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I am trying to find a good way to freeze chicken pot pies...I am assisting a person that is low income next week and we are working on making healthy meals for her to freeze instead of buying processed food.

She loves chicken pot pies so what I was thinking was (since she has limited kitchen equipment in her house) was using my large ramekins, put parchment paper in the bottom, line it with pie crust dough, make the filling and wait for it to cool, then put it in the dough in the ramekin and place pie crust dough on top.

Freeze until just set then take a double amount of heavy duty foil, make a mould around the bottom and then top with foil and put in the freezer. then when she is ready to eat, she can just take it out of the freezer, bake for about 30 minutes, then just take the top foil off so that the top can brown, then she can eat and enjoy.

Does this sound reasonable? I have looked online and Iha ve not found anything like this so any help would be appreciated.

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  • As I wrote my comment, a point of clarity, are you thinking of using your ramekin only to freeze it into shape? If so, You'd have to be pretty carefull wrapping the foil around it as the pie will probably spread out and push on the foil a bit when it defrosts and then bakes.
    – talon8
    Jul 22, 2012 at 4:09

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Alternate suggestion:

When making food for others, often I like to purchase a bunch of disposable foil containers. I prepare the meals right in them, and that way I don't need to worry about my own dishes entering the picture and neither do they. I pick a size that is enough for their household times two (some people find it easier to have a few days of food and just reheat it the next day). This works well, for pies, lasagnas, other casseroles. Of course this depends on your own budget, but if you look around these are pretty cheap. I get the local no name or store brand for this purpose...

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  • Also, you can usually reuse them without too much trouble. Just be careful not to bend them out of shape when washing.
    – Adele- Nexus of Potlucks
    Jul 22, 2012 at 4:36
  • This was all really helpful. Thank you. I really appreciate it!!
    – Courtney
    Jul 22, 2012 at 15:20
  • Disposable foil containers are an expensive item for "low-income" people. Even I can't afford to use them regularly. I mean, the container would be 1/2 the cost of the food it is containing. asiandumplingtips.com/2009/12/…. vaporbaker.com/2010/06/13/….
    – Cynthia
    Jul 26, 2012 at 9:27
  • Sorry if I was not clear, but I was referring to her budget, not her friend's. Also, you can also save by getting a larger container and eating for a few days rather than multiple smaller ones. I also like to save any disposable yoghurt type containers for food that I'm giving that doesn't require oven heating. Occasionally food I buy comes in these foil cointainers, there's no reason you couldn't make a habbit of hanging on to them for this same reason. They're also easier to find than those leaves in many locations.
    – talon8
    Jul 26, 2012 at 13:16
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In addition to the advice talon8 offers I would add that when freezing foods it is wise to chill them first, in the refrigerator, and then move them to the freezer. The 'shorter the the thermal distance' is from 'not frozen' to 'frozen' the smaller the ice crystals will be, resulting in less damage to the food from the freezing/thawing process.

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