Dear E.,
What a great cost saving and lovely idea for yuor grandmother!
Helpful Hints for Freezer Meals:
• Allow sufficient time to defrost the frozen meal.
Depending on the size of the meat pieces, this can
take 24 hours. For best results, take the meal out
of the freezer the night before you plan to prepare
the meal, thawing overnight in the refrigerator.
• For food safety, thaw meals in the refrigerator
only.
• Adjust cooking times accordingly to allow for
thick or large pieces of meat, or meat pieces that
are not yet fully defrosted in the middle.
• For best results, cut large pieces of chicken breast
in half crosswise. This will help with the
defrosting time and help to ensure more even
cooking. These are for meals that have been prepared BUT not cooked yet!
• Freezer meals should be used within 2 months of
preparation.
Don't freeze these!
Most foods freeze well but here are some that don't.
-Raw salad veggies such as lettuce and tomatoes
-Hard boiled eggs
-Potatoes, rice, pasta in a stew, soup or other liquid medium. they get mushy and can actually dissolve. You can add them later when you're ready to heat a frozen dish.
-Instant rice. You can freeze regular cooked rice(from a steamer or rice cooker)
-Breaded and or fried foods
-Most sauces and gravies made with cornstarch, milk, or sour cream.
Pammy
and good luck!