OK, I'm SLOWLY going to plan out some freezer meals! One thing my boys LOVE to help me make is homemade pizza! The last time we did this I cooked a lb of hamburger meat, plus cut up onions, green peppers and red peppers and also added cheese & pepperoni's! In the end I threw away a bunch of meat,

I'm hoping to stockpile some homemade pizza supplies so that we can make it once every other week or so...

How should I store this! I was thinking we used probably a forth of a lb of meat, plus a forth of the red pepper & green pepper and maybe a forth of the onion! If I cook a lb of meat plus cut up a red pepper, a green pepper & an onion then I should have enough for 4 nights of pizza... should I put them in separate baggies? Can I separate the amount for each pizza in snack baggies and then store everything for one pizza in a freezer baggie? Or should I just mix it all together first?

Oh, and how long will all this stuff be good for?? And how do you freeze the peppers & onions? Do they freeze ok?

Do I need to set them out the night before to thaw? Or can I cook it from frozen?? Or what??

I'm assuming I should probably just add the cheese fresh... what about the pepperoni? Does it freeze ok??

I would really like some step by step instructions on how to do this... as detailed as possible! I really am new to this but excited to try!!!

THANKS IN ADVANCE!!!

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Stay at home mom to my 3 boys... ages 4 1/2, 2 1/2 & 6 months!

I can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

I'd freeze the pizza crust separate - already rolled out.

I recommend adding the cheese fresh. It tends to not freeze well.

I'd keep the rest of the ingredients separate because they can be used for other things. Cooked and crumbled hamburger meat is great in the freezer. As you already noted, if you keep the portions small, it is easier to use or defrost.

Peppers tend to not freeze well. I tend to buy the packages of frozen green peppers and onions. It isn't more expensive than buying fresh and the results are better.

Sliced pepperoni should freeze well. I'd freeze the slices separately on a cookie sheet then when frozen put them in a freezer bag.

Thicker freezer baggies will keep your food better than the thin sandwich baggies. Once you have the portions all separated in baggies, keep the whole batch together in a separate plastic container in the freezer. For instance, have a plastic container that has several small baggies of cooked hamburger meat in it. That way the small baggies don't get lost in the freezer, they will stay frozen better if the freezer loses power (or your freezer has a defrost cycle) and the item will be less likely to develop freezer burn.

I don't recommend combining products in the freezer unless they are in a sauce (like a casserole) because the different items may have different life expectancies. For instance, the cooked meat will easily taste yummy after 6 months but the green peppers MIGHT last 3 months.

Whenever possible, use the items in their frozen state. Adjust your cooking time and temperature accordingly.

Why did you end up throwing away a bunch of meat?

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"Poor people work for their money. Rich people make their money work for them."

OK - This is one thing that worries me - how do you adjust the cooking time?? I'm always afraid I'll over cook or under cook, etc! I guess the meat will be pre-cooked so it's not gonna kill us if I under cook it!

I think I'm getting an idea... I didn't know peppers didn't freeze well, I thought I read somewhere that they did! I also didn't know you could buy Frozen green peppers & onions... like a stir fry type thing? Are they already chopped up?? Hmm... I'll have to look for that!

Good thinking to keep them in a plastic container so they don't get lost - i could totally see myself losing them.

OH - and I threw away the meat cause it got lost in the sea of leftovers! That's another thing I'm bad about - saving leftovers and never eating them(dh doesn't like leftovers)!

Thanks again Cookie - I guess I'll add frozen green peppers and onions to my shopping list!!

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Stay at home mom to my 3 boys... ages 4 1/2, 2 1/2 & 6 months!

I can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

peppers and onions freeze well. (a good tip for no tears while cutting onions is to freeze/partially freeze them first) This past summer, I would hit the local ding/dent supermarket and grab their discounted peppers and then slice them up and throw them in the freezer. did the same with onions. when I needed some, I pulled them out, threw them into whatever I was cooking (omelette, fajitas, soups, stews, casseroles, etc) and they tasted good to me. I didn't notice a difference in taste at all. You dont have to defrost them - just add to whatever you're cooking. They defrost and heat through quickly. I freeze mine in slices; if I need them diced, I just run my knife through them while frozen. Shredded cheese freezes well too. That's where my MIL stores her shredded cheese. It doens't change the taste at all and breaks apart just fine so you can spread it evenly.

Last year I did this - made homemade pizza and froze it. It worked alright, but the only reason it was just alright and not great was because of MY IMPATIENCE. Had I just made an extra pizza or two when I was already making pizza for the night, it would have been different. But I was trying to make (and fully freeze) 8 pizzas before I vacuum sealed them. What I did was make the crust, let it rise, punch it down, press out into shape, and baked it off for about 8 minutes or so. (I think it was at like 425 maybe?) then let it fully cool and stick in the freezer and leave until frozen. Then add the sauce, cheese and pepperoni. Freeze SOLID before wrapping/vacuuming. It all tastes good when you bake off the frozen pizza. I baked mine off at 425 (just stuck it on a sheet, frozen) for 15-20 minutes or until bubbly and golden. The only thing I would have changed was that I should have let my crusts freeze longer before packaging them b'c the sauce wasn't fully frozen and it spread out everywhere. If you decided to package it all separately, it wouldn't take long to prep the pizza - just nuke the sauce, meat, and then throw on cheese, pepperoni and toppings.

You don't necessarily need to spread out the pepperoni when freezing. You can throw a full stick of sliced pepperoni into a freezer bag and put it in the freezer and if any pieces freeze together, snap them apart when you're taking them out of the bag. The only time you'd really have to worry aobut that is if the pepperoni got a little warm and it started getting oily (know what I mean?).. then they'd be more apt to stick together.

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~~Amanda~~ Mommy to one Little Man (3 1/2 yrs old), TTC #2