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sempi2 · 08-06-2010, 10:01 PM

Looking for ideas for batch/freezing cooking.
I have several recipes that are suitable to freezing, but would like some more.
Some of my go to's: lasagna, enchilladas, meatloaf, strada, chili, stews etc.
We are retiring at the end of the year and am thinking that I should fill up the freezer with my own "tv dinners" to have ready for our "hopefully" spure of the moment trips.
In addition to meal ideas, recipes would be fun also. Susan

3 Dog Nite · 08-07-2010, 06:43 AM

Spur of the moment trips are great. How long can you keep frozen foods before fear of freezer burn? I love the idea though. In my younger single days I would do the same thing. Cook a larger meal & freeze the divided leftovers up into single servings for later.

No need to plan ahead for spur of the moment trips. I used to keep a set of dishes, clothes, & other necessities in my old popup. This way all you have to do is ceck TT for safety, hook up & go. If trying to beat evening rush hour traffic, buy groceries once out of town & traffic has died down. When the trip is over, give the TT agood cleaning, restock the nonperishable items, do the laundry & return clothes & bedding to TT. Dryer sheets in with clothing & bedding helps to keep them fresh for up to a month. Basinga, you're ready for the next spur minus food.

Ricky

Journalist · 08-07-2010, 10:08 AM

I bought a FoodSaver vacuum sealer just for that purpose. Makes the tiny freezer in the Airstream a little easier to deal with.
One of my favorites is to freeze homemade spaghetti sauce and carry a box of dried spaghetti in the cupboard. Easy to finish on the road. Any pasta/sauce combination lends itself to freezing fairly well.
I also pre-season anything that I plan to grill on a trip and freeze it. Saves a lot of time, and it keeps me from having to carry a whole layout of seasonings with me.
My wife will make meatloaf, pot roast, and whole layout of traditional comfort foods in advance and freeze portions of them.

4hartungs · 08-07-2010, 10:15 AM

You didn't mention dessert - a must after any good dinner! I have found that vacuum sealing individual pieces of pecan pie will prevent you from eating the whole pie. Also, a good sturdy cookie (like Monster cookies) will seal up well, freeze well and taste fresh after defrosting without fear of freezer burn or crumbling in a small packed freezer. Yum-O!!

sempi2 · 08-07-2010, 12:56 PM

4hartungs, Thanks for the dessert reminder. I do vacuum seal all the things I put in the freezer. A fruit cobbler might fill the bill.

Sav'h Steve · 08-07-2010, 01:58 PM

Susan,

We bake two lbs of bacon in the oven at home and freeze. I prefer to cut the pieces in half because they fit better in qt size ziplocs easier ('bout 10 pieces per). We throw a bag or two in the A/S when leaving.

We also cook thick hearty soups and do the same. One qt bag holds enough for both of us for a lunch or dinner. Recon everybody does this.

We haven't bought a vacuum sealer yet. You can get most of the air out of the ziplocs before sealing when doing liquids.

What are the advantages you see of using a FoodSaver?

Steve

sempi2 · 08-07-2010, 02:18 PM

What are the advantages you see of using a FoodSaver?

Steve

With vacuum sealing you don't get freezer burn like you can with ziplocks. I tend to "loose" things in the freezer, so when I finally do find something, it will still be fresh.
Susan

Journalist · 08-16-2010, 05:15 AM

There are lots of advantages to vacuum sealing.
The ability to keep some things in the fridge without them drying out, especially meats and cooked pastas.
Splitting up bulk items into manageable portions.
Almost complete elimination of freezer burn.
Keeps coffee so fresh that archeologists will someday dig up your Airstream and brew themselves a cup of java right there at the dig site.
It turns soft dry goods like sugar into nice little bricks that are moisture proof and easy to organize.
The storage bin in my ATV is a good example of non-food related uses. I keep a clean hand towel, first aid supplies, matches, and other odds and ends all vacuum sealed. I even seal up my iphone (without the vacuum) to protect it. After a couple of really deep water crossings, I've opened up the bin to find all of it's contents floating in several inches of water completely unharmed

sempi2 · 01-26-2011, 08:52 PM

Just finished my day. We had a ham last weekend and I just made a huge pot of beans, split pea soup and navy bean soup. I am packaging them in smaller packages and am freezing. Will be great for the upcoming camping season. Soup and sandwiches on the lunch menu.
Also before I have my double knee replacement, I made several meals of stuffed jumbo pasta shells, enchilladas, pork and potato meal, meatloaf and beef and broccoli casserole. Have used some in my recovery, but """hee hee" have several left for our travels.
Next week will make a triple batch of spagetti sauce and meatballs. Then lasagna. Freezer if working overtime.

Lily&Me · 01-27-2011, 06:40 AM

We have a Seal-a-Meal from years ago, and still use it for meal-size leftovers of all kinds. We start every trip with a meal or two defrosting in the RV frig, to be just heated up in the microwave in those first few days on the road.

Almost anything can be frozen and will last a very long time in a chest freezer. Those that automatically defrost don't hold anything very long.

What we especiallly like with the bags is that there are no plastic containers to wash and store, also that they lay flat and stack in the freezer.

Maggie

sempi2 · 03-10-2011, 09:47 PM

Found a turkey for $15.00 - 13#. Not as good as around Thanksgiving. But we had turkey and dressing dinner. Turkey sandwiches, more left over turkey and dressing dinners. Tonight I finished up more of the left over turkey and made dinner for tonight - turkey casserole - and now have 5 more pans in the freezer. Will finish up tomorrow with one last turkey and dressing dinner, plus turkey sandwiches.

Lily&Me · 03-11-2011, 06:55 AM

And soup! Don't forget turkey noodle soup!

Simmer the carcass with carrot, celery and onion, strain and defat the broth. Remove all bits of meat and return to the broth, discard the rest. Slice carrots & celery, chop onion, add frozen corn--cook til done, add good, firm noodles such as Kluski or frozen egg noodles and some chopped, fresh parsley. Enjoy!

You can use the same method with leftover roast chicken. A very inexpensive, delicious and nutritious meal, and good noodles will freeze well.

Maggie

sempi2 · 03-11-2011, 12:23 PM

Maggie I usually make soup as you suggest. But since we are leaving tomorrow, I was running out of town. Although simmering doesn't require too much attention. Wanted to get the carcus into the garbage before we left, so soup lost out this go around. Susan

sempi2 · 05-27-2011, 09:40 PM

On our last trip, to Montana, we knew it might not be BBQ time yet, so I took a few of my premade frozen meals. Worked out really great. Plus we learned how to light our oven in record speed. Was so thrilled with the results that I have been restocking the freezer with more meals. the past couple weeks, made spagetti sauce, lasagna, beef and chicken enchiladas. More beans and navy bean soup. Also some chicken and ww orzo soup. Still have a few meatloaves in the freezer. What has been great about this batch cooking is that on nights when I really don't feel like cooking, just take out something already made, bake and add a salad. Tomorrow I am making twice baked potatoes (bacon, sour cream, cheese & more cheese, green onions, and butter - not diet food, but really good none the less).

Lily&Me · 05-28-2011, 04:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sempi2

On our last trip, to Montana, we knew it might not be BBQ time yet, so I took a few of my premade frozen meals. Worked out really great. Plus we learned how to light our oven in record speed. Was so thrilled with the results that I have been restocking the freezer with more meals. the past couple weeks, made spagetti sauce, lasagna, beef and chicken enchiladas. More beans and navy bean soup. Also some chicken and ww orzo soup. Still have a few meatloaves in the freezer. What has been great about this batch cooking is that on nights when I really don't feel like cooking, just take out something already made, bake and add a salad. Tomorrow I am making twice baked potatoes (bacon, sour cream, cheese & more cheese, green onions, and butter - not diet food, but really good none the less).

Twice-baked potatoes are almost a meal unto themselves---add a good salad or vegetable and dinner is served.

We are doing pulled pork in the crockpot this weekend, to divide into seal-a-meal bags and freeze. One of hubbie's favorite foods.

Maggie

sempi2 · 06-03-2011, 11:25 PM

maggie, would you be willing to share your pulled pork recipe? I only have done pork tenderloin - breaded amd fried - very healthful I might add. Chops etc, but never really did a pulled prk - which I assume you are using a pork butt. Also after you have cooked it how do you serve it? Thanks, Susan

sempi2 · 06-03-2011, 11:42 PM

I have been doing a lot of batch cooking lately. What I have found to be very helpful for me (since I still have a issue with standing for a long time after my bilateral knee replacement) I do all the shopping one day, prep the following day and actually put all the meals together the next day. Makes it a little longer process, but for me it works really well. Then we have several meals in the freezer. My problem now =- I have no more room in the freezer and have a ton more ideas for new mealsl.
Also I have found that our local dollar store has a great assortment of trays and bowls (aluminun_) great for freezing and throwing away after heating.

Mexray · 06-04-2011, 12:04 AM

We've used the FoodSaver for years...

We seal up batches of home made chili, stew, soup, etc in bags with enough for two servings - pre-freeze at home - when this kind of food is sealed, the bag will be quite 'flat' - we use the larger bag size...these will stack easy in the freezer, and also will thaw quicker due to the 'thin' size...

We also seal up dry products such as instant potatoes, and then write the add'l ingredients req'd on the bag with a felt pen...you can also make up several bags of flour (or corn meal) and seasonings to dust your fresh caught Trout, etc...

Our local market makes GREAT BBQ ribs (we wait for their sales) - then cut them up in 4-rib pieces and seal two per bag and freeze - they last for months and stow easily...

A few steaks, hamburger and hot dogs also seal up well when they're on sale, then frozen for later - when camping, we usually put a few frozen steaks right into the ice chest and use them for the 2nd or 3rd day's meal when they'll them be thawed out...

We buy our French Roast coffee beans in bulk, and we bag them up in 1/2 pound bags - then grind em' as we need em' at home or on the road...

I even bag up some our spare parts to keep them clean, dry and organized - usually only the parts I consider as necessary, but not needed often...

The FoodSaver is a great kitchen gadget to have around...they have sales on their stuff all the time on their web site...

sempi2 · 06-04-2011, 09:56 PM

Got a good buy on a Black Forest ham. 4# for $9.99. Used the meat slicer and got several packages of ham sliced for sandwiches. A few more to add to scrambled eggs, omelets and a quiche. Also some ham steaks for dinner, just add scalloped potatoes a veggie and some salad.
Vacuumed sealed and they will last for quite sometime.

meredith · 06-23-2011, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sempi2

maggie, would you be willing to share your pulled pork recipe? I only have done pork tenderloin - breaded amd fried - very healthful I might add. Chops etc, but never really did a pulled prk - which I assume you are using a pork butt. Also after you have cooked it how do you serve it? Thanks, Susan

Susan,
I hope I can help you. We make pulled pork all the time. I see that you live in Oregon and you can shop at Winco. I buy pork shoulder or butt, they are pretty darn cheap there. I buy one with lots of skin and fat on them because this has lots of flavor. They are about $12 for one.
Put it in your crockpot with the skin side up and quarter an onion and put it on top. I then put about 1 cup of water in just so it won't burn before the juices start flowing. I let it cook a couple of hours. You will know when it's done because it will fall apart. After it's done I take it out of the pot and pull all the skin, fat, and bone off and throw that away. I save the broth for soup like bean with bacon. I don't know how many people you are servering but it serves my family of 6 (4 teen boys) one meal. They eat at least two sandwiches each and then there might be a little left over.
So if you only have a few to serve here are a couple of ideas to use for pork.
1. Pulled pork- put into pan and use Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce (mix till warm)and serve with cole slaw over the top of pork between toasted buns.
2. Any Mexican dish, enchildas, burittos ect. All can be prepared before hand and frozen.
3. Thai soup
I hope this helps you a bit.
Meredith