WFMW - How to freeze extra meals

Last week for WFMW I posted about Thinking Double in the kitchen, and Melissa posted a comment about how to freeze things. I replied to her via email, and in her reply she said this would be a great WFMW....so here we are!

I freeze left over meals for Mr. Pear's lunch in containers that hold one meal, and can be microwaved in (both Ziplock and Glad make a good disposable size so I don't have to worry about it getting lost or what that microwave is doing to my good plastics). But when I am freezing supper sized portions for our family, this does not work, so I go to the methods below.

You can freeze meals for the freezer in a number of ways:

1. Plastic containers - my least favorite as they take up too much room in the freezer and are generally poor use of space. I only use these for cookies and muffins and only use nice square or rectangle ones that fit nicely in my freezer.

2. Bought foil casseroles - these are okay, but expensive as they get kind of beat up in the freezer and most cannot take it. I generally avoid these unless it is a meal I am freezing and giving away, in which case they are great!

3. Casseroles - this one works pretty good. I like to use the Pyrex and Corelle square shaped casseroles as they fit best in the freezer. I don't use the lids as they do not stack well, I cover with plastic wrap and then cover that with foil wrap and label clearly.

4. Fake Casseroles - this the the CHEATER method! If I cannot be without my casserole for whatever reason, I take the appropriate casserole, line it with plastic wrap or foil wrap or both, depending on what you think will work best. Assemble. Freeze. Next day pull the casserole out of the freezer, you should be able to get your frozen stuff out. If it sticks, set it in hot water for a couple minutes and try again. Once free, wrap the casserole in plastic, then foil, (or place in a zip top bag if it fits) and label it, including the casserole you froze it in as not all casseroles are the same shape (like my strangely shaped blue one....). When you are ready to eat this meal, pull it out of the freezer, unwrap it, pop it into the appropriate casserole and let thaw.

5. Plastic zip top bags - my favorite method that I use for soup, chili, stew, leftovers, and any casserole I would mix all together before putting into the casserole. Label bag, insert food, squeeze out as much air as possible, seal, make as flat as possible, and freeze flat.


There are some things that are just hard to freeze, like homemade stuffed chicken breasts - because of the strange shape I usually wrap them in plastic first and then put them in a freezer bag.

I use a lot of zip top freezer bags, but can usually get a good deal on them, so it is still a money saver and a HUGE time saver!

If you think you need some help getting started in freezer cooking, check my post from last week, and if you need more help, there is a good cookbook on my sidebar that has lots of basics in it (but you really don't need more than last week's post and this week's post to get going.

Bon Appetit!

For more great tips, head over to Mrs. Dryer's!