Save time in the kitchen by making friends with your freezer

Its dinner time and you’re standing there staring aimlessly into the fridge again. But tonight you’re not scrambling to feed your busy family. There it is, your home cooked meal ready to be heated just sitting there staring back.

Some truly organized women plan their meals for the month and cook them in a weekend. Does this seem a little too ambitious for you? Try preparing twice as much for dinner and freezing half for those busy days. Even preparing partial meals for the freezer can help free up more time to spend with your family.

What freezes well? I was surprised to find most things freeze well. Even seafood if it is done carefully. Deep fried food however is not recommended. Sauces such as alfredo or hollandaise are likely to break but others like marinara fare well in cold temperatures and can even help protect the rest of your meal. Raw vegetables do not come out of the freezer looking well. Blanching vegetables by briefly boiling and then shocking in ice water creates crisp vegetables you’ll enjoy seeing come out of the ice box.

Everything you freeze for a later meal will be re-cooked even if only in the microwave for a few minutes. Therefore leaving items slightly less done than you would prefer will result in the perfect meal. Topped your casserole with cheese? Save time and leave the browning to be done when you heat it again.

Keep your future dinners safe from oxygen when storing so they will last longer as well as to avoid freezer burn. I prefer Pyrex glass dishes with plastic lids for meals which are completely assembled. They give me an option of heating in the oven with out having to dirty more dishes. If the container isn’t full, putting plastic wrap directly on the food will help keep air from destroying the food. Freeze things in serving sizes that make sense. Why spend 2 days defrosting a 9 by 13 inch pan if you are only going to need 2 servings.

What you do with Dinner after it comes out of the freezer is as important as before it goes in. Defrost your frozen entrees overnight in your refrigerator. A good way to do this is to take the next night’s dinner out of the freezer while the current night’s dinner is heating. Leaving food out on the counter at room temperature to defrost is dangerous and can lead to food borne illness.

Anything you’d like to be crisp or to have a brown top you’ll find responds better to being heated in the oven. Anything you wish to be steamed such as vegetables will be fine in the microwave. If you are unsure how long it will take to heat, start with a short amount of time and keep checking to avoid overcooking.

What’s the best way to determine if something will freeze with good results, Try it! Freezing a small portion is a good way to find out. Unhappy with your results? Food undergoes change when frozen; some items will become dry, while another will appear to have more liquid. Rice may appear dry when defrosted, just add a little water, partially cover, and steam in the microwave. Whisk a sauce to bring it back together after separation. Add more water to your soup; the potatoes caused it to thicken. Sound tricky? Start off with tried and true recipes which have been frozen before.

Free up time in your kitchen by freezing up dinner to be ready in a snap. Start small, Plan for extras one day a week and enjoy extra time the next week.