My Trick To Freezing Chili & Soup!

I wanted to share my trick to freezing the extra soup from all of the recipes I've been posting lately. This trick will allow you to make large batches of soup or other meals and freeze them in individualized portions to pull out for a quick meal or take to work for lunch.  A bonus for taking the frozen jar in your lunch is you then don't need a freezer pack to keep your lunch cold.  Your frozen jar will keep your food cold way past lunch time!  (I have forgotten I'd brought my lunch to work until I went home and the jar was still frozen.)

FoodSaver makes an attachment to utilize wide mouth Mason jars used for canning with their product to remove the air and seal the Mason jars.  This does not replace canning as you cannot store the food without refrigeration or freezing.  However, this process will allow you to freeze the contents of the Mason jar for much longer periods of time and avoid freezer burn.  I have frozen soup for over a year in my deep freezer and it comes out just as delicious as when I froze it.  After the initial investment of the FoodSaver, this is a very inexpensive way to keep your food fresh.  The FoodSaver is around $100 depending on where you buy it and which one you choose and the attachment is $9.99.  I bought the most basic unit over 5 years ago and it still works great!  The Mason jars are then super cheap (around $9 for a dozen) and the lids too (around $2 for a dozen).  When you first buy the Mason jars, they come with lids and rings.  The jars and rings are reusable but the lids are one time use with the FoodSaver.   Here's what you will need:


16 oz. Wide Mouth Mason Jars, Lids and Rings
Wide Mouth Funnel
FoodSaver with Mason Jar Attachment

Wash all parts before use.  Each Mason jar will hold approximately 2 cups and still allow enough space for the contents to expand when frozen.  Using a ladle (I like to use a 1 cup measuring cup) and funnel, fill each large mouth Mason jar with 2 cups of soup.  Wipe down the sides of mason jars if there were any drips.  Using a permanent marker, label the lids with the date you are freezing and the contents.  Place the Lid on the top of the first mason jar and cover with the FoodSaver mason jar attachment.  Make sure to push the attachment all the way down onto the jar or it won't seal.  Connect the hose from the Foodsaver unit to the Foodsaver mason jar attachment, then press the "container" button on the Foodsaver to seal the mason jar.  Screw the ring on the sealed Mason jar and freeze. Repeat for all the jars you want to freeze.  It's that easy.