Random Tips

• I generally don’t precook noodles—like in lasagna. I just put them in and pour a little extra water over it after I have assembled it. They soak up a lot of moisture as they are cooling, freezing and then cooking. It saves you a dirty pan and a whole step in the process.
• I freeze everything possible in Ziplocs. They take way less room in the freezer. Just freeze them flat and they stack or can be easily stood up. I freeze everything else in Gladware plastic bakeware.
  
• Many of my recipes call for precooked chicken. I buy a large amount of chicken at Sam’s Club and then cook it all in the crock pot. Just drizzle some olive oil or put a little butter with the chicken while it cooks. Otherwise it tends to be a bit dry.
• When freezing something like Sloppy Joe meat or shredded BBQ pork, freeze it in muffin tins and pop them out when frozen. Store in a large Ziploc. These are generally good individual size portions.
• Preassemble crockpot meals and freeze them. Put everything together in a bag for the meal (meat, seasonings, veggies, etc. When you want to cook it, just thaw it in the fridge overnight and pop the meal in your crockpot the next day.
• When filling Ziplocs put them inside another container like a tall glass and wrap the sides of the bag around the glass while filling. It’s way less messy. Also, don’t usually fill your bags more than about ½ full.
• Start with your dishwasher and garbage can empty and clean as you go.
• When freezing everything spread it out in your freezer as much as possible. You want it to freeze quickly.
• Put your recipes in page protectors and use a magnet to attach them to the stove hood or somewhere easy for you to see quickly so you aren’t always digging to find your recipe.
• Most recipes freeze just fine. Just experiment.