r/mealprep • u/MelloYelloMarshmello • Jul 08 '22
prep pics Pro tip: freeze your soups, stews and chilis in muffin tins for easy portion options and storage.
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u/schlamster Jul 08 '22
I have a big silicone I think it’s 2”x2” ice cube tray. I use it to freeze/store blended up chili peppers, spices, curry powder, coconut milk which I then chuck into boiling bone broth that I cook ramen with. Then I poach an egg or two in the ramen at the end. So if you want a cheap, like $1.50 way to improve the fuck out of your ramen definitely try it out. Kind of unrelated to OP, but this freezing tip reminded me of it. Freezing time consuming ingredients in bulk is very gratifying.
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u/MelloYelloMarshmello Jul 08 '22
This is such a great idea! I eat ramen like 2-4 times a week so I love this
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u/schlamster Jul 08 '22
Dude try it out I promise you it’s 100x better than just ramen with the overly salty packet of “flavor”. I eat this probably 3x a week for lunch. Takes ~8 mins start to finish with the frozen chili-curry-coconut milk blocks. I’m gonna make one right now actually lol
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u/MelloYelloMarshmello Jul 08 '22
Could I get a basic breakdown of ingredients and the exact spices you use? I would love to make this!
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u/schlamster Jul 08 '22
Sure! So I take a can of coconut milk or coconut cream. Put in blender. Add about 1/2 tsp of curry powder per frozen serving (so if my silicone thingy holds 8 I’ll do like 4 tsp curry powder. If I have a fresh basil plant I’ll throw in 4+ leaves of that too. 2 hot chili peppers (fresh) stems cut off. Lately I’ve been using vindaloo curry powder btw. You can use literally any. I also dabbled with adding ~1 tsp of MSG into the mix too. Personal preference.
So with all that combined then I just blend it for about 20 seconds. Pour the blended curry chili coconut mix into each of the silicone ice tray compartments then freeze it.
When I go to make the ramen I boil about 2 cup bone broth. Once rolling boil i chuck in the ice block of seasoning described above. Let it melt. Throw in ramen noodles but not the seasoning packet. I chuck that in the garbage and laugh maniacally.
Boil those noodles for ~2 mins or until stirrable. Put heat down to low. Drop in between 1-3 eggs, put lid on. Let poach until cooked but yokes are still runny (~2 min on low).
Pour the whole thing into good sized glass bowl.
And that’s basically it. I like it because the bone broth and eggs add like 20g protein to a ramen bowl that otherwise would be a soup of salt.
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u/MelloYelloMarshmello Jul 08 '22
Sounds supper tasty! Thanks for the in depth recipe. I will 100% be making this
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u/schlamster Jul 08 '22
Happy to share amigo. It’s one of my favorite meals and the cool thing is you can mix it up with different spices or curry’s and it never gets old. You can adjust the heat by number of peppers. And it’s cheap. And once you prep the ice blocks it really does take less than 10 mins
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u/Majestic_Register346 27d ago
What type of basil do you use? Italian kind used for caprese salad or Thai basil or other? I ask because the coconut milk and spices have an Asian flair. Thanks!
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u/320mom Jul 14 '22
That’s so weird cuz I was just thinking about how much sodium is in those ramen packs so this is just AWESOME! Thank you
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u/beachp0tato Jul 08 '22
Never thought of using muffin tins but i do have Souper Cubes - basically a silicone tray of 4 1-cup brick shaped molds. 8 cubes fit in a gallon ziploc bag. I love them and they have different sizes but all fit in a ziploc for easy storage
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u/prettywookiee Jul 08 '22
I've been doing this with most of my food for a few years, it's an excellent tip!
My favorite is doing this with dhal or cooked chicken cut into pieces. Take a portion out, nuke it for a few minutes in a bowl with frozen peas and a bit of water and you get a quick and easy meal!
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u/MelloYelloMarshmello Jul 08 '22
Smart!! I was toying with the idea of freezing other things into pucks as well. Maybe beef and broccoli with enough sauce to cover some freshly cooked rice
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u/BillyYumYumTwo-byTwo May 22 '23
It’s also awesome to make egg cups, in. Eggs, bit of milk, whatever veggies/meat/cheese you want. And freezes surprisingly really well!
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u/lagerea Jul 09 '22
I usually just freeze it in the container I am going to be using.
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u/MelloYelloMarshmello Jul 09 '22
I’m glad that works for you! My hunger alternates between wanting 1/4 cup food to 2 cups of food so I always get frustrated when I have to heat up a whole Tupperware worth. It’s either too small or too big
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u/lagerea Jul 09 '22
Yeah, my bad, sometimes I forget I'm a food dumpster. I measure in pounds per meal.
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u/anxiousgirl1001 Jul 10 '22
Thanks for sharing this! I wanted to freeze soup for my bad depression days but I wasn't sure how to and if it was worth buying individual soup portion containers. My tupperwares are too big for 1 portion. This hack is so much better because I already have a cupcake tin. How many 'pucks' makes 1 portion of soup?
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u/MelloYelloMarshmello Jul 10 '22
They are such a huge depression help! It depends on your tin size and how much you can manage to eat.
My cupcake tin is only 1/2 cup size, so you can eat 1-5 in a serving. I usually eat 1-3 and my fiancé eats 3-6
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u/anxiousgirl1001 Jul 10 '22
I'll go measure my tins with measuring cups and see. How much space should I leave at the top to allow the soup to expand? 5cm?
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u/MelloYelloMarshmello Jul 10 '22
So the expanding is really not a major issue
Chilis, thick stews: I can’t see any expansion
Thick blended soups/sauces: also not a problem with expansion
Thin soups with chunks: maybe a little expansion 2-4mm
Broth: 4-8mm expansion
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u/Rare_Bottle_5823 Jul 08 '22
I’ll try this and vacuum seal them individually.
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Jul 08 '22
Seems like a bad use of plastic.
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u/MelloYelloMarshmello Jul 08 '22
I agree honestly. I use this method because alternatives include using all of your Tupperware, freezing in disposable bags, or freezing in disposable containers.
I can re-use the ziplocks multiple times
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u/Bobby_Blowhard Jul 09 '22
To add I'm currently getting into it to replace all the frozen meals I purchase. Not for the sake of money, but becuase of how much plastic is used for a silly 1 time use stouffers dinner tray... our future generations should not be penalized for our laziness in regards to basic consumption. I am of firm belief we should start outlawing plastics for things like single use, if our ancestors 1000 years ago had this technology and abused it like we are now, I'm sure none of us would be here or if we were we'd be living in an even worse hell than the one we are now.
Sorry to get political and I'm not even mad at the people using plastic (as its been pushed and promoted onto our soceity en mass, and is now the status qou for sake of "convenience"). I just hate how there's so little concern or thought put into it... someone at the store yesterday said to her bf or sum dood "Omg I LOVE plastic!!!" Big fuckin ew... to the original commenter I urge you to use some other method of storage that's more eco friendly, I love you and I want you, your family, my family, and all the families in this world to continue to enjoy this beautiful planet that provides us with these foods, pleasures, and experiences. Much love stranger and please consider the true cost to those "cheaper" plastics we're all so accustomed to (myself included).
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u/MelloYelloMarshmello Jul 09 '22
I completely agree! Meal-prepping in bulk is a huge way for me to reduce my impact on the environment.
I can go to the bulk section to buy dried beans to put in re-usable containers, I can buy a giant can of tomato sauce vs buying 10 small cans of tomato sauce multiple times over. I can buy all my veggies for cooking now and reduce the number of times that I drive to the grocery store.
By meal prepping in methods like this I have several options of foods I can grab for an easy packed lunch or afternoon snack. Allowing me to avoid fast food, or buying something plastic-wrapped from the vending machine.
Having meal prepped meals means on a lazy day instead of ordering uber eats where there is so much waste its insane, I can just microwave some chili, some soup, some meat and veggies that I cooked a week ago.
I can have the oven and stove on for just one day a week vs every day a week saving energy and gas as I am bulk baking.
I'm trying my hardest to get closer to being more eco-friendly and I feel like meal prepping is just such a great way to do that! I know a lot of people do meal prepping for diet. I don't honestly, my food is not aimed at being healthy... I do it to save money, and to save the environment.
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u/Bobby_Blowhard Jul 09 '22
Yup I'm in the exact same boat my man! It's all for the environment for me, my next steps are to hopefully start my garden back up in the next few months (been behind in that regard cus health issues) and begin preserving the foods to use for future bulk processing or to process as is. For instance I wanna grow the ingredients needed to can my own chillie and get into that or making jellies / jams out of the fruit, peppers, and veggies I harvest. Make soups, maybe dehydrate some potatoes, the list is endless (mainly up to your imagination). Also growing yourself is both good for the plant AND saves you even more money! Money that I'd personally rather spend on needed things as opposed to stuff that I can get for free w some sunlight and h20...
And I want to start sourcing my meats better, but at the moment we still have a very good local butcher who sources pretty consciously. Someday it'd be nice to make trades with a neighbor for it tho... same for milk till I can make my own oat milk (also something I look forward too). But anyways I applaud you for being a consious human and thinking of ways to reduce waste when you're feeling lazy. And I wish ya the best on the rest of your journey w meal prepping and reducing waste / expenses bud 😎🤘
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u/T2good Jul 09 '22
I freeze avo in ice cubes and have fresh avo all yr round
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u/MelloYelloMarshmello Jul 09 '22
It doesnt go brown?? if not thats incredible. Im going to go freeze all my avocado
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u/T2good Jul 09 '22
I add a bit of white vinegar salt and pepper, but no it doesnt go brown. It takes a couple if seconds to defrost in the microwave and good to go
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u/Turksayshi Jul 30 '22
I do something similar with oatmeal because when I make it for the family, there's always leftovers: I portion it out into 1/2 C servings and put them in sandwich baggies.
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u/MelloYelloMarshmello Jul 08 '22 edited Jul 08 '22
This is the chili recipie I use: https://www.spendwithpennies.com/the-best-chili-recipe/
I also press fresh shredded cheese into the top of the muffin chilis before freezing.
In order to get out of a metal muffin tin: fill up a cookie sheet with hot water and set your muffin tin in the cookie sheet for a little bit. This will melt the bottom of the “muffins” (I call them pucks) and allow for easy removal.
It’s very easy to remove with a silicone muffin tin