Freezing Prepared Foods

Freezing prepared foods is a great way to keep homemade food on your dinner table without a lot of fuss. Freezing will not improve the texture, flavor, or quality of food.  Freeze only high quality products.
After cooking the food you plan to freeze, be sure it is cooled quickly to maintain the safety of the food. Package foods for the freezer in moisture, vapor- resistant materials to prevent freezer burn.
Label each package with the name of the food, ingredients, packaging date, special instructions, and the amount of food. Package in amounts that you will be able to use at one time.
Freeze food as soon as it is packaged and sealed, and place in the coldest part of the freezer.
Reheat all frozen prepared foods to at least 165°F quickly.
Casseroles containing meat (stews, spaghetti sauce, etc.). Prepare as usual, keeping fat to a minimum. Omit potatoes from stews and slightly undercook other stew vegetables. Cool rapidly, package, leave headspace and freeze. Be sure meat is covered with sauce or broth. Thaw partially in refrigerator to prevent overcooking. Reheat in top of double boiler or replace in casserole dish and heat uncovered in oven. Length of freezer storage:
3 months.
Non-meat casseroles (macaroni and cheese). Prepare as usual. Pasta should be slightly undercooked. Cool rapidly, package, leave headspace and freeze. Thaw partially in refrigerator to prevent overcooking. Reheat in top of double boiler or replace in casserole dish and heat uncovered in oven. Length of freezer storage: 3 months.
Dressing. Prepare as usual, cool rapidly, package and freeze. Partially thaw dressing in refrigerator. Add a small amount of water and reheat in a double boiler or place in a greased casserole and reheat in a 350oF oven until hot. Length of freezer storage: 1 month.
Thawing options.
Take frozen food directly from the freezer to the oven for thawing and heating as long as it is in a freezer-to-oven safe container.
Some foods can be thawed and heated using a double boiler.
Thaw foods that contain fish, meat, eggs or other high protein ingredients in the refrigerator or microwave. To keep food safe, do not allow these potentially hazardous foods to stay in the temperature danger zone (40°F-140°F) for more than 2 hours.
Thaw ready-to-eat breads, cakes, and cookies that are precooked at room temperature.
Sources: Freezing Convenience Foods that you’ve prepared at home, Pacific Northwest Extension Publication PNW 296, 82002 Oregon State University. http://eesc.orst.edu/agcomwebfile/edmat/pnw296.pdf
Preserving Food: Freezing Prepared Foods, FDNS-E-43-14, The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service. http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/uga/FreezingPreparedFoods.pdf

 
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Freezer Chocolate Sauce
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