casseroles in individual portions

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crystal10584
crystal10584 Posts: 334
in Food and Nutrition
If I made a casserole or lasagna and put them in separate individual serving size (bakeable) dishes, do I cook them before and freeze them after... or freeze it "raw" and bake like I would if I had just made it?

With my school schedule picking up (at school until 8 during the summer, 10 other nights during fall semester), I need easy quick fixes for dinner... or things to take to work so I can eat simple things for dinner...

Which casseroles do you recommend? Share your recipes??

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  • bmonahan115
    bmonahan115 Posts: 121 Member
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    If I made a casserole or lasagna and put them in separate individual serving size (bakeable) dishes, do I cook them before and freeze them after... or freeze it "raw" and bake like I would if I had just made it?

    With my school schedule picking up (at school until 8 during the summer, 10 other nights during fall semester), I need easy quick fixes for dinner... or things to take to work so I can eat simple things for dinner...

    Which casseroles do you recommend? Share your recipes??

    well if it's just lasagna you're looking to freeze individually that cook it through and just freeze it, otherwise you'll be baking longer to unfreeze nd than cook through. but other casseroles this may not be true. i can't rec any casseroles that aren't calorie dense and realitivly devoid of any real nutrition, but they're yummy haha but more often than not that's my general impressio of casseroles. i'd love to see others HEALTHY recipes cause than i def. need to add em to my repetoire (and i'm a private chef so that'd be super useful!! haha)
  • AngiMoss
    AngiMoss Posts: 77
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    I would prep & bake the casserole. Then portion it out & freeze.

    I like this beef ziti that I got off of the weight watchers site last year:
    http://www.weightwatchers.com/food/rcp/index.aspx?recipeid=68091

    It doesn't taste like a compromise at all!

    * I should note that I use wheat pasta or the Smart Taste kind that is packed with fiber. I also use ground turkey sometimes instead of beef. Or even the soy crumbles made by Morningstar.
  • smae1980
    smae1980 Posts: 794 Member
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    in most cases i would freeze the casserole unbaked and thaw it to bake it later otherwise it could end up burned by the time you baked it long enough the second time to heat it all the way through. You could do lasagne, enchiladas, shepherd's pie, baked ziti, pot pie type casseroles or green bean casserole..Another idea that works for me is I like to cook enough to have leftovers so that on the nights i don't have time to cook all i have to do is forage and microwave....
  • crystal10584
    crystal10584 Posts: 334
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    I would prep & bake the casserole. Then portion it out & freeze.

    I like this beef ziti that I got off of the weight watchers site last year:
    http://www.weightwatchers.com/food/rcp/index.aspx?recipeid=68091

    It doesn't taste like a compromise at all!

    So bake it, portion it out, then freeze. pull out and reheat to 160 internal temp?
  • crystal10584
    crystal10584 Posts: 334
    Options
    If I made a casserole or lasagna and put them in separate individual serving size (bakeable) dishes, do I cook them before and freeze them after... or freeze it "raw" and bake like I would if I had just made it?

    With my school schedule picking up (at school until 8 during the summer, 10 other nights during fall semester), I need easy quick fixes for dinner... or things to take to work so I can eat simple things for dinner...

    Which casseroles do you recommend? Share your recipes??

    well if it's just lasagna you're looking to freeze individually that cook it through and just freeze it, otherwise you'll be baking longer to unfreeze nd than cook through. but other casseroles this may not be true. i can't rec any casseroles that aren't calorie dense and realitivly devoid of any real nutrition, but they're yummy haha but more often than not that's my general impressio of casseroles. i'd love to see others HEALTHY recipes cause than i def. need to add em to my repetoire (and i'm a private chef so that'd be super useful!! haha)

    I'd be pulling it out either the night before or the morning of to thaw in the fridge while I was at work/school.
  • MyNameIsNotBob
    MyNameIsNotBob Posts: 565 Member
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    I always put mine in the freezer unbaked, and then put them in the fridge to thaw before baking.
  • crystal10584
    crystal10584 Posts: 334
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    http://busycooks.about.com/library/lessons/blfreezer.htm

    says to slightly undercook them since reheating will finish the cooking process. :D
  • angp7711
    angp7711 Posts: 324 Member
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    I don't have any healthy casserole dishes that I can think of but I like to do one pot type of meals and then freeze individually. These would all be cooked and then frozen to be heated up later.

    Spinach Chicken and brown rice
    1c diced tomatoes
    1c frozen spinach
    1/2c onion
    1/2c brown rice
    1C Chicken broth
    2T lemon Juice
    1t Minced garlic
    1/2tsp pepper
    1 tsp chili powder
    2lbs diced chicken thighs (boneless skinless)

    Saute onion and Garlic in oilive oil (I use the pump spray)
    Add chicken and seasonings. Cook till lightly brown
    Add all other ingredients and cook covered until rice is the cooked through 45-55min


    regular chili is great
    I use Lawrys Seasoning mix but add lots more stuff
    I use diced green pepper
    Celery
    Onion
    Can diced tomatoes
    1lb extra lean ground beef
    1 can each black, kidney and pinto beans

    Also white chicken chili
    1 large onion diced
    3 minced garlic cloves
    1lb boneless skinless chicken diced
    3 cans chicken broth
    2 cans diced green chilis
    2tsp ground cumin
    2 tsp dried oregano
    5 cans great northern beans undrained

    saute onion garlic
    brown chicken
    puree 2 of the cans of beans in the food processor
    add all ingredients and simmer 20-30 minutes



    Looking for other ideas as well...

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