Freezing food?

[kittymoose]

Hey mamas! I have probably the world's stupidest question for you. I want to start making things like dough and meals in bulk and freezing them. This would save us a ton of money, plus frozen leftovers last wayy longer than our refrigerated (often moldy and forgotten) leftovers. But...

I get the freezing part. I mean, that's not to difficult at all. How do you thaw/cook a frozen meal though? I'm thinking things like chili, lasagna, pizza dough, etc. I can't store them in oven-ready containers, so I'm planning on storing them in freezer bags/containers. Any advice greatly appreciated. Thanks mamas!!

[fek&fuzz]

Pizza dough I freeze in a flat disc, as opposed to a ball, and store in a big zip lock bag.
chili i would freeze in small ziplocks, flat so they thaw easily.

yes, i love zip locks.

[Denvergirlie]

I just pull stuff from the freezer and put it into the refrig to thaw for a day or so.

I also, pull straight from frrzer, cut off ziploc bag and nuke to defrost, or just put in oven ready dish and slide into the oven.

[kittymoose]

So once it's cooked, and frozen, how do I determine re-heating times/temps?

Also, does pie crust freeze?

Sorry for all the questions

[mamadelbosque]

I freeze stuff like lasagna in whatever I cooked it in. So when I make lasagna I just make extra and stick one pan of it in the freezer - its no more of a hassle to make double, IMO and freeze one of them. Then to reheat I just put it straight into the oven (removing the plastic thats wrapped over the top of course). Alternatively, I used to freeze it in ziplock containers in individual portions (mostly when I was in college) and then I could just grab one of them and nuke it for a quick & easy lunch.