Tips for Freezing Foods

If you would like to spend a day (or two) stocking up on freezer meals so that you can have some "time-off" in the kitchen in the future, here are a few items that may come in handy.

• A large freezer
• A large stock pot (for mixing double and triple batches)
• disposable casserole tins
• heavy duty strength aluminum foil
• freezer pint and quart-sized bags
• a sharpie marker

Here are a few tips I have learned along the way:

• Lay your freezer bags flat until they are frozen. Once frozen they stack nicely into tight spaces in the freezer. I always find it helpful to freeze on cookie sheets.
  
• Don't stack your different bags or tins on top of each other in the freezer as it takes a long time for them to freeze that way. Spread them out until frozen and then stack later.
  
• When covering with aluminum foil, the heavy strength won't rip as easily while in storage.
• Push the aluminum foil against the top of the food so that no air space remains. This also prevents tearing when stacking the tins on top of each other (see picture below).
• You may want to spray the inside of the aluminum foil with cooking spray so that it will come off the food easier.
  
• Use a sharpie marker to label the food and write cooking instructions on the foil.
• Label the tin along the side, so that when stacked you can easily find the dish you are searching for.

When it is finally time for you to eat your previously made meal, I find that it will defrost nicely in a warm oven (the lowest temp on my oven is 170 degrees) for a couple hours. Just be sure to leave the foil on so that it doesn't dry out. This works well on Sunday mornings. Before church you just pop the casserole in the oven and turn it on low, when you come home prick it with a fork to be sure it is completely defrosted, and start cooking according to directions.