A friend is having surgery -- what is good to freeze ahead?

[skpaw]

Any quick, easy meal ideas for my friend would be appreciated. She has a family of 5, the kids are old enough to help some. She will be off her feet for at least a couple of weeks and the more she cooks ahead, the easier it will be. Meals must be affordable and simple. Thanks!

[ResourcePress]

I like to pull out a frozen lasagna and cook it.

After my surgeries, some friends brought over a hot home-cooked meal of chicken, stuffing, and veggies. It was wonderful!

[daskds]

You could do a chicken and rice casserole. Those freeze pretty well.

Here is a link for some more casseroles. I think most of the time they freeze pretty well and being a one dish meal, are easy to prepare and clean up. And you can buy some of those disposable pans to make them in!

http://maindish.allrecipes.com/directory/41.asp

[lassss]

My favorite meal...chicken cutlets.

dip chicken tenders in egg and then breadcrumbs, fry in oil and when cool, freeze in foil. They can be reheated OR baked in the oven with sauce and cheese for chicken parm

[Faulkner99]

Quiche or any kind of meat/veggie pie also freezes well.

[jesslag]

How about beef stroganoff or some stew. I was also going to say lasagna. I also make this cheesy potato casserole I added ham last week and it was awesome.

1 can of cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup
1 med container of sour cream
1 bag of frozen hashbrowns
1/2 stick of butter
1 onion diced
2 c of diced cooked ham
1 or 2 cups of shredded cheddar

sautee the onions in butter. Mix the soup and sour cream together. Add the butter and onions. Add the potatoes, cheese and ham. Mix well. Bake at 350 for half an hour.

Also Chicken spaghetti here is the link.
http://www.online-sweepstakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=332935&highlight=chicken+spaghetti
it is the last post.

[aila]

beside soups, stuffed peppers, stuffed cabbage, chili, lasagna, beef stew.... basically anything made with a tomato base freezes well. also soups,

[ups91]

Desserts freeze well also. My grandma always baked fresh fruit pies in the summer and would freeze them for use later in the winter. My mom always froze cakes or breads when we were kids. Most of these just have to thaw to room temperature, because they have already been cooked.


I made slamon steaks the other night. I broiled them in the oven with some seasonings and a little olive oil. I let them cool and froze them to take later in the week for my lunch. They were wonderful!

[pugnrandy]

Most all my answers were taken. I agree with the lasagna, not so crazy about freezing soups, stews since they seem to water down a bit. You can also freeze spaghetti sauce, make it a little thicker than usual and then cook the noodles the day of eating.

[ups91]

How about baked macaroni and cheese? Stuffed shells, or lasagna rollups?

[skpaw]

Lasagna rollups sound interesting. I never made it that way, but it might be easy to take what is needed out of a zip bag and microwave it.

Thanks for all the good ideas and please keep posting more.

[mongoose]

You might want to ask her kids what they like. Lasagna is very easy but my three hate it. I had someone make me a pan of it aftrer one of my surgeries and it went to waste.

Why not give them a couple of choices like Mac & cheese, chili, etc.

[BeccaShae]

This is really tasty and freezes well: Sicilian Supper

http://busycooks.about.com/od/groundbeefrecipes/r/siciliansupper.htm

[BeccaShae]

This site, "Mom's Budget", has a section of freezer recipes...things like meatloaf, chicken pot pie, sloppy joes, oriental chicken wings, etc. Even freezer fried chicken and mashed potatoes. I haven't tried the recipes, so I can't vouch for them, but it may be worth a look. :)

http://www.momsbudget.com/freezerrecipes/index.html

[Scibba]

a hint for freeze ahead tomato based foods. If using a clear plastic container, spray the inside with food release spray first (such as Pam) so the container will not stain red!

I also put a wrap of press and seal or plastic wrap before I put the cover on

[Miki]

Homemade Chili
Soup
Beef (or) veggie stews
Homemade burritos (breakfast and dinner)
Pancakes
turkey meat
Strawberries for dessert

[aycorn]

gumbo/soup/stew