Converting your Meat Recipes to Freezer Meals

On Tuesday I posted about Converting your Casserole Recipes to Freezer Recipes, and promised to tell you yesterday about how to convert your meat recipes to freezer recipes, and well, I got tied up and distracted and completely disoriented. My day was already upside down when we heard about the bridge collapsing in Minneapolis, right by the University where a dear friend of ours works (and she lives right there too!) We were very thankful to hear last night that they are okay.

So after much delay, here comes the promised instructions!

To convert your meat recipes to freezer meals, there are a number of ways, depending on your recipe.

For hamburgers, or turkey burgers or anything I want in a patty, I make them up, and freeze the patties on a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper or parchment paper, putting a layer of said paper between each layer of patties until I am out of meat. Then I freeze them. Once frozen I cut the stacks apart and move them to zip top bags.

If it is a recipe for meatballs I have found it easier to just cook up a big batch of meatballs and freeze them in meal size portions in zip top bags. Then you just need to thaw the meatballs and make the sauce. A friend disagrees with me, and freezes the raw balls in zip top bags. If you are going to do that, I would skip shaping them into balls, and just freeze them like you would meatloaf which is to.....

Meat loaf is best frozen by mixing all the ingredients together, then putting one meatloaf worth of meat into a zip top bag, squeeze out all the air and seal, then press as flat as possible, and freeze flat. Then thaw and cook as per directions! If you are going to make a meat pie, this is also the best way to freeze the filling. (You can freeze the other layers the same way - see the Converting your Casserole Recipes to Freezer Recipes post on this).

Meat that requires marinating is best if you put the meat in zip top bags in meal sized portions, prepared however you need (sliced, chopped, etc), then pour the marinade over top. Squeeze out all the air, seal, and freeze flat. (This also works with roasts). As the meat is freezing and thawing it has time to marinate. Once again, thaw and cook per directions.

Meat that has to be cooked before you do the next step is a bit trickier, but I like to put the raw meat in a zip top bag, put the sauce in a smaller bag (sealed with all the air out), slide the smaller bag in with the meat, and freeze the whole thing together. When I am ready to cook it, I thaw the meat and prepare as per the directions.

Fancy stuff like Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Pesto Butter and Chicken Cordon Blue is best if you just assemble all that you want, freeze it on cookie sheets, and then put the chicken or whatever else in zip top bags. I would also use this method for breaded pork chops and the like, even though you could use the method above. And, at the risk of repeating myself, thaw and cook according to directions!

For something like fajitas I like to cook up all the meat, and divide it up into zip top bags, then do all the onions and add them to the chicken in the bags, and then the peppers. If you are really good, you would then take a large zip top bag, add the necessary tortillas (wrapped or in a bag of their own), and bag of cheese, and bag of filling and freeze altogether! This one has everything cooked already, so I just thaw it, heat through, and assemble.

I think this covers everything I can think of regarding converting your favorite recipe to a freezer meal. The only thing I have found does not freeze as well as I would like is potatoes in stews, so I just use sweet potatoes, which I now have to because of allergies in the family.

If you have a recipe you want to convert, and it is NOT covered in either Tuesday's post or todays, or if you are just not certain, post a comment either describing the recipe, or even better yet, with the recipe, and I will try to help!

I will be posting an old family favorite that I converted very soon!

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
- 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
Converting your Casserole Recipes to Freezer Recipes