I can't do much, but I can help cook! Best recipes for freezing, please!
November 22, 2013 6:48 AM Subscribe
Going home unexpectedly for a week this December because of a sick parent. Aside from being there for moral support, I would like to help make food for future meals. Snowflakes within.
So as stated, I'll be headed to SC for a week in early December because my dad--who has the double whammy of Parkinson's and congestive heart failure--isn't doing so great. My mom is the primary caregiver and frankly, she's exhausted with doing that as well as occasionally babysitting my two young nieces.
I feel helpless in that respect but I do love to cook and I would LOVE to make some meals for them to have on hand when she's too tired to cook or put anything together. I'm vegan I am planning on making the basic dishes that way, but maybe stuff where they can add meat or cheese if they want after it's done?
Aside from difficulty level: vegan, they don't have very exotic tastes. No Indian food, nothing Southeast Asian either. My mom's Hispanic and Mexican food is about as fancy as they get (aside from Italian). So looking for very basic recipes that will freeze well. Suggestions for breakfast/dessert also welcome.
(Don't worry about linking non-veg stuff; I am really good with converting if necessary)
So as stated, I'll be headed to SC for a week in early December because my dad--who has the double whammy of Parkinson's and congestive heart failure--isn't doing so great. My mom is the primary caregiver and frankly, she's exhausted with doing that as well as occasionally babysitting my two young nieces.
I feel helpless in that respect but I do love to cook and I would LOVE to make some meals for them to have on hand when she's too tired to cook or put anything together. I'm vegan I am planning on making the basic dishes that way, but maybe stuff where they can add meat or cheese if they want after it's done?
Aside from difficulty level: vegan, they don't have very exotic tastes. No Indian food, nothing Southeast Asian either. My mom's Hispanic and Mexican food is about as fancy as they get (aside from Italian). So looking for very basic recipes that will freeze well. Suggestions for breakfast/dessert also welcome.
(Don't worry about linking non-veg stuff; I am really good with converting if necessary)
Vegan chili is awesome - lots of great recipes out there, and it freezes wonderfully.
One kinda cool tip: line muffin tins with plastic wrap, scoop individual portions of stuff (chili, oatmeal, whatevs) into the compartments, then freeze. THEN, pop out your "muffins" of food and load 'em into a big plastic bag... your parents can microwave as many "muffins" of food as they require at the time!
posted by julthumbscrew at 7:02 AM on November 22, 2013 [2 favorites]
One kinda cool tip: line muffin tins with plastic wrap, scoop individual portions of stuff (chili, oatmeal, whatevs) into the compartments, then freeze. THEN, pop out your "muffins" of food and load 'em into a big plastic bag... your parents can microwave as many "muffins" of food as they require at the time!
posted by julthumbscrew at 7:02 AM on November 22, 2013 [2 favorites]
Bean soups freeze well. Be sure to season on the strong side.
posted by fingersandtoes at 7:04 AM on November 22, 2013
posted by fingersandtoes at 7:04 AM on November 22, 2013
And if you have pesto, then you can make soupe au pistou, which freezes beautifully. Basically, soupe au pistou is minestrone with pesto mixed in - lots of vegetables, some beans, and some small pasta. Add a couple tablespoons (or more) of pesto to a pot. Dole that out into single-serve microwave containers and it freezes beautifully. Lots of other soups freeze well as well.
And biscuits also freeze well - bake up a batch of biscuits (this is seriously easy), then portion them out into baggies and freeze those. Then you can just reheat them straight out of the freezer, in a 350 oven for about 15-20 minutes or so. A single-serve size of soup and a couple biscuits would make a really easy meal; round it out with a simple green salad.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:05 AM on November 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
And biscuits also freeze well - bake up a batch of biscuits (this is seriously easy), then portion them out into baggies and freeze those. Then you can just reheat them straight out of the freezer, in a 350 oven for about 15-20 minutes or so. A single-serve size of soup and a couple biscuits would make a really easy meal; round it out with a simple green salad.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:05 AM on November 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
This is basically how I lived in college. I would make a big pot of...whatever and freeze like 20 servings at a time, and do that with just about everything I made. So basically I could wake up in the morning, decide, hmm, do I want spaghetti or soup or chili tonight, put that in the fridge to thaw, and eat it when I got home.
How I'd recommend doing this, for ease of use: get a bunch of quart size freezer ziplock bags. Fill each with a bit more than 2 servings of food. FREEZE THEM FLAT. Use a sharpie to label the zip end with the contents. You can then stack these on their edges in the freezer just like file folders--you can use the zip tops like tabs to read what's in each one, and then just pull it out as needed. This saves A TON of freezer room and makes it a lot more organized.
For this I really liked pesto (just like 10th Regiment suggested), chili, butternut squash soup, and chicken cacciatore.
posted by phunniemee at 7:06 AM on November 22, 2013 [4 favorites]
How I'd recommend doing this, for ease of use: get a bunch of quart size freezer ziplock bags. Fill each with a bit more than 2 servings of food. FREEZE THEM FLAT. Use a sharpie to label the zip end with the contents. You can then stack these on their edges in the freezer just like file folders--you can use the zip tops like tabs to read what's in each one, and then just pull it out as needed. This saves A TON of freezer room and makes it a lot more organized.
For this I really liked pesto (just like 10th Regiment suggested), chili, butternut squash soup, and chicken cacciatore.
posted by phunniemee at 7:06 AM on November 22, 2013 [4 favorites]
You can then stack these on their edges in the freezer
I would also like to add: if you're particularly insane, like me, you can get some cheap bookends to use to help prop them up and keep everything neat.
posted by phunniemee at 7:08 AM on November 22, 2013 [5 favorites]
I would also like to add: if you're particularly insane, like me, you can get some cheap bookends to use to help prop them up and keep everything neat.
posted by phunniemee at 7:08 AM on November 22, 2013 [5 favorites]
Tomato (& Cheese) Casserole
Cook 4 cups macaroni, set aside.
Saute one large onion and 3-4 stalks celery (depending on how much you like celery), with optional addition of a couple cloves of garlic.
Season with oregano, tarragon, and/or marjoram to taste, plus salt and pepper.
Add one 28oz can of diced tomatoes, and two cans Campbell's cream of tomato soup.
(At this point I usually add about a half cup of grated cheese to the sauce, but this could easily be skipped.)
Mix the macaroni and sauce, and pour into one or more casserole dishes. Cover with grated cheese or alternative. Bake at 350F for about 45 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown. To freeze, bake "half way", or for about 20 minutes, so topping is melted but not yet browned. When you remove from freezer, return to oven for about an hour; the casserole will thaw and the topping will brown at this point. You could probably also freeze straight away, and then add the cheese when you take it out of the freezer.
The quantities above will make enough to fill 2 medium-ish casserole dishes, probably 8-10 servings. I usually make a batch this size even though there are only two of us, because it freezes so well. If you want a smaller quantity, make 2 or 3 cups macaroni, use the same amount of diced tomatoes but only one can of soup, and choose a smaller onion.
posted by snorkmaiden at 7:08 AM on November 22, 2013
Cook 4 cups macaroni, set aside.
Saute one large onion and 3-4 stalks celery (depending on how much you like celery), with optional addition of a couple cloves of garlic.
Season with oregano, tarragon, and/or marjoram to taste, plus salt and pepper.
Add one 28oz can of diced tomatoes, and two cans Campbell's cream of tomato soup.
(At this point I usually add about a half cup of grated cheese to the sauce, but this could easily be skipped.)
Mix the macaroni and sauce, and pour into one or more casserole dishes. Cover with grated cheese or alternative. Bake at 350F for about 45 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown. To freeze, bake "half way", or for about 20 minutes, so topping is melted but not yet browned. When you remove from freezer, return to oven for about an hour; the casserole will thaw and the topping will brown at this point. You could probably also freeze straight away, and then add the cheese when you take it out of the freezer.
The quantities above will make enough to fill 2 medium-ish casserole dishes, probably 8-10 servings. I usually make a batch this size even though there are only two of us, because it freezes so well. If you want a smaller quantity, make 2 or 3 cups macaroni, use the same amount of diced tomatoes but only one can of soup, and choose a smaller onion.
posted by snorkmaiden at 7:08 AM on November 22, 2013
Frozen burritos! Fill them with your choice of salsa, TVP, tofu, beans, vegetables (sweet potatoes are especially great), and rice, wrap, and freeze in aluminum foil. Unwrap the foil and re-wrap in damp paper towel for ~1-2 minutes of microwaving or bake them in the foil at 350F for a bit, pry them open to add cheese/hot sauce if need be, and then finish heating through. Breakfast burritos filled with PPK tofu scramble and enchiladas are also great.
Soups: chili, roasted tomato, minestrone, tortilla, butternut squash. You can reheat the soup in a crockpot for minimal effort.
Pasta bakes: Tofu ricotta lasagna, pumpkin ziti, stuffed shells. All of these can be topped with dairy cheese before baking if desired.
Plain pizza dough is great -- just chuck it in the fridge to thaw and you're never more than 15-20 minutes away from a personalized homemade pie.
Muffins and cookies freeze and thaw really well. Carrot/walnut or peanut butter/oatmeal muffins for breakfast?
Hang in there, I'll be thinking of you!
posted by divined by radio at 7:15 AM on November 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
Soups: chili, roasted tomato, minestrone, tortilla, butternut squash. You can reheat the soup in a crockpot for minimal effort.
Pasta bakes: Tofu ricotta lasagna, pumpkin ziti, stuffed shells. All of these can be topped with dairy cheese before baking if desired.
Plain pizza dough is great -- just chuck it in the fridge to thaw and you're never more than 15-20 minutes away from a personalized homemade pie.
Muffins and cookies freeze and thaw really well. Carrot/walnut or peanut butter/oatmeal muffins for breakfast?
Hang in there, I'll be thinking of you!
posted by divined by radio at 7:15 AM on November 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
THE SOUP. I literally just made a crock of this for myself to freeze and have at those to!as over the holidays when it's crazy and I've forgotten to eat for days. One of those flavor meld soups that gets better with time, so it tastes better reheated:
In stockpot heat 8 cups broth/stock or water with 2 cups chunkily diced potatoes and 1/4 c dry brown rice. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered until potatoes are soft.
In separate pan, saute 2 chopped bell peppers (I always use one green and one red for the color), 1 diced onion and 2-4 cloves garlic, depending on your general garlic preferences. Saute until translucent.
When both of above are done, dump into the pot with the stock the sauteed veggies, 1/2 c corn (frozen or fresh), about 2 TB chili powder, 1tsp cumin, 2 bay leaves and 3 cans of beans with their can juice (traditional is one can black, one can pinto, one can kidney). Simmer together for an hour. Good with some chopped cilantro or (for not vegans) grated sharp cheddar.
Good luck!
posted by theweasel at 7:41 AM on November 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
In stockpot heat 8 cups broth/stock or water with 2 cups chunkily diced potatoes and 1/4 c dry brown rice. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered until potatoes are soft.
In separate pan, saute 2 chopped bell peppers (I always use one green and one red for the color), 1 diced onion and 2-4 cloves garlic, depending on your general garlic preferences. Saute until translucent.
When both of above are done, dump into the pot with the stock the sauteed veggies, 1/2 c corn (frozen or fresh), about 2 TB chili powder, 1tsp cumin, 2 bay leaves and 3 cans of beans with their can juice (traditional is one can black, one can pinto, one can kidney). Simmer together for an hour. Good with some chopped cilantro or (for not vegans) grated sharp cheddar.
Good luck!
posted by theweasel at 7:41 AM on November 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
Yet another soup: Soak black beans overnight. Rinse and drain. Sautee onion and garlic in minimal oil, then add cumin and cook until fragrant. Add beans, a few peeled and chopped sweet potatoes (I did about five for a pound of beans), and either a jar of salsa or one of chopped tomatoes. Optional: add one of those little cans of green chili. Cover everything by about 1" of stock (veg is fine), and simmer until the beans are tender. Then puree things with an immersion blender. This soup is stupid good and so easy that you feel guilty serving it to people, but I do it all the time. Top with tortilla strips/chips and, if you're not vegan, delicious cheese.
Depending on the availability of vegan cheese (or your willingness to work with real cheese) you could make, parbake, and freeze a bunch of single-serve pizza and calzone. After that, it's a simple enough thing to pop them in the oven and finish baking.
I believe that you can make and freeze bean cutlets/burgers, which might appeal to them--especially if topped with cheese and burger toppings.
You can freeze hummus and other bean dips--I'd freeze them in ice cube trays, then pop out the ice cubes and put them in a ziplock. Easy light meal/snack whenever the kids want it.
If you do this, I recommend going to your local dollar stores or deli and buying ten bucks worth of cheapo tupperware, and then freezing soups, etc, in those. I spent ten bucks buying about fifty two-cup containers, and it's made things like homemade soup so much easier.
posted by MeghanC at 8:22 AM on November 22, 2013
Depending on the availability of vegan cheese (or your willingness to work with real cheese) you could make, parbake, and freeze a bunch of single-serve pizza and calzone. After that, it's a simple enough thing to pop them in the oven and finish baking.
I believe that you can make and freeze bean cutlets/burgers, which might appeal to them--especially if topped with cheese and burger toppings.
You can freeze hummus and other bean dips--I'd freeze them in ice cube trays, then pop out the ice cubes and put them in a ziplock. Easy light meal/snack whenever the kids want it.
If you do this, I recommend going to your local dollar stores or deli and buying ten bucks worth of cheapo tupperware, and then freezing soups, etc, in those. I spent ten bucks buying about fifty two-cup containers, and it's made things like homemade soup so much easier.
posted by MeghanC at 8:22 AM on November 22, 2013
If you would be willing to consider using meat from the start- a great way to make a bunch of meals to stick in the fridge is to slow cook some pot roast, or pork casserole, chicken chasseur... you could easily produce 4- 2 person meals in one session.
Also, I cook succotash... barley, carrots, and corn- its easy to add chicken to that!
Also, maybe cook sides- like mashed potatoes, mashed swede, baked brown rice (I cook a whole bag of brown rice at once and stick it in the freezer)
You're really really lovely for doing this- good luck!
posted by misspony at 9:09 AM on November 22, 2013
Also, I cook succotash... barley, carrots, and corn- its easy to add chicken to that!
Also, maybe cook sides- like mashed potatoes, mashed swede, baked brown rice (I cook a whole bag of brown rice at once and stick it in the freezer)
You're really really lovely for doing this- good luck!
posted by misspony at 9:09 AM on November 22, 2013
I have had great luck with freezing all different types of lasagna. Although I'm not vegan, I would imagine you could do one with veggie fillings between the layers (butternut squash is great for adding that creamy element), and then Mom could add a good sprinkle of mozzarella cheese before baking it. You can bake right from the freezer, it just takes a little longer.
posted by rainbowbrite at 5:31 PM on November 22, 2013
posted by rainbowbrite at 5:31 PM on November 22, 2013
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posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 6:56 AM on November 22, 2013