Recipes/ Ideas needed

[Bella_Vixen]

Wallyworld has a better price than Target, every time I check.

Shopko is having a killer sale on Pyrex right now.

[Docmayhem]

Just a quick update:

My uncle called me last night to let me know 1) thanks 2) looks yummy 3)apparently others had the same idea and he's set for the next month

Thanks again for all the ideas.

[Food Lady]

Sorry--that's what I meant: waxed paper under foil. Or maybe parchment. I make waffles and freeze them, and they always stick together.

[MaggieTheCat]

Maggie, does waxed paper work as well?

I would think so, but I've never actually tried it.

Okay, I did a quick bit of research and according to this link, wax paper is not suitable for freezing since it's not moisture/vapor resistant. But I would think using it as an underwarp and then putting a layer of aluminum over it and putting it in a zip-top baggie would be okay, since the baggie would provide moisture/vapor resistance. The underwrap (parchment/wax paper, plastic wrap, etc) is just there to make unwrapping the produce easier.

Edit to add: My dad used to hunt deer and I am almost positive that he used some sort of wax paper to wrap the individual steaks in, before putting them in a zip-top bag. I did read on other articles that wax/parchment paper is good for separating steaks or chops if you're planning on freezing multiple pieces of meat, so they don't freeze together.

[Food Lady]

Maggie, does waxed paper work as well?

Also, I am reminded of a couple of things here:
--Potatoes can be baked in a crockpot. Wrap in foil and pile 'em in there. I don't remember the temp/time, but a quick google search will get the info ("crockpot baked potatoes").
--The meal-sized Pyrexes are available for less than $5 each at Wallyworld. I love them. They can go from freezer to microwave. Also, you can bake individual casseroles or pies in them, then freeze. I have shopped around; Wallyworld has a better price than Target, every time I check.

[MaggieTheCat]

Regarding freezing things wrapped in foil, I will suggest wrapping them first in plastic wrap, and then in foil. Whatever you wrap it in will get into all the nooks and crannies of whatever you're freezing, and when you try to unwrap it, if it's wrapped just in foil, the foil will tear every which way and get stuck in the frozen nooks and crannies. And then you will have to wait for whatever you're taking out to thaw completely in order to remove the foil. Plastic wrap is MUCH easier to remove when it's directly on the frozen food. So wrap in plastic, then in foil, then in a big zip-top bag.

[Aethian]

my un-named dish that consists of a pot of macaroni, canned tomatoes, canned corn, spices, & some ground beef or turkey.

Sounds like goulash.

[Merriweather]

Oh, I've seen some great ideas here, gotta save a bunch for myself

I freeze a lot - living on a very tight budget lately, plus trying to eat healthy, having things to grab from the freezer instead of resorting to fast food, etc.
I've been especially good at frugal freezing lately.

First, a couple of hints in general. Almost anything you can make in a crockpot can be frozen well & reheated in a microwave. Plus crockpot recipes are good as one-dish meals, with maybe a nice bread on the side.

Be sure NOT to reheat in "cheapie" containers (thin plastic "disposable" containers, re-used commercial tubs, etc). Carcinogins and all that.

If you're short on containers, find a good freezing/reheating container (pyrex is my favourite), line it with foil, put in your food, freeze, then pop it out and wrap totally in foil, and put back in the freezer (without container), with name of container on it (yellow round pyrex, etc). When you need to reheat, take it out, run a bit of hot water if needed to get foil off, and pop it into original container to go in the mircowave. Saves having a cupboard full of containers when the freezer isn't full.

With just hubby & I, I tend to make huge pots of anything, then freeze several individual portions to have later in the month. My personal quick & easy & cheap favourites are spaghetti (just freeze the pasta & sauce together), noodles with alfredo sauce & chicken, chili, and my un-named dish that consists of a pot of macaroni, canned tomatoes, canned corn, spices, & some ground beef or turkey.

I also have some great "save money by freezing in odd ways" ideas, but not sure they'd work for taking meals over to someone to heat up at a later time (most involve freezing for putting together at the last minute).

I'll try to think up a few more recipes later.

[MaggieTheCat]

A pretty okay way to freeze potatoes is to twice bake them! They're sort of a cross between a mashed and a baked potato.

Bake however many potatoes you want, until they're completely tender (you can do this step in the microwave to save time.) When they're still hot, slice them in half length-wise. You can let them cool slightly but you want to do this part while they're still pretty hot so you'll probably need a potholder or paper towels to hold the potatoes with. Carefully scoop out most of the inside of the potato, leaving about 1/8" left inside the potato skin, and being careful not to rip or poke holes in the skin. When all the potato halves have been scooped out, mash the insides together with whatever you like to make them creamy, like mashed potatoes. I usually just go with butter, milk, salt and pepper, but you can add cheese, garlic, sour cream, bacon bits, chives, whatever you want. You want them nice and smooth and pretty thin; not soupy, but not super thick, either. When you get the consistency and taste you want, spoon the potatoes back into the skins. Place the filled skins on a baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes, until the tops start to brown and everything is heated through.

I imagine you could freeze them either before or after the second baking time, although I've never tried freezing before baking. Alternately, if you accidentally destroy a couple of your potato skins, or add enough stuff to the filling that you don't have enough skins to hold everything, you can just place the filling in a casserole dish and bake it like that.

[Docmayhem]

As always, I am impressed (though I am no longer surprised) by how willing the people here are to share their knowledge and good wishes.

@MaggieTheCat: I'm a big fan of soups/ stews already. The sweet potato soup sounds really good.

Also - frozen pasties sent my mind immediately to the gutter That being said, they sound like a great idea - I'll have to try them next weekend. I'll probably ask my wife to make the pie crust (I cook, she bakes, there's a big difference - as she keeps reminding me)

I did freeze a fully baked potato - mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. I knew better, but I wasn't thinking (mmm...leathery ). Next time I'll go with mashed or boiled

@thansal: That's why I wash and reuse all the little plastic containers I get. I generally have a cookathon on the weekends 'cause I have no time during the week. Also - I knew about the pancakes thing, but hadn't been thinking of it. I guess my mind tends to get stuck on dinner. Thanks for the reminder.

@firecat: I make a white lasagna with chicken and spinach that I'm inordinately proud of. The trick is making a small one

@Akasa: No idea if my uncle has a crock pot, and with my uncle spending all day at the rehab facility where my aunt is staying, I'm not sure it would work, but my parents have gotten into using their slow cooker recently, so I'll pass the link on to them, thanks.

@Kazim: Sounds a lot better than lutefisk - another one I have to try.

@everyone: Thanks again. I have no idea how much I'll be able to try, but the ideas and the moral support are a big help.

[Kazim]

here's my addition
http://www.grouprecipes.com/16762/pitepalt.html
simple and tasty ^^

[Lyse]

I don't have recipes to offer, but something that may work. My aunt's solution for my grandfather was to make up bags for the crockpot. She packed up all the ingredients (already measured and cut for him) for specific meals into ziplock bags an label it with cook times and anything special he needed. All he had to do in the morning was choose one, put it in the crockpot and eat when it was done. Those and some frozen casseroles (likewise labeled) kept him going until grandma got home a month later.

[Aethian]

3 tablespoons .

Mom always used sweetened non salted butter.

With the dough it's actaully easier to mix it using a pastry mixer. A little wire hand device. Because the dough is JUST barley together. If you over mix it the dough will not strech and will taste like cardboard after making. Make sure to wrap with double foil after they come out of the oven and wait 15 mins before tossing into freezer. Give those out of the oven 5 mins to cool before cutting in to eat or you can sometimes have a thick soupy consistency. I swear I've done it all while trying to learn the family recipe.

[Akasa]

There's a site I use for slow cooker recipes that might work for your uncle. He really doesn't need to know how to cook, just throw the stuff in and turn it on then when he comes home it will be ready.

http://www.crockpot365.blogspot.com/

I cook almost exclusively with the crocpot now thanks to this site, in fact I'm about to buy a 6 quart crocpot because there's a lot of recipes that I go "ooh that looks good... damn need a 6 quart!"

Also these recipes are good for reheating, we usually get 2-3 meals worth out of each recipe.

[thansal]

Pasties also freeze incredibly well, but they're also a little more work. For the unfamiliar, pasties (yes, pasties, not pastries) are a type of hand pie usually filled with savory ingredients.

It rhymes with Nasty not with Tasty! (This was the sign that a Pasty seller at the Union Sq Market used to have :P)

Maggie's ideas are great!

On the note of baked goods (sorta...):
Waffles and Pancakes both actually freeze rather well, and a quick toaster over treatment nets you with really good breakfasts at a lower cost and much better than eggos! For a recipe just grab a generic one, and for freezing, the normal trick holds of laying them flat on a baking sheet until frozen, then transferring them, individually wrapped, to bags. The first part is so they freeze as fast as possible (the faster they freeze, the less they degrade)