Frozen food

[vanbrat]

I am starting to think about frozen meals to pack for the summer. I have a car freezer so I can do that, but some things freeze and re serve better then others. I love soup and stews are hubbys favorites. But now, I want to know what other ideas there are? I like pulled pork and pasta, though I mostly would just do the sauce for pasta for that, so what does anyone else do?

 

[user 423]

This is a bit off topic but what brand/model freezer do you have and is it 12 volt?

I have a small fridge that supposedly will work as a freezer but would think the power use would be a lot more.

 

[WanderingRose]

If you have the funds, or happen upon one in a thrift store, consider buying a vacuum sealer for your leftovers, or as I call them “my stash of MRE’s”.

I have had a FoodSaver for 6 or so years, and to me it is worth every penny I paid for it. I use it at least once almost every week.

I have found that rice and potatoes don’t freeze well, but freeze in pint bags almost everything else that I cook.

This keeps me from having to eat something til I’m sick of it, and means I always have a small assortment of options in the freezer when I don’t feel like cooking.

I leave on every trip with my small freezer filled with these, along with a few defrosting in the frig to eat on drive days.

Chili, soups, beef/chicken and noodles, pasta recipes of all kinds, meatloaf, baked ham, etc., as well as raw meats portioned out for one or two meals.

The vacuum sealing helps everything keep better in the freezer, makes things very space saving and microwaving is a snap or one could even put the bag into a pot of boiling water.

 

[vanbrat]

This is a bit off topic but what brand/model freezer do you have and is it 12 volt?

I have a small fridge that supposedly will work as a freezer but would think the power use would be a lot more.

It is an Alpicool and it is plugged in to the lighter in the van as we drive and the power at camp sight when we camp or if no power, since we don't run the generator when not using the microwave etc. it is usually just the van battery. Which means we have to start the van sometimes to charge the battery. Not the ideal thing...… We are looking at solar panels, but not there yet. It has a tiny food space so looking at small main dish type things. Also needs to make me ice for my tea.

 

[vanbrat]

If you have the funds, or happen upon one in a thrift store, consider buying a vacuum sealer for your leftovers, or as I call them “my stash of MRE’s”....
I have had a FoodSaver for 6 or so years, and to me it is worth every penny I paid for it.  I use it at least once almost every week.

Thank you this is what I am looking for info about. I always have the first days foods supper easy to just heat and eat in the ice chest, but not sure what else to bring sometimes. I have always frozen everything and just gotten out one a day Usually just simple hamburger, hot dog stuff with a few yummy oddities here and there, but now we are looking for things to broaden my small list of what to cook camping as we maybe will be out longer. I do salmon grilled and shrimp and chicken everything. But still fairly limited because just starting the van cooking and last year most turned out ok but...… Always room to learn more.

 

[user 423]

It is an Alpicool and it is plugged in to the lighter in the van as we drive and the power at camp sight when we camp or if no power, since we don't run the generator when not using the microwave etc. it is usually just the van battery. Which means we have to start the van sometimes to charge the battery. Not the ideal thing...… We are looking at solar panels, but not there yet. It has a tiny food space so looking at small main dish type things. Also needs to make me ice for my tea.

OK, thanks. That's what I have also and I think I'll try it as a freezer and see how much battery it uses.

Now I need to think more about what I'd put into it besides ice cream.

 

[vanbrat]

Our first trip out we found out the hard way that it HAD to be plugged in all day and turned up high for it to work. So our phones had to not be plugged in all day so it could be plugged in.... That meant that the phones had to wait and until we had someplace else to plug them in. Now I'm looking for a solar thing just for the phones. trial and trial and trial again. Also didn't freeze everything before heading out....Another lesson learned.

 

[Tony's Dream]

Glad you asked this question! I too wondered about that. I bought the vacuum sealer and planned on making individual sized servings in each bag. Then when I wanted to eat I could just pull one bag and it would be ready. No mess with opening and resealing containers. The only real problem is that I don't have a freezer. I thought about freezing the meals and storing them in a small cooler, small enough to fit inside my RV fridge. Would storing the small cooler inside the fridge extend the time it would take for the food to defrost?

 

[eDJ_]

Here is a trick I use for a "Po'Boy's" vacuum sealer.  Get some of those zip lock plastic bags in various sizes.  Then the next time you are at a fast food place take a few extra straws.

Place your excess food into the bag and close the seal to one side leaving a small opening.  Now insert the straw into the bag and close the seal up close to the straw as you can.  OK,  next begin to suck all the air out of the bag thru the straw and when the bag has collapsed around the food and as much of the air as you can get out is....out.......grip the straw with your teeth while still sucking on it and as it comes out close the seal quickly with your fingers.  

Practice doing this a few times until you get the hang of it.  Use some small solid object that's dry and clean for your practicing.  When I seal the bag up to the straw I place my thumb and index finger at either side of the bag with the straw
between my thumb and finger so I can pull it  out and quickly pull my finger tips out to the edge of the bag to seal it and not let any air back in.

This works for me and I don't have to lug along any extra paraphernalia when I'm on the road.  And I'm only keeping stuff ice cold.

 

[user 423]

^
That's a pretty good idea. I'll have to try it but instead of lung power, I'll use my Mityvac vacuum pump.

 

[B and C]

That is what I do with my leftovers except I don't use a straw. I throw them in my freezer but don't leave them there for very long.

 

[maki2]

It is an Alpicool and it is plugged in to the lighter in the van as we drive and the power at camp sight when we camp or if no power, since we don't run the generator when not using the microwave etc. it is usually just the van battery. Which means we have to start the van sometimes to charge the battery. Not the ideal thing...… We are looking at solar panels, but not there yet. It has a tiny food space so looking at small main dish type things. Also needs to make me ice for my tea.

You had better run some test with the Alpicool. From the reviews I saw it did not do a hard freeze on ice cream. You need it to do a good hard freeze if you want to use it for longer term food storage. Plus you will loose some of the cold air as it is such a shallow space unlike the people who are using the larger fridge freezers where the larger volumes of hard frozen food inside helps to retain enough of the cold when the unit is opened to prevent other food from partially getting thawed by new additions of food.

 

[user 423]

Slim Potatohead has a video that details the power consumption of Alpicool as refrigerator AND as freezer.
He has 2  100watt panels of solar.

Hey,thanks. Because of data costs I don't watch YT much but did take a look at that one. A couple of things could be mentioned about his test/setup:

-No added insulation. Efficiency would be increased if insulation was added. On mine I just used the top and bottom pieces of packing foam that it's shipped in plus some duct taped poly iso foam scraps to surround the lid and storage area.

-Poor air circulation. The space under the bed was kind of cramped for good air flow which is important. The internal fan will suck in dust which will eventually clog things up so I added a washable foam filter to mine. I'll eventually add a PC case fan for even better flow.

I'd do a freeze test on mine but the ambient temp is only about 65 so hot weather performance would still be questionable.

I made a list of the things I might freeze vs. what I've kept in it as a fridge and can't decide which would be the better
way to go.

 

[user 423]

Plus you will loose some of the cold air as it is such a shallow space unlike the people who are using the larger fridge freezers where the larger volumes of hard frozen food inside helps to retain enough of the cold when the unit is opened to prevent other food from partially getting thawed by new additions of food.

That's a good point. One thing about this design vs. a unit with a vertical door is that the cold air doesn't immediately tumble out but you still need to do things quickly.

 

[user 423]

Our first trip out we found out the hard way that it HAD to be plugged in all day and turned up high for it to work. So our phones had to not be plugged in all day so it could be plugged in.... That meant that the phones had to wait and until we had someplace else to plug them in.

Walmart sells duplex 12 volt sockets which would allow you to plug in two devices at once. The added amp draw of a phone charger wouldn't be much.

 

[maki2]

Many of the newer vehicles have an "accessory plug" versus the higher amperage cigarette plugs in older vehicles. Some of the 12v plugs on some of the old fridge units won't fit into the newer outlets, because they are deliberately made smaller in diameter. That is one to prevent an actual cigarette lighter from getting put into them. The wiring on the newer car accessory plugs is not rated for 15 amps, generally it is wired and fused for only 10 amps. So if you have a newer car you might need to add in the proper gauge wiring and fuse to run higher amp appliances or when you want to use a splitter device for running multiple appliances.

If you have a newer portable fridge and an older vehicle with the larger sized sockets you might also run into an issue of not having a good strong contact which can cause the appliance not to get enough voltage. Then it might be cutting in and out or not work at all. In such a case you can them either change the socket to match or change the plug to match. Be sure the fuse and wires are rated for the amperage.

 

[DanielParkins]

I usually go for as much dehydrated food as I can and store it in the freezer, this I feel works best for me.