Idea's For Quick Freezer Meals

My sister Jan asked me to post some idea's for Freezer meals - something you could pull out of the ice box, heat and eat. Many would think casserole here, but I have a different train of thought.

For my restaurant, I shop a lot at warehouse stores like Sam's Club and Costco. I know pretty much every food item offered by both and who has the better deal, etc. Sometimes when shopping for food for the house, we tend to buy items in such bulk that we have to freeze some of it or watch it spoil in the fridge.

The price per pound on these items is often so ridiculously lower than your local grocery store, it makes sense to buy in bulk. Here are some creative ideas that should help save this food:

CHICKEN

1. Cook the meat when you first bring it home. Sam's club has their own brand of boneless skinless chicken breast that is usually priced at $1.97 lb. That is actually quite inexpensive and the chicken is of very high quality as well.
2. Take the chicken, divide it in half, boil one half in salted water until just about finished, throw it in two ziplock bags and freeze.
3. Fillet the rest of the chicken and sauté in a pan with olive oil.
4. When cooked, remove from pan and cut into 1/2 inch strips. Divide into two more ziplock bags and freeze.

The boiled chicken can be used for anything that calls for chicken: chicken salad, chicken fettuccini, chicken breast sandwiches, a casserole, etc. The nice part is that the chicken has already been put into one meal portions.

The sautéed chicken can be defrosted in the microwave and thrown back into a frying pan for 5 minutes with whatever flavoring you want: teriyaki, fajita, Hawaiin, BBQ, sweet & sour, etc. Serve over minute rice or noodles and you have a quick and easy meal in 20 minutes.

GROUND BEEF

Ground hamburger is a staple in any kitchen. If bought and frozen fresh in the original package, you have defrost it all to use it. Refreezing meat is a No-No. Instead, divide the beef into as many meal portion sizes you prefer.

If its for hamburgers-mix in your seasonings, preform the patties, divide with wax paper bag and put into freezer bags or containers. Since cooking hamburgers on the grill from a frozen state is preferred by many, keep them raw so they are juicy later.

For meatballs-I season, roll and cook my meatballs first then freeze them after they cool down. This way anytime you serve pasta, take out as many meatballs as you need and in three minutes you have delicious meatballs.

Time for taco's-Carrie had the idea years ago because of our son Carter's Celiacs. Carter cannot eat any gluten or wheat products, so Mexican food, including taco's are some of his favorite meals. Take a pound or so of beef, fry it up with the taco seasoning and then divide it into individual ziplocks and freeze. The kids come home from school, take out one bag and two taco shells, some lettuce, tomato and cheese and they've got fresh homemade taco's to go.

Meatloaf-form, cook and slice a meatloaf. Put slices on a baking sheet and freeze overnight (this prevents slices from freezing together); place the frozen slices in zip-locks according to the quantity you want.

Other ideas-frozen cooked ground beef can be added to pasta sauce to make a great meat sauce. Be creative.

PORK

Take a pork roast, slow cook with seasoning for 10 hours, shred, divide and freeze. The pulled pork burrito on this blog is a cinch if you just have to defrost the meat. A pulled pork salad is awesome as well.

Anytime you can pull a pre-cooked item out of the freezer and make a great meal in 20 minutes or less, you have a winner.

Hope this helps.