What do you freeze your foods in?

[MyBaby'sSmile]

I want to prepare foods to freeze for a busy time coming up, but I don't want to cook and freeze the foods in the aluminum pans you can buy at the grocery store. I also don't have enough freezer safe pyrex etc. to have them used in the freezer. And if others are going to be bringing meals, they won't want to leave me their dishes for an extended period.

Any ideas on how to safely freeze casseroles etc. without using aluminum baking pans?

[numom499]

If you're not opposed to aluminum in general....

you can line your baking dish with foil, add food, freese, then remove foil package from pan. Wrap well with more foil. I do this a lot with my 9 x 13 baker....only have one, but right now , I have about 4 "trays" of lasagna in my freeser. I just put it in the original dish to reheat.

[LizaBear]

I don't tend to make large meals to freeze, but rather make individual portions for quick reheats for lunches instead.

I use the small foil pans from the grocery or dollar store, and when the food is frozen, I pop it out into a ziploc bag. I get a LOT of use out of the foil pans this way, and it makes a perfect portion for myself or my hubby. And the small ones - about cupcake sized - make great toddler portions too.

[bendmom]

I tried to use recycled butter and yogurt containers for freezing but ended up w/ freezer burn. I have bunch of the Ziplock freezer bags that i put baked goods, etc in. I have three of the big Ziplock freezer containers with the blue lids and I dump my soups and cassaroles in those. Once they are reheated (not in container) no one can noticed that they were all mushed into a container or dumped in a bag. I didn't like the thought of plastic, but they are stackable and I can fit alot of food in my tiny freezer, which is the biggest selling point for me..

[AngelBee]

:

[thomlynn]

You can also coat your pans and dishes with butter then pop them out if you don't want to buy any of the aluminum pans. You have to coat them really well then use a butter knife and kind of wedge it in there. Make sure you write on the bag you transfer it to what pan or dish you used. It's also a good idea to write the cooking directions on the bag so you don't have to look it up when you're ready to cook.

Some stuff I just freeze right in a freezer bag. Pot pie mix and sauces go right to a bag. Then you lay them flat while they freeze and once they are frozen solid you can stack them up and fill your freezer with tons of them. Just make sure that the bags are closed before you put them on their side.

Good luck with your cooking.

[sabrinat]

I mostly use freezer bags that I pickup at aldi's or the dollartree. I cook ahead and I've found the freezer bag method the most versatile.