One of the challenges of once a month cooking is figuring out store up to thirty family meals in a small freezer. The following article will walk you through the most common methods of storing your frozen meals.
Instructions
Using Containers to Store Frozen Meals
1. Plan ahead. You've picked recipes and created a monthly menu. The next step is to plan your food storage options. Review each recipe and decide the best way to store it. Don't forget to add the storage items (ie: plastic bags, freezer paper and plastic containers) to your shopping list.
2. Store prepared soups and ground beef meals (like tacos and spaghetti sauce) in plastic freezer bags.
3. Choose your meals wisely. Meals such as casseroles, whole chickens, roasts and meatloaves can be easily frozen (and reheated) in plastic containers or disposable aluminum pans.
4. Consider investing in a vacuum sealer. Vaccuum sealers are wonderful for keeping foods fresh and preventing freezer burn.
Storing Foods Without Containers
5. Line your cooking pain with tinfoil.
6. Add a layer of plastic wrap on top of the foil. Make sure there is enough additional plastic wrap to cover the entire meal.
7. Put your food into the pan on top of the plastic wrap and foil.
8. Wrap the dish making sure that you do not allow any air into the meal.
9. Place the securely wrapped dish into the freezer for a few hours. Once it is solid enough that it can be removed from the pan, remove it from the pan and place the food "brick" back into the freezer.
10. Thaw the frozen meal slightly, when you are ready to cook and place it back into the original pan. Prepare as indicated by the recipe.
Tags: plastic wrap, back into, , plastic containers, plastic wrap foil