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Freeze Soup In Ziptop BagsPut a baggie in your soup bowl, add soup to the baggie. Close loosely. When frozen, remove from bowl and store in freezer. To thaw, you can dunk it in a bowl of warm water until loosened from the bag. Then heat as you would any frozen soup.

 

4 glass bowls full of soup in the freezer.

Freeze Soup in Glass BowlsI always make an extra large batch when preparing soup for dinner. I have a set of glass bowls that came with plastic lids. It has about 6 individual serving sized bowls. They are perfect for freezing lunch sized portions.

 

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Various Meal Ideas From Homemade Beef SoupPrepare your own favorite basic beef soup recipe. I normally make mine with bite-size pieces of lean pot roast in a huge soup pot so I can make enough to freeze and last me all winter long.

 

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Freezing CasserolesI came along this wonderful tip as I was looking up ideas for freezing pasta dishes for make ahead type meals. Very clever! If you don't want to tie up your baking pans in the freezer, line them with plastic wrap before filling.

 

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Soups to Last All WinterEvery fall, I pull out my large crock pot and start cooking. First I make 2 pots of chicken soup, then 2 pots of vegetable beef soup, then 2 pots of chili.

 

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Freeze Recipe Ingredients TogetherMy best tip for me is to have all the ingredients for a dish all in a bag. I freeze onion, green peppers, celery and okra in a bag along with chicken cubes. Toss in a pot with chicken broth, garlic. canned tomatoes and you have soup, serve with rice that has been frozen.

 

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Make Soup Ahead and FreezeA good time saver when you just don't feel like cooking. Make ahead of time, a good hearty pot of soup with chunky vegetables that will freeze well. Then when you have no time to prepare a meal or you just don't feel like it, just defrost the soup add a wholegrain bun.

 

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Make Extra Lasagna and FreezeWhenever I make a lasagna I make 1 large one and 2 small ones to go in the freezer. Then I have something when I am sick or don't have time to cook.

 

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Freezing Cooked PastaI usually make too much pasta when I am serving spaghetti, not wanting to run short. I never know if the child who ate two plates full last week will do so again this time.

 

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Mix and Match Frozen SoupsI have a tip that I have been doing for many years now. Every late fall through winter I enjoy making huge pots of soup and freezing it into individual containers. Then when I want one, instead of having the same soup over and over again, I do some mixing and matching.

 

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Make Two Meals at OnceI always save time and gas in the summer by cooking two meals at once. Instead of separating my meats, I cook the whole package. That way one night we have pasta.

 

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Make And Freeze Leftover Soup As CasserolesI find that when I make a soup with pasta in it, the pasta gets very soft when trying to serve the soup as a leftover. When I have a lot of leftover soup, I will now put it directly into a casserole dish and freeze it.

 

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Make Big Batches and FreezeWhen I make spaghetti sauce, I always double or even triple the recipe. After we've eaten a meal from the batch, I freeze the rest in freezer bags and lay them flat to conserve space.

 

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Save and Refill TV Dinner PlatesWhen TV dinners were on sale, I purchased a number of them. We used these dinners when we were in a hurry rather than eating fast food. When done, I washed and saved the "plate".

 

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Use Turkey for Freezer MealsI make our own TV dinners so I can control the salt content and avoid other additives. I make up dinner for two on each plate, cover with freezer wrap and freeze. Whenever we are running late, we can take out a plate, heat it and dinner is ready.

 

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Meals being prepared for the freezer.

Freeze a Month of Dinners in One AfternoonIn just three hours, I made dinners to freeze for the entire month. I do this each month and it's so much easier than freezing the raw meat, then thawing it then cooking. This way, the kitchen is only hot for a few hours.

 

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Freezing Produce In Paper BagsI learned this freezing method from a friend who puts up produce from a very large garden every year. She freezes Okra, green beans, bell peppers, zucchini and yellow squash, Purple hull peas, and more this way. Use brown paper lunch bags.

 

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Freezing Individual Portions of Soup or StewWhen I make soup or stew, I make enough for an army, so I can freeze it for lunch or dinner and not worry about cooking during the week.

 

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Cook Two CasserolesWhen making a casserole, double the ingredients and make two. Cook one and store the other in the freezer.

 

Freezing Sandwiches

Freezing SandwichesGood packaging for freezing prepared sandwiches includes freezer-grade plastic bags, rigid plastic containers, glass containers, heavy-duty aluminum foil and foil containers.

 

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Homemade Frozen DinnersWhenever I cook a frozen dinner, I save the plates they were cooked in. Then, when I make meatloaf or roast or whatever, and veggie or mashed potatoes, I'll put the leftovers in individual portions in the saved frozen plates.

 

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Once a Week CookingThere are no "leftovers" at our house! We prefer to call them pre-planned meals. We buy meats on sale and I usually spend a Sunday evening cooking. I often make meat loaves, barbecued spare ribs and baked chicken.

 

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Marinated Frozen Chicken BreastsWhen I buy "on-sale" chicken breasts to freeze, I add marinade, which could be Italian dressing, leftover wine and seasonings or beer or salsa, to the bag. They will be frozen in.

 

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Make Two Meat Loaves Instead of OneSave time and money by doubling your recipes, and putting half in the freezer for later use. For example, with meat loaf, cook one for dinner that night, and save the other one in the freezer for later.

 

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Cook An Extra Meal and FreezeWhen preparing a meal (it doesn't matter if it is a breakfast casserole or a dinner), try doubling the amount you are cooking. Freeze the second part.

 

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Make Your Own Frozen FoodsI use my stock pot to make huge pots of soup, or chili, or spaghetti sauce to use for one dinner and freeze the rest in meal-size portions and use one a night when there is not time to cook and you still need a hearty meal.

 

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A Quick Supper From LeftoversKeep a large plastic container in your freezer. A gallon jar with lid or a plastic ice cream bucket. Or even a large Zip lock bag will work. Instead of throwing away the celery leaves when you trim celery, tuck them into the container. That spoonful or two of leftover peas, corn, carrots, etc.

 

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Quick and Easy Meals Using the Freezer (PDF)Making meals ahead and freezing them in single-serve sizes can save you time and money. And, homemade freezer meals will be lower in fat and sodium than store bought ones.

 

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Dividing Up Your Ground BeefI cook up 10 pounds of ground beef at a time and then divide it up into one pound packages (our family's size). Then I freeze it.

 

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Half-a-Month CookingAs a busy home school mom, I needed a way to have easy, quick, inexpensive meals without going out. I did not even have one day to do once a month cooking.

 

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