Freezer Food

I'm not sure if this post goes under work, home, or eat; but I must thank my friend Cristina for teaching me the ways of the homemade frozen dinner! All you need for delicious, nutritious meals on the go, is a 5 or 6 recipes for large meals (serving at least 8), 5 or 6 hours, and a pal to share the latest gossip, work, mess, and bounty. It was one of the better Sunday afternoons I've had in a while! Since Cristina was already a pro at this, she came with some recipes that had already proven themselves to be tried and true. I on the other hand, had to do a little research. Behold, my internet guide to freezer friendly recipes:

Martha Stewart, patron saint of WHE

Food Gawker

Also, Alton Brown frequently gives instructions for freezing food on his show. These instructions aren't included in his books, or in the recipes on foodnetwork.com. So watch carefully and take notes!

In the end we decided on a menu of Cristina's stew, Martha's beef enchiladas, Martha's bean burritos, and the Pizza Pops from food gawker. Yummy!

We did alter the freezing instructions a little, so that every dish was just portioned out as an individual serving in some containers, ready to microwaved at a moment's notice.

You have no idea how proud I am to show off my freezer full of goodies!

As you can see, I also have some frozen foods, that aren't homemade. I call these store bought essentials the Big 3, and my freezer is never without them:

1. Spinach filo pie- no prep, or even dishes, just an hour of foresight required. This is one of the few freezer meals I buy at the store because it's usually not full of "unknowns".
2. Gyoza- It is fun to make these authentic Japanese dumplings while shooting the breeze with your favorite people for an entire afternoon. However, this method is much more reasonable during the week. I like the Trader Joe's brand, but there are lots of them out there.
3. Frozen Veggies- throw them in a soup, in a stew, in a stir-fry, or next to a store bought rotisserie chicken.

I hope to keep up with this habit, as I do go through days with all the time in the world followed by weeks of insanity! I'm not sure about how long these are supposed to last, but Cristina says she usually gets about a month out of her meals before she has to restock, so we know they'll at least stay fresh for that long. :o) Do you freeze ahead? Have any good recipes to share?

Stay tuned for next month's installment of freezer food, when we make quick bread, cookies and freezer jam!