Converting your Casserole Recipes to Freezer Recipes

While it is fun to peruse recipe collections of freezer meals, it is also fun to be able to use your old family favorites in a new way to bless your family!

This past Sunday I was thrilled to pull a family favorite out of our freezer for our supper: Chicken Enchiladas

When you are converting your casserole recipe into a freezer recipe, you have two options.

Option 1: Prepare you casserole up to the point you would be putting it into the oven, cover it with plastic wrap and the foil, label it, and freeze it. This requires having enough freezer space and casserole dishes to freeze in your casserole dish. However, for lasagna and enchiladas, this is the way to go!

Option 2 is my favorite, and very easy, but a bit more detailed description is required. Most casseroles require preparing everything together in a bowl, pouring it into the casserole and putting it in the oven. When this is the case, rather than pouring the mix into the dish, pour it into a zip top bag, squish out all the air, seal the bag and press it flat. If there are multiple layers in the casserole, freeze the layers in separate bags, then either clip them together or put them inside a third bag to keep them together (the outer bag can be reused again, so it is not a waste, just don't write on the outside bag). Then thaw the bags, and assemble the casserole and cook as directed!

Just remember that some casseroles that go into the oven hot when you skip the freezer step may need an additional 10-15 minutes of cooking time!

I hope this helps, it is clear in my mind what to do, but somehow I am not certain the description covers it all. Please let me know if it is clear and if you have questions!

Tomorrow I will talk about meat recipes that are not casseroles.

Next up in the series, apparently in no particular order:
- Once a month cooking - at least it is my explanation of it!
- Planning your shopping, prep and cooking
- Storing your meals revisited and revised
- Keeping track of what is in your freezer and what is the oldest
- Freezer lunch stash complete with ideas
- Freezer breakfast stash complete with ideas
- Recipes I used in my marathon cook that have not yet been posted
- Tips for converting your favorite recipes to freezer recipes
- What little I know about having a group of friends who share freezer meals
- Books and resources I love
- Answers to questions you post for me or email to me (email button is in my profile).


Previously in the series:
Introduction to the series
Why Freezer Meals?
My Usual Method
Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Pesto Butter and Chicken Cordon Blue
Chicken Enchiladas
Kitchen Day - Tortilla Soup and Enchiladas (How To)
Blessing of Freezer Meals
Lazy Lasagna - A Freezer Meal
Sauce for Freezer Meatballs
Pineapple Tuna Cracker Snack
Freezer Cooking with Limited Space
Orange Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
Orange-Apricot Glazed Pork Chops