Q: One of my kind co-workers is expecting her first child next month. To help out, I would like to make some one-dish meals and stock their freezer. My question is, what freezes/reheats well?
I'm having trouble finding recipes that include freezing and reheating instructions, and I'm not sure what to do to freeze food properly in the first place (do I use foil, Saran wrap, plastic containers?).
Sent by Breanne
Editor: Breanne, that is so kind of you! A few foods that freeze well, and that would make great meals for a new parent, are most soups, stews, chili, curry, meaty braises, and lasagna. You can also make dumplings or ravioli and then freeze them. Also, you can make your own version of mix and match bagged meals. Also try this thread for some ideas:
• Good Question: Make-Ahead Frozen Meals Sans Canned Soups
When it comes to freezing, we like to use heavy-duty plastic containers with good lids. We also put a layer of plastic wrap over the surface of the food before putting on the lid. If freezing a lasagna, we often do it in a semi-disposable aluminum pan (we reuse them) and cover the surface with plastic wrap and then with foil.
Another thought is to take snacks and finger food as well as full meals. Granola bars, muffins, cookies, fresh fruit like clementines, and other food that a new mom can grab in the middle of the night while she's nursing can be a real help.
Readers, any other thoughts on easy-to-freeze food for Breanne? Any tips for good freezing?
Related: Meals for New Moms: Make Lunch!
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What's the soup in the picture? It looks delicious!
I really like the idea of finger foods for mom to eat while she's nursing at the night. I was WAY hungrier when I was breastfeeding than when I was pregnant. My husband would laugh at me because I would "pack a lunch" every night and keep it on my bedside table. I could feed the baby and snack without getting up to raid the fridge.
Stuff high in protein was always great because it stuck with me a bit longer.
As noted above, (Asian) dumplings freeze and reheat well. All you have to do is boil them until they float for a few minutes or pan-fry/steam them.
If you do make your own dumplings, make sure you first freeze them so that they are not touching one another. After the outside has frozen, you can dump them into a freezer bag and they won't be stuck to one another.
http://the-cooking-of-joy.blogspot.com/2008/12/another-favorite-thing-my-mom-makes-are.html
Soups. Plus this is something that you can warm in the crockpot and eat all day.
But of course making sure the have a crockpot is good before you do this.
Gratin dishes. I gave up on recipes for these but you can find them abounding. Broccoli, potato, onion, gouda, kielbasa is a lovely one. These are something you toss in the oven and ignore until the timer goes off so easy.
My stepmother makes big batches of her fresh basil pesto recipe (which you could do with any pesto recipe, I expect), and then forms them into one-batch patties and freezes them in freezer bags. All you have to do then is boil some pasta, heat up a patty in a pan, and then stir it all together. Not quite as quick as a fully-frozen meal, but it takes up less freezer space, and it lasts for quite a while.
I second all the above options, but I'd also suggest something like muffins. Easy to make, easy to freeze, and simple to remove from the freezer.
If the co-worker is omnivorous, I think pre-cooking meat is a nice idea, too -- pre-cooked grilled chicken strips, hamburgers, turkey burgers, etc. It can make for a really quick meal.
Also -- homemade pizzas (again, easy to freeze, and then can be taken out whenever), casseroles. You can check out www.5dollardinners.com -- all of her meals are priced under $5, and she went on a cooking/freezing spree before her last child was born. That might give you some ideas and very affordable options.
Real Simple's cookbook, Meals Made Easy, has freezing/reheating instructions with many of the recipes. You can probably find it at your local library.
We freeze most things - beef chilli (serve with rice), bolognaise sauce (add to pasta to make spag bol), tomato sauces with peppers and mushrooms etc (add to pasta), curry, lasagne, the base for fish pie (top with potato), the base for shepherd's pie (ditto), stewed apple and other fruit, soup, casseroles etc.
Everything is frozen either in a plastic box with a fitted lid, or in a zip-lock bag. We never bother adding extra foil or cling-film and it all works fine.
That's so nice of you! I'm sure she'll appreciate it.
Cookie dough seems to freeze pretty well just as a universal trait, though I've only tried it with chocolate chip, chocolate and a shortbread style cookie. Froze the first two in single-cookie sized scoops and bagged them, froze the third in a log and just sliced off what I wanted. Hey, when I'm stressed, I want DESSERT.
Spaghetti sauce freeze wonderfully; freeze single serving sizes in a muffin tin if you think someone in the house might eat alone and then bag them once they're solid. They're good for snacking, too. I'm a big fan of braises frozen in tupperwares. My mom cooks and freezes gyoza (pot stickers) and then reheats them in the oven and they turn out lovely.
The biggest hit in our seemingly endless run of new parent freezer meals was spanikopita. Bake, cool, and then pop into freezer bags. It's especially nice to get a shot of the vegetables you're often missing in starch-n-protein casseroles.
There are a million freezer recipes here http://onceamonthmom.com, and they have reheating instructions, even labels to print. I have only made a few things from here because most of the meals aren't vegetarian, but those I've tried have been good. Before my son was born I packed my freezer with stuff from this page http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/freezer-friendly-foods?lpgview=thumb&showComments=true#ms-global-breadcrumbs
Be sure to find out if she will have room in the freezer for whatever you bring, because mine was already packed.
The recommendation for snack foods is a good one. My husband kept a basket of snack foods for me by the chair where I nursed and more than once I ate a Luna bar at 3am.
There are also a lot of recipes on http://www.30daygourmet.com/. You're doing a great thing for your friend!!!!
i make burritos to freeze! they are a great thing for a new mom!
http://www.shutterbean.com/make-your-own-freezer-burritos/
cbmiller:
The photo is from here: http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/main-dish/recipe-easy-turkey-chili-with-kale-075630