I luv Mexican and would really like to have a bunch of single serving frozen meals (enchiladas, chile rellenos, tamales, R&B, etc.) in the freezer. I have tried countless brands of frozen meals from the supermarket (latest was Amy’s last night) which have all left me completely meh’d out.
Do any of you do this? My gut tells me I should cook it all up just like I was gonna serve it, then cool it, divvy it up into single meals in covered containers, and freeze.
To serve… thaw in microwave, place in small covered casserole (with maybe a small dash of BTB broth to keep things moist), and then in a 350-375°F oven for 20-30 minutes.
NOTHING compares to home grown cooking. Go for it! I’m just about to start a mess o’ 'enchilada/taco/flauta/tostada meat this weekend. One portion for enchiladas, the rest I’ll portion out and freeze in vacuum sealed bags. I’ll also make a good bit of enchilada gravy and freeze that up for another time. I will prepare ahead the inner components and when I’m ready, defrost in the fridge the night before and make and bake. I’m not a big fan of microwave reheats. There is a satisfaction about making your own. I like my cooking and I have the time and space to do that. Yes, there is the convenience of store bought, too.
I have never found a commercial frozen Mexican product I care for.
Too salty, to thin, too weak, too skimpy.
How so (and how bad)? I get that the moisture in the chiles (along with the egg batter), could be problematic, but what happens to properly sauced tortillas, stuffed and sauced again and covered with cheese?
I have previously frozen my enchilada sauce (as I have to source the chiles online and don’t always have them on hand), along with various tingas for fillings. But it is still a fair amount of time and effort to throw together a meal based on those. Plus… pretty much the same amount of work to do a dozen or more enchiladas (which I could never finish in time) as three!
This is why I was looking for a way to freeze single portions for those times I don’t have the time to do anything else but thaw and heat.
CCE
(Keyrock the unfrozen caveman lawyer; your world frightens & confuses me)
6
I’ve had enchiladas turn out fine after freezing for several weeks, but I’ve never tried single-serve. Instead, they were 6 of them jammed in together with no airspace (put into gallon bag and sucked all the air out).
ETA -
I haven’t tried freezing any other home-made Mex/Tex-Mex, but I definitely commiserate with you on the meh-ness of what’s commercially available.
I freeze enchiladas all the time. They are fine. I do use flour tortillas if that makes any difference. I wrap them individually in wax paper or foil to freeze, sometimes after sauced and baked, sometimes before and without cheese. I always thaw and add the cheese and or sauce when reheating in the oven.
I generally don’t freeze, but I often make beans and rice on Sunday, and bring little containers with beans, rice and a taco, or enchilada. I make two small batches of rice during the week, so the rice doesn’t get nasty, but the beans are good for a week in the fridge. The rice, though, isn’t white. I use chicken stock, garlic, turmeric and pepper sauce in the rice for color and flavor.
sazon is good stuff. Has a little achoiote in it for color and the right sazoning. The garlic is what makes it sing, IMHO. Everyone who tries it loves the soft garlic incorporated in the rice. If you use good stock, though, you really notice.
