Customer Reviews

Fix, Freeze, Feast: Prepare in Bulk and Enjoy by the Serving - More than 125 Recipes

5 star:		(92)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I just got this book a few weeks ago, and I LOVE it! I live in a household of two, and am not a Costco-type shopper when it comes to meats, so everything I have made from this book, I have just halved the recipes to fit my smaller-packages-of-meat shopping patterns. No biggie. I still have three plus meals out of each type of meat I buy for the two of us.

My husband absolutely raved about the Sticky Ribs recipe...and being a die-hard foodie, he is VERY difficult to impress. He has insisted I make them again for a potluck this weekend. I won't give the recipe away, but trust me, for just four ingredients, this one can't be beat. It was worth the price of the book for this one recipe alone.

Overall, this book was a great intro for me on the pleasures of make-ahead cooking. I think I am addicted now! And the fact the recipes in this book do not contain any horrible ingredients like Velveeta cheese, canned "cream of" soups, or refrigerated biscuit dough is great, too! You can feed your family easily, healthfully, and with fewer preservatives and if you purchase this book and make some of the recipes as they are written. I highly recommend it!

We are a very active family and this book has transformed my time as well as my grocery bill. It is specifically geared to shopping "warehouse style". Now I am buying in bulk every other week and prepping 14-20 entrees in two to three hours, that need a minimum amount of attention before cooking and serving. Some of our favorites are the 4B's Flank Steak, Salisbury Meatballs, Honey-Glazed Chicken Thighs and Turkish Pork Chops. My husband estimated that I have cut our food bill in half. I like that we aren't wasting food in purchases I intended to make but find I'm too busy to actually prepare. I have bought a lot of OAMC books but I dont have two whole days of uninterupted time (nor do I want to!) for prepping. Fix, Freeze, Feast makes $en$e for me! :-)

This cookbook is intended to mimic those places you go to and assemble your meals then take home to freeze. This cookbook is a little different in that I think it's geared more for those who want to swap meals with other families. Their intended assembly method is what they call the "tray" method, where you purchase a large tray of meat at a warehouse club and then come home and assemble 3 like meals out of it. You cannot make less than 3 meals, the ingredients are geared to be mixed together and then distributed among 3 freezer bags. I suppose there are a few recipes where you could in your head divide all the spices and mix-ins by 3 and then just make one freezer bag but if you make a mistake there's no correcting it.

I'm not sure my family would want to eat tequila lime chicken 3 times in a month but if you menu planned far enough in advance I guess you could have it once a month over the next 3 months.

What I think is fantastic about this cookbook is that you could find, for example, 2 other families (whether relatives or neighbors) and then you each make a recipe from the cookbook and swap meals with eachother. That way you're getting 3 different meals and only assembling 3 of the same meal. That for me was the best part of the cookbook.

It would also be perfect if you were providing meals for someone else. You could easily assemble and give to elderly parents, shut-ins, sick friends or relatives, new moms, etc and all they'd have to do is cook it. While that would take some work on their part sometimes it's the prep work and assembly that prevents seniors from cooking not the actual cooking itself. I know my senior mother has a hard time reading small print to see if it's 1/4 tsp or 1/8, etc. Also, chopping hurts her hands. But in this instance you've done all that work with the aid of this cookbook. And it still gives her enjoyment to know that she can put a nice meal on the table for dinner. But even if you needed to cook it before delivering it to someone else you could do that too.

All the final preparation and cooking instructions are included in the book to be copied or you can also download from www.storey.com and put on avery sticky labels to attach to the freezer baggie just like at dream dinners.

Most of the meals are geared for serving 4 but throwing 6 chicken breasts in a freezer bag wouldn't change the amount of other ingredients needed significantly or even decreasing it to 3 would be no problem.

In this cookbook, there are no pictures which is why I gave it a 4 rather than 5 stars. For some reason I think pictures are a needed treat in cookbooks. Most of these meals you freeze first then thaw and cook. Their suggestion is to pull the meal from the freezer the evening before and let it thaw overnight in the fridge and then prepare for dinner the next evening.

If you're not willing to make 3 meals of the same thing at once then this cookbook is probably not for you. I just think dividing spices and ingredients to come up with one serving might be too much trouble when there are so many other cookbooks that are already out there. Suggestions would be Super Suppers and Don't Panic: dinner's in the freezer. Both are very good cookbooks themselves.

But this cookbook is highly recommended for a MOPS group who want to start a dinner swap club; if you provide meals for others on a regular basis, or just want to ensure you have 3 meals in the freezer even if it is the same meal. Great cookbook.

My mom discovered this book a few weeks ago. We thought it sounded like a great idea, so we jumped on board. We recently had a marathon day where we made 5 recipes all at once. The recipes really are simple and easy to put together so this was not overwhelming at all. We loved that we each (me, my mom, and my sister) left with 5 complete meals ready to be frozen and taken out whenever we need it. I've already found that having a frozen meal ready to take out of the freezer any day I don't feel like cooking is so fabulous!!! And it's a delicious no-work meal to boot!! I did discover that for many of the recipes, it's best to take out of the freezer and put into the fridge the night before. This allows more marinating time, which adds much more flavor. The pdf labels provided online are great and so easy to print on paper and adhere fully with packing tape right to the bag. I've found that actual labels don't stick to the bag for long in the harsh freezer conditions. Save yourself some money and just use regular paper and tape. All in all a great find and well worth the $10.00+ investment for the time-saving it provides.

I know you're thinking to much prep time but trust me these books are wonderful! I purchased the first book these ladies published over a year ago. I'm not really a prep and freeze type so I ended up putting it in the book shelf and forgot about it. Well last January I was desperate for new ideas and easy dinners so I pulled it out. Let me just say, I still use their recipes for almost all my week-night dinners!

In about a half hour you get a full flavored home cooked meal that's healthy and tastey enough that even my two kids say YUM to almost everything I have served. Those of you who have pickey children know that this alone is worth the purchase price! I can't say enough good things about the recipes and the amount of thought and detail these ladies put into these books. They've done everything but cook the meal for you. Thanks!!!

I love this cookbook. As a stay-at-home mom I'm always looking for ways to make life simpler (and spend less money!). Most of the "fix and freeze" books I've seen rely far too much on preservative-laden products like canned soup, but "Fix, Freeze, Feast" is based on simple, healthy ingredients, many of which you could find organic or locally-grown. I would definitely recommend this book for anyone looking to get started with bulk cooking, not only because the recipes are so tasty, but because the style is breezy, friendly, and extremely easy to follow.

I bought this book to aid in dinner prep during the bewitching hour. I made 5 recipes. They go together fairly quickly and quite easily. Once they are thawed (some can be cooked from a frozen state - recipes give specific instructions for re-heating) they are simple to cook, making meal preparation a snap. My 3 kids liked the recipes, as did my husband (who is a culinary professional) and I. (We especially liked the Basil-Balsamic marinade which we used for chicken.) I have cooked in bulk for several years now, but many of the cookbooks I've used have recipes that are outdated and unhealthy. This one is different! No gloopy casseroles with canned cream soup. Instead, look for Tequila-Lime Chicken, Peanut Satay,Apple Cranberry Pork Loin, Asparagus and Potato Frittata, Vegetable Lasagna, Black Bean and Vegetable Chili, etc. They also include some classics, such as Chicken a la King, Beef Barley Soup, several recipes for ribs and steak, regular Chili, and regular Lasagna. Fish and seafood lovers won't be disappointed, as there are several preparations for this genre as well. There is something for everyone here.
The cooking instructions can be copied or printed off their website to attach right to the package before it goes into the freezer. If you've ever come across a mystery package in your freezer, you'll know this is a real plus. It also makes it easier to use these meals as gifts and "love meals" for those who are ill or going through a crisis. There is also a freezer inventory so you can keep track of what you have left in there.
I will definitely try more of the recipes. It may seem like a large output of cash in the beginnig to buy in bulk, but in the long run having meals already prepared actually saves money, as you aren't tempted to call for a pizza or do the breakfast drive-though (frozen breakfast burritos are in the freezer!). Highly recommend.

This is my first book review. I know it probably sounds like the authors paid me to write this because the review is so glowing! After much research of Amazon book reviews, I bought "Fix Freeze Feast" because it eemed like the best freezer meal cookbook out there. "Don't Panic...Dinner's in the Freezer" would probably come in second place, but reviewers have slammed it for using too many processed ingredients. "F.F.F." calls for all whole foods. You even make and freeze in bulk the tomato sauce you use in many of the recipes. For my fellow editing snobs, the book is impeccably edited: organized and user-friendly. You can photocopy the freezer labels (which have the cooking instructions for thawed entrees) from the ones in the back of the book, or you can print them straight off the computer after going to the provided website. By the way, "F.F.F." has their own website with all kinds of extras like a Q & A section. Not only does the book have over 125 recipes, but it also goes over the whole freezer meal concept--from the big picture it breaks it down into the smaller lessons, like showing you how to make the best shopping list.

Length:: 3:04 Mins

I bought this book when I got my new chest freezer. I was in my second trimester and wanted to fill my freezer with easy make-ahead meals knowing that once the baby got here I would have little to no time. I also bought another freezer cookbook but looking through it I was disheartened by the amount of canned soups and processed ingredients, plus the crazy once-a-month schedule just made cooking seem like drudgery.

I was impressed that this book makes nearly everything from scratch. Also loved the print and cut instructions for the finished product, as well as the inventory sheet. FFF contains recipes for a variety of meats as well as vegetarian dishes, snacks, and desserts. Cooking methods include grilling, baking, slow cooker, stir fry to name a few. Although I knew I was taking a risk by making a lot of these meals before ever eating them, I only had one dud (Ginger Beef)

As a few reviewers have mentioned, if you don't like sweet meat recipes you will probably not like many of the marinade recipes. Also, a must is some degree of patience when cooking. If you don't thaw the entrees completely and cook them too high, you will most definitely get dry, overcooked meat.

Fifty meals later I am so glad I went with this cookbook - we've eaten through about 80% of our stash and I'm planning my next freezer cooking session!