Sending Frozen Meals Answer

Hi Skinny Soon,

I learned a lot from the meals I sent in the first cooler. I won't bore you with what was wrong, but here's how I do it in case someone wants to do the same.

I only cook things 3/4 the way, so heating them up doesn't end up overcooking them.

I bought a ga-zillion glad ziploc sandwich bags. I freeze the meat separately (sometimes in broth except for things like meatloaf which would get mushy), veggies separately, almost always in broth, gravy in it's own bag with directions to simmer on stove, stiring well (frozen gravy doesn't nuke well). I always squeeze out the airbefore zipping shut and laying flat in the freezer.

Mashed potatoes don't freeze well (the texture comes out wierd on the other end) so she makes fresh FF mashed pots when they are the only starch that would go well with that particular dinner. I'll give the recipe again at the bottom of this post.

If pasta is the perfect starch for the meal, she makes whole wheat pasta that she buys at the big grocery store in the city 1 hour away.

I make big batches of brown & wild rice and freeze in individual bags after it has sat overnight in the fridge. This helps keep the rice separate so it doesn't mush together.

When frozen, I pack the 2 or 3 bags that make a complete meal in a plastic grocery store bag, write the meal name on the bag in big magic marker and store in freezer.

As you might already have figured out, casserole dishes turn out really well.

Once a month I pack 30 meal bags in a very thick styrofoam cooler (including a list of all 30 meals), tape it shut, shrink wrap it VERY well and ship it UPS 3 days. As she lives out in the boonies, it just does make it in the 3 days, and everything is rock solid when it arrives. The shipping is $140 because it goes from Florida to the West Coast.

All she has to do is thaw a meal completely, and prepare according to directions I have given her. She hates to cook, so this keeps her out of restaurants and fast food joints. Except for breakfasts. She takes care of our mom, and mom wants to eat out every morning. She eats oatmeal before she goes, so she only has dry toast and fruit (when she doesn't give into the great smells of others' breakfasts). She has promised me though, that after her knee heals, and she can start working out in her yard, she will stop the restaurant breakfasts and make them each a Liquada for breakfast (recipe at end of post).

Fat Free Mashed Potatoes
Peel potatoes and cube, boil 'til well done, drain, mash with s & p and just a little skim milk.

Liquadas (I call them liquid ahhhhs :~) )
Basically they are just fruit milkshakes
Blenderize a banana, frozen fruit, real vanilla extract, splenda or Stevia, and either skim milk or FF yogurt(plain or vanilla or matching fruit flavor) & OJ, depending on the fruit you are using.