Review: Eating out of the freezer
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 15, 2012
I've been making freezer meals for many years and it has saved me on many nights when I've had a hectic day and need something to feed my family with fast.This is a good introductory book into learning how to cook and freeze your meals, but I would have liked to have seen more information given on freezing in bulk along with cooking in bulk and then freezing.  I still gave it four stars because I do believe the book was presented well and it did live up to the name of make and freeze recipes.I would recommend this book for someone who is just starting out learning to "eat out of the freezer.While the book details, very well I think, what size and type of freezer containers and bags to use, I would have loved to have seen more in the way of recommending vacuum sealing.  I began making freezer meals years ago using containers and freezer bags and for the past 6 years have been solely using vacuum sealers.  They are well worth the investment and you can get them now for under $100.00 and they work just great.  They save a ton of space in the freezer since they lay flat, and I don't care how much money you spend on a good quality freezer Ziploc bag...removing all of the air and freezing with a vacuum sealer is absolutely the best way to go.  There is no freezer bag that will compare to that. You will make back your investment in within the first couple of months of making freezer meals.I do a lot of buying in bulk as well and freezing that way.  When ground beef goes on sale in the large family size packages, I buy several and make hamburgers and vacuum seal them raw in the freezer.  I'll make meatballs, brown them, freeze and vacuum seal and they are ready to throw into tomato sauce whenever I need them for pasta or meatball subs.  I break down the ground beef into 1 lbs. packages, brown them up with some taco seasoning and then freeze.  Perfect for when you want taco night and all you have to do is thaw and heat and make up your tacos, or throw them on top of a plate of nachos and add some fresh lettuce, cheese, and tomatoes.The freezer can be a huge time saver even if you are just breaking down large purchase of meat on sale into separate servings and freezing that way, so you saved money and time by just having it on hand.Once you get the hang of it, you will begin to broaden what you make and become a pro in no time.  This is a good start in learning how to do that.