Homemade Freezer Vegetarian dinners?

[pts]

Suggestions? I am looking to stock up for the fall and do some cooking now while I have a bit of time (make double dinner and freeze one).

We have done mini-pizzas so far. But, I am finding most of my veggie meals are not super freezer friendly.

[eme]

I have a new cookbook on the way fron Indigo.

It is The Vegan Family Cookbook, but it might have some ideas in it that could work for you. I'll let you know when I get it, as I know some people have adapted the receipes to be veg but not vegan.

[pts]

I have a new cookbook on the way fron Indigo.

It is The Vegan Family Cookbook, but it might have some ideas in it that could work for you. I'll let you know when I get it, as I know some people have adapted the receipes to be veg but not vegan.

Thanks! I am not opposed to vegan either, it is just a bit harder sell with D.

I am looking through my books right now, and finding very little. I think it is because I don't find beans (chickpea/black/kidney) freeze well.

[VeloCarrie]

Maybe make some Indian curry dishes and freeze them. Add to crockpot when you need them and add canned chickpeas or beans of your choice when they are reheating in the crockpot.

[pts]

Maybe make some Indian curry dishes and freeze them. Add to crockpot when you need them and add canned chickpeas or beans of your choice when they are reheating in the crockpot.

We don't own a crockpot, mostly do to childhood trauma from the things my mom made in a crockpot

But, I could do that with just a regular pot I think. So do channa without the chickpeas? I like that idea.

[Samantha]

But, I could do that with just a regular pot I think. .

yeah you can. A crockpot just cooks on very low heat and you can leave it on all day and leave with no worry. Which you can't do with a pot on the stove

[scrumhalfgirl]

I often freeze things with beans - I am surprised you haven't had good luck with that. Chili is an easy one. I also do a black bean enchilada casserole - tortillas, black beans, rice, tomatoes, spices - layered with a salsa and tomato sauce mix with cheese. The tortillas do get soft, but still enjoyable. And of course, any kind of pasta-tomato-sauce type is a staple - lasagna, noodles with ricotta and spinach, stuffed shells etc.

[pts]

I often freeze things with beans - I am surprised you haven't had good luck with that. Chili is an easy one. I also do a black bean enchilada casserole - tortillas, black beans, rice, tomatoes, spices - layered with a salsa and tomato sauce mix with cheese. The tortillas do get soft, but still enjoyable. And of course, any kind of pasta-tomato-sauce type is a staple - lasagna, noodles with ricotta and spinach, stuffed shells etc.

I find beans taste "pasty". The tortilla one sounds yummy though. Do you have a recipe? I am hacing troubles picturing it (the rice is throwing me off).


Edited to add: maybe pasty is the wrong word, does "filmy" work- like a weird pasty film on the beans. I am very sensitive to texture though.

[Samantha]

[ The tortilla one sounds yummy though. Do you have a recipe? I am hacing troubles picturing it (the rice is throwing me off).

I want the recipe too!

[scrumhalfgirl]

I make it from memory and cant remember where I got the recipe, but this is basically it, excluding the chicken and I obviously leave out the peppers. I also use flour tortillas sometimes.

http://www.cookingcache.com/chickenrice ... l?rdid=rc1

Chicken, Rice And Black Bean Enchilada Casserole Recipe
Makes 8 servings

2 1/2 cups Tomato Sauce
1 1/4 cups Salsa (any kind)
4 tsp Chili Powder
3 tsp ground Cumin
1 tsp dried Oregano
2 cups each chopped, cooked Chicken and cooked Brown Rice
1 can (19oz) Black Beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 cup each diced Carrots and Red Bell Pepper
1/2 cup chopped Green Onions
2 tbsp each lime juice and chopped, fresh Cilantro
12-6" Corn Tortillas
1 1/2 cups shredded, reduced fat sharp Cheddar
1/2 cup LOW fat Sour Cream

Combine tomato sauce, salsa, 2 tsp Chili powder, 2 tsp cumin, and oregano in a med. sauce pan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 5 mins.

Meanwhile, combine chicken, rice, beans, carrots, red pepper, onions, lime juice, cilantro, 2 tsp chili powder and 1 tsp cumin in a large bowl. Mix well.

Spray a 9x13" baking dish with non-stick spray. To assemble casserole spread 1 cup of sauce over bottom of baking dish. Arrange 6 tortillas over bottom, overlapping as necessary. Spoon another cup of sauce over tortillas and spread evenly. Top with 1/2 chicken-bean mixture and 1/2 the cheese. Arrange the remaining tortillas over the cheese. Top with another cup of sauce followed by the remaining chicken and bean mix followed by the cheese. Spoon any remaining sauce over the top.

Cover with foil and bake at 350°F for 35-40 mins, until bubbly and heated through. Let stand for 5 mins before serving. Top individual slices with dollops of cold sour cream

You can also make it into individual enchiladas and then cover with the sauce, but the casserole is way easier and then cuts into squares which can be frozen individually.

[Samantha]

I make it from memory and cant remember where I got the recipe, but this is basically it, excluding the chicken and I obviously leave out the peppers. I also use flour tortillas sometimes.

http://www.cookingcache.com/chickenrice ... l?rdid=rc1

Chicken, Rice And Black Bean Enchilada Casserole Recipe
Makes 8 servings

2 1/2 cups Tomato Sauce
1 1/4 cups Salsa (any kind)
4 tsp Chili Powder
3 tsp ground Cumin
1 tsp dried Oregano
2 cups each chopped, cooked Chicken and cooked Brown Rice
1 can (19oz) Black Beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 cup each diced Carrots and Red Bell Pepper
1/2 cup chopped Green Onions
2 tbsp each lime juice and chopped, fresh Cilantro
12-6" Corn Tortillas
1 1/2 cups shredded, reduced fat sharp Cheddar
1/2 cup LOW fat Sour Cream

Combine tomato sauce, salsa, 2 tsp Chili powder, 2 tsp cumin, and oregano in a med. sauce pan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 5 mins.

Meanwhile, combine chicken, rice, beans, carrots, red pepper, onions, lime juice, cilantro, 2 tsp chili powder and 1 tsp cumin in a large bowl. Mix well.

Spray a 9x13" baking dish with non-stick spray. To assemble casserole spread 1 cup of sauce over bottom of baking dish. Arrange 6 tortillas over bottom, overlapping as necessary. Spoon another cup of sauce over tortillas and spread evenly. Top with 1/2 chicken-bean mixture and 1/2 the cheese. Arrange the remaining tortillas over the cheese. Top with another cup of sauce followed by the remaining chicken and bean mix followed by the cheese. Spoon any remaining sauce over the top.

Cover with foil and bake at 350°F for 35-40 mins, until bubbly and heated through. Let stand for 5 mins before serving. Top individual slices with dollops of cold sour cream

You can also make it into individual enchiladas and then cover with the sauce, but the casserole is way easier and then cuts into squares which can be frozen individually.

mmmm this looks good. I think the corn tortillas would handle the sauce, layering and freezing better. I find the flour ones aren't as good for layered dishes.

[Tori]

I love freezing soups for quick dinners. Freezing a batch of pasta sauce is always handy. Lasagnas also freeze well. I am not sure but can you freeze quiche???

[Samantha]

I am not sure but can you freeze quiche???

yes you can. It's not as good as when it's fresh but it's ok. And I'm very picky about texture of my food especially food that has been frozen and thawed.

oh and I thaw it before I microwave it (for about 30 seconds to just warm it up a bit and let the flavours meld. I don't like cold or hot quiche. )

[hezzy]

I know it's not homemade but we do Supperworks every once in a while. They do offer a lot of vegetarian substitutions for their meat dishes. It's just the two of us and so we pay to split the meals, so if we choose 6 meals we end up with 12 which lasts us a while. It seems like a lot of up front cost but if you do the math on it per serving it's not that bad. We'll usually go on a saturday morning and it takes about 1.5 hours to do the prep work (would probably be less time if it was just me doing it because my hubby needs help sometimes - he's a big kid )

[Jwolf]

Veggie lasagna freezes very well. The drawback is that it takes a long time to cook from frozen.

I have frozen many different vegetarian indian curry dishes with good results.

[killerbeetle]

Hmm... To freeze? I would go with the others and suggest ... soups? ...Ratatouille, mac & cheese, spanish rice...

[pts]

I guess I should add that we don't have a microwave, so maybe that is why I find so many from frozen stuff to be off in texture?

Great ideas everyone, thanks!

Oh, and last year for my birthday my sisters made and froze a whole bunch of veggie meals for us (about 8 meals worth)- best gift ever!

[Samantha]

I guess I should add that we don't have a microwave, so maybe that is why I find so many from frozen stuff to be off in texture?

Really? do you reheat in the oven then? and the texture is still off?

[Jwolf]

I guess I should add that we don't have a microwave, so maybe that is why I find so many from frozen stuff to be off in texture?

If anything the texture would be worse in the microwave.

The veggie lasagna you just assemble, freeze, and then cook when you want to. So you don't have to cook it beforehand (well, the sauce, yes, but not the noodles and you don't bake it).

I also make veggie burritos which can be assembled and frozen, and then baked later.

Soups/stews should be easy to reheat on the stovetop without losing any texture.

[hijack]I can't imagine not having a microwave! I use it almost daily. Usually for reheating the night before's leftovers, although I guess I could do most of that in either the oven or stovetop. It's just so much easier and quicker for many things, though.[/hijack]

[Samantha]

[

[hijack]I can't imagine not having a microwave! I use it almost daily. Usually for reheating the night before's leftovers, although I guess I could do most of that in either the oven or stovetop. It's just so much easier and quicker for many things, though.[/hijack]

I hardly ever use the microwave at home. I use the one at work daily but the one at home - not so much. It is easier for reheating leftovers than the oven. Although if you have a toaster oven that works well to then you don't have to heat up the kitchen either.

/hijack x 2

[Jwolf]

[hijack]I can't imagine not having a microwave! I use it almost daily. Usually for reheating the night before's leftovers, although I guess I could do most of that in either the oven or stovetop. It's just so much easier and quicker for many things, though.[/hijack]

I hardly ever use the microwave at home. I use the one at work daily but the one at home - not so much. It is easier for reheating leftovers than the oven. Although if you have a toaster oven that works well to then you don't have to heat up the kitchen either.

I have a toaster, but that won't work for things like soups, pasta sauce, chili, curries with rice, etc. which is much of what I eat. Even lasagna and burritos take way too long to re-heat in the toaster from fridge temp.

[Samantha]

[hijack]I can't imagine not having a microwave! I use it almost daily. Usually for reheating the night before's leftovers, although I guess I could do most of that in either the oven or stovetop. It's just so much easier and quicker for many things, though.[/hijack]

I hardly ever use the microwave at home. I use the one at work daily but the one at home - not so much. It is easier for reheating leftovers than the oven. Although if you have a toaster oven that works well to then you don't have to heat up the kitchen either.

I have a toaster, but that won't work for things like soups, pasta sauce, chili, curries with rice, etc. which is much of what I eat. Even lasagna and burritos take way too long to re-heat in the toaster from fridge temp.

Not toaster, toaster oven . I've cooked a roast in a toaster oven I'm pretty sure it'll heat up lasagna and burritos.

[Jwolf]

Not toaster, toaster oven . I've cooked a roast in a toaster oven I'm pretty sure it'll heat up lasagna and burritos.

Sorry, that's what meant. We have a toaster oven. Essentially a small oven-- doesn't save time, just saves energy. Still won't work for liquid-based re-heats. It will do the lasagna and the burritos and I'll cook them there from scratch instead of the big oven, but to reheat, it takes a LONG time vs. the micro.