Freezing food?

[Sabrinah]

I made banana bread today from the batter I had froze. Well, it didn't turn out well at all. It wasn't light and fluffy but heavy and didn't cook completely in the center. What did I do wrong? Also, I'd like to hear what other foods are great for freezing. I'm hoping to cook my weekday meals on the weekends. I'm not sure what's good for freezing besides lasagna.

[LaraW]

Sorry to hear that your banana bread did not turn out! I have had good luck freezing the finished product. That might be something you would want to consider.

One thing that we used to do when I was a kid was my dad would make a bunch of hamburgers on the grill and then we would freeze them. They worked pretty well as a quick dinner or even for lunch. That would be something that you could do on the weekend then microwave. Maybe could do the same with grilled chicken.

I have made up a big batch of spaghetti sauce and then frozen in individual portion sizes, then you just cook the pasta and defrost the sauce. The other thing that I have frozen and ready for a quick dinner is pesto. If you grow basil, you can make up a batch of pesto and then I freeze in an ice cube tray until frozen solid, then wrap individually in aluminum foil.

Hope that helps!

[Grace]

Batters don't typically freeze well because the leavening agents work quickly - once they become wet from the wet ingredients, they release their gasses right away, and that's why you have to get them straight into the oven after mixing up the batter. Sounds to me like your leavening (baking powder, etc.), was no longer acting and that's why it was heavy and not light.

In the future, I'd bake the banana bread right away, and freeze the leftover bread (or the whole loaf!). That for sure would work much, much better. Good luck!

Oh, and to answer your other question, pretty much everything is freezable (with a few exception). Think about those "Healthy Choice" meals in the freezer section of the grocery store. You can get almost any kind of food, and those are frozen.

Do a search on this board on freezing, there are tons of ideas. There are mixed thoughts about freezing mushrooms and potatoes (some people do it and say it's no problem, while others say there's a quality issue [ie., mushy or mealy] with mushrooms and potatoes that have been frozen.) Bottom line, you won't get sick from them, they just might have a funny texture. I would suggest experimenting yourself. But in general, most casseroles, meats, most pasta dishes, soups, stews, etc. freeze very well.

[This message has been edited by Grace (edited 06-06-2001).]

[beejayw1]

If you're considering freezing cooked shrimp, put it in a container and cover it with water, then freeze. This eliminates freezer burn, which has ruined more shrimp for me.

It works for shrimp that has been steamed or boiled. I haven't tried it with barbecued. Basically, if the shrimp is in liquid, the liquid tends to seal it and keep it from drying out.

It works well, incidentally, with raw fish that you have bought on sale and wish to freeze for later.

Diana

[goldilocks]

Sabrinah,

I would second what the other posts have said about baking the bread first and then freezing the loaf (I cut in slices and then wrap up). I have had success doing this with my banana and zucchini breads. One thing that I freeze is enchiladas. I make a couple trays in disposable aluminum pans, wrap with foil and freeze. I get the best results when I thaw first and then bake, still covered. One thing that I would recommend is to go take a look at the freezer section in your supermarket. Anything they can freeze, you can too. My favorite reference for freezer cooking is on this website where I have found such great, simple recipes: http://busycooks.about.com/food/busycooks/

[buddie]

freezing banana bread AFTER you bake it would be good. i freeze cookies, casseroles of all sorts, soups, lemon/lime juice, herbs, tortillas, even LOL taco bell burritos. those reheat GREAT in the microwave.