Freeze Meals Without Holding Your Dishes Hostage

I love to have freezer-fillers because working full-time and commuting a long journey both way, and then getting my toddler fed, bathed, and to bed leaves me with so little time during the week, that my schedule alone was what made me think that following this lifestyle change would be impossible. And while it is really difficult, it isn't impossible. Yey, love even just saying that. Makes me feel better since I was seriously grumpy spending a good portion of my weekend planning, shopping and cooking for the week.

Anyway..... doubling recipes are a great way to make those impossible nights better. But what about that pyrex dish - the one that is sitting in the freezer and needed for your dinner tonight? Argg.

This Shepards's Pie is all set except for adding the cauliflower mashed potato topping. Instead of freezing this in my coveted 8x8 Pyrex dish for weeks waiting to eat, I lined my dish with parchment paper filled the 8x8 dish the same way I would to go into the deep freeze, but took it out a day later to remove the entire casserole with the paper out of dish and place it into a labeled plastic ziplock bag to live in the freezer. 

Most likely, you will need to let your dish sit on the counter for a few minutes before you will be able to remove the casserole from the dish. And when putting the dish into the freezer do not tuck the paper into the top of the casserole because you won't be able to get it out once frozen. Below is the frozen casserole removed form the baking dish in the parchment paper.

Lastly, when putting into the ziplock bag be sure to label it with the name, date, and any comments on what it needs. Stacking these is much easier and takes a lot less room in the freezer once out of the dish.

As a side note, I looked all through my pins, email, and bookmarks and for the life of me can't remember who told me about this. In the off chance that any of friends or family read this, please tell me and I am more than happy to give credit where it is due because this method is really helpful