Recipe from WifeWithAKnife.com

Frozen stuffed pasta shells cook in just over an hour for a fuss-free after work meal

Freezer Madness - preparing a winter's worth of meals

Our newest adventure in food storage is officially underway: Freezing ready to heat-and-eat portions of our favorite foods. It saves a lot of time preparing meals in large quantity, and we can buy seasonal ingredients on sale and save a bundle. Many foods lend themselves to freezing, so I always consider doubling or tripling a recipe to freeze and enjoy another day.

Preserving food, like freezing, drying
and canning, saves time and money
and reduces waste

We have been canning now for a couple of years, and have a good supply of our favorites on hand, including wonderful Chili, Spaghetti Sauce and Ranchero Sauce from our garden tomatoes and peppers, apricot and peach jams, three bean salad. We also have several meats in broth for a quick and easy meal with the addition of some fresh steamed rice and a can of Cream of Mushroom soup (harkening back to my youth when Campbell's soup was as much of a staple supply as milk or eggs). You can see my canning page here.

Canning is only suitable for certain things, so it was natural for us to turn our focus next to freezing.

Step 1: Buy a Freezer
We found a good mid-size freezer (14.8 cubic feet) for under $500 which included tax and delivery. This is the recommended minimum size for storing a smallish side of beef, which we've been considering since we had some grass-fed beef from one of our neighbors (man, what a difference!). After a few delivery missteps, including an attempted delivery of a washing machine instead, our new freezer was finally plugged in and ready to go. Happy day.

             --> cook food
             --> package securely
             --> freeze as quickly as possible
             --> defrost or heat from frozen
             --> eat, and enjoy

Hearty Turkey Pot Pie - ready to wrap and freeze for a cold winter's night to come

In one month we have cooked and frozen more than 150 delicious home-cooked meals!

Our Energy Efficient G.E. freezer sports a big yellow tag claiming it costs $38 a year to run. This estimate represents about a third of what it will cost based upon our actual electricity rate tier. To find out how much it will cost you to run your new appliance, compare the price per kw/h on the tags against the cost on your energy bill.

Step 2: A Trip to the Supermarket - Packaging needed before you start cooking:
Proper packaging is important to protect the food in the freezer and insure that it is of the best quality possible. In addition to all of the ingredients you need for creating your recipe, you need to make sure and get packaging to preserve all your hard work and keep everything tasting as fresh as the day it was made.

Helpful Packaging Supplies:

Saran Wrap
Freezer Paper
Freezer or Masking Tape
Zip-top Baggies
Plastic Storage Containers
Other Appropriate Containers as needed
Sharpie Pens

Sausage and Spinach Lasagne - wrapped first in plastic film, then into zip top plastic bag to protect from freezer burn and deterioration

Burritos with shredded chicken, cheese, rice and beans, ready to wrap and freeze

Packaged and headed toward the freezer on sheet pans to help them freeze quickly

Recipes suitable for freezing are noted in my Recipe Directory by a small yellow heart.

Step 3: Preparing and Freezing your Food
Prepare the food to be frozen and cool and freeze as quickly as possible. For big pots of hot stuff, Steve creates a water bath which can amazingly cool 2 gallons of stock or stew from boiling to cool in about 20 minutes. For non-liquid items, lay them out flat on a sheet pan with space between them if possible and freeze. After they are frozen they can be snuggled together to save space.

For best results, press the air from the packaging and insure that the wrap is tightly covering the food. We use plastic wrap first, followed by a generous square of Freezer paper, secured with masking tape. Each package is labeled with a Sharpie pen with item name, date, quantity and any unusual ingredients.

We keep a "master" list of our frozen meal inventory on a handy clipboard in the kitchen which includes the date the item was made and how many we have in stock. As we use them we make hash marks and cross them off the list when they are gone. It's very helpful to have a menu to choose from - all the food is delicious and made exactly the way we like it. Take out was never so good!