Cooking Ahead: Nine Ways to Do it Better

Why would anybody want to cook their own food when the supermarket is full of .prepared items that can be microwaved and eaten within minutes? Because home cooked food tastes better, costs less and is better for your health. Those who have eaten a lot of food that is well prepared by the home cook already know that it tastes better than what can be purchased in a box or a can. The other main reason for cooking your own food is that it can be much more nourishing, if you use fresh, high-quality ingredients without the preservatives, synthetic flavor enhancers, and coloring agents found in most processed foods. Home cooking is also less expensive than purchasing foods that are partially or completely prepared commercially.

Cooking in quantities that exceed what is needed for a single meal is a good way to save time, since it often takes no more time to cook in larger amounts. The leftovers can then be stored in the freezer until they are ready to be eaten. After doing a lot of cooking ahead for several years, I have developed some techniques which have helped me prepare and use this type of food conveniently and expeditiously. Here are some of the tips I have found to be most helpful.

1. Make sure it can be microwaved. The microwave oven is invaluable for effective cooking ahead. It can be used for both thawing and heating the food after freezing. If the food has been wrapped in foil prior to being frozen, be sure to remove every bit of foil wrapping before microwaving and eating. Remember that metal should not be put in the microwave. Also, you don't want a diner to bite unexpectedly into a piece of aluminum embedded in his or her entree.

2. What to store it in. Plastic bags make good freezing containers. I use plastic fold-over sandwich bags for storing single-person portion sizes. This makes it possible for only one person to eat at a time. The smaller sizes also freeze faster than larger ones, which saves electricity. After freezing, the individual containers can be combined into one or more larger plastic bags so that you can find them in one place in the freezer later. To use more than a portion size at one meal, simply combine one or more of the food packets to produce the amount you want.

3. To thaw or not to thaw. Thawing before heating or otherwise cooking food after freezing is usually a good idea. This can be done rapidly in the microwave or more slowly in the refrigerator. Do not thaw frozen food of any kind at room temperature, since this can promote the growth of harmful microorganisms.

Whether to thaw or not depends on what kind of food you are dealing with. If the quality or texture of the food deteriorates from overcooking, it is a good idea to thaw it first, because the prolonged high temperature used in reheating and baking frozen items can cook the food too much. I find that some ingredients such as pastas and some vegetables will turn to mush under these conditions. On the other hand, some foods such as the less tender cuts of beef do well with a lot of cooking, so they may fare quite well without thawing. When in doubt, thaw it first.

Remove frozen food from the container or wrapping before thawing. Sometimes you can free up the food easily. At other times, the food may stubbornly stick to its packaging. If this happens, simply hold the package under running cold or lukewarm water for a few seconds. You will then be able to pop the food from the container or peel off the wrapping.

4. Soups. Soups do very well as a cook-ahead food. The high liquid content keeps them from drying out during storage and makes thawing and reheating faster. Soups are also easy to make in large quantities. You may want to use a stockpot for this purpose, since this type of pot holds a lot of ingredients and takes up only one burner on the stove. Soups are also a great way to maximize your use of holiday leftovers, with Thanksgiving probably being one of the best examples. If you find that you have a lot of turkey on your hands after this most abundant of American feasts, it it is easy to throw the carcass into the stockpot with enough water to cover. You can also add chopped onion or celery at this stage. Simmer this mixture until the turkey meat is very tender and literally "falls off the bone."

After removing the turkey from the pot and cooling it enough to handle, take the meat off the bones and cut into bite-sized pieces. Discard the bones and return the meat to the broth in the pot and add other vegetables (carrots, mushrooms, peas, green beans, and/or cut corn) and rice or pasta, if you wish. Bring these items to a boil and simmer until the vegetables are cooked. Add salt, pepper and other seasonings to taste. Cool completely before packaging and freezing in desired portion sizes.

Since unfrozen soup does not hold its own shape, it must be stored in rigid or semi-rigid containers, not plastic bags. The containers must be able to endure the cold freezer temperature without breaking or otherwise being affected by the extreme cold. When freezing soups, be certain to leave a little "head space" between the surface of the soup and the inside of the container lid . This will allow for the expansion of the soup which will occur during the freezing process.

5. Casseroles. These one-dish entrees are good candidates for cook-ahead preparation. Since they can be labor-intensive to prepare, you can save time by cooking large quantities at one time. Using your favorite recipes, try to slightly undercook the ingredients to allow for the extra time needed for reheating after freezing. After the casserole is prepared, put in one or more baking dishes or pans which have been lined with aluminum foil sprayed with Pam. Spoon the casserole into the foil lining and wrap the ends of the foil over the top to completely cover the food. Place in the freezer until it is completely solid. At this point, remove the item from the freezer and take the wrapped casserole out of the baking dish and return it to the freezer until you want to use it. This frees up the dish for other uses and also takes up less freezer space. When you are ready to serve the casserole, remove it from the freezer, peel off the foil wrapping and place the food into the dish in which it was originally frozen. It will be a perfect fit.

Casseroles can be thawed in the microwave before reheating. Whether you thaw it or not depends on the vulnerability of one or more of the ingredients to overcooking. See Tip 3 above. Unless your recipe specifies otherwise, you can bake most casseroles at 350 degrees F. from 30-60 minutes, depending on the size of the casserole and the ingredients. You may want to cover the dish for at least part of the baking period to prevent the casserole from drying out. If the recipe calls for a sprinkling of grated cheese, wait to add it until the last 10-15 minutes of baking.

6. Side dishes. Side dishes frozen in individual-sized portions are very convenient to use. However, fresh vegetables and fruits for which you may want to protect the flavor, color and texture are not good candidates for cooking ahead. These items must be prepared and eaten very soon after purchase in order to enjoy them at their peak quality and nutritional levels.

Good side dishes for cooking ahead include mashed potatoes, mashed yams or sweet potatoes, other pureed vegetables, pasta in sauce , cooked white or wild rice and polenta. These foods do very well in individual sized portions for quick and easy side dishes at dinner time. They can be thawed and/or reheated in the microwave while you are preparing the rest of the meal.

7. Whole meals for one person. An entree and one or two side dishes can be frozen together for later use as a complete meal. I first began using this technique after Thanksgiving when I found myself with lots of leftover turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes or yams, gravy and cranberry sauce. Simply place a piece of aluminum foil on a sturdy dinner plate. Put two microwave-safe paper plates on top of the foil and arrange the food items in the desired quantities on the top paper plate. Pour any gravy or other sauce you are using on top of the appropriate food. Bring the edges of the foil together over the surface of the food and close securely to completely wrap the food and paper plates. Freeze until firm and remove the dinner plate from the freezer. When you are ready to serve the meal, peel off the foil wrapping and place the food on its paper plates in the microwave for thawing and reheating. When it ready to eat, remove from the microwave and place on a dinner plate.

8. Sauces. Many sauces freeze well. This allows you to use them in small or large quantities at your convenience. By using this method of food preparation and storage, you can make large amount of things such as tomato-based pasta sauces and gravies which will be available when you need them. Like soups, sauces require rigid or semi-rigid containers for freezing.

9. Baked goods. Most flour-based baked goods freeze very well. I often make double batches of muffins, biscuits and cookies and freeze them in large plastic bags as soon as they are cool enough to do so. Since they usually freeze separately, you can use one or more at a time, or the whole bag at once. If you want to eat these items without reheating, thaw them in the microwave or refrigerator and eat.

Since biscuits and muffins are very good when eaten warm, you can thaw/heat them in the microwave. This can even freshen items which were somewhat stale at the time they were frozen. However, reheating must be done very carefully. Too much microwaving can cause baked goods to become tough, dry and rubbery. The best way to reheat them is to give them one minute or a small fraction of weight on the thaw cycle. Feel the top of the food to see how warm it is. If it needs more warmth, give it a few more seconds on the thaw cycle. Repeat until the item reaches the desired temperature. Thawing and reheating baked goods at full power is not recommended. Stick with the thaw cycle.

As you can see, there are effective ways to cook many foods ahead and freeze them for later use. By using these tips, you can enjoy the taste, nutritional and economic benefits of home-cooked food much more often and more conveniently.

.