I Love To Freeze

No, I am not saying I love the below freezing temperatures we have had in Northern Utah for the past month. I am saying that I love to freeze any foods I can get my hands on. For example, I freeze brownish bananas for smoothies - they make the best smoothies. I also freeze leftover tomato paste in tablespoon portions for future recipes - because most recipes only call for a tablespoon or two which leaves the rest of can to throw out. 

I use the following technique to freeze bananas, onions, bell peppers, fresh fruit, and more. How to quick freeze produce: First wash and drain produce before spreading in a single layer on parchment lined baking sheet. Once it is frozen solid, store in an airtight container for up to 6 months. 

Picture from Martha Stewart

I am a green smoothie addict and buy my organic spinach in bulk at Costco. Some weeks I have leftover spinach and hate the thought of throwing it out before it turns bad. You can put it in a blender with a little water, blend, and pour it into ice cube trays. Once frozen store in a freezer bag. Add a couple of cubes to your green smoothie and you're good to go.

Picture from All That Is Sweet In Life

I love using wine in cooking, especially when making anything Italian. It gives the dish such a great flavor. If you ever have left over wine... okay, that was silly... when you are at the store then pick up an extra bottle of wine just for cooking. Freeze wine in an ice cube tray and then store in an airtight container once frozen. Add it to your favorite sauces or dishes for extra flavor.

Picture from The Art Of Doing Stuff

I always freeze fresh herbs. I grow herbs every year and freeze as many as I can or I buy them in bulk and freeze them. Find out how I freeze fresh herbs, here. On Pinterest I found a great tip on freezing fresh herbs in olive oil. I love this because I use a lot of olive oil and fresh herbs when I cook and these can be dropped into a lot of different dishes.

Picture from theKitchn

These tips and more can be found on my Kitchen Tips and Tutorials board on Pinterest.

Sausage, Tomato, and Penne Casserole

This dish is one of my family's favorites. It is easy to make, very flavorful and delicious, and freezes well if you want to make it into a freezer meal. I broke up the ingredients below so that it would make it easier if you are making it into a freezer meal kit (see instructions below the recipe). I made a freezer kit version of this tonight and dinner was on the table in about 10 minutes.

Ingredients:

8 ounces uncooked penne pasta

8 ounces mild Italian sausage
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 medium white onion, sliced vertically
2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 can diced Italian tomatoes, undrained
2 tablespoons Italian tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 tablespoon fresh basil, finely chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon dried basil)
1/2 tablespoon fresh oregano, finely chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. While pasta cooks, remove sausage from casings (if applicable). Heat oil in a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute 2 minutes until tender. Add sausage and cook 7-8 minutes until browned, stirring to crumble. Stir in canned tomatoes and next 6 ingredients. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Preheat broiler.
4. Drain pasta and add it into the pan with the sausage mixture; toss evenly to coat. Transfer mixture to a 11x7-inch casserole pan coated with baking spray. Sprinkle with cheese. Broil 2 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Serves 6

FIND MORE DELICIOUS RECIPES HERE!

To make it into a freezer meal kit:
1. Put uncooked Penne into a quart-sized freezer bag.
2. Cook the onion, garlic, and sausage (as directed in step 2 above). When cool, put this mixture in a quart-sized freezer bag.
3. Mix canned tomatoes and next 6 ingredients in a quart-sized freezer bag.
4. Put cheese in a quart-sized freezer bag.
5. Put all 4 freezer bags into one gallon-sized bag. Label the outside with the name of the dish, the date, and write the following directions:

1. Thaw freezer meal completely.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions.
3. While pasta cooks, add sausage mixture into a large non-stick pan and cook 1-2 minutes on medium-high heat. Stir in tomato mixture. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Preheat broiler.
5. Drain pasta and add it into the pan with the sausage mixture; toss evenly to coat. Transfer mixture to a 11x7-inch casserole pan coated with baking spray. Sprinkle with cheese. Broil 2 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

5-Minute Freezer Meals

My Mom and I decided that it was time we stocked the freezer with ready-to-go meals. We use to do this all the time after we were inspired by My Girlfriends Kitchen (a place where you would go put meals together to take home and freeze - MGK is no longer in business). We thought it would be so easy to take our favorite recipes and make them into ready-to-go freezer meals. They are not pre-cooked meals that you would thaw and heat up. The meals are usually thawed and then cooked fresh but all of the prep work is done before hand making the process a lot quicker. In the next couple of months we will be doing meals that take a little more time because they will be made with ingredients from scratch and I will share those as well.

5-Minute Freezer Meals - Chicken Cordon Bleu and Beef Stew Complete Dinner Freezer Meals. They are called 5-minute freezer meals because they literally take 5 minutes to put together. The instructions for the freezer meals depend on your family's size and the amount of kits that you want to make. The Cordon Bleu freezer meal can be cooked from frozen when you are ready and the Beef Stew freezer meal can be cooked from frozen in a crock-pot.  

Chicken Cordon Bleu w/ Mashed Potatoes and Corn/Peas (4 kits for a family of 3 adults)

2 Boxes Tyson Cordon Bleu (6 per box, freezer section at Costco)

4 Packages Ore-Ida Steam n' Mash Potatoes (shown above, freezer section)

4 Packages McCormick Brown Gravy

2 Packages Frozen Peas

2 Packages Frozen Corn

Put three individually wrapped Cordon Bleu, 1 Package Ore-Ida Steam n' Mash Potatoes, 1 Package Gravy, and 1 Package of Peas or Corn in a gallon-sized freezer bag (yes, it all fits). Label outside with instructions on cooking the chicken. Freeze and enjoy any time. Cooking instructions found on all of the packaging. It can all be cooked from frozen. 

Cordon Bleu Freezer Meal

Beef Stew w/ Cornbread (4 kits, 1 batch of stew makes enough for 8 people at least)

4 1-pound packages of stew meat (I like to get it at the butcher shop so it's wrapped to freeze)

4 12-ounce packages frozen pearl onions (my favorite is Kroger brand)

4 12-ounce packages frozen carrots 

4 cans Italian Stewed Tomatoes

4 Bay Leaves

4 Packages Corn Bread Mix

Open can of stewed tomatoes and dump into a quart-sized freezer bag and seal (x4). Put one bay leaf in a snack baggy (x4). To make kits, put 1 pound stew meat, 1 package onions, 1 package carrots, 1 bag of stewed tomatoes, 1 bay leaf, and 1 package corn bread mix in a one-gallon freezer bag (again, it all fits). We even added 1 crock-pot liner to each kit. Write on bags to add 8-12 diced red potatoes, 1 1/2 cups water, and salt and pepper as well as the instructions below. 

All ingredients from the kits can be added into the crock-pot frozen. Add additional ingredients and cook on low for 8-9 hours. After 8-9 hours add 1/4 cup water mixed with 2 Tbsp flour to thicken (stir in and wait 15 minutes). While waiting for stew to thicken, mix and bake cornbread. Enjoy!

Beef Stew Freezer Meal

Note: The picture shown above says to add 2 cups of water. If frozen use 1 1/2 cups water because 2 cups will make it too watery.