Make and Freeze Recipes: Great Foods You Can Cook, Freeze, and Use Quickly and Easily (Eat Better For Less Guides) (2 page)

 

 

If this sounds like a great way to feed your family and save time
and money as well, then let's begin with the best ways to make the
most out of this guide.

 

 

Then we will start you off with some recipes for items that are
standards you can use in your pantry any time. They will taste
wonderful and be healthy for you because they will all be made right
in your own home from the freshest ingredients, and then stored in
the freezer in batches to keep them until you need to use them.

 

 

A note to the health conscious:

 

 

We believe in cooking fresh, healthy recipes. The recipes will be
similar to many items you might buy in the supermarket freezer
section, but they will not taste the same for a number of reasons.

 

 

The first is that there will be no artificial coloring, flavoring,
sweeteners or preservatives, just fresh ingredients.

 

 

The second will be that there will be little to no sodium, salt, in
these recipes, unless you add it yourself. As Mara always says, it
is easy for people to sprinkle more salt on their own food if they
think they need it, but impossible to take it out if you have added
too much.

 

 

Salt serves as a seasoning but also a preservative. If you have ever
purchased any low-sodium turkey cold cuts or cheese you might have
noticed that it will spoil a lot faster than the ordinary kind.

 

 

A diet high in sodium has been linked to high blood pressure, stroke
and cardiovascular issues.  High blood pressure is commonly
referred to as the 'silent killer' for a reason. That is why you
will not find canned soup and other popular convenience foods in
this guide, or recipes full of short cuts using too many 'instant'
foods.

 

 

As every family is different, we have offered broad suggestions for
your own staples, such as pasta sauce and salsa, rather than rigid
recipes.

 

 

If you are fortunate enough to have your own garden, you can make
the most of whatever crops are growing on it, such as tomatoes fresh
from the vine. Otherwise, try to get to your local farmer's market
once a week for fresh produce that has not had to travel hundreds of
miles to get to you and will be much less likely to be treated
heavily with pesticides.

 

 

A growing body of research points to pesticides and artificial
ingredients as being a leading contributor to ADHD in children.

 

 

We are what we eat. One-dish meals like soups and stews give you all
the nutrients of each of the foods cooked right in, with nothing
going to waste.

 

 

Cooking completely from scratch can take more time, but if you are
already at home anyway, set a pot on to simmer with your own
homemade sauce or soup. If you might forget about it because you are
in another part of your home, invest in an inexpensive timer so
nothing gets burned.

 

 

Try to avoid salt and experiment with other seasonings. You will be
surprised at how flavorful your meals can be and how a few simple
variations can give a dish a completely new taste your family will
also love.

 

 

A note to parents cooking for a family:

 

 

These recipes usually feed four adults. You can freeze the recipes
as a single unit or you can portion them out into one, two or more
serving sizes depending on how many people you regularly need to
serve for dinner and how old they are.

 

 

A note to single people:

 

 

These recipes usually feed four adults. You will get even more meals
out of them if you serve them with salad, vegetables and other side
dishes as well.  Since many people do not enjoy ‘leftovers’,
that is, eating the same meal twice in a row (or more), you will
most likely want to divide these recipes into appropriate serving
sizes for your appetite and your willingness to add the side dishes.
You might therefore end up with four portions, or as many as six or
even eight portions. 

 

 

Make two or three recipes on your cooking day, divide into portions
and then freeze. Eat them in rotation along with any other recipes
you might make or items you might buy. This will be far cheaper than
any TV dinners from the supermarket freezer and better for you than
any of the so-called healthy choices because you will know exactly
what you have put into it and will not need to worry about too much
sodium, preservatives and so on.

 

 

Another alternative is to cook the recipe as is, eat one and freeze
the rest. You can also cut the recipes in half.  Then eat one
portion and freeze the rest.   Having said that, we
recommend you try the recipes as is so that you can have a clear
idea of what they are supposed to look and taste like.  We love
to be creative in the kitchen, but using the original recipe as a
benchmark to measure its success or failure as a great dinner dish
is important. It can save you many problems and also wasted food.

 

 

Just remember to label everything in your freezer with the date you
cooked it. Don’t forget to let everything cool thoroughly to room
temperature so that you do not get condensation in the
container.  Otherwise, you will end up with a watery meal, or
freezer burn once it goes in the freezer. (More about freezer burn
later in this guide.)

 

 

In this guide, we have aimed for standard family favorites rather
than anything very exotic. These recipes should satisfy even the
fussiest of eater. We have also aimed for frugal recipes, with the
odd luxury item here and there to break up the monotony each month.
With nearly 40 recipes in this guide, including staples and
variations, you should be able to eat well for many weeks by packing
your freezer full.

 

 

 

GETTING STARTED WITH THIS FREEZER RECIPE GUIDE

 

 

Before you get started with your freezer cooking in earnest, here
are a couple of hints and tips to save time and money. Start out
with an array of containers in different sizes. Look at what you
already have on hand in terms of freezer containers with
tight-fitting lids (as opposed to take-away containers you might
have accumulated, which might not be sturdy enough for freezer use).
Gather them all together, and match lids to containers. Make sure
everything is clean and ready for use.

 

 

If you are not sure of the capacity of a particular container, find
a large measuring cup that can hold up to four cups. Fill the
container with tap water and then pour the water into the cup. Look
to see the calibration on the measuring cup. Leave about an ounce of
'wiggle room' in your freezer container so that you do not over
fill. Also leave about an inch of space at the top if you want to be
able to heat and eat in the microwave, but be able to stir the food
inside the container every so often to ensure even heating.

 

 

If you do not have a range of square or rectangular containers in
various sizes, consider heading to the supermarket or warehouse
store and buying them in 4 to 8 ounce and also pint sizes. Buy
square ones so that they will stack more easily and not topple over
and break when frozen, as the round ones tend to do. Also consider
differently colored ones so that you can identify the meal at a
glance, red lids or containers for beef, blue for poultry, green for
vegetarian, and so on.

 

 

You can also use colored labels, or ones you can make on the
computer yourself, to help you sort your freezer and plan your meals
efficiently.

 

 

You will also need wax paper, freezer wrap, and freezer bags. The
bags with zippers may be more expensive, but you will find they are
worth it if they keep freezer burn from damaging your food. In most
cases, they will also be re-usable as well, thus saving you time and
money.

 

 

You will want to have a marker that can write on the plastic wrap or
bag, and some stickers for the tubs, as we have stated above, to
identify the food easily and make notes.

 

 

When you make up batches to fill the freezer, write down what each
item is on each bag or container, and the date that you made it. Try
to keep the same items together in the freezer, and stack them
according to the meal, for example, breakfast, lunch, dinner,
desserts. In a large chest freezer, this can be fairly easy, though
you will want to put the stickers on the lids versus on the sides so
that you do not need to dig too much for any particular meal.

 

 

You will also want to keep a running list of what you have on hand
in the freezer, for quick menu planning. Note down how many
containers or portions you have of a particular item, and the date.
Keep this list in a handy place by your freezer. A fridge magnet
will work well for this. Just be sure to update the list each time
you take food out, or add more meals.

 

 

When you use an item from the list, cross it off and either delete
it from the list entirely if it was not a family favorite, or put it
on your to-do list of things to cook.

 

 

We have created a downloadable text file for you that you can use to
help you keep track of all your cooking so you will know what is in
your freezer, and what quantity. This will also help you rotate the
food so that it does not sit unused for too long. Sooner or later,
even frozen food will become stale.

 

 

We hope your family and you will love all of these recipes. In case
they don't, just cross it off the list and pare the list down to
recipes you will use all the time to stock your freezer. You can
also add any of your own favorites to this list, and keep track of
any leftovers that you freeze in order to make sure that nothing
goes to waste when you have taken so much trouble to cook.

 

 

Just go to
http://EternalSpiralBooks.com/freezer-recipes-list

 

and use the password: healthymeals

 

 

In our experience, men in particular hate leftovers. This is not to
say that there is anything wrong with them, but simply that men
don't like to eat the same meal twice in a row.

 

 

You can be really smart with your meal planning and have a roast
chicken dinner one night, and turn it into tacos another night, or
stir fry, but the easiest thing to do might simply to parcel up the
leftovers into your own complete 'TV dinners' that can be heated at
any time.

 

 

Between the recipes in this guide, and your own savvy money-saving
ideas, you can probably manage to cook a whole week's worth of menus
at the weekend, or on one focused and dedicated cooking night of the
week.

 

 

On the other hand, some of these recipes are so tempting, you will
probably want to double the batch and eat some now, and freeze the
rest for another meal in a week or two.

 

 

One final advantage to these recipes is that you can heat and eat
most of them in a matter of minutes, even in the summer. There is no
need to cook over a hot stove in the sweltering heat if you stock up
your freezer before the summer heat wave hits. (This is also a great
reason to try crock pot cooking: you might want to see our two
guides on this subject, for even more hearty meals you can eat, and
more leftovers to fill your freezer so that you will have a
well-stocked kitchen for any occasion, even unexpected guests for
dinner.)

 

 

In the winter, you can have a hearty meal on the table in a matter
of minutes with most of these meals. This will be a real advantage
as you get ready for the holidays and have the children home from
school, when you will need to feed them at least three meals a day.

 

 

Having a well-stocked freezer will also be a real bonus if you have
any guests coming to visit or stay with you for the holidays, in
which case you will also need to feed them well for several meals a
day without breaking your budget.

 

 

In addition, if you take the time to stock the freezer before the
holidays, you will not need to worry about running out of things if
the weather is bad. Stock up before the snowfall and enjoy a full
menu of meals any time you need them.

 

 

If you do not already have a chest freezer, just one as part of your
refrigerator, it might be time to consider buying one. There are
many great housewares sales in January and February each year. They
are reasonably priced at any time, but you will certainly want to
jump on any bargains you find.

 

 

Decide on where you will situate your freezer. Even if you have only
a small kitchen in an apartment, consider buying one to use as extra
counter space, with a good solid cutting board you can use on top of
it so you do not damage the finish on the appliance. Measure your
space carefully and check the dimensions of the freezer models in
which you are interested. Don't just think of 'footprint', but the
actual cubic feet.

 

 

If you have ever shopped for a microwave, you will know what we
mean. The actual physical dimensions of the outside of the unit,
versus the inside of the unit can be very different from one another
and not give you as much space for cooking or storage as you wish.

 

 

Therefore, check both the area you have to fill, and how much each
freezer will hold. Avoid ones with a lot of fancy baskets, since
they will often just take up space. One siding basket that goes back
and forth is plenty. You will mostly be stacking your food, or
buying things in bags that can be popped on top. The basket will be
handy for any small items you do not want to have to lift out and
put back in individually every time you need to get to a lower level
of the freezer.