauces, stocks, and cooked beans.

[nadra24]

I made chicken and black bean enchiladas this week, and that recipe would probably freeze pretty well.  I would wait until baking it to put the cheese on top, but that's just me.

I used this recipe for enchilada sauce, except I used an 8 oz can of tomato sauce instead of the tomato paste and I decreased the water to 1 1/2 cups.  I only made a 9x9 pan of enchiladas and thought it could use more sauce, so I'd double the recipe and use a 9x13 pan. 

Boil 2-3 chicken breasts, shred the meat, and add a can of black beans and some of the enchilada sauce.  You could also add onions, but I forgot them. Mix in some cheese if you want (Kenyan doesn't like it so I don't put it inside the enchiladas)

Spread about 1/2 cup sauce on the bottom of the pan.  I use white corn tortillas and I warm them up in a frying pan or the microwave, because they tear less if they are warm.  I rolled up the enchiladas this time, but next time I'm just going to layer everything like a lasagna:  sauce, tortillas, filling, sauce tortillas, filling.  Top with the rest of the sauce and sprinkle with cheese.  I put it in the fridge for about an hour after I made it, and then pulled it out and baked it at 350 for 25 minutes.  I don't know how long you'd want to bake it from frozen, but everything is already cooked so you just want to make sure it's warmed through.

[LilyLily]

Thanks!  The more the merrier!  Keep them coming!!

[redkitty]

So there are just tons and tons of books about this topic.  Here are a few of my favorites (I originally got them from the library before purchasing.) 

Once-a-Month Cooking...there are plenty of titles under this "brand".  One is "family favorites", another is lighter foods, etc.  I can't remember which one I have (I let my sister borrow my monthly cooking cook books so I don't have them on hand to check out the titles.)

Freezer cooking manual from 30 day gourmet (I like this "series" because they give you recipes on how to cook for different numbers of people...so 2, or 4 or 8, etc.  and once you buy one of their books you can get their password to log-in to their site for free. I also downloaded one of their soup books.  They have a website...I think it is 30day gourmet.) 

Here is an amazon link...since I don't know what kind of food you like it is hard to recommend books.  But what i have learned is that just about anything can be frozen, with a few exceptions...leafy greens are bad, potatoes by themselves are not good (in things they freeze relatively well.)  Pasta can be frozen, but don't keep in the freezer too long or the noodles can go mushy (according to the books anyway, but I have had pasta dishes in the freezer for at least 6 months and the noodles never got mushy.)

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=once+a+month+cooking&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aonce+a+month+cooking

[moroccangirl]

I don't like a lot of casserole type foods, the things that freeze the best.
I make stuffed peppers and they freeze and reheat perfectly.
I got a recipe from pinterest for lasagna rolls and those froze well.

Taco soup freezes well but I dot really like it anymore. I try to do things like season groundbeef and make meatballs and freeze them, or wash chicken and freeze it in ziplocks so it's ready to go when it thaws out, I don't have to do anything else but cook it.

I froze some chicken noodle soup, minus the noodles, and figured I'd add the noodles when I reheated it. The bag is still in my freezer. I haven't used it yet so I don't know how that will be. DH is not terribly picky, but there is something about certain frozen foods he does not like. And it's not consistent. It just depends on his mood, it seems like.

[Dagstag v 2.0]

Chili
Other soups/stews

[Run Amok]

You can also season/marinate chicken and freeze it (raw) that way.

[debbatx]

So, any tips on reheating? I'd love to freeze more stuff, and will have to, come May, but I never know how to reheat anything correctly. That's the wall I run into.

[Run Amok]

What kinds of issues are you running into? I find that reheating on a lower heat makes a world of difference in most cases. It takes a lot longer though. I tend to so 50% power for 6-8 minutes (and sometimes you have to do twice) rather than full power for 2-3. Soup is fine at higher power, but almost everything else seems to benefit from slower heating, stirring if possible, and then some time to rest.

[Run Amok]

...and if you mean reaheat in the oven- I'm not really a fan of "freezer to oven". I find that a full-sized casserole does much better if you let it thaw before you cook it. Otherwise, it takes forever, isnt' cooked evenly, etc.

But, I shouldn't even participate in these threads. I love the *idea* of freezer cooking but the execution of it always throws me off. One issue for me is that most of what freezes well does not fit in with my idea of "healthy eating"- because my plate is usually 90% lightly cooked fresh veggies. If I do make a casserole type thingy- I find the bake up MUCH faster (like 15-20 minutes) if you assemble them fresh and with warm ingredients. Otherwise, starting from cold- you're waiting 45mins-hour anyway. 

So, the things that I tend to freeze are single portions of leftovers from dinner, single portions of soup, and ingredients that take a long time to cook (like stock, beans, a little bit of lefotver sauce, etc).

I know it doesn't appeal to everyone's sense of "dinner is served" but we kinda like the single servings for quick meals. Everyone can just grab what sounds good, reheat, and sit down to dinner.

[moroccangirl]

So, any tips on reheating? I'd love to freeze more stuff, and will have to, come May, but I never know how to reheat anything correctly. That's the wall I run into.

I really only freeze foods that can be easily reheated in the oven. DH hates the microwave and I don't care for frozen food reheated in the microwave. The stuffed peppers I make, I take them straight out of the freezer and put them in the oven. It takes about 30 minutes longer to cook. If I remember I take them out of the freezer in the morning and let them thaw out in the fridge.

[debbatx]

It's that the stuff I make either reheats unevenly, or I don't know how long I'm supposed to heat it - if I make a casserole, for example, I usually do everything but the final bake. So... do I do the final bake for the normal time? How far ahead should I take it out of the freezer? Should I do that at all?

I don't know shit, clearly.

[moroccangirl]

It's that the stuff I make either reheats unevenly, or I don't know how long I'm supposed to heat it - if I make a casserole, for example, I usually do everything but the final bake. So... do I do the final bake for the normal time? How far ahead should I take it out of the freezer? Should I do that at all?

I don't know shit, clearly.

You could take it out in the morning and put it in the fridge. I'd bake it at whatever the recipe says, but just check after it's done and add more time in maybe 10 or 15 minute intervals.

[LilyLily]

...and if you mean reaheat in the oven- I'm not really a fan of "freezer to oven". I find that a full-sized casserole does much better if you let it thaw before you cook it. Otherwise, it takes forever, isnt' cooked evenly, etc.

But, I shouldn't even participate in these threads. I love the *idea* of freezer cooking but the execution of it always throws me off. One issue for me is that most of what freezes well does not fit in with my idea of "healthy eating"- because my plate is usually 90% lightly cooked fresh veggies. If I do make a casserole type thingy- I find the bake up MUCH faster (like 15-20 minutes) if you assemble them fresh and with warm ingredients. Otherwise, starting from cold- you're waiting 45mins-hour anyway. 

So, the things that I tend to freeze are single portions of leftovers from dinner, single portions of soup, and ingredients that take a long time to cook (like stock, beans, a little bit of lefotver sauce, etc).

I know it doesn't appeal to everyone's sense of "dinner is served" but we kinda like the single servings for quick meals. Everyone can just grab what sounds good, reheat, and sit down to dinner.

This is me too.  I'm all for comfort foods, but I was hoping to find healthier recipes and it hasn't been very successful.  So, I found a couple things I can freeze.  I'm now on to searching for meals that are 30 minutes or less to prepare and figuring out what prep needs to be done so that can be done in advance.