recipes that freeze well in individual portions

Hi food52ers, I'm looking for recipes that freeze well and can be reheated in the microwave or in a counter top convection oven with no additional prep required. My 92-year-old mom can no longer safely hang out at the stove but she's still got a great and discerning appetite. I saw a useful blog post and discussion started by Merrill in 2012 but many of those suggestions require additional prep or some last minute tweaking. I'm looking for straight from freezer to plate (via heating device) options! My mom has no dietary restrictions except salt (none) and likes almost everything except spicy food. Thanks a million!

tammany
  • Posted by: tammany
  • December 30, 2017
  • 1402 views
  • 11 Comments

11 Comments

Mallory
Mallory January 2, 2018
Almost every year we make a couple different varieties of soups for my grandma. We freeze them into 16oz containers (purchased off amazon, also reusable) and stock up her freezer for the winter. So my suggestion would be soups/stews/chili and the like. You can have many different varieties and cater to preferences/tolerances. Plus a warm bowl of something homemade is perfect in the colder months.
 
ktr
ktr January 2, 2018
I just wanted to chime in and say how wonderful it is that you are taking the time to do this for your mother. I see too many elderly patients with poor nutrition and no family help.
 
arcane54
arcane54 December 31, 2017
Muffin tins are a great way to portion out dishes such as macaroni and cheese, lasagna, meatloaf, strata, frittata, eggplant Parmesan... even soups/ stews. Then all she has to do is take one out of a freezer bag, pop it in the microwave, add a salad or side veg and DINNER!
 
tammany
tammany December 30, 2017
Ha! Your correction arrived right as I was pondering where I went wrong:)
 
Nancy
Nancy December 30, 2017
In addition to good ideas from MMH:
durations to freeze with good reheating results vary by food...2 mo, 4-6 or 10-12 mo.
Consult a source like still tasty.com
Then, mark containers with tape* giving either freeze date + max duration or date by which to defroat heat + eat.
* masking or electrical tape...something you can write on & easily remove.
 
tammany
tammany December 30, 2017
Thanks Nancy! I din't know about tasty.com - how useful!
 
MMH
MMH December 30, 2017
Geeat! Do you have her recipes? Cuz this might be a great chance to have her sit with you while you cook & get some of her stories & recipes. You know what you can freeze and what you can't. Use this as a moment with her. I'm jealous. I never got that.
 
tammany
tammany December 30, 2017
You are so right. Thank you
 
Nancy
Nancy December 30, 2017
Great!
But typo divided website name.
It's
Stilltasty.com
 
MMH
MMH December 30, 2017
I don't mean to dodge the question but what does she really like? She's probably feeling some loss of control & I think it would be a good idea to Atleast give her some choice in the matter.
 
tammany
tammany December 30, 2017
Dear MMH - you are absolutely right! I just didn't want to overload the hotline with this requirement and that preference. My father was Italian and an excellent cook so that's a cuisine she is very familiar and comfortable with. She herself learned to cook via Julia Child - and while her salt is restricted, her butter fat is not! Other than French/Italian she likes good ingredients simply prepared. She likes food with Asian flavors but is probably most comfortable with Fr/It. Thank you for asking:)
 
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