Spicier, Fresher Freezer Recipes
588785
After a rough two weeks of car trouble, must-go events, and sick kids, I am grateful that I had this cookbook on hand. this collection of recipes has a fresher, Mexican-influenced take on freezer meals. It also features shorter cooking plans that don't require a whole day in the kitchen while the rest of my family eats take-out (true story!)

I whipped up the cocoa brownies to freeze ahead when I knew I wouldn't otherwise have been able to contribute to 3 bake sales. I slow cooked a pork shoulder for the first time, simmered red Texas chili for a neighborhood cookoff, and froze enchiladas for the next few carpool days. If your family is burned out on frozen casseroles, you might find that these recipes produce meals they'll actually want to eat.

My only caveat is to taste and adjust the heat if your family likes milder versions of the Mexican dishes.
3220487
I have had a good saver for years.  It really does make the food last a lot longer, and prevents freezer burn.
1106345
I've been using these for many years and love being able to make a pretty decent version of it easily. I don't like mine as juicy as a lot of people so I only use 3 cups of water and I put the raw hamburger in a crockpot with the mix packet, water and tomato paste. I then break it up with a mixer before serving. It makes it pretty darn close to the real thing.
2290802
Great to add to soups, spreads, and recipes.  Stores well in freezer.
3838722
I had a whole pig in my freezer but couldn't figure out the best way to cook the four 1/2 cut fresh hams. Used this some coke spices and wet cured it for a week. Turned out delicious.
2181599
Now that I have these, I double batches of chili, soup, stew, etc so I can freeze portions to use later. It's so much easier to store in the freezer because they stack flatter than freezer bags.
4653444
To print recipes click on Start button on lower left of monitor screen, then click on My Computer, arrow down in the address box to your dvd drive and click, all on the dvd is shown include the Word document which is detailed and has a full color picture of each final dish. If you are not into spicy(hot)food then replace the red chili powder with either new mexico or california red chili powders (pure not mixes) which are much milder. Replace the green chilies with Mezzetta Deli-sliced tamed jalapeno peppers (wash off the vinegar) - they are cooked when canned but still have great flavor to add to the dish. The samosa filling is more elaborate than what I usually make (potato & peas) but gives great flavor.
Sambar recipe is a little harder to cook with drumstick (tree pods) and snake gourds not found outside of Indian groceries unless you grow these gourds from seeds. I have used okra for drumstick but you will have slime unless cooked longer. Use asafetida with some care as needs to be kept in closed container (I use small canning jar) until last moment because of smell which changes when it hits the hot oil - well worth the effort. Over all a great addition to the cookingondvd group of cooking dvds.
4297256
I love this book !

 I have been freezing quick meals for a few years, but this book has a lot more ideas and suggestions.
725959
I noticed that when I bought prepackaged meat that it had a little "oxygen absorber" in it to maintain freshness. I looked into what was in the thing and was surprised to find that it was simply iron filings, salt, and a little moisture. Basically the iron rusts and pulls the oxygen out of the air. But they are EXPENSIVE and hard to find, so I looked for an alternative. Turns out hand warmers are iron filings and a little bit of salt in a pseudo cloth sack. Basically the same thing. So now when I buy turkey slices, or whatever, and put them into plastic containers, I include one of these hand-warmer packets with it to trap the oxygen. I can keep meat in the fridge for weeks without it going bad using this method.
4316435
As I write this review, guests of my husband are gobbling up a cranberry gingerbread cake. How great to pull this minced ginger out of the refrigerator rather than braving a frigid Illinois day to purchase a fresh ginger root and later watch the unused portion spoil.
2577384
Since I started the fast diet Ive been eating more or less the same thing each fast day, as I was kinda scared to try new things without being sure of the calorie content, and didn't want to resort to frozen lean meals as they are so full of additives. These fresh and tasty recipes are great and the few I have tried so far have been easy to prepare and didn't need lots of strange or hard to find ingredients like many dietrecipes. Were having the chilli con carne tonight  cant believe I can still eat so well on a fast day! Great book, very good price.
3530268
Often when I come home from work, I do not want to cook dinner but take out is not healthy.  I was looking for different types of food I can make ahead and freeze.  This book has great recipes, some are pre-cooked, and some are seasoned and frozen to be cooked when defrosted.  It also has 3 different quantities, which is nice if you have a big event coming up. I give this book a thumbs up!
1121804
The Food Saver is easy to use and has made a difference in the quality of our frozen meatballs. There's a bit more up front work, the instructions state food should be frozen before placing in the bags.  But the outcome was good. The directions are easy to follow. Overall a great product.
3500457
The recipes are excellent.  I've tried several (meatballs, red sauce, apple pie, garlic focaccia as a pizza crust, burrito). They are simple to prepare, tasty and actually still taste good after freezing and thawing.  Yeah, I know that's the premise of the book but this one is actually successful. The freezer work session part of the book is one that I skimmed over and may play with later.  The one thing I'd suggest to the author/publisher for subsequent books or editions is to make more of an effort to have each recipe start on its own page.  The book is well organized but the formatting makes it feel disorganized.
3483610
I bought this book so that I could see what recipes would freeze well from the ATK/Cook's Illustrated/Cook's Country collection. Because the book is all about "making ahead" it offers more recipes than just those that you pop in the freezer. Don't get me wrong, there are a bunch of them, marked with "Freeze It" above every recipe that they deem freeze worthy. But there are also a bunch of other types of make ahead recipes. Like, overnight, make a day before, set it and forget it in the crockpot, etc...  At first, I was irked like a lot of people who have commented about the freezing thing, but then it dawned on me that:
1. It says Make Ahead in the title, not Freeze
2. This could actually teach me something here :)
If you're like me, Monday through Friday is exhausting. When I get home from work, I am too drained to even think about what to eat, let alone cook it! I love to cook though and always enjoy it like a hobby on weekends. SO, what this book made me think was that there are some recipes that I can freeze for later in the coming week, or even way ahead of that, and some I can prep and whip together quickly Monday and Tuesday. It takes the guess work out of weekday suppers and makes it easier than starting from scratch.

The other big thing about this book (if you have never made or heard of America's Test Kitchen recipes before) is you can rely on these folks. These recipes are not hit and miss and this book is not going to collect dust. Make enough of them, and you start noticing techniques repeat into a habit, like blooming spices and garlic in oil, and you feel more confident as a cook. At least that has been the case with me. I really trust them.

I do have one gripe and that is just how it is organized. It is appetizer, casserole, sauces... I wish those were sub-categories and the big categories were Freezer Recipes: appetizer, casserole, sauces...; 1-2 Days Ahead Recipes, etc. Just because I feel the need to mark with highlighters or post-its all the freezer recipes to make navigation for them easier, and I don't like marking books like this.

But again, I found there to be so much good information and SO many recipes (It's over 400 pages with often more than 2 or 3 recipes on the page and even variation ideas) that I can't help forgiving them for that. :)

One last thing a lot of folks may find useful and not be expecting it: There's a whole section on double duty recipes which are ones that help you do something with leftovers besides just eat them as is again.
2125825
These are the greatest invention ever for freezing and later using fresh herbs. I harvested, washed & soaked up excess moisture from the herbs. Then stuffed them into the cylinder tightly, screwed down the plunger to remove any air, and stuck them in the freezer. When you need some, remove the cap, twist the plunger to expose the amount needed, and slice it off. I have dill, basil, parsley and mint going now and plan to start  more herbcicles with thyme, oregano and cilantro. The great thing is that I can add more whenever I harvest - just remove the plunger, add more and screw it down again. I write what's inside on the top of the plunger so no guessing what's inside. This morning we added frozen parsley to a cauliflower puree, and it looked and tasted like fresh parsley. And it's so easy!
2248039
Lots of great recipe options in here.  Normal, household ingredients and family friendly meals.  I use the recipes for freezing and weeknights when I just need something yummy and easy.