Frozen Foods

[Chetlaham]

Does anyone else like the connivance of frozen food and frozen meals? Does anyone else find themselves routinely splurging in the frozen section of their grocery store? I'm guilty of doing this. Love making frozen meals with frozen veggies and frozen dinner rolls. Love the easy breakfast burritos and frozen pancakes. Pizza rolls, mac and cheese, pita sandwich melts, hot-pockets,  all great for lunch. Stouffers frozen meals are wonderful for dinner. Sometimes I'll do cans or a microwaved potato, however I feel frozen items lock in the fresh flavor better. Cans get to salty.

 

 

Added bonus is a cool kitchen, easy clean up and time saved before and afterwards.

 

Does anyone else do this, like or make frozen meals?

 

[ryner1988]

I buy the Boston Market frozen dinners for lunch often. However, I really try to actually cook our dinners. The preservatives in frozen meals tend to aggravate my wife's indigestion if she eats them too frequently. But I agree, they are indeed convenient which is why I'm okay with using them for my lunches which Stacye doesn't usually touch. I really only want to dirty up the kitchen with real cooking once per day.

 

[ea56]

Nay!

Beyond frozen Chicken Nuggets, Frozen Chicken Breast Tenders and frozen vegetables, all of which I prepare meals from we don’t eat prepared frozen dinners or meals.

As far as canned foods we will occasionally have Tomato or Mushroom soup and we also like Hormel canned Chili for a quick dinner once in a while.

Eddie

 

[Chetlaham]

Same here, especially in the summer. Kitchen stays cool and no extra work cleaning up. I'll try the frozen meals you mentioned.

 

[ryner1988]

Reply #2

Eddie, I love the frozen chicken breast tenders too, if they're the same things I'm thinking of. I thaw them out and put them in a bag with Italian dressing to marinate for a couple hours. Then I put them on the Foreman grill to make grilled Italian chicken. Usually serve with some kind of roasted potatoes, sometimes vegetable pasta like Protein Plus.

 

[william8]

not anymore

I took early retirement a couple years ago (57). I used to take frozen meals to work for the convenience (mostly Stouffer's). Now that I don't have to, I won't eat that ever again. Not healthy at all.

I will make frozen REAL chicken tenders, fries, and a few other frozen foods occasionally, but I make them in the oven. Taste much better, and crispy. A/C keeps the house as cool as I want.

Microwaves are for thawing food, a can of soup/chili, or reheating leftovers.

 

[ea56]

Ryne,
I buy the Tyson Frozen Chicken Tenders (not breaded) and I cook them in the oven from the frozen state. I will either sprinkle a little Knorr Chicken Bouillon powder, onion powder, pepper, crushed rosemary and paprika on them and then drizzle about 2 tbs of melted butter on them and bake for 35 mins at 375 F, or sometimes I pour a little Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey BBQ sauce on them and bake for 35 mins at 375 F. For use in Chicken salads or sandwiches I just sprinkle them with the chicken bouillon powder and bake again 35 mins at 375. They always come out perfectly cooked and delicious. I discovered these frozen tenders when the store was out of fresh chicken breasts and I’ve never gone back to the fresh ones. These days the fresh chicken breasts are HUGE, like they came off of a dinasor and they don’t taste like chicken should IMO.

I prepare just about everything else from scratch, but if I find a connivence food that is better than fresh I’m all in.

I make oven fries all the time that are excellent and not greasy. Wash 2 or 3 med, potatoes, dry them and leave the skins on, then cut into french fry size sticks. In the broiler pan I melt 2 tbs of butter while the oven is preheating to 425 F. Toss the potatoes in the melted butter os theey are evenly coated, sprinkle them with salt and pepper to taste and spread them in a single layer. Bake for 20 mins, remove the pan and turn over each piece and put back into the oven for another 15-20 mins. These oven fries come out crisp and delicious. The secret is to use a DARK colored, shallow pan, like a broiler pan and to keep them in a single layer so the heat circulates around them well.

I really like to use the oven to prepare meals. Keeps the kitchen clean and free from splattered oil.

Eddie

 

[ryner1988]

Reply #6

Eddie,

Oh my gosh you are so right about chicken breasts being gargantuan. I thought I was the only one who noticed that. So I don't like to use them if I plan to just eat chicken as the main dish with a side. The only time I use full-size chicken breasts is if a recipe calls for them, i.e., white chicken chili.

I really like many of your ideas for cooking. Like you, I tend to use the oven a lot. As a VI person, it's much safer for me than using frying pans on the stove top and such. I'll do it occasionally, but the oven is my preferred method or the crockpot.

I'll have to give those home fries a try! Stacye bought me a set of knives that are ceramic and sheathed when not in use, so I feel very safe using them.

Ryne

 

[ryner1988]

Eddie, forgot to mention in my previous reply, I saw in reply #2 that you like to have Hormel chili sometimes. I used to as well, but then I started making chili in the crockpot and it blows Hormel out of the water! I like to prepare it the night before and let it cook all night, and it makes enough for two days easily. You should give it a try!

Ryne

 

[Chetlaham]

@William: I use my Sharp R-21LCFS for so much more than thawing food, a can of soup/chili, or reheating leftovers. I love it! I've never liked frozen foods the way I do now. I look forward to meal time. Only things I will use my Breville Smart oven for as cooking chicken tenders and melting cheese underneath its broiler.

 

The nice thing about frozen meals is that in the last 10 years the ingredients have started to shrink. The difference in quality is noticeable and its going up.

 

 

Eddie- I've noticed that, today birds and engineered to be as big as possible. No thank you, I like heirloom birds the best. They lean, petite and tasty as they should be.

 

[mattl]

I cook pretty much everything from scratch. I may have bought a frozen pizza once in the past 6 months. I was in Sam's the other day, I wandered up and down the food isles looking at all the highly processed food.  So much.  All filled with chemicals, all processed, all fairly pricey. I rarely buy canned products, mainly tuna and some beans for when I don't feel like soaking and cooking them. Veggies are either fresh or frozen in their purest form, no sauces or creamed concoctions.

 

I've always cooked from scratch and still can my own tomatoes. Make my own cakes, pies and deserts and usually bread. I'm stunned at seeing people paying $25-30 for a pie that I can make in 15 minutes for a tiny fraction of that cost. Mostly my cooking is fairly basic but I do have hundreds of saved recipes when I fee like splurging.

 

[combo52]

Hi love frozen foods and I love having a freezer

But it’s mainly used for things that I have bought in bulk or bought at the farmers market and frozen or for foods that I have cooked from scratch and then I freeze extra meals for use whenever I don’t wanna do a lot of cooking.

But I really try to stay away from all that frozen over processed chemical filled garbage Way too much packaging waste way too expensive and just not good for you or the environment.

We had five people over for dinner last night. It only took about 15 or 20 minutes to prepare a tasty from scratch meal for everybody and it literally took me two minutes to clean it all up and put it in the dishwasher. I don’t see what the big deal about cooking, if you have a good dishwasher, good cooking equipment. It’s As easy as can be.

John

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

I always bake my frozen meals in the oven...  

 

And these days it has to be something unique, otherwise it's pizza, or at least an old favorite like ribs, fried chicken or salisbury steak...

 

 

 

-- Dave

 

[mark_wpduet]

I do this all the time...but I usually stick with lean cuisine meatloaf/mash potatoes... then I add my own organic veggies... Also the spaghetti.... But I always add stuff to it and don't just eat it as is...

The way I heat them is I get two dinner plates... peel plastic off... turn the meal upside down and push so it comes out into one of the plates... put another plate on top and heat it in the micro.. I don't heat it in the plastic.

but I try to make sure to get healthy foods in other ways... such as real olive oil...walnuts....blueberries...greens... organic oats.. raw honey... etc.. things like that.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

frozen foods

I do enjoy frozen foods. I prefer the name brand foods that use nothing but quality ingredients.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

Well I took the ribs out of this dinner and put them in their own buns even making additional instant mashed potatoes and corn to accompany them…

— Dave

 

[launderess]

As would imagine about someone who peruses domestic manuals

Answer to query is "no", one does not purchase frozen foods often for this household. That is leaving aside veggies and certain other bits like prepared pie crusts or pastry dough.

Overall processed foods of all sorts long have been a hard pass far as one is concerned.

Most prepared "meals" contain far too much sodium, fats and cholesterol to suit and thus don't wish to consume oneself of give to others. Then there is a vast and bewildering list of chemicals and other substances one would just rather avoid. High fructose corn syrup, artificial colour and flavors.. those sort of things.

For things one likes frozen such as various pasta dishes, waffles and so forth learned long ago from Mother, grandmother and other older females at the time about cooking in bulk and freezing.

 

[angus]

Genarally not a big consumer of frozen meals, but absolutely do purchase frozen vegetables or some fruits when "fresh" is out of season or the quality of what's in the markets just isn't up to par. For vegetables, mostly it's frozen peas (apparently there are no fresh peas in Connecticut!!), spinach, sliced carrots, corn, pearl onions and broccoli florets (though I do love to peel and cook fresh broccoli stems - lots of flavor there). I have found however that certain frozen vegetables don't work as well such as brussels sprouts, asparagus and broccoli rabe. For fruits, it's usually peaches and berries and usually for baking or other cooking applications.
That said, an occasional frozen waffle or frozen dinner doesn't hurt.

 

[Ultramatic]

Yes.

 

 

I grew up on frozen foods. I was a very picky eater since I was a toddler. I learned from a very young age how to use the oven and cook my own meals. Swanson, Morton, Banquet, Patio, Libbyland Kids Meals were far better quality back then. While I do cook from scratch on occasion, most of our meals are prepared. There are some very good, high quality frozen foods available. Specially Indian, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese and Taiwanese. I highly recommend Weee!. Fantastic variety. 

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