Convenient meals can be a lifesaver at times. They can be more nutritious than fast food and eaten at home. You can grab one of these meals when you have a busy schedule and feed you family an nutritious gourmet frozen meal.
Sometimes life gets so busy that we have no other choice than to grab a convenient meal from the grocery store. Some of these meals are very good but others are far from gourmet. Here is another option that you might enjoy, make your own gourmet dinners.
One advantage of making your own meals is that you get to know what is going into the food. You can choose to leave out ingredients that are not your family’s favorite or increase the spice a little here or there. In addition you are in control of the salt shaker and the sugar that is added to your food.
While many people just prepare the meals they know their family likes to eat, others like to experiment. If you are tired of the same old family favorites, here are some ideas that freeze well. Vegetable soup, beef stew, chicken curry, corn chowder or broccoli beef.
Remember that starchy foods such as rice and pasta are not good choices for frozen meals. They tend to be overcooked by the time they have sat in the sauce and are warmed. If your recipe calls for these ingredients, just cook everything else and freeze the sauce. The rice or pasta can be quickly cooked while the rest of the meal is warming. For trouble free rice, use a rice cooker. For pasta, pick up fresh from the grocery store. It cooks in about three minutes once you have boiling water.
If you want to stock your freezer with gourmet meals, just start cooking two or three times your normal size meal. Remove excess food to the refrigerator as soon as the food finishes cooking so that you are not tempted to over eat and the quality of the food is preserved.
Another option is to set a couple of days aside for shopping and cooking. Shop one day and cook the next. You should be able to prepare several meals at once for your freezer. Plan to double and triple those recipes so that you quickly fill the freezer.
While there are many containers that will work in the freezer, one of the best is a vacuum sealer. Choose the sealer that has a heat seal to preserve the quality of your food. These bags will stand up to microwaving or boiling in a pot of water.
If all of this sounds like a lot of effort, take heart! There are professional chefs who will take all of the work out of a gourmet frozen meal.
Don’t count on your local grocer to carry truly wonderful food that you can love. Instead, take a look online for a high quality gourmet dinner delivered to your door, frozen and ready to heat, serve and enjoy.
