Dinner is in the Freezer
(and so is breakfast)
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Last week I was busy meal prepping for our daughter and younger son who will be dog-sitting for us while we are on vacation. They are both young adults capable of cooking their own meals, but they also both work 12-hour shifts at local area hospitals. So I’m making things a little easier for them by preparing and freezing some dinner items plus a few treats.
Freezer Meals
When I hear “freezer meals” I always think back to the time when I was a young mom with babies and toddlers. I belonged to a wonderful group called Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS).
On meeting days, we dropped off our little ones in the nursery or classroom and then enjoyed a hot breakfast (hot! breakfast!) while listening to an encouraging speaker. Afterward, we’d put together a fun craft or spend time socializing. I loved our meetings and even today I am still friends with some of the people I met in MOPS.
A group of us would get together occasionally and make freezer meals. We’d chop, cook, and assemble in one afternoon. Things like lasagna, chili, meatballs, casseroles, and occasionally jam.
After the assembly line was all said and done, we would each walk away with three of whatever we made that day. One of the meals was dinner that night and the other two went into the freezer for another time. Having a meal or two or five in the deep freeze was a nice dinner insurance policy for those days when I was too exhausted, grumpy, or unmotivated to cook in the evening.
That still holds true today. While I don’t have little ones around anymore, I still get exhausted, grumpy, and unmotivated to cook. So it’s nice to have a ready-made dinner in the freezer that I can pull out when needed.
Let’s talk about what makes a meal freezer-friendly and some tips for freezer success.
Foods to Avoid
Any meal can be frozen. But just because you can doesn’t mean you should. Certain types of dishes do not hold up well to freezing and defrosting. Here are some things to keep in mind.
Cooked pasta. Plain noodles are not friends with the freezer and defrost into a mushy mess. You can freeze your pasta sauce, but cook your noodles just before serving. The exception is small pasta in a saucy casserole which can usually freeze and defrost okay.
Dairy-based sauces and soups. Cream, milk, cream cheese, and cheesy items can curdle and separate after thawing. Defrosted fats in dairy tend to separate from liquid whey leaving you with a weird watery consistency.
Fruits and veggies with a high water content. Wonder why you never see frozen salads? Lettuce, cucumber, cabbage, watermelon, zucchini, and other produce with a high water content turn into gooey glop when frozen and defrosted. During the freezing process, the water in them expands and crystallizes, breaking down their cell walls. They become waterlogged and lose their structure.
So now that we know what to avoid, let’s talk about best freezer practices.
Freezing Tips
There are a few ways of freezing a meal. No one way is better than the other. It all depends on what you’re freezing, how much room you have, and how these meals will be used.
Flash Freezing
This is great for larger meals that need to hold their shape. Things like lasagna, enchiladas, and casseroles are examples.
Line a pan with foil, leaving a generous overhang. Assemble the meal in the pan.
Place the uncooked or cooked item (still in its pan) into the freezer until it is frozen solid.
Now you can lift the foil to remove it from the pan and place the whole shebang into a Ziploc freezer bag. Date and label the bag with a Sharpie. Include baking temp and time, if required.
To serve, move the meal to the fridge to thaw the night before serving. Place it back into the original pan to bake and serve.
Freezer Bag
If your dish does not need to hold its shape, use a Ziploc freezer bag! Things like chili, meatballs, sauces, soups, stews, and shredded cooked meats are examples. Goodies like cookie dough and muffins are also good candidates.
Allow the dish to cool slightly, then tip into a freezer bag. Date and label the bag.
Seal and lay flat in the freezer. I find a baking dish or cookie sheet is best for this. Freezing these things flat will allow you to stack several meals in a small space. It also makes defrosting much quicker.
To serve, move the bag to the fridge to thaw the night before serving. If you forget to do this (yes, I do too), placing the bag in a baking dish of warm water for 20 minutes will speed up the thawing process.
Individual Portions
This is for meals that are already cooked and ready to be divvied up into individual portion sizes. This is my go-to this week since my kids work opposite shifts and it is unlikely they will be sitting down together for a meal.
Select an individual-sized container, either glass or plastic with a lid. Place one portion in the container and seal with the lid. Date and label with a Sharpie. Stack in the freezer.
To serve, move the container to the fridge to thaw the night before eating. To avoid reheating in plastic, pop the meal out of the container and place it in a bowl or dish to reheat in the microwave.
How long do freezer meals keep in the freezer? I like to use up what I’ve frozen within six months. After that, flavor and texture are compromised and you might regret all your hard work.
Here are some things I stocked in my freezer this week.
Recipes
Miso Chicken Meatballs
Yields 15 to 18 meatballs
Total time: 30 minutes
This comes from NYT Cooking and is so easy to make. It’s a nice change from beef or pork meatballs. These are great served over rice with a teriyaki-style sauce or added to packaged ramen.
I did not want to fork over $6.82 per pound for ground chicken so I made my own. I threw 1 chicken breast and 3 small thighs (skinless and boneless of course) into a blender and pulsed it a few seconds. The result is not as pretty as what you get at the supermarket but it’s significantly cheaper (around $2-ish per pound) and I know it’s 100% ground meat from chicken parts that I can identify. You do whatever your budget and effort level allow.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup milk (any kind)
6 Tbsp refrigerated yellow mild miso paste
1 cup crushed Ritz crackers (about 1 sleeve)
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 lbs ground chicken (about 1 breast + 2 or 3 thighs, boneless and skinless)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425F/220C. Generously grease a rimmed baking sheet or line with parchment paper and set aside.
Stir the milk and miso paste together to loosen the paste. Add in the crushed crackers, garlic, and pepper in a bowl. Give it a stir, then add the ground chicken. Lightly mix either with your hands or two forks.
Use a 2-inch cookie scoop or your hands to shape the mixture into meatballs that are 2 inches in diameter. Place on the prepared baking sheet. You should get 18 to 20 meatballs.
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until golden and starting to brown. Serve warm. If freezing, allow the meatballs to cool. Place the meatballs in a single layer in a Ziploc freezer bag. Close the bag and freeze on a flat surface or tray in the freezer.
To serve, allow to thaw overnight and reheat in the microwave for one or two minutes.
Carrot Breakfast Muffins
Yields 12 to 15 muffins
Total time: 40 minutes
These are kind of a cross between carrot cake and oatmeal muffins. Now, the ingredient list is somewhat exhausting with 17 ingredients. But the batter comes together quickly: you just combine all the dry ingredients with all the wet ingredients, then mix. It bakes up plump and moist. The resulting muffins are hearty, filling, and delicious. If you are not a coconut fan, just leave it out. These are great for breakfast or a snack.
Dry Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup dry coconut flakes
Wet Ingredients:
2 cups grated carrots
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon juice
1 cup milk
1/4 cup light olive oil
1/2 cup boiling water
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375F/190C. Move the oven rack to the center slot. Prep a muffin tin by either greasing the wells or lining them with paper cups.
Combine the dry ingredients (flour to coconut flakes) in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, stir together the wet ingredients EXCEPT the boiling water (carrots to oil).
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and tip in the carrot-egg mixture. Give it a few stirs, then pour in the boiling water. Stir everything together until there are no dry pockets of flour remaining. Let the batter sit for 15 minutes for the oats to absorb the liquid.
Spoon the batter evenly into the muffin wells. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
To freeze, allow the muffins to cool completely before placing in a single layer in a Ziploc freezer bag. Seal the bag and store in the freezer for 3 to 6 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before serving.
Tell Me
Do you make freezer meals? If not, what do you like to keep stocked in your freezer (besides ice cream, of course)? I’d love to hear!
If you are enjoying this newsletter, would you share it with a friend who might be interested in it, too? Thanks and see you next Friday!
These are excellent tips! Could’ve used it back 20 years ago. Better late than never 😁