We are making and stocking dd's freezer monthly for her dorm. Her freezer is small:( I am portioning in hefty freezer bags to conserve space. If I can figure out how, I will post a picture.
She is sick of the staples already...
I have been making turkey/veggie lasagna
chicken tortilla soup
sausage and veggie rice
many varieties of egg wraps (scrambled eggs with a variety of veggies and/or meat with cheese wrapped in mission tortilla)
More ideas would be GREATLY appreciated!!!! I would make muffins but she is not a fan...
I also send DS with stuff for his freezer. He's in an off-campus apartment so has a bigger freezer and better reheating options, but some other things that freeze and reheat well are:
Chili
Pot Roast
Beef Stew
Split Pea Soup
Meat Balls
Really, anything with a lot of gravy and some fat will freeze and re-heat well.
Does she have any cooking options available to her so she could heat up a side dish or something to go with what you send?
She only has a microwave. We put everything in single serve hefty quart bags to lay flat to fit the most and then she transfers to a microwaveable bowl to reheat. Not the best option but all she has this year and looks like next year will be the same...
Can she do Ling-Ling potstickers? Those have good availability-- come in a resealable bag-- and are okay for both pn/tn/egg allergy. Not sure about milk, and they do contain soy, wheat, and sesame. I eat them though and I have a sfa.
They're not bad nutritionally, and might be something she could pick up when her freezer runs a bit low, or when she wants some variety.
If she isn't egg allergic, mini-quiches (done in jumbo muffin tins) are an option.
As an accommodation...can the residence hall director allow her a mini-freezer in addition to a dorm fridge? They make them the size of the smaller dorm fridges.
If you are stuck with that little bitty freezer space in a dorm-size fridge...I have no suggestions :(
I hid a toaster oven, hot plate, and used my hot pot quite creatively when I was stuck in a dorm without a kitchen and a non-understanding food services place. 20+ years ago, food services had zero clue about food allergies.
Minestrone type soups freeze well too. I make that for myself all the time. Just tons of veggies, really, some sausage for flavor, beans.
I do not make these myself, but I know one can make veggie burgers to freeze, from beans and rice as base ingredients. That might nuke well to go on a bun or with a salad.
Well, on that note, Morningstar Farms makes some really yummy veggie burgers. DS likes the black bean, but they make so many others. THey come boxes with self-sealed individual portions. We typically nuke them to cook them. So easy. And PF!
Pasta sauces - you can get a microwave pasta cooker and then add the sauce. Since you would be freezing sauce only, it would take up less space.
Quesadillas - these can be microwaved or wrapped in foil and then heated with a clothes iron. You can do 'grilled' sandwiches in a foil packet with a clothes iron as well.
Chicken and noodles or chicken and dumplings.
Single servings of pulled pork/shredded chicken/shredded beef/sloppy joe - heat and then eat on safe bread or a bun.
Enchiladas
If you generally do a red sauce lasagna, a white sauce version can be a nice change
Portions of sliced grilled chicken or other protein that can be thawed in the fridge and then used to top a salad.
I'll keep thinking. I've done a fair amount of this type of cooking between working at camps and needing quick food and preparing things before surgery.
http://allrecipes.com/howto/campus-cooking-the-advanced-course/ (http://allrecipes.com/howto/campus-cooking-the-advanced-course/)
Cook up chicken breast and chop and freeze. She could then buy the steamer pouches of veggies or rice and mix in the chicken.
Oh I also freeze my shredded bbq beef. You could freeze in individual portions.
Not a freezer meal, but would she drink smoothies?
I need becca and Janelle to design a meal plan for me. A sort of paleo-esque top 8 friendly cookbook of make ahead items.
editing to add that I used to love cooking but food allergies wilted any joy that used to go with it. that and I'm actually back in college.
Thank you so much for the ideas. Going to try the shredded beef, chicken and noodles and grilled chicken. Already made our lasagna, egg wraps, and veggie rice staples. Does anyone know if soup would be easy to pop out of a quart freezer bag? All of the food has to lay flat to fit the most.
Still trying to upload a picture of her freezer but it's not working!
Would love to be able to buy veggie burgers but she is soy allergic (although she has recently been able to tolerate some...yay!!!)
I also love the sloppy joe, bbq chicken type ideas. Would be very easy to heat up and make a sandwich. I worry so much about her diet and lack of variety since moving to college.
Quote from: momma2boys on January 06, 2015, 08:31:53 PM
Oh I also freeze my shredded bbq beef. You could freeze in individual portions.
Not a freezer meal, but would she drink smoothies?
She originally took our magic bullet and planned to make lots of smoothies like she does at home but she hasn't used it because she is afraid it is too loud:(
Quote from: nameless on January 06, 2015, 05:28:11 PM
http://allrecipes.com/howto/campus-cooking-the-advanced-course/ (http://allrecipes.com/howto/campus-cooking-the-advanced-course/)
Thanks! Janelle also mentioned the clothes iron idea! Too funny!
ETA: I would also like to mention that one of the biggest pains for her is dish washing with only her tiny bathroom sink but at least she has a sink and doesn't have to use the community one!
Quote from: nameless on January 03, 2015, 10:04:39 PM
As an accommodation...can the residence hall director allow her a mini-freezer in addition to a dorm fridge? They make them the size of the smaller dorm fridges.
If you are stuck with that little bitty freezer space in a dorm-size fridge...I have no suggestions :(
I hid a toaster oven, hot plate, and used my hot pot quite creatively when I was stuck in a dorm without a kitchen and a non-understanding food services place. 20+ years ago, food services had zero clue about food allergies.
I would LOVE if she could use a George Foreman or hot plate of any sort but they are absolutely not allowed and they will not budge. They do room checks often too. They did give her a bigger dorm fridge but it is still pretty small. They are trying to work with us but it is still tough...
Yes, it is easy to pop frozen soup out of a quart bag. That is how I always freeze my soup. The only problem is finding a bowl the frozen chunk fits into, since it is flat, but very wide.
When I was in college, nothing that heated was allowed, period (we could not even have irons, and hair dryers were to be used only in the communal bathrooms). But everyone had hot plates, hot pots, etc. and they did frequent room checks. However, it is illegal for them to look inside anything that was closed without a warrant. So everyone was just very good at putting their stuff away when done cooking. I am not advising you to break the rules, just letting you know how to do so if you are so inclined.
And there is this:
http://youtu.be/p63yS2gPS68 (http://youtu.be/p63yS2gPS68)
Are canned soups not an option? I know they are not the healthiest, but with a sandwich or salad, or some bread and fruit, not a bad meal.
For soup, I freeze in muffin trays to make larger soup 'ice cubes', then put in a freezer zip lock and suck out the extra air. Then you can take out as few/many as you need and they fit easily in a bowl. Do you have any experience canning? Canned soups that are soy free are nearly impossible to find, but you could pressure can homemade and then it would be shelf stable.
As far as washing, I know it isn't the most environmentally friendly idea, but I kept paper bowls/plates at school for when I was sick and wasn't able to wash plates - then I just had to wash my silverware.
Another thing that you could consider is dehydrating some of the foods. Check out some backpacking cooking websites, there are ones that have made from scratch recipes that you then dehydrate, and rehydrate with boiling/hot water. Would make storage easier, or even just be good for some 'emergency' meals if she couldn't get fresh food because of weather or something.
If you can find safe canned chicken, it isn't bad at all as long as you doctor it up, and the small cans are just enough for one. Good mixed with a safe BBQ sauce or buffalo sauce. I usually kept a can of chicken around as an emergency food - I'd mix with some bbq sauce add cheese and a tortilla and microwave for a BBQ chicken quesadilla.
If you can find safe summer sausage, my brother's favorite lunch is crackers or flatbread, sliced summer sausage and cheese. No cooking, has protein, and relatively healthy with some fruit or veggies added for a side.
Quote from: nonuteen on January 07, 2015, 10:07:35 PM
Quote from: nameless on January 03, 2015, 10:04:39 PM
As an accommodation...can the residence hall director allow her a mini-freezer in addition to a dorm fridge? They make them the size of the smaller dorm fridges.
If you are stuck with that little bitty freezer space in a dorm-size fridge...I have no suggestions :(
I hid a toaster oven, hot plate, and used my hot pot quite creatively when I was stuck in a dorm without a kitchen and a non-understanding food services place. 20+ years ago, food services had zero clue about food allergies.
I would LOVE if she could use a George Foreman or hot plate of any sort but they are absolutely not allowed and they will not budge. They do room checks often too. They did give her a bigger dorm fridge but it is still pretty small. They are trying to work with us but it is still tough...
yeah - those things weren't allowed for me either --- but I hid them and used them wisely (windows open, attended to the whole time).
Oh the crock pot salsa chicken would probably freeze well! She could eat it plain, with rice or in a tortilla as a wrap.
Soy has got to be one of the most difficult FAs to deal with. It's great to see some good ideas here. :)
Quote from: nonuteen on January 07, 2015, 10:07:35 PM
Quote from: nameless on January 03, 2015, 10:04:39 PM
As an accommodation...can the residence hall director allow her a mini-freezer in addition to a dorm fridge? They make them the size of the smaller dorm fridges.
If you are stuck with that little bitty freezer space in a dorm-size fridge...I have no suggestions :(
I hid a toaster oven, hot plate, and used my hot pot quite creatively when I was stuck in a dorm without a kitchen and a non-understanding food services place. 20+ years ago, food services had zero clue about food allergies.
I would LOVE if she could use a George Foreman or hot plate of any sort but they are absolutely not allowed and they will not budge. They do room checks often too. They did give her a bigger dorm fridge but it is still pretty small. They are trying to work with us but it is still tough...
Have you asked specifically about
induction elements?
Because those, there is effectively zero fire risk, and no real way to "leave the heat on" since there isn't any.
What do you mean by induction elements? DD could use something this way, maybe.
http://www.amazon.com/MaxiMatic-EIND-88B-Platinum-Induction-Cooker/dp/B00CJB0UF8/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1420901842&sr=8-4&keywords=induction+elements (http://www.amazon.com/MaxiMatic-EIND-88B-Platinum-Induction-Cooker/dp/B00CJB0UF8/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1420901842&sr=8-4&keywords=induction+elements)
http://www.amazon.com/1800-Watt-Portable-Induction-Countertop-8100MC/dp/B0045QEPYM/ref=pd_sim_k_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=11S35RB9316YJ12JXSA7 (http://www.amazon.com/1800-Watt-Portable-Induction-Countertop-8100MC/dp/B0045QEPYM/ref=pd_sim_k_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=11S35RB9316YJ12JXSA7)
ooh, thanks for that. I hadn't seen those before.
Technical description of how induction works (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induction_cooking)
Less-technical, but still thorough, description of how induction works (http://www.explainthatstuff.com/induction-cooktops.html)
BTW, in addition to the great control and obvious safety, induction is FAST. You can boil water on an induction element in nearly the same amount of time as you can in the microwave. Really not kidding. Some manufacturers claim 90s to boil a cup of water, and while I think (having lived with an induction cooktop) that is a BIT of an exaggeration in practice, I will agree emphatically with 2-3 minutes. That means that you really could make Angelhair pasta in about five minutes.
You can also boil water for a minute, move the pot, and set your hand directly on the surface where the pot was sitting-- with almost no risk of burning yourself. (Really-- though I obviously wouldn't recommend that, since the heat can be transferred from the pan TO the glass surface over time.)
One might have to work at it to convince university housing/dining-- maybe even petition/appeal for them to specifically address the issue with approval for microwave/induction but not thermal cooking elements-- I think it could be done. :)
Induction cooking elements are very efficient, and they are popular outside of N. America.
I was looking up ideas for lunches (something I can freeze and heat easily at work).
Empanadas! Freeze easily - can have a variety of ingredients (veg and meat) in a nice little package that can be defrosted in the fridge for a day or nuked. Easy handy lunch or meal w/ a salad.
- black bean, mashed sweet potato, corn, and shredded chicken
- leftover pot roast and mashed potatoes
- shredded chicken, caramelized onion, butternut squash w/ green chile salsa
Lots of options! Easy to freeze and you can make them rectangular instead of half-moon shape to freeze/stack easier for the small space.
Tamales are another option like that-- once you learn how to make them, they are super-easy, and they also freeze well.
I do ours with parchment paper and dental floss or string, believe it or not-- had to improvise once when I couldn't find corn-husks, and the convenience and lack of mess convinced me-- I'll never go back.
Love the empanada and tamale ideas.
Not a freezer meal, but I keep seeing "overnight oatmeal" on healthy eating blogs. Mix 1/3 cup raw rolled oats with equal parts milk and yogurt(or liquid of choice, I think 1 cup combined), and add any other flavors or toppings in the morning. You can google this. Use a jar, like a mason jar, and pretty much add whatever you like to it. Some use honey, seeds, toasted coconut, fresh or frozen fruits(frozen blueberries would be added the night before so they thaw).
I thought of this thread because a college student gave it a great review, for being easy, yummy, and quick.
I LOVE oatmeal with fruit! I eat it for breakfast most days. Wish I could convince my dd to eat it!
Love all the ideas! They inspire me to try and make new things. Hate to have her in a freezer food rut!:)