General tips for freezing/storing food?

[Ocean_Beach_Dweller]

I've poked around here a bit and picked up some tips but I couldn't find a thread set up specifically addressing this, I'm sorry if I missed it.

I'm new to food storage, I live alone and before i became frugal i just threw away food that I didn't finish or let it go bad in the fridge and then threw it out(terrible i know) but now i'm trying to stretch every meal.

I've been freezing soup, which works well but i made some gnocchi and refrigerated it and it was terrible after being refrigerated, didn't taste right at all! I also have made biscuits and muffins in large batches but am afraid they'll get soggy if I freeze them so i just put them in tupperwares in a cabinet.

So as you can see i don't really know what i'm doing lol and any tips would be appreciated, Thanks!

[Contrary Housewife]

Yes, soup freezes well. Also, things in liquid tend to do well, for example I just put leftover pot roast in a container and topped it off with its cooking liquid and it will be fine. We won't eat all of the "gravy" but it protects the meat.

With biscuits or muffins I would keep the home-made muffin mix in the pantry and just make up as needed. Once baked they keep a few days in a bag or container, but I don't think they freeze well.

Generally, the less air that is around the frozen food item the better it will survive. So pack the container full, or use a freezer bag and squeeze the air out. Also, the heavier the container or bag the better it lasts.

Here's the USDA website on food storage: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/FactSheets/...zing/index.asp

[Grainlady]

I make and freeze all our breads and baked goods. I love using pop-up sheets of foil (Sam's Club - box of 500) for individual servings. The foil-wrapped muffins, dinner rolls, cornbread, homemade burger or hot dog bun, scones, etc., can all be tossed into a toaster oven to reheat quickly. Reheating will reactivate the starches and make them very nearly like fresh baked.

Once foil-wrapped, I place them in a large plastic container so they don't get "lost" in the freezer. The challenge with frozen breads is that you need to use them within one to two months after they are frozen.

If you have a FoodSaver vacuum sealer, you'll find it a great tool for freezing food. I freeze soup in single-serving size portions, and as soon as they are frozen I pop them out of the plastic containers, stack the soup "cubes" and vacuum seal them into a FoodSaver bag. This frees up the plastic containers for other things. Now I can remove one or more servings and vacuum seal the bag again and don't have a problem with freezer burn. You could also store the soup "cubes" in freezer zip-lock bags (eliminate as much air as possible).

Some ingredients in soup change during freezing, such as potatoes, rice, and pasta/noodles gets mushy. Under-cooking these in the soup that contains these ingredients will help if you are going to freeze them.

I also do a concentrated form of the soup recipe, then add water when reheating. This helps save freezer space.

You can also freeze single-servings of things in a muffin tin and remove when frozen and store in a bag (single-servings of muffin tin meat loaf). Chili works well in small portions to use as a topping for a baked potato or a base for a taco salad. I freeze meaty spaghetti sauce (cook the spaghetti as needed), taco meat, ground beef stroganoff (make the sauce, freeze it and cook the noodles/pasta/rice to serve it over as needed), Sloppy Joes, bbq beef, etc., all in serving sizes.

I also agree with Contrary Housewife - use homemade mixes. I use my homemade baking mix for making a few drop biscuits (1 cup mix plus 1/3 c. yogurt) and baking them in the toaster oven. I also have a number of muffin recipes that make 6. Or you can cut any recipe for 12 muffins in half and make 6. If you happen to only need 1/2 an egg, an easy way to divide an egg is to mix it with a fork and then use half of it. Use the other half for scrambled eggs, or it can be frozen (defrost in the refrigerator). I also use powdered whole eggs so I can quickly add enough powder for 1/2 an egg.

Here's a handy recipe for biscuits (unbaked) you can keep in the freezer. Take out the amount you need and bake them in a toaster oven. Great if you need to top a casserole with biscuits.

Whole-Wheat Angel Biscuits

1 pkg. active dry yeast
2 T. warm water
1-1/2 c. whole wheat flour
3-1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 t. soda
3 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
4 T. sugar
1 c. shortening (I use butter or coconut oil)
2 c. plus 2 T. buttermilk

Dissolve yeast in water (let proof about 5-10 minutes). Sift dry ingredients together and cut in shortening. Add buttermilk and yeast. Knead lightly and quickly. Roll out and cut. Biscuits may be frozen. Place on cookie sheet with waxed or parchment paper between layers (I like to use my Silpats for this - the biscuits don't stick). Freeze until firm. Place in plastic bag until used. Place on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 400°F for 10 minutes or until lightly.

(Grainlady helpful hint: To save time, cut the biscuits into squares using a pizza cutter, rather than into rounds. Another benefit is that "second cuts" (when you use the leftover dough from cutting the first round biscuits, rework the dough and cut more biscuits) tend to be tough because the gluten is over-developed when you rework the dough.)
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Don't forget to start a container in your freezer for that dab of cooked green beans, black beans, and an assortment of other beans and veggies. This will now be the base for vegetable soup.

[Contrary Housewife]

Another tip: don't wait until stuff is on the verge of going bad before you freeze it. If you cook a whole chicken or make a big casserole, divide it up into portions you will eat within a few days and freeze the rest immediately.