When I make spaghetti sauce, I always double or even triple the recipe. After we've eaten a meal from the batch, I freeze the rest in freezer bags and lay them flat to conserve space.
That is probably not new to most cooks, but I wanted to share this information I learned, from a friend who owns an Italian restaurant (repeatedly voted the best in town). They cook up huge batches of pasta and refrigerate or even freeze it. When an order comes in, they take out the appropriate amount of the cold pasta, dip it in boiling hot water, drain and serve. It's as fresh as if it were just cooked!
I often refrigerate or freeze leftover pasta. I save out enough sauce for another meal, and when I'm ready to serve it, I just pull out the bag of leftover pasta, dip it into boiling water, drain and enjoy a meal that is a snap to fix. I have tried both the refrigerated pasta and some I've frozen. We can't tell the difference.
This is a nice trick to have up your sleeve on a busy day. Not only have you been frugal by not tossing leftovers, but you've saved yourself from double prep and clean up time.
By Sandy from Elon, NC
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
What kind of bags do you use in boiling water? When I freeze my sauce, I use regular freezer bags. I don't think I can safely boil those. Thanks for taking the time for my question.
By Ramona B.
I freeze left over sauce either in zip lock plastic bags or plastic containers. Later I thaw them in the microwave. I wouldn't put the plastic baggies in boiling water.
