Notes from Our First Meeting

Here are the notes from our first meeting to use as a reference while we are getting ready for our exchange. Please don't let all of these tips/helps make you feel over whelmed. That is not the point. Just take several of these points at a time and use them while you are cooking. Don't worry if you forget them, just review the tips the next time you cook and add a few more to your regime and pretty soon you will be a pro at it. This really is NOT as daunting as it may seem. Just start cooking and you will realize how easy it can be.

The Maples Moms Making Meals

Food
A general rule: If you see it frozen at the store then it can probably be successfully frozen at home.

Raw potatoes do NOT freeze well in any recipe.

Cubed potatoes in some soup type recipes are usually good-like chowder.

Mashed potatoes can sometimes be frozen. Make the mashed potatoes very thick and test freeze a small portion.

Boxed dehydrated potatoes such as Scalloped Potatoes can be frozen.

Frozen potatoes such as hash browns freeze well.

The freezing process softens vegetables-such as stir fry. Better to just add in later.

Fresh, raw vegetables, except onions and peppers, need to be cooked briefly, or blanched prior to freezing. Cooking for about 2 minutes in boiling water is usually sufficient.

Add toppings such as buttered crumbs and French fried onions at baking time. Place in a small zip lock baggy and freeze with the meal.

Top with shredded cheese at the end of baking time or else it will stick to the foil when you uncover it after it has been baked. Instead, include the topped cheese in a zip lock baggy.

If your recipe calls for ham but you only need a little bit then go to the deli section of the grocery store and ask for what you need. It can be cheaper that way.

When making enchiladas, consider tearing the tortillas or making layers instead of rolling each enchilada.

If you don’t want to take the time to mince garlic or chop onions, replace it with bottled minced garlic or dried onion flakes or powder. 1 medium onion=1 tsp dried onion powder, 1 clove of garlic=1/8 tsp garlic powder.

Pasta can be frozen successfully but it should be under cooked. Cook the pasta 2 minutes less than the shortest recommended cooking time. Only add the pasta AFTER the water is boiling and set your timer as soon as you drop the pasta into the boiling water.

An exception to this method of cooking pasta is lasagna. You don’t need to cook your lasagna noodles at all. And you don’t need to buy the expensive “no boil” kind, either.

Manicotti can successfully be made using uncooked manicotti tubes as well. They are also much easier to fill when they are uncooked. When filling manicotti tubes, place the filling in a small resealable freezer bag. Cut the corner off the bag, fit the opening into one end of the manicotti tube, and squeeze the filling into each one. Place the manicotti on a bed of sauce and cover completely cover with sauce so the pasta has a source of moisture.

Instant rice turns mushy and disintegrates. Deep fried foods lose their crispiness. The crispiness can be regained somewhat by placing it under the broiler in your oven or toaster oven for a minute or two.

For dairy-based sauces and gravies/soups they can be frozen and reheated. Sometimes the recipes thicken a bit and you may need to stir in a little milk, broth or water. Heat and stir, and they usually blend right back to a beautiful consistency.

Some recipes that call for marinating beef, pork, turkey or chicken can be marinated in the freezer. Simply prepare the marinade, pour it over the meat and freeze in a freezer bag.

The test for “freezer-worthy” is, “Do you like it after it has been frozen?” You are not freezing leftovers.

Fully cooked meals such as Slow Cooker, Stove Top and Oven recipes should be frozen as soon as cool enough to go into the freezer. Assembly recipes should be frozen as soon as preparation and packaging is complete.

Most frozen meals can be baked for about three hours at 300 degrees. Cover the dinner with foil and place the frozen dinner in the oven. Program your oven to bake for three hours at 300 degrees and go.

If you are going to be gone for an hour, you can have potatoes ready to mash right when you get home. Before you leave, bring a pot of cubed potatoes to a full boil. Turn off the heat, but leave it on the burner with the lid on. The potatoes will be ready for mashing when you return.

For perfect rice every time, even when you are not home, measure rice and water into a pan. Bring to a boil. Turn off the heat, but leave the pan on the burner with the lid on. The rice will be fluffy and perfect in about an hour.

Things that will make your life easier while cooking:

You will need two different sets of measuring cups and measuring spoons-one for dry measurements and one for wet measurements.

A canning funnel for filling quart or pint sized freezer bags.
Have several large mixing bowls. Popcorn bowls are inexpensive and fairly easy to find.

Have several large mixing spoons.

Have a permanent marker handy for marking your food. When marking your food include the oven temperature, baking time, topping with crumbs or cheese, etc. You can either write directly on the foil or bag or attach a label.

Use paper bags as trash cans. Place several around the kitchen where you will be working. This saves time having to walk back and forth to the garbage.
Have your recipe on a 4 x 6 card that you can carry around with you. You can also write on the card to adjust serving sizes etc.

Make a list of the recipe titles. As you take a meal from your freezer, mark off the meal and then you know what you have left for later. Date the list or date the meal. With a list you have an immediate “menu” for your family to choose from. Tape your List of Recipes that you have prepared, on the door of the freezer, on the inside of a cupboard door or some other convenient place where you can refer to it often and keep it updated.

Making a shopping list is an absolute must. Group the items on your list by category. If you are extra ambitious then you can list your groups in the order you come upon them in the store.

Disposable Foil Baking Pans

You will need to cover the foil pans before putting them in the freezer. Use EXTRA HEAVY foil. It is much wider and heavier than regular foil. There is heavy duty foil that is slightly heavier than the regular foil but it is not freezer foil. You don’t need to wrap the entire pan, just the top. Cut the foil about 1 inch larger than the pan and crimp this excess under the edges of the pan. Press the foil right down on top of the food to eliminate as much air as possible.

Non Stick Cooking Spray to grease the foil pans. Lay out all your pans and spray them at once. It saves time.

Freezer bags

Most dinners can be frozen in freezer bags. As long as it isn’t layered you can put it in a zip lock bag. Good quality zipper freezer bags are the best. Look for ones with thick plastic and strong seams. Also look for ones that have a good zipper.
Fold down the freezer bag before filling. This will protect the zipper and it helps it stand up on its own.

Freezer bags can be placed in a baking dish when you are ready to heat and serve the meal.

Label your freezer bag before you put the food into it.

Be sure to press all the air out of the bag before you seal it. This is a very important step since air causes freezer burn.

If you are unsure about the amount of recipe to put into a freezer bag, measure each portion first.

Disposable plastic storage containers

If using disposable plastic storage containers make sure they are freezer and microwave safe. Leave 1/4 –inch head space so the food has room to expand as it freezes. Press a piece of plastic wrap onto the surface of the food and replace the lid.

The Day Before:

Do not shop on cooking day. It can be exhausting to do both the shopping and cooking in one day.

When you get home do NOT put everything away. Place the non perishable items on the counter where you will be using them. For example place all your cans near the can opener.

Get out all of your food items you already have in your house like your spices. This way they will be handy and available when you need them.

Choose a place that you will package your dinners for the freezer, such as the kitchen table. Place everything you will need there such as your freezer bags, cooking spray, tin foil and magic marker.

Cook your meat the night before. If you can, place it in a slow cooker (crockpot) over night so that when you are ready to cook in the morning, all of your meat is cooked. Then divide it evenly.

Shred your cheese, chop your vegetables and thaw out your meat.

Cooking Day:

Choose a day to cook that you have no obligations that will interrupt you and take you away from the kitchen. Eliminate the need to run errands and arrange for someone to take your kids.

When you adapt your own recipes for the freezer you may need to add 50% to the recommended baking time.

The Freezer:

Each meal should be cooled completely before putting it into the freezer.
Lay them out flat in your freezer until completely frozen. Then you can stack others on top.

Try using your vertical space in your freezer by using three tiered stacked utility bins in your freezer.

Thawing:

Meals in freezer bags that have thawed can be conveniently poured into baking dishes for the oven, into dishes to be heated in the microwave, or into pans for heating on the stove top.

Meals frozen in foil baking pans will need to be thawed before baking, in order to be ready to serve in the baking time recommended on the recipe.

Frozen meals should be thawed in the refrigerator. Ideally, you would remove a meal from the freezer the day before so that it has time to thaw by the time you need it. However, if you don’t remember add approximately 50% to the baking time and 50 degrees to the baking temperature.

Recipes with pasta in them should be allowed to thaw undisturbed. Forced thawing and any stirring can cause the pasta to get mushy and fall apart.

An easy way to remove a frozen meal from a freezer bag is to cut or tear the sides of the bag at the seam.

Take out the guess work of determining if the meal is hot by using an instant read thermometer.