What’s for dinner?

@daydreaming

Thought I should clarify my soup freezing.  When my son lived at home there was rarely any leftover soup to freeze after he and my husband attacked a pot like ravening wolves.  My husband usually took leftovers for his lunches and he and my son would fight over who got them.  My son liked leftovers for breakfast instead of cereal or eggs. It didn't matter if it was stir-fry, spaghetti or roast beef and veggies.  I got into the habit of making enough for dinner to take care of the their next day needs. So when I freeze soup it's with the purpose as serving  as planned leftovers.

We aren't super picky about the consistency of our re-heated soups, but if you are here are a few pointers.  

If you are making the soup specifically for freezing you may want to undercook your vegetables slightly.  They will continue to cook as the soup cools and when it's reheated.  

If you are using pasta in your soup it will get softer with the whole process.  If you want al dente pasta it would be best to boil your pasta separately as the soup heats and add it after it's just cooked.  

With my "cream" soups, I don't add cream, but just use water or broth and then blend them until they are creamy.   They aren't exactly the same consistency after freezing, but are pretty close and still very tasty.   Milk has a tendency to break after freezing so soups that require it are not usually recommended for freezing, but you can add the milk upon reheating.  I have made potato soup that uses milk and frozen it, while not the same consistency as the original it was still okay.  

It's just soup, so sometimes you have to experiment and figure out what works for you.  :)

I don't recommend using a big plastic container because the deeper the container the longer it takes for the soup to freeze and that can be a health hazard.  Along those lines you need to leave some room at the top as the soup will expand when frozen.  It is also recommended that you let the soup cool before putting in the freezer so that it doesn't warm other things in the freezer, but don't leave it out too long for health reasons as well.  I have also known people who store soup in Ziplock type bags.  I've tried this method but didn't care for it. The key is to let the soup in the bags freeze flat.  

We usually start the thawing process in the microwave and then move the soup to a pot for the two of us.  For individual containers my husband just heats his in the microwave and eats it out of that container.  I thaw mine enough to put into a soup bowl and finish heating it in the bowl.  

I always mark on the soup container the kind of soup it is and the date.

I hope that I haven't belabored the point and that you give it a try.  On nights when I don't want to cook or don't feel well, it is nice to have some homemade soup waiting on me and so much better than the canned processed soups.  :)

Mushroom quiche,  potato salad, and Pineapple carrot salad

my healthyish replacement for mac n cheez - brown rice, chicken, curry powder (ingredients somewhere back in this thread) and daiya cheddar slices

salmon with white sauce and mashed potato (:

grazing throughout day on larger batch of brown rice, chicken, coconut milk and garlic

 The Butterfly:

not how I always make it, but I rarely make anything the way I always make it.

LOL I completely agree! I always end up changing my recipes on the fly and that includes adding to my jar sauces for a bit more texture and flavour. 

Today we ordered some chicken briyani from the local Indian restaurant via Skipthedishes. Small restaurant businesses are being hit hard by the quarantine so ordering delivery from them never felt better! (plus they packed in waayy more than usual we couldn't even finish it. Great for next day leftovers.) 

 daydreaming:

LOL I completely agree! I always end up changing my recipes on the fly and that includes adding to my jar sauces for a bit more texture and flavour. 

Today we ordered some chicken briyani from the local Indian restaurant via Skipthedishes. Small restaurant businesses are being hit hard by the quarantine so ordering delivery from them never felt better! (plus they packed in waayy more than usual we couldn't even finish it. Great for next day leftovers.) 

We went through the drive-thru at one of our mom and pop places the other day.  Not gonna lie I disinfected the heck out of everything when we got home, moved the food to plates and heated the food up, but really wanted to support them through this craziness.  Like your dinner, they gave us extras and it was all super hot and fresh (we had to wait for them to cook it while we were in our car).  Left a big tip and wished them well.  Most restaurants don't make a huge profit, I don't know how a lot of them are going to make it.