Here are some tips on how to store your freezer meals effectively. You want to ensure a long freezer life with no freezer burn, plus make sure that you have enough room in your freezer for your meals.
Stock, soup and stews
There are a couple of ways that you can store stock, soup and stews in your freezer. One way is to place them in plastic or glass containers and stack them. My favorite way, however, is to store them in plastic freezer bags. I simply place a bag into a large empty can for support and then fill the bag not more than three quarters of the way full. Press out as much air as you can and then seal the bag. Make sure that the seal is tight to avoid leaks or double bag the meal to be safe. You can then stack the flat bags of stock in your freezer.
Casseroles
Casseroles that can go straight from the freezer to the oven can be stored in glass baking dishes to make reheating these meals easy. They can be stacked in the freezer. I scout out the thrift stores and yard sales for extra baking dishes. If you are short on dishes, try the following method. Line your baking or casserole dish with heavy aluminum foil. Pour in your casserole and cover with more foil. Freeze the dish for at least 30 minutes. Then, lift out the foil with the casserole inside and place it in a large freezer bag. When it is time to reheat the casserole, simply place the foil package into a dish and bake it as usual. This method also makes clean up easy.
Meatloaf
I usually make four meat loaves using ground turkey for the freezer. I bake them as usual and then slice them up into individual servings. I place the slices on a cookie sheet and freeze the meat loaf slices for at least 30 minutes. I them take the slices and place them in freezer bags. First freezing them for a bit on the cookie sheet prevents the slices from sticking together later.
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, creating a home in the Home Blog, caring for little ones in the Baby Blog and now relationships in the Marriage Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here or subscribe to the blog using the subscription box on the right.
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