Everyone needs a quick convenient meal at times. If you need a quick meal between work and your kids school program or simply something to take to work for lunch, a gourmet frozen meal can be the ticket of the day. If you make your own frozen meals you can be assured of a tasty time saving meal.
At times you may have no choice other than grabbing something quick from the grocery store, but if you have a chance, make your own frozen meals.
One advantage of making your own meals is that you get to know what is going into the food. You can choose to leave out ingredients that are not your family’s favorite or increase the spice a little here or there. In addition you are in control of the salt shaker and the sugar that is added to your food.
While most people simply choose their family’s favorite recipes to cook, others like to experiment a little here and there. If you are in the mood to experiment the try one of these, Broccoli Beef, vegetable soup, corn chowder, chicken curry or beef stew. They work very well in the freezer.
Remember that starchy foods such as rice and pasta are not good choices for frozen meals. They tend to be overcooked by the time they have sat in the sauce and are warmed. If your recipe calls for these ingredients, just cook everything else and freeze the sauce. The rice or pasta can be quickly cooked while the rest of the meal is warming. For trouble free rice, use a rice cooker. For pasta, pick up fresh from the grocery store. It cooks in about three minutes once you have boiling water.
There are a couple of ways to stock your freezer with gourmet frozen meals. The first is to double or even quadruple a recipe that you are cooking for your family’s dinner. As soon as the food is done, remove the excess to the refrigerator to begin cooling.
Another way to stock the freezer is to have a couple of days per month that are set aside for shopping or cooking. Shop the first day and cook the second. In a short amount of time, you can prepare several meals that have been doubled or tripled and fill the freezer.
One of the best options for storing your food in the freezer is a vacuum sealer. Choose the sealer that has a heat seal to preserve the quality of your food. The bags are very heavy weight and prevent freezer burn. They can be used to heat food in the microwave or as a boil-in bag in a pot of water.
If all of this sounds like a lot of effort, take heart! There are actually renowned chefs who prepare frozen gourmet meals.
Don’t count on your local grocer to carry truly wonderful food that you can love. Instead, take a look online for a high quality gourmet dinner delivered to your door, frozen and ready to heat, serve and enjoy.
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