what type of "ready" to eat foods does everyone else make? i am tring to get at least 30 heat and serve meals put up for the winter. so far lasagna{sp} stuffed shells, stuffed pepers and a bean and ham soup and veggie soup. any others you can think of?

-- renee oneill (oneillsr@home.com), August 08, 2000

Answers

We do lots of chili,stews,pork barbecue,spaghetti sauce,taco filling and also breakfast items-cooked and frozen pancakes,french toast and waffles.

-- nobrabbit (conlane@prodigy.net), August 08, 2000.

Not quite "ready to eat", but close...I buy chicken and also beef arm and chuck roast when they are on sale as loss leaders and cook them up either in the slow cooker or pressure cooker. I cook the beef with dry onion soup mix. I package them in 3 cup freezer boxes with about half a box of loosely packed meat topped with broth. I also have some noodles frozen - by the time potatoes are cooked to mash, I can have a pot of beef or chicken and noodles or a skillet of chicken stew topped with biscuts ready. The beef can also be made into Italian beef with the addition of some Italian seasoning and a jar of pickles pepper rings; vegetable soup, and, sans broth, tacos and BBQ. The chicken can also be used in tetrazini.

For short term storage, I fry up hamburger and sausage and pack it loosely in freezer boxes in pizza and taco size amounts. I make up 6 dozen or so meatballs with my favorite recipe and freeze them on cookie sheets til solid, then store loose in a bag in the freezer. I also make up a couple of extra batches of waffles to keep in the freezer.

I do occasionally make up a big batch of lazy lasagne (so called because I don't layer it - just use broad egg noodles and stir everything together and put it in a cassarole dish) or a chicken cassarole with noodles and soup; and put them in foil 8X8 cake pans and freeze them for days when I don't want to cook at all.

-- Polly (tigger@moultrie.com), August 08, 2000.

Nearly everything, is 'freezable' at least for a few months. Leftovers become a 'single serve lunch/dinner.' Stop by the local 99c store and purchase 'take out containers', 10 for...99c! Potatos are tough, they become grainy, but rice and gravy with a bit of meat and/or veggies! No wonder the kids still drive home for lunch! Never mind that it's "free"- the 'golden arch' is closer! Good habits die hard, at least they appreciate good food!

-- Kathy (catfish@bestweb.net), August 08, 2000.

I can stuff for quick meals. I can meatballs in tomato sauce for spagetti or sandwiches. I can beef, venison, rabbit and chicken for stews, gravy/meat dishes and casseroles, ground beef for chili and veg. soup made from the leftover cache in the freezer. I can chicken breast when its cheap, raw packed so it can be used for fajitas and stir fry. Thats our version of "fast food". I'm gonna try to can goat milk so I wont be without gravy when they are close to kidding. Havent done it before. We'll see how it works. Peggy

-- Peggy (wclpc@cookeville.com), August 08, 2000.

How about heat and serve okra? My wife has found a way (via family) to freeze okra without it being mushy. You fry the okra first, drain on paper towels and freeze. When ready to eat heat in a skillet or I suppose you could put it on a cookie sheet in the oven. She has eaten it fixed this way and could hardly tell the difference. This will be our first year to try it. Hope it works because about Jan-Feb we're ready for something besides gr. beans and beets. LOL

-- Vaughn (vdcjm5@juno.com), August 08, 2000.

Curry! I keep a container in my freezer (about 2 quart size) and scrape into it any leftovers that would otherwise get dumped (i.e., that last spoonful of peas that no one really wants, or the last piece of meatloaf...) and about once every two weeks I throw it all in my crockpot and add whatever takes my fancy (or needs to be used up from the fridge) and a few tablespoons of curry paste, and a can of stewed tomatoes. This makes a HUGE pot of curry. We have curry that night for dinner, and freeze the rest. Makes for a really quick busy-night meal.

-- Tracy (trimmer@westzone.com), August 08, 2000.

These are not quick but, we have a side of beef & a hog, (both home grown) in the freezer, then the ususal garden stuff & a case of Gin, a case of single malt Scotch. (the instant meals) and canned beans, oh do we have beans. A quick meal for us is one done in the pressure cooker, usually about 20 minutes.

-- Red Gate Ranch (redgate@echoweb.net), August 08, 2000.

Hello Everyone! Just thought some of you might like to know what I put up. I have not had the time to garden (until this coming fall/spring) for the last two years. So in the interim this is what I have done. I go to those places that sell bulk canned foods such as the gallon cans of green beans, peeled tomatoes, corn, ketchup, and so on. Then I take a day a week and plan to can up several recipies. Some of them are; Spaghetti sauce, Marinara, Spag w/meatballs, Chili(all of which may be made with ground beef/goat/lamb in order of cost), Green Chili stew (traditionally made w/pork cubes(milk fed & home grown of course)), Ham & beans, Pork & beans, Chicken noodle soup, Tomato soup, Tomato Juice, Cream of Potato soup, Clam Chowder, Potato corn chowder, BBQ goat meat, BBQ Pork meat, Pumpkin (cooked & mashed ready to make pies with(I still have some of that from when I had a garden two years ago). Pear butter,Apple butter, Pumpkin butter(from the ever present Halloween pumpkins), Beef/lamb/goat barley soup, Beef/goat/lamb stew, French onion soup, I also can my goats'& cows' milk, Red and Green salsas, Enchilada sauces in hot/mild red/green, If potatoes are especially cheap I peel and dice them and can them, same with carrots, I look for people that have those trees that I am "envious of" (mine are still to small to bear) and whatever I can trade them for the fruit that they would have not picked anyway, goes into pie fillings and syrups and jams and just plain canned, I also make the stock for beef/goat/lamb and chicken pot pies and can them so that all I have to do is roll out the pie crust insert 1 quart of whichever stock and mix with about 1 tablespoon of roux and pinch on the top crust and bake, real quick! I put all of the gallons of veggies into Quarts so that I don't have gallon cans of veggies open in the fridge, and we just open the one quart jar for a meal, I have not yet tried the bread/cakes in canning yet I am eager! I will be also purchasing a Vac sealer soon as I did find one at Wal-Mart and it is around $100.00 so It WILL be used enough to PAY for itself! I will vacuum pack my Jerky, cheeses(to be frozen), dried fruits, herbs and veggies, Precooked and seasoned rice dishes for the freezer(pop the bag in the micro or a pan of boiling water), Pilaf, Brown, Wild, Spanish rice, etc. Well that should give some of you some hints and maybe I will find out some new ones from some of you...HINT, HINT, HINT!

-- Lawannea S. Stum (Whitedov1@citlink.net), August 09, 2000.

Oh yes I may have overlooked something very obvious, that also sits on my shelves, Just plain broth, Chicken, and beef/lamb/goat. Open a quart or two and add fresh veggies and or noodles and you have instant soup or just broth in a teacup for those who need that cold to go away. Or bring the plain broth to boiling and add roux or a milk roux for the chicken (sometimes) or even cornstarch & water paste and you have some of the most excellent gravies ever! I also forgot the Pre-steamed tamales (chicken, pork, goat, lamb, beef)I classify the "Dark Meats" as Machaca tamales, I pack them in ziplock bags by the dozen and freeze them, they lay nice and flat if you pack them right and do not take up much space. Sooo......When do you guys want to come and work for me? I promise to feed you! Are you hungry yet?LOL. Hope this helps. Thank you for allowing me my two cents.

-- Lawannea S. Stum (Whitdov1@citlink.net), August 09, 2000.

In the past, I cooked up a whole turkey and made up pot pies and froze them ready for cooking. I also made up extra filling without the pie shells to make fresh pie shells if I prefer.

-- Colleen (pyramidgreatdanes@erols.com), August 09, 2000.