Good summer freezer recipies

[Clairesoula]

Hi, I'm 39 weeks pregnant with my second and we had a party two weeks ago where we encouraged folks to bring meals for our freezer and we didn't get any. I just put a big casserole in the freezer last night, but realized that when I think of freezer meals, I think of stews and casseroles and stuff that is really good in the winter because it needs to bake etc. Well, needless to say none of us feels like turning the oven on if it's over 80 degrees and we don't have air conditioning. Any good recipes that feel more like summer fare would be greatly appreciated. We frequent the farmer's market and I just thought of blanching veggies to freeze for a quick stir fry....that could be good. Any other suggestions? We don't have a microwave and we have no dietary restrictions at this time.
Thanks!!!!

[notjustmamie]

I like stews and casseroles in the summer that we either cook in the crock-pot or pressure cooker. I'm not sure how that translates to frozen though.

For summery foods, I think of fresh fruits and veggies. How about some stir-fry meals? By varying the veggies and meat you can get a lot of variety. You could serve them over rice or noodles or just have veggies and meat.

Do you have a grill? Could you heat things up outside?

[jeanine123]

If you have a grill, or maybe if it cools off enough at night that you won't mind turning on the oven, you can cook up a bunch of meat and freeze that for use later.

[cocobean]

We love breakfast for dinner, so we always have french toast, whole wheat blueberry waffles, and pancakes in the freezer. Making sure you have lots of frozen fruit and tofu so you can whip up a smoothie quickly. Muffins and breads also freeze well. Spaghetti sauce so that all you have to do is boil noodles (make sure you do it with the lid on to keep the heat in the pot and not in your kitchen). Enchiladas freeze really well too. Guacamole, sloppy joes, and bacon. We had the same issue last year. These were all things I had in my freezer before we brought our ds home.

[BetsyS]

I had a summer baby last year, and I was a little concerned about summer food/winter food, too, but it turned out I was starving (as I was with the first), so it didn't matter. I'd have eaten anything! :

For us, some of the hits were:

Italian pot roast (cooked with hot banana peppers, Italian seasoning, and beef broth). I froze this cooked, then pulled it out, reheated, and we ate it as sandwiches with cheese melted on top (in the toaster oven).

Sloppy joes

Beans and taco meat. Made it easy to throw together tacos or taco salad.

Hamburger patties and frozen mashed potatoes. This turns into hamburger steak, mashed potatoes, and a simple steamed veggie.

Frozen mashed potatoes. This can turn into potato soup with the addition of milk as you heat them up. Add cheese and bacon on top, if you like.

Enchiladas

Spaghetti sauce

And, not freezer food, but easy food to keep around the first couple of weeks--pimento cheese, hummus, and egg salad. All made easy lunches (or 2nd lunches ) for when I was starving right.that.minute. Nursing makes me really hungry at first.

[Aeress]

You might be able to make casserole type things to heat up in the crock pot. Like- chicken ala king, etc I make mine on the stove top.

[reducereuserecycle]

how do you freeze mashed potatoes? how can you reheat them without a microwave? i am very unexperienced at freezing and am also trying to learn so i can get the freezer full for the birth of our autumn baby.

also, can someone tell me how to make and freeze hambuger steak? doesn't it have a gravy with it....sorry, i am taking over your thread. when i was in elementary school they used to have the best hambuger steak on wed. wish i knew their recipe...and what kind of steak do you buy? just hamburger meat?

maybe you could make some loaf of banana and/or berry type breads. i do know those freeze well.

maybe you could boil a chicken and freeze the broth as a basis for a soup (i know...too hot for soup!) but you could use the pieces of chicken for chicken salad or chicken on green salads.

maybe you could also freeze some fruits for smoothies.

my ideas are weak..i know...i am trying to learn more about freezing

[BetsyS]

To make mashed potatoes, I make a huge pot of the, a little stiffer than normal. I usually use butter and buttermilk in mine, so that's what I use. Then, I use an ice cream scoop to scoop them out on cookie sheets. Freeze until they are hard, then store them in ziploc bags.

To reheat, I take out however many scoops I need, then heat slowly in a pan on the stove. At first, they look like they'll be all watery and funky, but they come together when they're hot. I know potatoes are not supposed to freeze well, but they freeze fine for me (I don't have luck with potato chunks in soup, however, so it might be the dairy? Or the mashing? I'm not sure)

Hamburger steak is my mother's "go-to" meal, so I make it like her. LOL. Basically, I just freeze hamburger patties (I do 1/4 pound, but do whatever you like). Then, thaw them out, season, cook them in a pan, and cover them with something. (How's that for detailed?) Probably most often, I take the burgers out, cook an onion, add a can of diced tomatoes, then slide the hamburgers back in, and cook until they are done. Not long, maybe 5-10 minutes.

Sometimes, I take the burgers out and make a brown gravy (oil/flour roux, beef broth), and add mushrooms and a little red wine. Add back the hamburgers and cook 5-10 minutes.

And, if it's a really bad day, we can eat the hamburgers plain.

I guess there's really not any difference between hamburgers and hamburger steak. My family just knows that if I call it "steak", don't expect a bun. ROFL

[reducereuserecycle]

: thanks!!!

[Clairesoula]

Thanks everyone. Helen Marjorie came July 12th, so I didn't make much progress. Luckily the food is streaming in now and the freezer is filling nicely. We're saving a lot of it for when my DH is back at work and I'm alone with the two kiddies and need to make a meal. Great suggestions!
Thanks!

[reducereuserecycle]

Congratulatulations!!!

Glad everything is working out