what are some pre-make and then freeze foods that actually taste good and are SUPER fast?

[Anonymous]

I really love the idea of pre making your own food and then freezing it. I spend way too much money on takeout and restaurants and am incredibly pressed for time each night. I also think frozen foods from the grocery store are pretty disgusting. My problem:

1. Most of the food I've actually pre-made myself and then frozen - it's kind of ehh. I have to actually enjoy this food or it's just going to sit in my freezer and get freezer burn.

2. I tried Let's Dish and while I DID enjoy the food, it was too work intensive. I need something I can literally just open up, stick on a baking dish or cookie sheet, and put in the oven. Maybe I picked the wrong Let's Dish options but they definitely did take prep time in addition to cooking - like breading the chicken, that kind of thing.

I was starting to think there were no options until I tried this recipe which I LOVE. I froze a ton of it and then had food readily available, and it actually tasted great. I could do a couple for a snack or more for a meal.

http://www.spiceandsass.com/2010/12/earning-your-antlers.html

Any other recipes like this? Just something so easy that still tastes good?

[Anonymous]

How about burritos? Pretty simple and you can make it any way you want.

[Anonymous]

A lot of soups freeze well, though not if they are strongly potato-based - they don't mix back in right. Bean soups and mushroom soups work great.

[Anonymous]

quiche freezes well.

macaroni and cheese casseroles of any variation would work.

It's hard to freeze meat that is already cooked and ready to be heated and served. I mean, it is easy to do it, but it won't taste as good or have a great texture. That's why Let's Dish has you prep it but do the actual cooking later.

[Anonymous]

Chili -- make a double batch of chili and then eat it for one meal and freeze the rest for another meal

[Anonymous]

None.

I have tried freezing my own meals - blah - we end up ordering pizza.

Tried Let's Dish - way, way too much time.

[Anonymous]

Spaghetti sauce with homemade meatballs (frozen in the sauce). They freeze well and are simple to heat up and dump over spaghetti. The meatballs are a bit of a production but I enjoy it if have the time, and make a big batch to freeze. The meatball recipe is on my other computer; I'll try to post it later.

Chicken pot pies freeze well and are delish.

[Anonymous]

If you google 'dump chicken' you will find various websites with recipes where you basically dump a bunch of ingredients into a ziploc bag, put in some raw chicken, shake it up, then freeze as is. When you want to eat it, you just have to defrost (throw in the fridge in the AM) and cook - usually bake or grill.

I have also found that it's not so much the dish as how you freeze it. Some things have to be frozen halfway through the baking time, then you defrost and bake the rest of the way, for example. Most of the things you can google for specific instructions. I have done it with bread and casserole-type things.

[Anonymous]

i think this site was made for you:

http://onceamonthmom.com

[Anonymous]

If your food is getting freezer burn, how are you wrapping it? If I'm making, say, a lasagna to freeze, I bake the lasagna then let it sit overnight in the fridge. The next morning, I cut it into servings and wrap each one individually in plastic wrap. I then put the wrapped servings into a ziploc bag.

Other things I freeze: other kinds of pasta casseroles, e.g. mac n cheese; chili; stew of any kind; curry; slow-cooked meats (e.g. braised pork); cooked greens; cooked corn (I freeze a bunch of corn in the summer & then add it to soup/salad in the winter); pizza dough; pizza sauce; pasta sauce ...

[Anonymous]

Dream dinners has a post on here, I use them all the time and they have a made for you option where they assemble the meals you choose, then you just pick them up.

[Anonymous]

I like to make a huge batch of gumbo (I cheat and use the Zatarain's or other brand mixes - sue me) with fresh okra and frozen shrimp. Whatever's left over, I freeze in individual soup ziploc containers... Then I pull it out and microwave it for future lunches. Chicken soup also freezes and defrosts well.