Many of you have asked the important question. So what does the food taste like once it's reheated? Well, we are half-way through the month so I thought I'd take a moment to share some photos and taste reviews/suggestions. I'll post the other half at the end of the month. Happ eating!
Sausage Rigatoni: This is a recipe that I've made many times before, but never frozen. I knew that there was potential for the pasta to get mushy if overcooked as it would absorb sauce even in the freezer. I compensated by slightly undercooking the pasta and adding a little extra sauce. I still had a *slightly* musy pasta, so I think in the future, I will cook the pasta even a little less. The extra sauce was definitely a good idea-it absorbs a lot in storage! The taste was wonderful, depsite my misfire on the texture.
Sausage Rigatoni: This is a recipe that I've made many times before, but never frozen. I knew that there was potential for the pasta to get mushy if overcooked as it would absorb sauce even in the freezer. I compensated by slightly undercooking the pasta and adding a little extra sauce. I still had a *slightly* musy pasta, so I think in the future, I will cook the pasta even a little less. The extra sauce was definitely a good idea-it absorbs a lot in storage! The taste was wonderful, depsite my misfire on the texture.
Bean burritos: Once these were cooked, you would never know that they weren't made fresh and cooked immediately. Super fast to re-heat and delicious! Going in the book of favorites.
Fruit cups: I actually tried this recipe because it is similar to a fruit salad recipe that Walt's grandmother and mom use. Problem is, their recipe makes a TON of fruit salad, and I hadn't really figured a good way to store it. So I swapped out their recipe with this one (it's really only slightly different). The muffin cups are an awesome idea! They only take about 5-10 minutes to defrost enough to be slushy. I did remove the muffin papers before freezing as they were coming apart from being wet during the original freezing process. Another great quickie for the kids!
Chicken Pot Pie: This is DELICIOUS! We love this recipe made fresh, but it's just as good frozen. It takes a little longer to cook, but it is so good! Absolutely perfect for the freezer.
Butterhorn dinner rolls: These rolls were pretty cumbersome to make (they take a long time, they make A LOT of rolls, etc...) but they really are wonderful. Not something I'd make all the time (I have a homemade dinner roll recipe that's easier and also good-so I'd probably use it instead-will likely do that for the next freezer adventure!), but definitely tasty.
Chocolate chip whole wheat pancakes and pupmkin pancakes: These pancakes have a great flavor, but I'm honestly not a fan of the texture. They are a little tough. I'm not sure if it has to do with the whole wheat flour, or my batter-making skills, but they were a little tough. I don't think it's freezer related, as they have a fresh taste. I'll attempt to tweak this recipe before repeating it. They are really convenient and the kids enjoy them!
Chicken stir fry: This is another one that we typically eat, but haven't ever frozen. The key is absolutely to just barely cook the veggies before freezing! If you cook them all the way through, they will be super mushy when you re-heat. The flavor was great on this. I did cook the rice to go with it fresh (haven't had much luck with frozen rice).
Italian marinated chicken: This is one we've done before, and a favorite. We chose to grill it since the weather has been very warm, but it's also good cooked in the crockpot. The key is to pull it out several hours ahead and let it thaw in the refrigerator. It will continue to marinade as it thaws.
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