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Topic: freezer soups

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juliana147
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Posted: March 05 2012 at 4:23pm \| IP Logged

I'm trying to get ahead on lunches for busy days, and hoping someone who has tried this can help.

I'm thinking I'll make a bunch of different freezer soups with veggies and meat I have on hand. Does anyone know if you can freeze rutabaga, broccoli, butternut squash, or parsnips in soups? I'm concerned about the flavor getting too strong, or the texture getting mushy, in the freezer. I think I remember reading somewhere that you can't freeze regular potatoes.

Also, if your family likes cheeses, like Parmesan, can that go in before freezing, or does it need to be added later, when it's reheated?

Thanks! I just know it's going to get too hot for soup after I finish all of this cooking!

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Juliana

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Posted: March 05 2012 at 7:27pm \| IP Logged

Hi Juliana. Potatoes do get kind of watery/mushy when frozen. Which is fine if they are mashed potatoes, as they can be stirred back together, but in soups, it's not appetizing!

Butternut squash and broccoli do well frozen, rutabaga and parsnips not so much. BUT, the texture change isn't as noticeable the smaller you dice them. So you might be ok with a smaller dice.

Cheese can go in before freezing.

Hope that helps!

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Heather Rose (ds13, ds10)

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Posted: March 05 2012 at 8:08pm \| IP Logged

Also, I often use an immersible blender to just make the soups "creamed", then just about everything freezes well. No need to be concerned about texture when it's all pretty much pureed.

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juliana147
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Posted: March 06 2012 at 10:38am \| IP Logged

Thanks, Heather and Caroline! That helps a lot.

I don't think I even saw a parsnip or a rutabaga when I was growing up. They are common in this part of the country, though, so I figured I'd learn to use them.

Smaller dice, or puree- got it!

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Juliana

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Posted: March 06 2012 at 12:02pm \| IP Logged

Got to say, the ONLY food I don't like is mashed rutabagas! (Why it couldn't be chocolate or potato chips, I'm sure I don't know!

) Parsnips are very tasty, but when I was a kid I could only get mashed rutabagas down by drowning them in gravy. And coming from a Scandinavian home, we sure had them often enough! I've had them roasted and sort of souffled since then, usually combined with regular potatoes and turnips, but boiled and mashed...

I'd make a small pot of rutabaga soup the first time, just to see if you really like it!

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juliana147
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Posted: March 06 2012 at 1:04pm \| IP Logged

I have a definite weakness, too, for potato chips and chocolate- esp. dark chocolate!!!

Caroline, I had no idea you could do all of that with rutabagas. Honestly, the only way I've had them is diced in soup. Scandinavian cooking is a mystery to me. I grew up where we could wear shorts in the winter.

What kind of gravy do you put on rutabaga? That's something else I hadn't even considered. Maybe the kiddos would like that.

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Juliana

Servant2theKing
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Posted: March 06 2012 at 1:07pm \| IP Logged

It's not soup, but pasties use rutabaga and they should freeze quite well. My sister married a man whose family came from the Calumet, MI area. They have a family recipe that's very similar to the ones below ~ I couldn't find my copy, so here are a couple that seem closest: Pasties and more Pasties
My sister, her mil and several sil's used to get together and make multiple batches, then freexe them for their families.

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Servant2theKing
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Posted: March 06 2012 at 1:13pm \| IP Logged

I did a search for rutabaga and came up with many more recipes on the same site:
rutabaga recipes

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juliana147
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Posted: March 06 2012 at 1:28pm \| IP Logged

Wow, Servant, thank you. There are a lot of interesting ideas on those links. I should be able to find enough ways to use this huge bag of rutabagas my sweet dh brought home!

Thanks!

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Juliana

SusanJ
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Posted: March 06 2012 at 1:36pm \| IP Logged

WE freeze soups all the time. One Lent I spent the week before making soups and that's all we ate for Lent. It was the most penitential Lent we've ever had.

I second, or third, the puree thing. Kids will eat more veggies this way, anyway, and it reheats more nicely. And, I would agree that you should leave out the cheese though you probably COULD shred and freeze the cheese separately if you want to have everything prepped.

Bean soups are really great frozen as well and then you don't have the issues that come up with freezing and thawing meat. When I have meatless soups I can pull them out and put them on the counter to thaw all afternoon.

Last, if you haven't already thought of this, freeze the soups in ziploc bags placed on their sides. This way they freeze flat and are more efficient in your freezer. It makes it easier to thaw them too if the bag doesn't get all tangled and frozen into the soup.

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juliana147
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Posted: March 06 2012 at 7:00pm \| IP Logged

Thanks, Susan, I just used some freezer bags for a batch of pizza sauce I made on the side!

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Juliana

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Posted: March 07 2012 at 7:27am \| IP Logged

Ok, now I LOVE rutabaga soup! It's SO good ... I just rough chop it, throw it in a pot with onion, chicken stock, and a little dried thyme, cook till soft and puree. Yum!

Also, roasted rutabaga is delish. Cube, toss w/olive oil, S&P, roast at 425 for maybe 30 min, stirring halfway. It carmelizes, gets crispy on the outside, soft in the middle, kind of like roasted potatoes. Again, YUM!

These are about the only ways I ever make rutabaga, aside from a couple of times making pasties.

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Heather Rose (ds13, ds10)

juliana147
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Posted: March 10 2012 at 10:07am \| IP Logged

Thanks, Heather! I appreciate the cooking tips. It sounds like my kids would love roasted rutabagas- that sounds like the way sweet potatoes come out when they are roasted.

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Juliana

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Posted: March 16 2012 at 8:40am \| IP Logged

Lately I have been starting the soup, by sauteeing the vegg I want, then seasoning them and putting them in the freezer. That way I have a kit of sorts to make a soup much more quickly, almost as fast as opening a can. I've really only done this with Cheddar Broccoli Soup or Cream of Cauliflower.

Otherwise I freeze whole soups; ham and bean, split pea (veg), vegetable, chili, black bean, etc...

Cheese in before freezing is fine, but if you like it on top, you can always shred then put in a packet and tape to your meal.

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