Cookbook Review - Don't Panic, Dinner's in the Freezer

[smcdonald2]

DH and I both work full time and we were falling into a bad habit of ordering pizza, picking up fast food or just making sandwiches several times a week. Now that a baby is coming, I felt I should be more "mom-like" and actually make dinner on a regular basis. I posted a couple of weeks ago, asking for freezer cookbook recommendations and several of you were kind enough to respond. I bought Don't Panic, Dinner's in the Freezer, volumes 1 and 2.

Wow. There is a such a good variety of recipes and everything seems like something DH would actually eat. The food is interesting without being weird. We really look forward to trying each new thing! The thing I like most about it, is that they pay attention to food quality. You cook after you freeze, or before, based on what tastes the best and has the best texture. I much prefer that approach over simple convenience.

But boy, is it convenient. Two cooking days so far (spent about 2-3 hours each day from start to finish) and my freezer is stocked. Each meals serves four people and so far, I have:

Tangy Tomato Beef Roast (2 meals)
Hawaiian BBQ Ribs (2 meals)
Chili con Carne (3 meals)
White Chicken chili (2 meals)
Parmesan Cheesy Chicken bundles (2 meals)
Herb Crusted Pork Chops (5 meals)
Dijon Pork Loin (4 meals)

All of that fits in the freezer above my fridge, by the way. We don't have a chest freezer or anything. But the book tells you how to package things flat for maximum storage. The varying amounts are because some meals got eaten before the rest was frozen! I always liked the concept of cooking in bulk and freezing, but I wasn't confident that I could do it without the food getting funky. This book gives excellent directions on packaging and storing. It also teaches you how to shop economically. We estimate that dinner is now costing us about $.75 to $1.00 an entree. And the meals taste better than anything I've made on my own before.

So anyway, thank you for your help and if anyone else is thinking of starting a similar system, these books are great.

[infomama]

Thanks for the review!

[mousemom]

Thanks for the review! I've requested it through my library.

[island]

Thanks so much for this review! :thumbsup:

[thelilprincess]

I've done the herb crusted pork, too, and it's pretty good! I have both this books and need to get back on track with making these meals. I'm due soon and should have made some to freeze - we just finished what was left from my last batch of freeze cooking a month ago.

ETA: i forgot to mention that there are a few recipes included that are not meant for freezing which in a way disappoints me. the purpose of me getting these books was so that i'd have freezing options in the recipes, not recipes meant to be made and consumed same day. but overall, i am happy with these purchases.

[thelilprincess]

ok, so i pulled out my books (i have both versions) and these are the ones i recall making before:

Spicy Peanut Chicken - 1st time i made it, i thought it looked too plain, so i added more chili - DON'T DO THAT unless you like it super spicy. This is one of those cook then freeze which I didn't freeze, just ate. I made it again tonight to freeze since i am due in 5 days - i just want food in the freezer so when we are tired in the next few weeks, we can just pull some food out). i think when i reheat i would want to add a bit of red bell peppers just for color.

Herb Crusted Pork Chops - i really like that these were broiled - my mom use to just fry up pork chops and i HATED how dry and rubbery they tasted. DH and even his parents approved of this.

Buttermilk Herb Chicken Breasts - tbh, i don't know how much flavor was in this - it didn't taste full of flavor to me, but it wasn't terrible. i'm sure i'll still make if for when i have buttermilk in the fridge and don't know what to do with it.

Lemon Glazed Chicken Breasts - this was terrible. would never make it again. i'd stick to just simple lemon pepper next time.

[KHF]

Lemon Glazed Chicken Breasts - this was terrible. would never make it again. i'd stick to just simple lemon pepper next time.

This just goes to show what's one person's trash is another's treasure...my whole family really liked this recipe when I made it. (I brought it with me on a family trip to Gatlinburg, so it fed the entire extended family too.) It's not health food by far, but it tasted great to us.

[larig]

We estimate that dinner is now costing us about $.75 to $1.00 an entree. And the meals taste better than anything I've made on my own before.


That's quite an endorsement. Love the cost. I was reading your list of what you made and trying to figure out how much and they seemed like things that wouldn't be cheap. $.75-$1 is amazing.

Thanks for the review.

[boltfam]

Thanks for the review! I may have to check it out from the library.

[thelilprincess]

This just goes to show what's one person's trash is another's treasure...my whole family really liked this recipe when I made it. (I brought it with me on a family trip to Gatlinburg, so it fed the entire extended family too.) It's not health food by far, but it tasted great to us.

hmmm, i wonder if somehow i'm not preparing it the same then. maybe i will try it one more time...

[oneontheway]

I just bought volume 1 and was overwhelmed by the number of recipes. Are there any other favorites?

smcdonald2 - great info, thanks! How did you organize your shopping list and cooking days?

[hillview]

Also when you plan to eat it, how do you defrost? How long to cook it?

My situation is that I need to have dinner on the table about 30 mins after I get off work. I could sneak into the kitchen (I work from home) and put something into the oven if that would be pretty fast/not require me watching something cook on the stove. Would this book work for me?
Thanks!
/hillary

[WatchingThemGrow]

Also when you plan to eat it, how do you defrost? How long to cook it?

My situation is that I need to have dinner on the table about 30 mins after I get off work. I could sneak into the kitchen (I work from home) and put something into the oven if that would be pretty fast/not require me watching something cook on the stove. Would this book work for me?
Thanks!
/hillary
Hillary, I don't have DPDITF, but I have OAMC Family Favorites. With those recipes, yes. If you can preheat the oven and stick the meal in 30-40 min. before you want to eat, that will work. I often use the rice cooker and in the winter some frozen veggies to cook our meal while we're off doing something else (in the yard).

However...I want to mention that with the Advantium oven, you can totally do this. There are settings for all kinds of main dish items (meats generally) on the Speedcooker. There is no preheating. You just stick the food in, turn the knob to the right words and push the button. It is preprogrammed and knows exactly how long to cook the stuff. SUCH a timesaver since you don't have to go through the preheating ordeal, remembering to go back to put the meal in, etc.

[LadyPeter]

I just bought volume 1 and was overwhelmed by the number of recipes. Are there any other favorites?

smcdonald2 - great info, thanks! How did you organize your shopping list and cooking days?

My favorites from Volume 1 were:
Tangy Tomato Beef Roast
French Steak
Honey Porkchops
Mushroom Cups
Santa Fe Dip
Breakfast Burritos
Italian Chicken breasts
BBQ Chicken Pizza
Cranberry Chicken
Chicken Parisienne
White Chili

I shop for my groceries online, so I just scan the meat sales for the week, and if chicken's on sale cheap, for example, I buy a bunch of that and then make only chicken recipes. Good luck!

[LadyPeter]

Also when you plan to eat it, how do you defrost? How long to cook it?

My situation is that I need to have dinner on the table about 30 mins after I get off work. I could sneak into the kitchen (I work from home) and put something into the oven if that would be pretty fast/not require me watching something cook on the stove. Would this book work for me?
Thanks!
/hillary

For things like pork chops or chicken breasts, etc. I'll take them out of the freezer in the morning, thaw them in the fridge all day while I'm at work. Roasts or big bags of stew, etc. I might take out two days before. So I usually have a couple of different meals thawing in the fridge. Pretty much everything in the book is a "bake it on a baking sheet" or "throw it in the crockpot in the morning" recipe. Pretty simple.

[oneontheway]

My favorites from Volume 1 were:
Tangy Tomato Beef Roast
French Steak
Honey Porkchops
Mushroom Cups
Santa Fe Dip
Breakfast Burritos
Italian Chicken breasts
BBQ Chicken Pizza
Cranberry Chicken
Chicken Parisienne
White Chili

I shop for my groceries online, so I just scan the meat sales for the week, and if chicken's on sale cheap, for example, I buy a bunch of that and then make only chicken recipes. Good luck!

Thanks so much!! Would you also recommend getting Volume 2?

[LadyPeter]

I liked Volume 2 and I'm not sorry I bought it, but several of the recipes were just tweaked versions of the ones in Volume 1. There were enough new ones to make it worth it for me, though.

The nicest part about the cookbooks is that it trains your eye re: cooking and freezing. Teaches you how to package and store things, etc. so you're quickly able to look at your old standbys and figure out whether they would freeze well, how to do it, etc.

I made 3 large lasagnas yesterday (the Pioneer Woman's Best Lasagna Ever) and stuck those in the fridge to get cool. Something I would never have known before I got DPDITF - don't put warm or hot foods in the freezer! Cool it down before you freeze to avoid forming ice crystals.

[goldenpig]

Thanks for the review. You have inspired me to try to cook and stock our freezer! I haven't been cooking much lately because my maternity leave ended a couple months ago and when I get home from work we're both too tired to think about what to cook so usually DH makes something while I watch the kids, or else we have been ordering takeout or everyone fends for themselves (cereal, etc). Thinking about what to make, then going to the grocery, then cooking while the two kids are crying for me is just too much effort!

So I just bought volume 2 and tonight I made Coconut Lime Grilled Chicken for dinner. It was pretty tasty and it wasn't as hard as I thought...basically make a marinade for the chicken and then grill it. I made rice in the rice cooker and mixed in some cilantro after it was done. Then I grilled some corn on the cob along with the chicken, and sauteed some green beans in soy sauce/sesame oil/garlic/fish sauce. DH was really appreciative and DD liked the dinner too.

And then after the kids were asleep I made the Spicy Peanut Chicken. I added sliced onions and red peppers to the recipe and a squeeze of lime.

I used 2 of the value packs (5 chicken breasts) that I bought at the grocery (on sale for $1.88/lb) for each recipe. So now I have lunch for tomorrow, plus six extra meals for the freezer. This is so great! Pretty inexpensive, too. I think I'll try the Beef Bourguignon tomorrow. Hopefully the food will taste OK once defrosted, but I really like the idea of having dinner already made in the freezer. Thanks!

ETA: I just wish they had nutritional info for the recipes.

[Nyfeara]

Thanks for the book recs!

We have made a few recipes from a couple different books. I probably cooked for about 6-8 hrs total last weekend & wound up with 2-3 weeks worth of dinners. I spent $91 on meats (hamburger, chicken breasts, ground turkey, various steaks, pork chops). I think next time I will make all chicken recipes in one round, beef during another.

So far we've tried some chicken and beef recipes. All have turned out just fine. I really love it. Last night I picked up DS, we threw the chicken & broccoli casserole in a baking dish (left in the fridge to thaw the night before) and DS helped put the cheese crumb topping on.

It really only took 5 mins to set it up. Then we were out the door to play while it baked. DH came home shortly after that. We were able to play, water the gardens, mow the lawn - all while dinner was cooking instead of having to prep everything. It is so much less stressful to get dinner on the table now.

My next step is to start tracking the meat prices at the local stores, Costco, and the local butcher so that I know what to buy when.

IMO, it's definitely worth it & we plan to keep up with it.