Freeze Your Eggs!

[Lynx]

No, not that... This thread is about batch cooking.

I was doing batch cooking before it was cool. See, about six or seven years ago the doctor said Grandma's blood sugar was sky high. Investigation revealed she had started just grabbing whatever food was easy to eat instead of actually cooking for herself. All the easy options are high in sugar, so...

I borrowed an industrial size roasting pan from the church kitchen (we have a whole stack of them) and started making chili, scrambled eggs, chicken casserole and etc. in bulk. I would freeze the big batch in small containers, then pop the frozen disks out and put them in freezer bags for her to pull out a meal whenever she wanted.

What experience do you have with batch cooking? Got any tips for avoiding freezer burn, keeping scrambled eggs appealing after freezing and reheating, etc?

(This thread sponsored by seoulsearch. We were talking in chat about the current high price of eggs. She said next time the price drops she is going to buy a lot, scramble them all and freeze them.)

 

[Intersection]

GMO chicken: What is it and are all chickens genetically modified?
https://www.farmforward.com/issues/genetic-modification/gmo-chicken/

 

[Lynx]

GMO chicken: What is it and are all chickens genetically modified?
https://www.farmforward.com/issues/genetic-modification/gmo-chicken/

Not even close to the thread topic. Did you so much as glance at the first post? But hey, thanks for playing.

 

[JaumeJ]

I never knew any other way than buying foods at the best price, keeping an eye on the quality. Also , I suppose, my cooking habit has always been to prepare batches and freezing. For me it has been natural since the 1950-s. It has been good for me always, and I think many others have the same habits??? Maybe. I am grateful for anything I have, cause I know Where it comes from, yupper, I really do.

 

[Tall_Timbers]

When I slow cook or pressure cook meat for a meal that calls for shredded beef or pork, I usually freeze about 2/3s of the shredded meat for future meals. I freeze it in amounts that are about right for another meal and some leftovers. My preference for wrapping is to first wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then again tightly in freezer or butcher paper. Most folks prefer to use the shrink wrapper. I use that too, but prefer the double wrap method described above for most things. If you do shrink wrap, the wrapper has a better chance of removing all the air if you freeze or nearly freeze first whatever it is you're going to shrink wrap. If wrapped good and tight you can get up to three years with double wrapped meat. Shrink wrapped meat won't usually last nearly as long because when you're moving things around in your freezer you'll inevitably put a little hole in the shrink wrap and then the freezer burn begins in earnest. If you do manage to perfectly protect the shrink wrap from punctures than the product shrink wrapped can last as long as the double wrapped product and still be very good to eat.

Just a few days ago my youngest son cooked a ham and then separated the meat out into freezable portions and I set to teaching him how to wrap with freezer paper. It's a learned skill that takes practice, that's for sure. Maybe that's why most people prefer the shrink wrap method.

Things like chili and casseroles tend to freeze well. In those cases freezing them in a container then removing them from the container and shrink wrapping sounds like the way to go. I usually freeze them in a container and consume them before too much time has gone by so there's no need to go to the trouble of shrink wrapping.

I'm kind of picky about my eggs... I've never frozen those and don't think I'd care much for them after they'd been frozen.

 

[seoulsearch]

I would love to find some batch meal recipes that still taste good after being frozen...

But yet also meet all the nutritional requirements of myself and family members when/if I drop a few off for them. My childhood best friend and I were talking about the challenge of getting our parents to eat healthy to hopefully stay with us longer.

There are literally millions of recipes, cookbooks, and online tutorials, but I generally find that many recipes don't adhere to things like needs for reduced sodium, low sugar, low-carb, few processed ingredients (like canned soup) -- the list goes on -- and won't require entire days in the kitchen, and have easy-to-find ingredients that won't break the bank. (Who can afford to substitute almond flour for regular flour at every turn? If you can, I applaud you, but I'm not there yet.)

I've known a lot of great cooks.

But I haven't known many great cooks who (along with the people they feed) get glowing bloodwork, weight, and health reports on a regular basis -- and that's what I'm aiming for when I think about any kind of meal prep.

And so the search goes on...

 

[Kireina]

I grew up in a household where we shopped and cooked individual meals rather than batch cooking... I've never tried batch cooking but it sounds like a great idea. Especially now that I have a family on my own and trying to save a few dollars for the future...we'll try this one soon. I'll come back to this thread to read the suggestions that have been posted. Many thanks ♥️👋

 

[MsMediator]

I only cook for a week max, and the food lasts. The more spices you use, the longer they appear to last.

 

[Lynx]

I never knew any other way than buying foods at the best price, keeping an eye on the quality. Also , I suppose, my cooking habit has always been to prepare batches and freezing. For me it has been natural since the 1950-s. It has been good for me always, and I think many others have the same habits??? Maybe. I am grateful for anything I have, cause I know Where it comes from, yupper, I really do.

It has made sense, and cents ever since chest freezers became commonplace. But it hasn't been popular for very long. Only in the last few years have I heard people at large talking about it.

 

[ThereRoseaLamb]

It has made sense, and cents ever since chest freezers became commonplace. But it hasn't been popular for very long. Only in the last few years have I heard people at large talking about it.

I can't say much to help other than I have seen Youtube videos on this and other survival type subjects. Basically making food last as long as possible. Also that it is more cost effective and easier for working Moms to prepare the food at the first of the week. I always wondered about trying it out.

 

[Daisy2]

I don't think I'll ever freeze eggs but I do like them but I know The prices at the store are going up, so I've found ways to save on groceries.

One thing is substitution of ingredients to make meals more budget-friendly. I swap meat for beans, and replace oil with homemade soy yogurt. for eggs, flax seeds—a bag of flaxseeds is equal to 96 eggs. substitute butter with oil and simplify recipes whenever possible to help cut costs.


For those interested, soy milk can be made quickly in an Instant Pot, reducing the time to just 15 minutes. Same with tofu and yogurt.
Here are some ideas for meals and snacks:
Beans,
Chili,
Hummus,
Cornbread,
Burritos,
Taquitos,
Enchiladas,
Naan,
Pretzels,
Pizza,
Lasagna
Soups (I usually freeze the ingredients rather than making the soup to freeze),
Carrot cake,
Cinnamon rolls,
Panettone with orange peel/lemon peal and chocolate, sometimes filled with sweet bean paste,
Ravioli,
Dumplings,
Steamed buns (these can be made and frozen, although they never make it to the freezer)

Not recommended to freeze cookie dough that has oil instead of butter

I also make a lot of what my family calls tribal bread. It is biscotti before it's hardened into biscuits. We freeze it in loaves of 4. Then it thawed and eaten like bread. It's eaten as a quick breakfast or late snack. This is where all the okara (soybean pulp) goes

For meat:Using a whole chicken: A whole chicken can be boiled to make 6-8 days of broth. The meat can be frozen in portion sizes or used in meal prep for a week.

Additional tips if you garden: Sweet peppers can be cut up and frozen without blanching. Hardening off zucchinis (black beauty) can extend their shelf life to 4-6 months at room temperature. Overripe tomatoes make great Sundried tomatoes they make a great meat substitute on sandwiches. Canned tomatoes can be pureed into tomato soup just add coconut milk Spinach and greens from garden can be frozen for winter. Grapes can be frozen right from the garden they make greats snacks frozen and are great in smoothies.