Food Saver for Freezer Meals

I recently received one of the best gifts ever- a FoodSaver.  I've never had or used one before, so I didn't realize what I was missing.  If you've never used one either let me tell you, you're in for a treat.

The gift arrived in perfect timing as I had just finished up another round of freezer meals with my sisters.  For new readers, we do this every few months and stock up our freezers full of delicious, homemade dinners for our families.  We average about $6/meal, and when I say meal I mean really good food- we're not talking hot dogs and noodles folks.  For more info on how to start making your own freezer meals, catch up on my tips and some recipes HERE.

Typically I pack up my freezer meals in a zip loc bag, lay them out flat to freeze and then stack them neatly in the freezer.  This doesn't work for everything however, like the casserole/enchilada/lasagna recipes.  Here's how I used my new FoodSaver to 1) store my food in airtight bags that will last longer without freezer burn, and 2) save me the mess later of having to wait for my meal to thaw enough to remove the saran and foil before I drop it in the pan.

Step one: Seal one end of the FoodSaver roll (unless you are using FoodSaver bags, which will already be sealed shut on one end)

Line up one end of the roll against the sealing strip,

 close the lid and lock it in place,

press the "seal" button and wait with anticipation,

and voila, one end is sealed.

Step two: Cut your bag to size

I found that the easiest way to do this was simply to hold the bag over my freezer meal, and then eyeball an additional 3 inches to the length of my meal.

Step three: Seal the deal

If desired, label the top before you seal it as it will be easier to do this with a flat surface before the food is inside. I quickly wrote the name of the meal, and cooking instructions.

Place your food in the bag, leaving at least 3 inches of space from the food to the top (unsealed end) of your bag. 

Tuck the top end into the vacuum chamber, close and lock the lid, and press the "vac/seal" button.

Watch in awe as this awesome machine sucks out all the air and gives you this cute little package in the end.

A few tips if you would like to use a FoodSaver to freeze meals like freezer meals, or your excess leftovers.  First, you really need to pre-freeze the meal.  The FoodSaver pulls excess liquid out, so if you were trying to freeze soup for example, you're going to a lose a lot of the meal.

With most of my meals, I froze them in the dishes I plan on using later to bake them in, then removed them from the dish once frozen and sealed them in their frozen state.

 When I'm ready to use the meal, I remove the frozen meal from the sealed bag and set it in the dish to thaw until it's time to cook.

To save a step, you can also put the meal right into a foil pan, and after freezing it you can seal it up right in the foil pan that you will cook it in.  It bends the shape slightly when it vacuums the air out, but not enough that it's going to hurt anything.

Here is my cute little finished stack of freezer meals all vacuum sealed and ready to store!

Did I mention how much I love this new gadget?  I can't wait to start storing my chicken and meats I buy in bulk with the FoodSaver bags in my freezer.

Do any of you have any tips on other things I might get excited about using the FoodSaver for?

~PW