Frozen Dinners

[TLC]

While traveling I use dinners made at home and frozen in Food Saver bags. After a long day on the road waiting several hours for dinner is not my cup of tea. These bags are great. I can heat the dinner right in the bag, just plop it in a pot of boiling water. The water is then used to wash the dishes. In bad weather I can even eat right from the bag (no dirty dishes) The dinners, one pot meals, will keep in the freezer at home for up to 2 years. Also, you don't need ice for the first day of travel. Any comments??

[CPASPARKS]

Sounds like an easy way to feed.

What are some of your favorite meals this way?

[mikeschn]

Sounds good...

I agree with that last question... give us some examples of what you freeze.

Mike...

[TLC]

I carry a good supply of my favorite meals at home, Red beans and rice, chili, beef stew, scalloped potatoes and ham, many different soups.

[Gambam]

we do the same thing.

We freeze single servings of meatloaf, pork chops, pasta dishes, just about any thing.

It is like making homemade "boil n' bag" dinners. They were pretty popular in the 70's and early 80's before microwave food really took off. You can still find them in the store sometimes, mostly salisberry steak, $h1t on a shingle, and the like.

[asianflava]

We try to do the same thing at home. except we go to those meal prep places like Dream Dinners, Super Suppers, etc. You go there and pay for 12 dinners that contain 6 servings (72 servings) assemble them (they are uncooked), and put them in aluminum foil containers. When you get home, you freeze them.

When you want to cook one, just defrost one and put it into the oven. Just add a side and maybe a dinner salad and you are done. I tried ccoking one in the toaster oven and it worked out fine. The toaster oven didn't heat up the whole house like the regular oven. It works out well for us, we usually split each meal into two 3 serving portions since it is just the two of us.

[TomS]

I've been thinking of getting one of those vacuum sealers for when I finally get my own place (Hopefully sometime next year). That way I can save money by buying in bulk at the warehosue stores. I simply divide everything up into single portions and stash them in the freezer without having to worry about freezer burn.

I also like the idea of making meals ahead and freezing them for later use. My only concern about boiling the bags would be exposure to chemicals outgassing or leaching out of the bags when they are heated. Maybe, I'm just being paranoid.

[TLC]

I use my Food Saver to marinate steaks for the grill. They make a special container that hooks to the vacuum unit. Simply put the marinade and the steak in and suck the air out and you're done. It actually forces the marinade into the meat.
For soups I freeze portions in Glad containers first, then the next day pop it out of the Glad container and slide it into the appropriate size freezer bag, do the vacuum thing and it's good for up to a year.
There's almost nothing you can't freeze or store in these bags. AWESOME!!

[apratt]

I use my Food Saver to marinate steaks for the grill. They make a special container that hooks to the vacuum unit. Simply put the marinade and the steak in and suck the air out and you're done. It actually forces the marinade into the meat.
For soups I freeze portions in Glad containers first, then the next day pop it out of the Glad container and slide it into the appropriate size freezer bag, do the vacuum thing and it's good for up to a year.
There's almost nothing you can't freeze or store in these bags. AWESOME!!

That is a good idea!!

[Steve_Cox]

My only concern about boiling the bags would be exposure to chemicals outgassing or leaching out of the bags when they are heated. Maybe, I'm just being paranoid.

I tried to find data to support that theory a few months ago. All I could find was some flavoring issues but no health hazards. I had made the "Omelet in a bag" recipe and notices some flavor from the ziplock bag, so wanted to find out if it was toxic. Might be, but if there is data to substantiate it, it is a little obscure. The contents of the food is probably more hazardous than the bag.

[stjohn]

Ya'll must not have teen aged kids cause before I can get the bags out of the drawer its gone

[coreyjhen]

Another advantage to doing this is that you can use your food itself as part of the ice in the cooler, and the bags keep the food from getting "polluted" (think grape juice-flavored hot dogs... or hot dog juice-flavored grapes). It also allows us to have things at camp that I normally wouldn't do in a DO - like mashed potatoes and gravy or spaghetti sauce that you'd care to eat (no Ragu, please!).

[TLC]

I think some people are confusing Food Saver bags with Zip lock freezer bags. The Food Saver bags are made to be frozen and boiled without any adverse effects to the food or the person eating the food. Since the air has been removed from the bag prior to sealing, they won't leak if properly sealed. Also, you can cut the end of the bag off, take out what you need, then vacuum and reseal the remainder. As you can probably tell, I'm 100% sold on this idea!!

[coreyjhen]

I think some people are confusing Food Saver bags with Zip lock freezer bags. The Food Saver bags are made to be frozen and boiled without any adverse effects to the food or the person eating the food. Since the air has been removed from the bag prior to sealing, they won't leak if properly sealed. Also, you can cut the end of the bag off, take out what you need, then vacuum and reseal the remainder. As you can probably tell, I'm 100% sold on this idea!!

I think you're right - I can't detect any flavor difference when using Food Saver bags. They also completely prevent freezer burn because the air is completely out and the bags are truly impermeable.

[Outlaw]

While traveling I use dinners made at home and frozen in Food Saver bags. After a long day on the road waiting several hours for dinner is not my cup of tea. These bags are great. I can heat the dinner right in the bag, just plop it in a pot of boiling water. The water is then used to wash the dishes. In bad weather I can even eat right from the bag (no dirty dishes) The dinners, one pot meals, will keep in the freezer at home for up to 2 years. Also, you don't need ice for the first day of travel. Any comments??

Absolutely a fantastic idea! I drag race a lot during the summer time and spend a few weekends at major events. I always bring a quart of frozen chilli along and I freeze bottled water. I open the water and pour just a litte out and freeze it with the cap off. Replace the cap, in the cooler, and I don't need ice for the first couple of days. Anything to save a few bucks is alright with me.