What Meals to Freezing In Advance of Getting Sick

[DaisyM]

Not a great title....but I get sick every winter for several weeks. Nothing medically to do about this, but I try to prepare by freezing meals in advance. I always make a vat of chicken soup and brisket.

Just wondering if you have dishes that freeze really well and always keep in the freezer. Thank you!

[calliope_nh]

Chicken cattiatore. Good time of year to use up tomatoes and peppers. Well, at least in NH we have started with the fall frosts.

[ChefJune]

Chicken and Rice; Meatloaf or meatballs; Pot Roast (leave the potatoes out); Split Pea Soup.

[smtucker]

Really? You freeze cooked rice? What is the texture like when it is thawed and what kind of rice do you use? My interest is piqued!

[Caitlin McGrath]

smtucker, cooked rice freezes well on its own (hence the commercial varieties, e.g., Trader Joe's sells cooked jasmine and brown rices frozen as a convenience food). You can portion cooked rice into freezer bags. I've never defrosted plain frozen rice, just heated it from its frozen state in a microwave, and the texture is pretty similar to freshly cooked. So I imagine that dishes incorporating rice would work fine, too.

[smtucker]

I didn't know you could buy pre-cooked rice in the freezer section either! I don't walk those aisles just pop into the frozen vegetables and then back out.

Thank you ChefJune and Caitlin. This opens up some wonderful possibilities especially as I work on menus for my aging parents.

[gimlis1mum]

sm, maybe not for your parents but for you: TJ's sells "baked yaki onigiri." that are very good IMO. I've treid makeing them at home with leftover hot cooked brown rice and they came out great. I let them cool, wrap them in foil and put in freezer bags, and then ither add them to lunchboxes as is or thaw them overnight in fridge or in the microwave for a few seconds. A great, quick way to get a starch on the table.

I mostly follow these instructions:
http://momofukufor2.com/2010/01/yaki-...

[pine time]

Prior to knee replacement surgery, when I knew I'd be at Mr Pine's mercy, i.e, lack of culinary skills, I froze lots of soups, chili, lasagna, curries, quiches, chicken meatballs in marinara sauce, dals. Once we ran out of those, he made scrambled eggs 3 times a day for 2 weeks. Oh, and overcooked scrambled eggs, at that. I lost weight, so that was a good thing.

[anakalia]

I like hearty soups when I am sick -- they freeze well, too. How about a ginger-carrot soup, or a butternut squash soup, or even, if you feel like it, a beet soup? Although I tend to like spicy food when I have a winter cold -- and I don't know if spicy peppers freeze well. Otherwise I might also suggest some sort of coconut-lemongrass-chicken-chili soup, too !

[blinknoodle]

I find that my tummy usually needs a break when I am sick, so I try to eat more bland foods... I have frozen oodles of soups and stews.. Indian curries freeze well. My favourite is one with split yellow peas, ginger and lime. I also freeze variations on kitchari (beans and rice).

[Hank Hanover]

I would get a food saver and freeze individual meal size bags of the following.
pasta sauce
Swiss Steak
Stew
Rice Pilafs a few different kinds. You can do them like boiling bags or heat them in the microwave
Freeze stir fry meats in their marinade and freeze.
chopped veggies for any kind of cooking saves a lot of time.
pulled pork
Definitely have a lot of soups. It's quick and comforting.
Finally keep some eggs in the fridge and baking potatoes in the pantry. You can always throw an egg in a pan or potato in the oven. Keep some hard boiled eggs in the fridge too.

[DaisyM]

I had avoided freezing rice and pasta dishes. I just assumed they would have a mushy consistency. Thanks for telling me. Good idea about freezing leftovers.

[Njchicaa]

pretty much all leftovers freeze well unless you are doing carbonara. I'd just make an extra serving of meals as you go along this fall and freeze it.

[Esty]

Lasagna freezes well, as does chili, also most heartier winter soups (i.e. lentil).

[Berheenia]

I have good luck with rice casseroles and other rice mixtures such as stuffing for stuffed veg. I always make up individual servings of my favorite casseroles for meeting nights when I eat alone at 10pm. Mac and cheese also freezes well.

[smtucker]

Ah yes. I have a few ideas:

quiche, mini if your appetite decreases during these weeks
spanikopita, again, frozen in individual servings if it is just you
chicken stew, love Ina Garten's recipe with or without pastry
meatballs and/or meatloaf, also freeze some marinara sauce
braised meats like stews, pot roast
beans, already cooked with some veggies, herbs and even a bit of pork
second the chicken stock, both Western and Asian

to add some vegetables to this mix, roast a tray of hardy winter vegetables once a week and reheat as needed. keep some frozen pearl onions, peas and string beans and throw them into the braises as they reheat.

Just a few thoughts.

p.s. Look for the thread "ChemoHounding" for a bunch more ideas. I think it is on the General board.