How often do you make big batches of food to freeze?

[StarSong]

Besides freezing the normal soups and casseroles like lasagna, like to chop fresh herbs like basil and oregano and freeze it with olive oil in zip lock bags - lay the bags flat on a pizza box or flat surface to freeze and then just break off what you need to put in soups and stews and Italian dishes.

Yup. Same here. Also mince garlic in olive oil in my little food processor and store it the same way.

Leftovers that I'm not going to use right away and don't want to eat for three days running go in the freezer - either in bags or small tubs. Soup, tomato sauce, pumpkin muffins... stuff like that. We don't eat meat.

When doing a freezer-loading mini marathon I make a couple of dozen pizzas (6 different types), then quarter them. I freeze eight quarters in two-gallon ziplock bags. I often make calzones when I'm doing pizza. Let them cool, wrap tightly in Saran, then put in ziplock bags.

Cookies keep well, too (if I can keep my hands off them.) Biscotti keeps well in the freezer. Lately homemade whole wheat bread, too. Just this morning I put two rounds in the freezer. One with rosemary from the garden, the other plain.

I never learned to can and am impressed by your pantry, @old medic. Aldi does most of my canning.

 

[Alligatorob]

Just cooked a bunch of my frozen fish, trying to get the freezer ready for my next trip. Got about 10 pounds of picked fish, most of its now in the freezer, in small bags. A lot of quick and easy meals.

 

[Jackie23]

...another thing I've had good luck with freezing is bell peppers....I cut up 4 or 5 big peppers in strips and freeze, no blanching and then just break off what you need.

Lots of good tips in this thread.

 

[Lara]

...I don't know the right kinds of containers to use to freeze things like soup and chill. What do you use?

Anchor Hocking brand is what I use. The glass is very sturdy in the freezer even when putting hot soup in them. But the plastic tops have cracked when I don't take my time to open them. Because the plastic lids are frozen they are brittle at first until you run some hot water over them or just be careful when lifting the lids. Various big chain stores have them. Call ahead.

The reason I like glass is because it's not a good idea to put hot things like soup in plastic containers in my opinion.
When hot items touch plastic the plastic toxins might seep into the food.

 

[old medic]

I never learned to can and am impressed by your pantry, @old medic. Aldi does most of my canning.

Some of my earliest memories are of helping at my Great Grandmothers farm putting up food. They basically still ran a self-sufficient farm that helped feed a large part of the family. My DW grew up similar, and has won 4H awards and ribbons at the State Fair as a teen for preserved foods. Honestly its a PITA, and can cost more...

 

[StarSong]

Honestly its a PITA, and can cost more...

That's probably why relatively few people do it anymore. TBH the reason I never spent the time or effort to learn is my fear that I'd do something wrong in the preparation or sealing steps and end up poisoning my family.

 

[RadishRose]

I'll make a batch of something to portion and freeze once a week, or once every other week.

 

[charry]

Never

 

[Purwell]

I'm glad you straightened that out for us.
I thought the "L" was for Loser and thought he was being awfully hard on himself or he was just joking

Sorry about the confusion!

 

[AnnieA]

Honestly its a PITA, and can cost more...

It's costly if you're starting out new, but our family...dad and both grandfathers farmers.... have always canned and already have all the equipment and jars.

As far as it being a PITA, I plan canning days and have several canners going that day.

It's worth it to me for the taste of home canned vs freezing.

 

[old medic]

It's worth it to me for the taste of home canned vs freezing.

Yes it is.. and its power outage protected...

 

[StarSong]

Yes it is.. and its power outage protected...

Power outages are scarcer than hen's teeth around here. However, I grew up in the Northeast where they were a fairly common occurrence so they're always in the back of my mind.

For power outages and other emergencies that now include pandemic and supply chain shortages, I keep the pantry well stocked with non-perishable foods and many gallons of emergency drinking water. DH keeps the BBQ and RV fuel tanks full.

 

[old medic]

However, I grew up in the Northeast where they were a fairly common occurrence so they're always in the back of my mind.

We both grew up in Upstate NY... As a kid the closest grocery store was nearly an hour away.

 

[Pappy]

Just yesterday (Saturday) we made a crockpot full of chicken, celery, potatoes, carrots, onions and spices. Had enough for last nights meal and two more meals. Will freeze up one of the meals and have the other tomorrow.

 

[hollydolly]

Yup. Same here. Also mince garlic in olive oil in my little food processor and store it the same way.

Leftovers that I'm not going to use right away and don't want to eat for three days running go in the freezer - either in bags or small tubs. Soup, tomato sauce, pumpkin muffins... stuff like that. We don't eat meat.

When doing a freezer-loading mini marathon I make a couple of dozen pizzas (6 different types), then quarter them. I freeze eight quarters in two-gallon ziplock bags. I often make calzones when I'm doing pizza. Let them cool, wrap tightly in Saran, then put in ziplock bags.

Cookies keep well, too (if I can keep my hands off them.) Biscotti keeps well in the freezer. Lately homemade whole wheat bread, too. Just this morning I put two rounds in the freezer. One with rosemary from the garden, the other plain.

I never learned to can and am impressed by your pantry, @old medic. Aldi does most of my canning.

I've never made Pizza from scratch, I don't eat enough of it to bother making it myself.. but what a simple but good idea to portion in 1/4's when freezing, I would never have thought of that.

I've never tried Calzone, altho' I've heard about it, it's just not readily available here so would have to be home -made..I keep meaning to try it..

 

[StarSong]

I've never made Pizza from scratch, I don't eat enough of it to bother making it myself.. but what a simple but good idea to portion in 1/4's when freezing, I would never have thought of that.

I've never tried Calzone, altho' I've heard about it, it's just not readily available here so would have to be home -made..I keep meaning to try it..

I should have mentioned that DH and I keep less than 1/3 of the pizzas and calzones. Our kids share the bounty.

Calzones are readily available in NYC and to a lesser extent, the greater New York area. When we lived in the northeast, my family made annual pilgrimages to the annual Feast of San Gennaro in Manhattan's Little Italy. All the street food was spectacular but my absolute favorite was the calzones. Second favorite: sausage, pepper and onion sandwiches.

The next time you're in London or other big city, check out the menu at a decent pizzeria, @hollydolly. They're likely to have good calzones.

 

[RadishRose]

Calzoni are standard fare where I live, but I haven't eaten one in years.

 

[hollydolly]

I should have mentioned that DH and I keep less than 1/3 of the pizzas and calzones. Our kids share the bounty.

Calzones are readily available in NYC and to a lesser extent, the greater New York area. When we lived in the northeast, my family made annual pilgrimages to the annual Feast of San Gennaro in Manhattan's Little Italy. All the street food was spectacular but my absolute favorite was the calzones. Second favorite: sausage, pepper and onion sandwiches.

The next time you're in London or other big city, check out the menu at a decent pizzeria, @hollydolly. They're likely to have good calzones.

they really actually don't... that's the weird thing

If I'd know about them during the short time I lived in Northern Italy I would have sought them out, but I didn't...