Guest guest Posted December 30, 2003 Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 Whats Friendly freezer? Will this help me make meals ahead? I just started a full time job and need to get organized. Deb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 30, 2003 Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 Deb, Friendly Freezer is one of the first make-ahead recipe groups at Yahoo. It is a large group, and as one poster stated not too polite at times, but a lot of people like the group. I'm on it and I do post once in awhile. I can truthfully say, it will take a LONG time IF EVER to get off moderated status. The list " aunties " claim the group is so large that they don't have time to unmoderate list members. I know of one other responsible list moderator, who joined the group at the beginning like I did, who never made it off moderated status. This may not be a big deal to you but it can be frustrating to people like me. I'm finally off moderated status but it took almost three years (some of the time I left because I was working full-time) but I was on the list most the time. Finally, Friendly Freezer takes a strong stance on message snipping. To them this is important, and that's fine with me, because it is their group. On the up side, messages are kept brief and to the point. If you are some ISPs this is imperative because digests need to be short. For me it's not a problem. Also, another useful group that concerns make-ahead or do-ahead cooking is Master Mixes at Yahoo. Goldi runs a really nice group and she is a Girl Scout leader. Once-A-Month cooking, make-ahead, do-ahead or mixes are all varying methods of easing food prep. The OAMC, make-ahead, do-ahead method stypically involves shopping and cooking all youat onr meals in advance. Some people do 30 days at a crack, others do mini sessions ( or some do a combination thereof. I use a little of everything. You save money buy using up all your perishables within a short period of time. No wasted produce or meats. Also, clean-up is reduced because you can make a mess of your kitchen and clean it up until the next major cooking session. The downside, especially if you use the 30 day plan, is that you spend a LOT of time on your feet during your cooking day. When I did the 30 day plan, I'd start cooking around 8 a.m. and not finish until around 5 p.m. If you have a helper, you can cut down on your cooking time. If not it just takes longer. The reward is a freezer full of cooked meals waiting to be heated up when needed. If you plan to OAMC, a typical session would run like this: 1) Check grocery ads for sales 2) Make up grocery lists using sale items 3) Prep food, if possible, the day before. You can slice and dice veggies and put them in the frig for the next day. You can also start up a crock pot of stew or whatever and let it cook all night. The next morning you have a meal or two ready to freeze up. 4) Cooking Day: This is when you prepare all the meals selected for your cooking session. At the end of the day you'll have all your meals cooked, sealed, labled and ready to freeze. I also make up food mixes, especially homemade Bisquick, but I do the mixes at a later session. Once you get everything done, you can rotate between the OAMC and mix sessions. Not only do I save money but I also get to control what goes into our food. Any way, I'm done and dinner is almost ready. If you have questions, please e-mail me. > Whats Friendly freezer? Will this help me make meals ahead? I just started a > full time job and need to get organized. > > Deb > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 31, 2003 Report Share Posted December 31, 2003 Lyn, You are right about the 30 Day Gourmet cookbook. Yesterday I received their new cookbook which has a nutritional analysis. Basically, it's the same recipes with directions how to use lower fat ingredients i.e. ground turkey instead of beef etc. There are some new recipes too but I'm glad I have both books. I was happy to discover I was doing the " right " things in fat reduction. I've taken to using 2% cheese and extra lean ground beef when making frozen meals. > Deb, this is why I recommend the book by 30-day gourmet. They have a list of what freezes well, how long it should be safe in the freezer, etc. > > Sour cream is one thing that is not recommended to freeze...even in casseroles, etc. Check your library to see if they have that book, because it really is invaluable. > > Lyn > Re: Re: friendly freezer. > > > Well, it sounds like a lot of work, but I need to get organized. I work full > time and have five kids ( and 2 dogs). If things were prepared ahead of time- > it would be great. I need recipe ideas. Most of what I cook doesn't seem > freezable. I need to know what IS freezable. Any ideas that you can send would be > great. > > Deb > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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