Some people call it freezer cooking, some call it batch cooking. I call it making your own convenience food! Let’s face it, it IS convenient to pull out a pre-made frozen pizza and pop it into the oven for dinner. Now is it healthy for you? Not so much. But with a little upfront work you can have the best of both worlds!
According to the interwebs this is how convenience food is defined…
con·ven·ience food
noun
a food, typically a complete meal, that has been pre-prepared commercially and so requires little cooking by the consumer.
If we allow food companies to do the preparing for us they’re going to use unwanted additives and other highly processed ingredients we would not cook with at home. Not to mention they’ll likely add way too much salt, sugar and fat as well. So today I want to share some ideas on how to easily eliminate the commercial aspect of all this so you can still have the convenience!
How to Make & Freeze Your Own Homemade Convenience Food
Step 1: Prepare It.
Either double a recipe you’re making for breakfast or dinner (soups, waffles, chicken, etc.) or multi-task by cooking an extra recipe when you’re already in the kitchen preparing a meal. For example, start a batch (or better yet, a double batch) of muffins for the freezer while you’re making or cleaning up after dinner.
Step 2: Freeze It.
- Soups: Chili, Stews and a Variety of Soups
Freeze the finished dish in individual portions using small jelly jars*, small Tupperware containers, or even freezer-safe bags (once the food has cooled). Larger portions could also be frozen in larger containers, but it will take longer to defrost, and you’ll need to eat it all within a few days. *Note: If using glass jars leave room at the top for the soup to expand!
– - Breads: Waffles, Pancakes, Sandwich Bread and Muffins
Either freeze in one layer on a baking sheet and then transfer to a freezer-safe bag/container or freeze right in a bag/container by separating the layers of food with pieces of wax paper to prevent sticking. With certain foods (like muffins and scones) I find that I don’t even need the wax paper, but it is helpful when it comes to waffles and pancakes.
– - Sauces: Spaghetti, Applesauce, Pesto and More
Freeze in small jars or bags (similar to the soups above) or in ice cube trays, then transfer frozen cubes to a bigger bag. This helps if you want to defrost small portions at a time, and usually with sauces like pesto a little bit goes a long way!
– - Cooked Meats: Whole Chicken, Pulled Pork and Ground Beef
Freeze either plain cooked meat that you can season when defrosted or freeze it already seasoned in a large freezer-safe bag/container. Freezing something like plain cooked ground beef would give you a lot of options when it comes time to defrost.
– - Other Meals: Casseroles, Refried Beans, Etc.
For large casseroles (such as lasagna or enchiladas, before baking) I prepare and freeze them in disposable baking pans with a lid so I don’t tie up my regular baking dishes. I freeze refried beans the same way I freeze soups (in small jelly jars with room at the top to expand).
Some General Freezing Tips:
– Air is the enemy! Especially when using bags try to squeeze out as much of the air as possible.
– When freezing soups and other “liquidy” things in freezer bags it’s helpful to lay them flat on a baking tray during freezing so they don’t take up as much room and are easier to store once frozen.
– *Since it’s important I want to repeat that when freezing in jars, they must be labeled as freezer-safe (i.e. no shoulders) and you MUST leave room at the top for the liquid to expand (otherwise it could crack)! We fill to the line at the top in these jelly jars.
Step 3: Label it!
I cannot stress enough the importance of clearly labeling (with a description AND date) every single item in your freezer. You can write directly on disposable bags with a sharpie, or for jars I love to use the labels that dissolve in the dishwasher so I’m not stuck scrubbing them off.
Food Storage Guide
The government’s food safety website is a good resource when it comes to understanding safe food storage. Here are some general guidelines when considering the items above:
Storage Times for Freezer
- Cooked Meats: Up to 6 months
- Prepared Soups, Sauces and Casseroles: 3 to 4 months
- Bread Items: 3 to 4 months
These are the ideal timeframes – I’ve definitely had soups and breads in my freezer for even longer. When it comes time to defrost it’s best to pull the item out the night before and let it defrost overnight in the fridge. Otherwise you could always put it in the microwave on half power to help things along.
Please share your freezer tips in the comments below!
Reader Story: When Healthy Food Can Make You Sick
This might be a silly question, but if I use frozen-then- thawed homemade chicken stock for a soup recipe, can I then freeze the soup leftovers which would essentially be re-freezing the stock?
I prefer the erasable labels. I put them on my lids for reuse.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Label-Erasable-Food-Labels-with-Markers-70-Assorted-Labels/293765846
Your caution regarding the use of glass jars cannot be stressed enough. Any jar with shoulders (not straight sided) should NOT be used as the pressure from freezing food pushing upwards will crack or pop the jar. I know from experience how dangerous it is to clean up broken glass in the freezer.
How do you heat/serve waffles/pancakes that have been frozen?
Hi there. You can toast them or throw them back on the griddle. Serve as normal.
Thank you so very much
Pancakes we microwave and waffles get thrown in the toaster or toaster oven ;).
Heat them in the toaster. Upright like a slice of bread.
I would like to freeze casseroles. Often, when I see a interesting casserole I see that one of the ingredients is a can of soup. I am living in France now, with all the wonderful fresh food. I am trying to think of a substitute that might be more “real”. All I’ve come up with so far is maybe some creme fraiche and chicken broth concentrate. Any ideas?
i’m sure Lisa has something on this site, but google ‘how to make condensed soup’ I’ve seen and used several recipies to make my own cream of chicken, cream of broccoli, etc.
HI. Lisa has this recipe which might help: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/recipe-homemade-cream-of-mushroom-soup/.
I’m NOT recommending this; anecdotal experience should never be confused with scientific evidence, I recently dug a beef roast out of the back corner of my freezer (home-grown beef, butchered by a professional butcher and wrapped in paper) that had been in my freezer for every bit of fifteen years and probably more. I let it thaw, trimmed a few edges that looked “dry” (freezer-burned) and then cooked in the crock pot almost like normal. (Usually I just put a roast in the crock pot frozen and let it cook all day.) It was good. Maybe not the MOST tender roast ever, but not bad, and better than wasting the forgotten meat. We modern cooks are sometimes too precious about things; I learned to cook (partially) from my grandmother who learned to cook in the depression so whenever I would ask her if something was too old to use, her answer was, “Sniff it. If it smells okay and isn’t slimy it’s okay. Just cook it real hard.”
Michele, I still sniff and touch; if it smells ok and isn’t slimy, I generally take the chance. Once cooked if it doesn’t smell or taste good, out it goes.
Pat
Assuming the item was frozen properly and stayed frozen, its usually not a safety issue but more of a quality issue. As you said the roast was not as tender but obviously didn’t make anyone sick.
I make and freeze einkorn pizza so i can throw together a pizza for lunch or a snack. Actually i make ghem the size and shape,of,my rectangular baking stones, so theyvshouked be called foccacia. I also make extra burritos and freezevthem in butcher wrap.bi can wdite directly on the paper and seal woth a strip of freezer tape. But with a very active teen and his friends and the original “Hungry Man” they never last long enougj to worry about the date. Jas anyone bought the heavy paper take out containers such as they sell on Amazon? I am trying to avoid plastic and the pint and quart containers sound good for soups and sauces.
After I use limes, lemons or oranges, I put the “shell” of the citrus in freezer bags. Then when I want the house to smell lovely, I add a couple of the frozen halves of citrus to a small pot of water plus a cinnamon stick, a couple of cloves and a star anise. Wow! I let it simmer on the wood burning stove and the house smells fabulous without chemicals.
I have 2 full sized freezers as well as 2 fridge freezers so you know I freeze alot. I actually purchased extra large glass casserole dishes just for freezing. So when I get more casserole dishes than will fit into my cupboard I know it is time to make more. I also freeze a lot of fruits for smoothies and Yonanas in single serving jars so that I am never without. I put leftover meats into containers and then we have leftover meat quesadilla night about once a week to each them all up. I cannot bear to waste anything. I even freeze the juice from cooking veggies and then use that to impart extra flavour and nutrients in my chicken stock. I also freeze the cut parts of veggies (nothing rotten, just the ribs and wrinkly parts) so that I can quickly whip up a batch of veggie stock.
Thank you for this article, it is a great reminder/resourse to ensure I always have something easy when I am pressed for time or low on energy.