Proper packaging is the solution to all problems. By using the right packaging, you will extend the shelf life of food in the freezer and preserve their taste.
To store frozen food, you can use:
- special packages for a freezing with a fastener (packages sliders) or without;
- plastic containers that can withstand sub-zero temperatures and are suitable for the microwave;
- thick foil
- food film;
- disposable molds for baking.
Be sure to sign everything you put in the freezer, otherwise, later you simply won’t remember what you froze, frozen foods look completely different. Also sign the freeze date to avoid unpleasant consequences. You can use an indelible marker for this. Ordinary felt-tip pens or pens are not suitable for this, as they fade.
What foods can be frozen?
You will not believe, but you can freeze almost all ready-made dishes.
Below are just a few of the foods that keep well in the freezer:
- broths;
- puree soups;
- sausages;
- meat goulash;
- pilaf;
- chops;
- lasagna;
- pates (meat, fish, liver);
- mashed potatoes;
- cereals;
- pasta (boil until al dente);
- cutlets;
- pigeons;
- pastries (pies, pizza, buns, muffins, pancakes, pancakes);
- casseroles;
sauces (bolognese, pesto).
Nuances:
If you cook at once and a lot, then do not freeze everything in one package, divide into portions so that you do not have to defrost several times.
The faster the freeze, the better. Many modern freezers have a quick freeze function. To freeze the dish, use this function, and for storage, you can use the regular compartment with standard -18 degrees.
When freezing in bags, try to "expel" all the air, then the products will better retain their appearance and taste.
Do not fill storage containers to the top, since most foods contain water, which expands when frozen. This is especially true for broths, soups and gravies.
When storing in the freezer, try to use different shelves. for meat and fish dishes, vegetables and other products to protect products from foreign odors.
Mayonnaise, yogurt, cream are best added to the dish before meals, because after freezing they exfoliate.
How to organize?
1. Make a menu and a list of necessary products. We wrote about it.
2. Plan your work. To begin, write down a list of what you need to prepare from each recipe. For example: chop and fry one onion, boil pasta, boil meat. Then group the same steps: for example, one recipe calls for one onion, and another two, so we can peel and fry three onions. When planning, consider the following: first prepare all the products (clean, wash, cut), then rub, cut, chop, and only then do we start frying, boiling, baking. This approach will allow you to cook several dishes at the same time.
3. Prepare all necessary utensils and accessories- knives, cups, pots, pans - and feel free to start cooking, following the work plan.
4. After all the ingredients are ready, it remains for us to decompose everything into packages, containers and sign, then put it in the freezer.
Freezing is the easiest way to prepare food for the winter. Moreover, you can freeze almost everything: vegetables and fruits, mushrooms and berries, various spices and herbs. Fresh products stored in this way perfectly retain their vitamins and beneficial features all winter. Semi-finished products are also frozen, which, if necessary, can simply be thawed and added to the dish being prepared during its preparation. However, keep in mind that freezing any supplies has its own characteristics. Step by step recipes with photos will help you take into account all the nuances in order to save as many vitamins as possible.
The best recipes with photos
The last notes
The main difficulty in storing radishes is that when frozen in a conventional freezer, where the standard temperature is -18 to -24 ° C, the water contained in the radish turns into crystals that break the fruit. And when defrosted, the radish will simply drain, leaving a puddle of water and a sluggish rag.
You can freeze the components of dishes, individual ingredients or whole prepared dishes.
Meal ingredients are anything that you can prepare ahead of time and/or mix together to speed up cooking. For example, to cook borsch with beans, you can cook and freeze meat broth, separately beans, separately frying for borscht, tomato preparation and meat. And then just mix it all in a saucepan, add potatoes and fresh cabbage. And no one can distinguish borscht from freshly prepared borscht. And it will take 30 minutes.
Separate ingredients - all kinds of mono-components, such as mushrooms, tomatoes, meat, from which you can later cook any dish.
Collected meals - can be either raw or cooked meals. You can prepare ready-made sets of lunches (breakfasts, dinners) or, as they say now, “snacks”.
Frozen well:
- Meatloaf, (raw and cooked), meatballs. After you've made them to your favorite recipes, stack them in batches in containers or freezer bags. raw meals Defrost before cooking and then cook as usual.
- Marinated meat and poultry. Cut raw meat into portions, transfer them to portion bags or containers, pour marinade over them and freeze. Finally, the meat will be marinated at the time of defrosting in the refrigerator. After defrosting, cook the meat as usual.
- Casseroles, lasagna, enchiladas. Collect raw and freeze. Before use, these dishes require complete defrosting.
- Various flatbreads: corn or wheat for making burritos or tacos, pita, etc. They are frozen fried. Before use, they are not thawed, but quickly heated in a frying pan or in the oven.
- Fillings for burritos, tacos, shawarma, pita rolls sliced, mixed and frozen raw and cooked just before consumption.
- Pancakes with filling. Ready-made stuffing is frozen. Before use, they are not thawed, but quickly heated in a frying pan.
- pies. Pies are frozen or semi-finished and finished cooking in the oven. Or frozen raw, collected in a baking dish, and not thawed before baking.
- Pies with fillings. Pies are frozen half-cooked.
- Stews, soups and broths, chili. This category of dishes is frozen completely ready and heated without defrosting.
- Dough products with fillings for subsequent cooking: dumplings, dumplings, khinkali, manti, ravioli. Frozen raw and not thawed before cooking.
- Marinades and sauces preparednot based on emulsions and intended for heating or hot dishes, such as pasta. There is often not enough time to prepare marinades, sauces and other dressings. But it turns out that many sauces can be cooked and frozen. And what's more, many of them are easier to cook in large batches or cook in season and save not only time but also money.
- Bread, buns,. If you are baking, then the best way to save time and energy is to bake the dish halfway and bring it to readiness before eating without defrosting.
- Cheese. Storing grated cheese in the freezer is a great way to save grating time. In addition, sometimes there is a surplus that is difficult to store in the refrigerator (cheese requires a fairly high humidity for storage). Most types of cheese are suitable for freezing, with the exception of soft cheeses with mold like brie or camembert. But at the same time, mozzarella, gorgonzola picante, feta are suitable.
- Marinades and sauces.
- Raw meat, fish and chicken. The best way to save money is to buy a large volume and cut the meat yourself. For example, you buy several chickens at once and disassemble them depending on the desired use: cut the breast fillets, separate the wings, drumsticks, collect fat for cooking chicken lard, leave the bones for the broth, chop the minced meat for cutlets. All this can be separately positionally frozen and used as needed.
- Ready-made meat, such as ham, boiled pork. Ready meat is more convenient to cut and divide into portions. Such meat is used as a filling for sandwiches, tacos, burritos, in salads and soups.
- Sausages for frying and cooking, sausages. Sausages tolerate freezing well. They must be thawed before cooking.
- Pizza. Pizza is frozen raw (with sauces and toppings) in a baking dish. This pizza is baked without defrosting. Or, pizza crusts are baked separately until half cooked, and sauces and toppings are frozen separately. The sauce will need to be thawed before use, but the crust and toppings can remain frozen.
- Dough of all kinds. Almost any dough is frozen - yeast, shortbread, puff, etc. Before cooking, the dough is defrosted and it is ready to use.
According to the survey, women on average spend more than 8 hours a week cooking. And if you add up all the time that women spend at the stove during their lives, you get 3 years of continuous cooking! Fortunately, there is a way to reduce this time, and a conventional freezer will help with this. Now we will tell you everything.
There are 2 ways to start saving cooking time:
- Cook 5-6 dishes at a time (servings should be small), freeze most of the dishes and then, as necessary, defrost and eat.
- And you can cook 1 dish each time, but in a larger volume than usual, and freeze part of it. In a week or two, so much will accumulate in your freezer. prepared food that you can periodically allow yourself not to think about cooking, but simply defrost and reheat stocks.
We will tell you what ready-made dishes you can freeze and at the same time not be afraid that after defrosting they will turn into an unappetizing substance.
1. Pilaf
We freeze. Pilaf should be frozen only freshly cooked and chilled to room temperature. It can be packaged in bags (having previously released all the air) or containers. Also, don't forget to stick a sticker with the date of freezing. Keep frozen pilaf 3 months at -18 °C.
Defrost. There are several ways to defrost:
- In a frying pan (if frozen in a bag). Transfer the pilaf to an unheated dry frying pan and simmer over low heat under a lid. You can add a couple of tablespoons of water.
- In the microwave. Just use the defrost mode.
- In a refrigerator. Put frozen pilaf in it for about 8-10 hours (depending on the volume), then heat the dish in any way convenient for you.
2. Cheesecakes
We freeze. After cooking the cheesecakes, place them on paper towels to absorb excess oil. First, cool them to room temperature, and then place them in the refrigerator for an hour. Then fold them in a turret of 5-6 pieces, wrap cling film or just put it in a bag. Keep ready-made cheesecakes in the freezer 4 months.
Defrost. The cheesecakes need to be transferred to the refrigerator, and then, when they are completely thawed, reheat them in the microwave or oven. It is better to defrost them in the evening, and by morning you will have breakfast ready.
3. Stuffed Peppers
We freeze. First, the finished dish must be put in the refrigerator to cool. After about 2 hours, the pepper can be decomposed into bags, not forgetting to release air from them after that. If there is enough space in the freezer, arrange the peppers in containers. Keep ready stuffed peppers can 3 months.
If you have cooked the peppers with gravy, you can freeze the gravy separately using small containers.
Defrost:
- In a refrigerator. Put them there in advance, for example at night. And you can warm up this dish in a pan in a sauce or in the oven.
4. Pizza
We freeze. Cool the finished pizza to room temperature, wrap with cling film. Keep in the freezer pizza should be no more half a year. By the way, you can cut it into pieces, wrap each with a film and freeze it in this form.
Defrost. First, let the pizza thaw a little, you may not completely. Then remove the film and put the pizza in the microwave for 3-4 minutes or in a preheated oven for 10-15 minutes.
5. Rice
We freeze. Cooked rice can be frozen if you cook it properly. If you end up with an unappetizing, sticky rice mass, freezing and thawing will make it even less palatable. So, first, the finished rice needs to be cooled. To do this, spread it on a flat tray and stir occasionally with a fork. Once the rice has cooled, pour it into containers without tamping. Leave some empty space. Put the containers in the freezer and shake them a few times over the next 2 hours to keep the rice from sticking together into one big brick. If everything was done correctly, after defrosting, the rice will be crumbly. Keep it can 3–6 months.
Defrost:
- Transfer the rice to a shelf in the refrigerator until completely defrosted.
- You can defrost rice microwave oven: transfer it to a plate, add a little cold boiled water and turn on the defrost mode.
- You can also reheat the rice in a frying pan: reduce the heat to a minimum, add a little water to the rice and stir from time to time.
6. Potato
We freeze. Potatoes are a specific product for freezing, as after defrosting they can change their taste and texture. Therefore, it is optimal to freeze potatoes in the form of mashed potatoes. It should be frozen fresh. Cool the puree to room temperature, then refrigerate for 2-3 hours. After that, lay it out in containers or bags and send it to the freezer. Keep puree can up to six months.
Defrost:
- In the microwave using the defrost setting.
- On the shelf of the refrigerator for several hours.
- In a frying pan - just add a little water.
7. Kashi
It may seem that it makes no sense to freeze dishes that are prepared for at least half an hour. Nevertheless, sometimes half an hour plays a big role after a hard day's work.
We freeze. All cereals can be frozen, the only difference is the time storage: cereals cooked with water can be stored no more than 6 months, and cereals in milk - no more than 4.
So, ready-made cereals you need to cool to 4-6 ° C (place them in the refrigerator for an hour), and then pour them into containers or bags (for example, you can do this with oatmeal or buckwheat) and place in the freezer.
A little trick: place a bag inside the container and then pour the porridge into it. When it freezes, take the bag out of the container and you have a frozen brick of porridge that takes up little space in the freezer.
Liquid cereals are best stored in a jar or container. Do not forget that the product will expand when frozen, so leave a little empty space.
Defrost. Porridge should be thawed only on the shelf of the refrigerator. Dry ones will thaw in a few hours, but liquid ones are best thawed in the evening. In the morning you will have a ready-made breakfast, which will remain heated in the microwave.
8. Puree soups, broths
We freeze. Only freshly brewed cream soup or broth should be sent to the freezer, and not the one that has stood for a day or two. It is also worth considering that after defrosting the soup, the pasta contained in it will darken (due to starch, which reacts to temperature changes). Also, do not freeze soup that contains potatoes, as there is a chance that after defrosting the soup will turn into porridge.
So, after the soup has cooled, pour it into dry containers and put it in the freezer. Be sure to leave some free space in the containers. Keep such soups should not be longer 3 months.
By the way, it is better not to freeze greens in soups. Freeze it crushed in fresh separately.
Defrost. The soup can be thawed in the microwave (defrost mode) or in the refrigerator: in this case, the soup will thaw for 4-5 hours, and then it must be heated in a saucepan over low heat. It is not necessary to bring the soup to a boil.
9. Baking
We freeze. Bread, buns, pies, muffins, pies, cookies and gingerbread can be frozen. Large pastries, such as bread or pie, should be cut before freezing. Keep pastries in the freezer can be in bags or containers and no longer 2 months.
Defrost:
- In the microwave.
- Let it defrost at room temperature.
10. Meat products
We freeze. At first, any ready meat dish(cutlets, chicken, meatballs, and so on) cool to room temperature and wrap with cling film, and then send the briquettes to the freezer. Keep meat products should not be longer 3 months.
Defrost:
- At room temperature.
- In the microwave. To taste qualities dishes are not particularly affected, you can add a little to it herbs, butter or any sauce to taste.
A few important points
- After you put the food in bags, do not forget to completely get rid of the air in them.
- If you are freezing something liquid (sauces, soups), remember to leave some space in the container, as the liquid will expand in volume when frozen and the container may crack.
- Remember to label bags and containers with the freeze date.
- It is better to defrost food in a slow way (on the shelf of the refrigerator). Only use the microwave if you're pressed for time.
- Once defrosted, cooked foods cannot be re-frozen.
And we use the ideas from this article by Elizaveta Pravikova:
Fasting has come - and what is the person most forced to think about, especially one who has a rather large family? Of course, about food, alas and ah. About food, about its composition, about how to cook dishes tasty and nutritious, and ideally, to make them simple and quick. For the prospect of spending the whole post at the stove does not please me, that's for sure.
The most interesting thing is that there are many recipes for lean food, there are also opportunities, but how lazy to put it all into practice ... Moreover, the result (in the sense of whether they eat it or not) in my family, for example, is unpredictable. It can easily turn out that half of the family will like it, and the other half will not eat cooked food. However, compose Lenten supper not a particularly big problem, everyone except me dine outside the house. The problem is different - breakfast, that's what requires a truly creative approach!
With breakfasts in the post, a constant "ambush". I don’t know about you, but for me it’s an eternal headache - to make sure that my husband and children do not leave home hungry for the whole day. For me, oatmeal will do if I have it, the breakfast issue is always resolved. To me, but not to children, in whom you can’t stuff oatmeal and milk, not like in its lean version. And this year we have a very interesting situation - three older children get up before us, get ready on their own and go to school. This means that it is necessary to provide them with such breakfasts that do not require effort from them in cooking: to get it, warm it up and eat it, and so that it is nutritious and tasty. So I began to think about how to provide it. And in the process of my thoughts, this list was born.
Please note that these are not specific recipes, but 5 ideas for a lean breakfast. Honestly, exact recipes(unless it's baking, where strict proportions are important) I don't really like to use it, because they require a certain set of products, certain manipulations, and time. Yes, people have different tastes. Therefore, I personally prefer ideas as a basis for creativity. Like things and ideas from IKEA - you pick up what you like, pick up the idea and create based on your personal taste and preferences. My list includes both quick ideas and those that require cooking-preparation, that is, homemade convenience foods. And, by the way, continuing the topic of the last article - all ideas are more than budget!
pancakes
I start with pancakes, because they are the lean “salvation” for us, all my children eat them! The main thing is that the filling is different. Yes, this is a dish that will have to be prepared in advance. And if we take on it, then in full. It's stupid to make dough for a dozen pancakes, right? So I do a lot at once. Yeast lean pancakes they turn out very tasty and elastic if you add more sunflower oil to the dough, and also let the dough rise, and then stir it well.
The composition of the dough is simple - water, salt-sugar, yeast, flour and sunflower oil. And also, so that during the process of making pancakes their edges do not dry out, it would be good to close the finished pancakes with a lid (when warm). Your slide of pancakes is the basis for further creativity in terms of filling. It can be anything, depending on your taste - cabbage, rice, potatoes, beans, peas, with the addition of fried onions (bulb and green), mushrooms, fish, seafood. From sweet fillings - berries with sugar, grated apples, thick jam. And then everything is simple, wrap the filling in a pancake, preferably a roll, and in the freezer. All delicious and nutritious breakfast fast food ready for a few days!
2-3 minutes in the microwave, any child and any husband can handle it on their own. And I can’t help but add about the budget of this dish: I calculated that 20 pancakes (larger than those sold in packs) with cabbage and rice, very tasty, cost me 50 (!!!) rubles. And, of course, plus my work on the day off.
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Vegetable cutlets
Our second regular dish also requires preparation, and again we prepare it on an industrial scale. Potato cutlets (or pancakes, as you like). The basis is a potato in a uniform, then, of course, peeled and turned in a meat grinder. Then add to this dough, again, whatever you want - mushrooms, onions, herbs, spices. This is a very convenient semi-finished product, cutlets can be frozen unfried (and then their preparation will take a little more time) and fried (then just warm up). You can use them as a hot dish, for example, with peas, or with sauce, or you can put them on a sandwich. The sandwich usually goes with "yesterday's" cold pancakes left over from dinner. Any vegetable patties you like, made ahead of time and frozen, are also great for breakfast. Again, the food is very inexpensive.
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Oatmeal, sir!
But my favorite oatmeal is a truly fertile basis for creativity! According to my understanding, it is not included in the "porridge" section precisely because of its versatility. Quick, tasty, nutritious, you can add anything, make it any consistency, you want, cook, you want, no, you want to fry like pancakes, in general - a miracle.
What makes it even better is that it doesn't require any prescription. Everything is prepared here, as my grandmother used to say, according to the principle “everything good was put”. Can be added to it soy milk, liquid or dry, you can boil it in water with honey, on apple juice, for cocoa. Add any spices, nuts and dried fruits, any fruits and berries, everything to your taste. You can make jelly and delicious nutritious cocktails from it. Great to combine it with bran. You can pour it in the evening, and in the morning eat it cold or warm it up. Taking a banana, a handful of berries, a glass of liquid (water, juice, soy milk) and a few tablespoons of cereal and whipping it all with a blender, we get a cocktail. Add bran, let stand - and here is a new dish. The same can be done in vegetable version, whipping liquid porridge with herbs, spices and vegetables. In general - more than enough creativity! And again, mind you, it comes out very budget.
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And porridge
For those who are not opposed to cereals, this is one of the most universal dishes for breakfast. Yes, it's boring without milk, but let's dream up. Unlike oatmeal, however, most cereals take longer to cook. However, now there are a variety of cereals on sale: buckwheat, rice, corn, etc. But if you want it to come out on a budget, it’s better to stop at cereals.
For example, do you know that buckwheat can not be boiled? What’s more, it’s much healthier when raw. Just in the evening you need to fill it with water, cold or hot, you can immediately add salt-sugar-honey-spices-dried fruits or spicy seasonings(again, everything to taste), close the lid and leave. And then in the morning you just have to add oil as desired and heat it up - very tasty!
Rice will have to be cooked in advance, of course, and in the morning you will somehow diversify it. Happy are those people who love pumpkin, because rice and millet go well with pumpkin. And by adding zest, ginger or other spices, you turn this porridge into a culinary masterpiece.
And, in order not to offend our favorite children's porridge, I will share an idea based on semolina. semolina porridge very tasty to cook on lingonberry or cranberry juice. You need to cook thinner than usual, and then, after cooling a little (or completely, if you do it in advance), beat well with a blender or mixer. It turns out the most delicate and delicious nutritious mousse. If you make it in advance and more, then you should put it in vases and bowls and put it in the refrigerator. At any time you have breakfast / afternoon tea / snack / dessert ready. Children, by the way, eat with great pleasure (and they don’t even always realize that this is semolina).
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Sandwiches and pies
Well, for those who categorically do not want to eat all sorts of healthy cereals and vegetables, but always prefers a cup of coffee with pastries or a sandwich, lean options also do not count. Well, firstly, fish and seafood - salted, smoked, caviar, various pastes. It is, however, not budget-friendly at all. Even if you do everything yourself. But sometimes you can treat yourself, right? Secondly, different kinds"non-marine" caviar: vegetable, mushroom, bean. Here both purchased options and what is cooked with your own hands will come into play. Bean and pea paste can also be made from canned food for speed - beat it with a blender, add what you want, to taste, put it in the refrigerator. Vegetable and mushroom caviar, of course, take time. But all these “spreads” on sandwiches are good because you can make a lot of them at once, at least for a week. And, of course, no one canceled jams and jams for spreading on a sandwich! By the way, anything can also become the basis for sandwiches - bread (regular and in the form of toast), dry bread, pita bread, pita bread, flat cakes.
The topic of lean pies is worthy not just of a separate article, but of an entire book. Therefore, I will limit myself to a simple life hack for pies for breakfast. I always have a pack of puff pastry in my freezer, very convenient. For example, you have something left from dinner (we usually have it as a side dish), quickly defrost the dough, make the filling from the leftovers of dinner, adding something else for taste, like greens or fried onions, and sculpt envelopes or triangles from puff pastry. It bakes very quickly, fuss is also a little, but tasty breakfast right here!
I hope our ideas will help you develop your own creativity in preparing delicious fasting breakfasts and spend less time cooking in fasting. And, of course, we look forward to your sharing your ideas too!
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