Re: cook and freeze recipes

I cook for one. I do most of my cooking on the weekends, however. The freezer is my best friend.

Most of my cooking centers around chicken and turkey. My middle-aged self no longer accepts red meats with grace. I love boneless and skin-free chicken. The biggest tip I think I can share is that I cook almost everything in those small "oven cooking bags." AND, I seal the cooked meal (bag and all) in freezer zip lock bags (I double them). When I want to use the frozen meal, I remove it from the zip lock bags and re-heat the meal in the cooking bag. This way I have lost none of the juices.

I fix 3 or 4 bags at a time and cook them. As Melba said, be sure to carefully mark the outer bag with the contents and the date.

Typically I would make one meal of a chicken breast, chopped garlic and onion, cut up ootato, and chunked celeary or bok choy and lots of mushrooms. I cover this with stewed tomatoes or a sauce that I like and seasonings. I always use lots of pepper and hold the salt until it is time to eat. Everything goes into the cooking bag. You can then cook the meals and freeze them. I like to spread them out flat when freezing so they defrost and reheat evenly. Once they are frozen I have been known to store them in the door of my freezer for easy retrieval.

I have done this when I made lasagna by inserting the cooking bag inside a minature loaf pan. I remove the cooked lasagna (or other casserole) from the minature loaf pan once it is frozen. That frees up my pans.

Remember, each meal is sealed well in freezer wrap and freezer bags and marked with the contents and the date.

And, Rhonda posted some great make-ahead ideas above your request. Check those out! Good luck to you