Dear Tammy,

Every so often, I am able to buy "coleslaw mix" on sale. Do you think that could be substituted in this recipe? (Coleslaw mix is just shredded cabbage and carrots)

I love your blog and have tried so many of your ideas. Haven't had a flop yet!

Ruth, PA

I have a combination of cooked and raw meats in my freezer. I generally have my beef split up into 1 lb. freezer bags (I buy 5 lbs. at a time) and i keep it raw. My chicken is taken from a whole chicken I cooked in the crockpot all day. It is great for chicken casseroles, salads, etc. I have thought about cooking all my ground beef before freezing it. Sounds like a great idea!

Hi Tammy, I would have to say one of the best things I ever did for cooking convenience was to precook hamburger with onions, garlic and seasoning and precooked meatballs.:) I can't believe how much easier things are in the kitchen. I have an array of recipes that use these items and my life has been simplified SO much. I have moved on to chicken and pork cubes as well. Just as wonderful...in my opinion.:)
Right now, my freezer is contains mostly cooked meats and some already finished dishes or part of finished dishes like spaghetti sauce. I highly recommend the book "Make Ahead Meals" by Company's Coming written by Jean Pare. It's a bit difficult to get, since it's published in Canada, but well worth the effort. This is where I have gotten much of my ideas and recipes.
Thanks for all the wonderful tips and recipes. They are very much appreciated!
Joyce

Woah..I buy meat in bulk already raw and prefrozen (grass fed).
I have never thought to precook and refreeze,,

No meat in my freezers, but plenty of faux meat...does that count? Typically the ground fake stuff that I use only needs to be heated up to eat, so in a sense, it's already cooked. I do have stockpiles of faux chicken (chikn)and I try to cut it up onto either cubes or strips for easy meals on weeknights after work.
Also, when I make my seitan (wheat meat) I try to make a lot and freeze the rest when I'm done cooking it.

My freezer is also full of chopped, cooked onions and peppers for easy additions to stir-frys, soup, chili, casseroles, and fajitas. I use small ziplock baggies to portion them out. That way, when my garden is producing a lot, I don't have to worry about it going bad. Just freeze and use when needed!

Oh, and Tsom Kal Tammy. (Did I spell that correctly?)

I wonder if this casserole freezes well?

most of it is raw, I generally pre cook more like when I cook a whole chicken, I put part of it in the freezer.