Making my own convenience food...

[ButterPie]

OK, so it probably isn't new to ordinary people, but it just occurred to me the other day that, instead of getting those microwave steam bags of frozen veg (which I love, I am much more likely to include veg with a meal if it just involves shoving a bag in the microwave for two minutes, lazy but true) I could make my own...

So, do I just chop up veg and stick it in freezer bags, then use it like the shop bought ones, or is there some kind of method (par-boiling? Piercing the bag? Adding water?)

Are there any other "convenience ingredients" I could pre-prepare? Those frozen chopped onions I see in shops - do I just chop onions then freeze them in portions? Then use them straight from the freezer like I would raw onion? How about frozen mash, is that just mash, frozen, or do you do something special to it? Any other ideas?

Do I remember rightly that you can freeze cake mix? Could I make my own fish fingers and freeze them?

To freeze veg you would need to blanch it first.

Surely it is easier to just prepare fresh vesh as and when it is needed.

Yes to making mash, don;t add milk just spuds, butter, S&P then froze in portions.

Fish fingers / chicken nuggets i dip fish (coley/monkfish/salmon)/chicken in seasoned flour, then in beaten egg then breadcrumbs, i then flash cook - oven preheated to 200°C and in the oven for 5 minutes, i then cool and freeze in bags.

Onions, yes just chop and freeze, same with garlic and most herbs.

Veg, i would get the big bags of veg you like and either bag up or just pop a measure into a micro pan/lidded bowl to reheat - you can get steamer bags which are reuseable and cook veg brilliantly.

We freeze meals we like so i would make 3 lasagne's, 1 for tea and 2 in portions in the freezer.

Same with chilli / curry make it properly and cook the rice for 4 minutes less than normal, put rice into ice water to cool it and then drain fully and add to container with chilli/curry and freeze - or freeze individually.

Make up cottage (beef) and sheperds (lamb) pie.

Butterpie are you from Preston???
Those are VERY regional...

Yes, I am from Preston Not living there now, and I miss them terribly...

Goober, I agree it is pretty easy, but when it is the difference between peeling, chopping and boiling carrots, broccoli and cauliflower to go with lunch or just grabbing a bag from the freezer and chucking it in the microwave/opening it into a pan of boiling water, I know what wins when I have a grumpy toddler just in from playgroup and a baby who needs jiggling

phew, that needed more punctuation

Also, I am rubbish and keep finding my veg has gone off. I must be storing it wrong somehow.

I am working in Leyland next Tuesday, I'll scoff one for you at lunchtime

I'm going to have to ask my sister to bring some of those bags back from uni with her if they're a Preston thing, all I ever find are the normal frozen veg which taste weird in Morrisons!

& What other things can you freeze? I normally freeze lasanges and cottage pies as I'm a veggie so nobody else eats mine if a meat version is on offer. But what else is there?

Flibbertyjibbet and ButterPie - I am from Leyland!

(never liked butter pies though, sorry... bad memories of the school dinner ones)

I make my own 'Fray Bentos' style pies! Pie filling of your choice, topped with layer of puff pastry, freeze, shove in oven when required!

Pixinanny, it is butter pies (as in my name) that are a Preston thing. The steam veg bags I am talking about come from normal supermarkets. Just go on the tesco website and type in steam veg and you will see what I mean.

I second the re-usable stem micro bags for veg they are good most supermarkets sell them in the aisle with the tin foil and things.

I freeze just about everything.
I go to Costco and buy big paks of mince for example and cook masses of of bolognese, chilli, even chicken curries and casserole type things and freeze them either in metal take away type tubs or if I can find them the plastic ones those are great to just bung in the microwave.

I do find it easier to batch cook when dh is about for times when I have 2 tired dc's and only have 5 minutes to heat something up.

I've never seem steamed vegetables in freezers before, just those carrot stick things that you put in hot water and come out hard, I thought that you were all talking about some awesome frozen vegetables there

freezing your own chopped onions didnt work for me, they clumped together and so took ages to cook