How to Prepare Frozen Family Dinners
- 1). Multiply a recipe's ingredients so that you'll have plenty to freeze. For example, if you are cooking a meal meant to serve two people, multiply the ingredients by four to make four separate two-serving recipes. Once you know the correct quantity of ingredients, head to the grocery store to get what you need.
- 2). Lay out the cookware and storage containers you plan to use for your frozen dinners. If you have always cooked your meals in a smaller pot, remember to use a larger size to accommodate the increased quantities. Oven-cooked meals like lasagna or a casserole can be laid into multiple pans and cooked either at the same time or one after another. In this instance, you need multiple sets of cookware instead of a single larger pot or pan. The key to saving time is to prepare everything at once.
- 3). Cook your dish as you would normally, but stop a little before the meal is fully cooked. Leaving the dish just slightly undercooked means it will not overcook when you defrost and reheat the meal.
- 4). Allow the meal to completely cool before preparing it to freeze, but do so quickly. You don't want to leave the dish out at room temperature for long periods of time and risk bacteria. Remove the lid on food in stovetop pots, and submerge the pan or pot in ice to cool it more quickly. Wider, shallower containers cool more quickly than deeper, larger containers.
- 5). Prepare the meal for tight packaging. For soups and other stews, remove the layer of fat on top, once cooled. Wrap meats and other solids tightly in foil for better preservation. Keep food in containers no larger than one quart. Whether using plastic bags or containers, be sure the seal is tight and there is little air. The less air within the wrapping, the longer the meal can be stored.
- 6). Mark the date and descriptive meal name on each package. Since all meals should be eaten within two months of preparation, this lets you keep track of the date and meal type. Whenever you decide to prepare the frozen meal, allow the dish to first thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
