meals you make then freeze please HELP ME out starting with soup

[savy57]

so what meals do you cook to freeze, whats the recipe? how do you freeze it how long can you keep it in the freezer for and how do you reheat it.

i know its alot to ask but im clueless

today im making a big pot of homemade soup usualy i keep it refrigerated for 3 days then throw the rest away :O but i really need to get a grip and start being more sensible
so my homemade soup will consist of stock cubes, leaks, carrots, turnip and lentils i usualy blend it after its finished cooking so do i just let it cool down and put it in the freezer how long will it last and im guessing to reheat it you just heat it up slowly? also should i leave blending it till after its been reheated or will this not affect it either way? for future if i wanted to add meat can you do this?

I put mine in a freezable container, let it cool, then freeze. Take it out the morning you want to eat it and allow to defrost, put in the saucepan and heat up. Or defrost in the microwave. I'm sure it would be fine to add cooked meat but I wouldn't refreeze.

Sorry, meant to add: I usually keep it in the freezer for a month or two (sometimes longer) don't know if that's ok though. We've never had food poisoning.

I also freeze: curries, pasta sauces, meatballs, shepherds pie, normal pies, stews, bubble and squeak, pasta bakes, fish pie, fruit crumbles, smoothies. Anything really!

I make and freeze lots of things including soup. when reheating its best to defrost first by leaving it out. I wouldnt heat slowly - I put it on high and make sure its had a good boil (at least 2-3 minutes is best) that way will kill any lurking bugs.

I freeze leftover spag bol/curry/stews/casseroles - anything really.

We've never had food poisoning.

and I freqently have meat in my soups. I blend then freeze.
the most important thing is the getting it really hot afterwards when you want to eat it - NO "warming through" to get it warm - that's the dangerour bit.

Adding meat is no problem at all - make sure you freeze the soup in the right size batches so you eat it the same day as defrosting, don't refreeze. The only thing i've found is that if i'm making soup with cream it doesnt freeze well, so instead i make it up without, blend and freeze. Then i just add the cream once its been reheated.

Pasta sauces, shepherds pie, bolognaise, and fish pie all staple freezer meals here.

ahh thank you for the quick responses so far ive bought niced size storage tubs so will use these and thanks for the tips i will defo not slow heat it glad i asked now :) also how long do you let the soup defrost before cooking? if i was going out to work and took one out the freezer would it not go sour by time i got home should i put it in the fridge if i was leaving it for long?
sorry again for all the question but i dont really fancy food poisioning lols

I freeze soup all the time - it's no trouble to make an extra-big batch and then you have some in reserve. If I'm thinking in advance (not always the case ) I take the tub out of the freezer and leave it in the microwave all day to thaw slowly - it's never been a problem. In extremis I've heated up a batch that hasn't yet completely thawed, but of course make sure it's piping hot before serving. Again, never any problems.

Much better to freeze it than throw it away, OP - what a waste of good food!

I might be dicing with death but I freeze pretty much everything and just use the microwave to defrost it- the exception is raw meat which gets put in the fridge overnight, or longer depending on what it is. I don't understand your question about taking it to work- are you taking it frozen and cooking it at work?

I would have thought with a cooked soup that it's fairly safe, as long as you make sure it's piping hot before you eat it.

I do the same as EverSo with the cream. I also make very thick soup and dilute it with a bit more stock when I defrost it, saves a bit of room in the freezer that way.

thanks salteena ive got the soup on just now, this batch is for sure getting put in the freezer no more waste hear

hi eauRouge no i never ment taken the soup to work frozen i ment if i go to work and leave the soup out in my kitchen would it not go sour because it was lieing for so long but will defo just pop it in the microwave and let it defrost while im out :)

i thought onions go sour if they are left lieing to long? is this not the case as i often make spag bol from scratch or ocasionaly cheat with a jar of sauce is it fine to freeze this as well with the onions in it

i blame my parents for my lack of knowledge on all this :o

The regulars in my freezer are things like Bolognese sauce, Chill Con Carne, Chicken Curry, Lasagne, Veg Casserole. Cooked as normal, allowed to cool down and then transferred to small, reusable plastic containers like these that hold one or two servings. When needed they get microwaved like any ready-meal. Piping hot typically in 5 minutes.

For stock and soups I use the 'Pour and Store' style bags which are a bit tougher than regular plastic bags and don't flop over when you're pouring!!! Again, leave the soup/stock to cool before bagging up. When I need those I tip out the frozen contents into a large saucepan and gently heat until melted. Bring to the boil and that's it.

You don't need to leave it out, you can just defrost it in the microwave right before you need it.

You can also make thick veg puree in an ice cube tray and defrost a couple of cubes, heat it through and then add boiled water- way nicer than cup-a-soup but just as convenient.

I put onions in everything and have never had any problems freezing stuff.

You might find it helpful to label stuff with the date and what it is, otherwise you end up playing freezer roulette at dinner time

good idea dont really facy playing freezer roulette :D will add a little date lable to my tubs :)

Sorry savy, I wasn't meaning to chide!

saltenna its fine, thats why i asked because i know myself theres no point in wasting things because im being lazy, i now know what to do with it now so would much rather freeze it than bin it :D

I take food out from the freezer in the morning (around 8am) and by the time I am home at 6pm it is defrosted. I've never been sick - and have never ever experienced a sour onion ;-) Either method is fine - I prefer leaving it to defrost naturally though so that it is ready to go when I get home, don't have to wait for the microwave to do it's job.

There are lots of thing that are a bit fiddly to make that I always make a double batch of, on to eat on the night, and one to cool then freeze.

Lasagne, pasta bake, curry, fish pie, chicken pie, all the kind of stuff mentioned above. Pizza dough too, just get it out in the morning and leave in the fridge to defrost, then somewhere warm for the last half an hour or so.

Most things I stick in the oven straight from the freezer and cook until very hot. We've never been ill from it.

It's also handy to do a mass cook of tomato sauce every once in a while - you can stick it into sterile jars while it's still good and hot and keep it in the larder, then whip it out for pasta, lasagne, pizza etc etc.

Doh, I never thought to do mine in sterile jars, I always freeze it and end up with a freezer full. Thanks for the tip :)