Making Frozen Leftovers Tonight’s Supper – The Easy Way!

What, oh what would I do without my freezer?  I’ve said it before, but my freezer is my best friend…well, you know what I mean.

It’s there for me!

It has supper waiting!

It has gifts inside, both for me and many other friends!

Isn’t that a great friend?!

I’ve always put leftovers in my freezer, but I’ve not always stored them in the best way, or in a way that was easy to reheat them.  But I have two new tricks using frozen leftovers that have worked for me and I want to pass them along to you!

1. Slow-Cook leftovers from a frozen state.
   Last Sunday I went to the freezer before heading to church and I pulled out a container with a yummy casserole, Countryside Chicken Bake, full of great things, aside from the chicken, like Cream of Mushroom Soup, sour cream, rice, and carrots (or peas, if you prefer).  I had marked the container saying, Countryside Chicken Bake, Two Servings.  Knowing that would be perfect for our Sunday dinner, I took it in its frozen state and put it directly into my slow cooker, adding about 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth to keep it moist .  I put the crock pot on High for one hour, low for 3 hours.  I think going slow and making sure there is plenty of liquid is the best way to reheat so you’ll have a good outcome.
   When we came home from church, it was hot, juicy, tender and ready to eat!  That is a freezer win!!

   
   Does this look like leftovers to you?  I don’t think so!!

   

2. Put small amounts of chili, soups or stew into muffins tins for individual servings.
   I love this so much!  You know how the last half of the chili doesn’t look too appealing after eating it two days in a row?  This makes it a cinch to store and reheat for dinner another day when you’ll be glad to see it again!

   I had leftover Taco Soup last week with just a little left over.  I used the large muffin tins, but regular sized one will work, too.  Fill them up, cover with syran wrap and freeze for a couple hours or overnight until frozen solid.
   Then run warm water on the bottom of the tin and then pop them onto a tray.
   Store the frozen soup “pucks” in freezer bags, labeled with the soup name.
   
   When you need lunch or supper, pop the frozen soup into a microwave container and warm it up!  You could do one serving or six, depending on your needs (and the amount of leftovers, of course!). At one time this winter I had three different soups in the freezer.  It made for a really easy lunch, which seems to be the hardest meal for me!
   
   Leftovers don’t have to have a bad name!  They can be reused at a later time and used in a way that will make a busy day much less stressful if you store and reheat properly.

   If you try these tips I bet your freezer will become your best friend, too!

One more thing that I love about my freezer is freezing breads that are ready to bake, like these rolls or these muffins!  They’re super good and so handy to have on hand!

Happy freezing!