[lizziness]

We just started the SBD yesterday and we decided to get a food saver to make our own "TV Dinners" and I am wondering if anyone else has tried this method. I am not so sure it's going to work... or what recipies would work better. Everything we did was chicken meals w/ veggies or stir fries...

anyone else doing this? Any tips to make it easier or better? Thanks in advance!

~Liz

[kpw]

My husband and I started 4 days ago, and we're trying to freeze as well (we also bought a food saver!). I plan to store/freeze vegetables separate from meats and reheat them in a large pot of simmering water for a few minutes so as not to overcook them. I've done this previously with just frozen zip loc bags, and it worked OK. I think cooking vegetables just until they're still crisp or blanching would be best for freezing. Also, it's a good idea to let the food cool down before sealing them - easier to handle and no condensation.

Good luck! I'll let you know how our meals fare...

[ellis]

Lizzi, I made a bunch of meatloaves and froze them. (turkey) I use these cute little aluminum foil thingys with lids.

[Ruthxxx]

Chili freezes very well as do soups and stews. I freeze in those Glad or Ziplock el cheapo containers so I can thaw stuff in the Micro. Works fine for me. I also freeze meat or chicken in its marinade. Veggies cook pretty fast so I don't do the blanch and freeze trick.

Tuscan Beef and Bean Stew and Tex-Mex Pork Chops (Recipe Section) freeze just fine. Hmmm - better check to see if the Pork Chop Recipe ever made it there!

[lizziness]

Thanks guys. Our first attempt was sloppy at best. Hubby INSISTED that we could use the heavy duty paper plates - even though i told him it wouldn't work many times - so i gave in and let him have his fun. We cooked everything and dished it up, like a TV dinner, onto those stupid chinet plates, and guess what? Oh, all the moisture in it immediately soaked the paper plate completely and we wind up having to peel the frozen meal off the plate and then put it on a real plate and there are bits of paper plate stuck to the food.
Next time we try it my way. I think that veggies and meals seperate is a good idea. We did cooked chicken,but I wasn't so sure about cooked hamburger and cooked fish. Next month when we make meals I'll have a better plan, i hope. *L*

[clovey]

I ate frozen lentil dahl last night (well, I reheated it...)

But that brings me to a question. How do you know how long to microwave frozen food? Do I have to thaw food before I microwave it? eg chicken? or fish? or cooked chicken?

This is an embarrassing question as I consider myself a bit of a whizzy in the kitchen, but have never really got in to using my freezer for much except frozen peas and beans from the summer glut.

Advice please

(I will not be using paper plates lizziness )

[Ruthxxx]

Clovey, I don't know what kind of microwave you have but mine does have a thaw setting for raw meats. However, for stuff that's already cooked, I use the "frozen entree" setting or else just zap it at high until it's hot! I constantly freeze leftovers like pasta sauce, a single pork chop, cooked chicken, etc. and insist that H. and I have a "planned over" dinner every so often. PM me if you need more info.

[ellis]

Gee, Clovey, if you can't use the microwave and I can, maybe there's hope for me yet.