I feel like cooking today. I think the fall-like temperatures inspired me, but also the reality of my empty freezer. Typically we have a number of pre-made side dishes, main dishes and soups in our freezer for a quick go-to meal on a busy night. But, since I have basically avoided the kitchen all summer our stock has run out. We are paying the price for it by picking up a rotisserie chicken or take and bake pizza when we’re short on time instead of turning to some standby meals from our own stash.
Before I tell you what’s on my agenda today, I better give a disclaimer. I love to cook, but wouldn’t consider myself a great cook. I am not an expert on freezing foods, but have dared to experiment in recent years and am willing to take a risk trying something new.
That said, here’s what’s on the docket for me this beautiful Saturday followed by some thoughts on why I chose these items.
Photo credit CookinBug of All Recipes
Refried Pinto Beans
This is the first time I am making my own refried beans. When I make tacos for my family I always mix a can of refried beans in with the meat since it makes a pound of meat further an beans are cheaper than meat. The problem is, I often forget to buy refried beans and then avoid making tacos because of it. I decided a way around that would be to make my own beans in bulk, freeze them in can-sized portions. (Note: You might think I have a bomb shelter-sized pantry, but truth is that we have a small pantry in our kitchen and no basement in our townhouse. I make space for a lot of boxed cereal, baking supplies and then cram as many other dry staples into the space as I can. Two years ago I bought a deep freeze and sometimes it is easier for me to freeze foods than keep cans on hand, since the freezer often has more room).
I found this Refried Beans without the Refry recipe on All Recipes.com and cooked the beans overnight. I skipped the jalapeno, since my family detests anything spicy, but increased the black pepper a bit to add a little flavor. I mashed them this morning and they look great. I also think I’ll use the juice I reserved as broth when I cook the brown rice.
I spent $1.29 on the dry pinto beans at Aldi. I will get the equivalent of 6 cans worth of refried beans which sell for $0.59 each at Aldi. I saved a whopping $1.25 doing this myself. Better than the little bit of savings is having much tastier beans made without any preservatives.
P.S. – I happen to have a few tortilla chips on hand, as they were my I-buy-one-treat-per-week-for-my-family-as-long-as-it-is-$1-or-less item this week. The beans make a great dip all by themselves. Yum!
Photo credit Piratefrog of All Recipes
Morning Glory Muffins
I have used this Easy Morning Glory Muffin recipe numerous times and love it because it is very gracious to my creative inklings. I often substitute in whole wheat flour, minimize the sugar, add more fruit purees or yogurt in place of oil. In fact, today I didn’t use any oil at all and only 1-1/4 cups of brown sugar. The muffins got their sweetness from the fruits and veggies.
Today, I doubled the original recipe and Carrie-ized it as follows:
Ingredients
3-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup old fashioned oatmeal
1-1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon clove
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups shredded carrots
2 apple – cored and shredded
1 medium yam – baked, peeled and mashed
2 ripe bananas – mashed
6 eggs
1-1/2 cups plain yogurt
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon coconut extract (I didn’t have any shredded coconut on hand so I figured I’d add in a bit of coconut flavor)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin cups, or line with paper muffin liners.
- In a large bowl, mix together flour, oatmeal, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, coves and salt. Stir in the carrot and apple.
- In a separate bowl, beat together eggs, yams, bananas, yogurt, vanilla and coconut extract. Stir egg mixture into the carrot/flour mixture, just until moistened. Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups.
- Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.
This made 30 large muffins. We ate 12 this morning, I’ll leave 6 out for snacking on and will freeze 12 of them to be eaten another morning. I slightly undercooked the dozen I plan to freeze, cooking them for 18.5 minutes, so that they won’t be overly dry when we reheat them.
My only regret with these is that I didn’t triple the batch. Oh well, I’ll be baking again in a few weeks I’m sure.
Black Beans
If you marry a Brazilian you learn to love black beans. I’m not talking about canned black beans, but made from the dry legume black beans. To speed up their cooking time we use a pressure cooker, but I like to keep some in the freezer as an easy side dish or, in a real bind, to use with rice with a scrambled egg on top for a meal.
Like I said, we’ve eaten all our ready-made frozen foods so this week I cooked up a batch of black beans. I kept it simple, replacing water for beef broth and added an onion while they cooked. Today I’ve got to bag them into serving-sized portions and get them into the freezer.
Bean and Beef Cheesy Burritos
As I was browsing the web yesterday for a refried beans recipe I saw a comment somewhere about homemade bean burritos for the freezer. My thought, “duh.” In a previous life I used to buy the ready-made burritos in the refrigerator section of the grocery store and heat them for a quick lunch. “If it’s a frozen food they sell, then it’s a frozen food I can make” is my usual mantra, but somehow this has slipped by me all these years.
Today I am going to brown 3 pounds of ground turkey (did you know Aldi’s everyday price for 85/15 is $1.39/lb), make some of it into taco filling, then fill tortilla shells with the taco meat, refried beans, maybe a few black beans and some cheese. I’ll wrap the burritos Chipotle-style, so the filling stays inside, then place side-by-side on a cookie sheet to freeze. One they’re solid I’ll transfer them into a Ziploc. When we need a super quick meal we can take a couple out and reheat them in the microwave for about 2 minutes.
Wish me well with these, as I’ve never tried this before, but am expecting them to turn out well.
Brown Rice
Four or five years ago we switched from white rice to brown rice. Remember, my husband grew up eating rice every day of his life, so the switch wasn’t easy, but has been worth it in terms of the increased fiber into our diet.
The downside has been the increased time it takes to cook rice when we want to include it with a meal. I’ve started to get around that by cooking up a large batch of brown rice in advance , then freezing it in a serving sized portion.
When the time comes to use it, we defrost in the microwave enough to get it out of the Ziploc. Then we put the mostly frozen rice in a microwave safe bowl with a tight fitting lid. Add a tablespoon of water and cook it on high until the rice is thawed, stirring it every 4 minutes or so. The best part of this is that the rice gets amazingly soft, since it is steamed as it reheats, which helps even the pickiest eater enjoy this hearty alternative to white rice.
I like having rice on hand as a plain side dish, but I will add a can of diced tomatoes and some taco seasonings to use it with Mexican food or will make fried rice using leftover meat, some veggies, scrambled eggs and teriyaki sauce. (Can you see how having some of these items in the freezer helps us avoid getting take out food?)
Mashed Potatoes
Aldi has a 10-pound bag of russet potatoes on sale for $2.99. I bought 10 pounds knowing that I’d make and freeze most of them. Make your potatoes as usual, adding in milk, butter and salt and seasonsings to your taste, then cool and freeze in serving-sized portions.
When it comes time to reheat the potatoes, you have a couple options. You can defrost a bag overnight in the fridge, but I rarely am thinking ahead enough to do that. Or, you can defrost it in the microwave enough to remove it from the Ziploc. Then do like I suggest with the brown rice. Put it in a microwave-safe bowl that has a tight fitting lid. Add a tablespoon of milk and microwave on high until warm. You’ll want to stir the potatoes more frequently than the rice, maybe every 2.5-3 minutes.
Photo Credit Christina of All Recipes
Cottage Pie
Today I plan to make and freeze one type of casserole, Cottage Pie. In Carrie-speak Cottage Pie is the British alternative to tater tot hotdish. The differences are you put mashed potatoes on top of Cottage Pie, versus tater tots, and I make my own seasonings for the meat a filling instead of using a canned soup.
I’ve made Cottage Pie plenty of times, but have never made one to freeze.
I chose this though, since I will have most of the ingredients already made. I am browning ground turkey and making mashed potatoes, plus I have shredded cheese on hand.
I will use a combination of fresh, store-bought frozen and homemade frozen veggies to mix with the meat – these include carrots, celery, onion, peas, and corn. This Cottage Pie recipe has a simple combination of seasonings, so I’ll use it as a starting point with my own additions as I actually cook it.
I’m hopeful to have enough meat filling to make two 8”x8” casseroles. Something that size will feed us for a meal with a few leftovers. It’s perfect for my stay-at-home dad husband to use for lunch.
Applesauce
I almost forgot to mention the applesauce I am making. Although I typically make it in my crockpot, today I’ll make it on the stove since my crockpot is full of beans. I am very non-scientific when it comes to applesauce. Personally, I leave the peel on the apples, core them and cut into chunks. I cook them with a little water on the stove until fairly mushy (do you hear the non-scientific measurement in a statement like “until fairly mushy”). Then I spoon the apples into my blender, add a little of the water they were boiled in to get the desired consistency. I add a tidbit of lemon juice or vinegar to keep them from browning and honey and cinnamon to taste.
I always have grand plans to make enough applesauce to freeze some so I can use it as an oil substitute in baking. The reality is that my kids gobble it up before any gets put into ice cube trays and frozen.
Alright, I better get cooking if I am going to get al this done today :)
About Carrie Rocha
Mike’s has 10# bags of potatoes for $2 this week.
I love cooking on fall days. Your muffin recipe sounds so good. I just might have to make a batch this week.
Thank you for sharing all of this Carrie. I love hearing what other people cook to get ideas to add to my repertoire!
Does anyone know of a good taco seasoning recipe?
I found this recipe on AllRecipes.com and it’s rated 5 stars by over 1,700 people: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Taco-Seasoning-I/Detail.aspx
I love to add a little milk to my pintos at the end; rounds out the flavor and does something magical – I learned this in Colorado. Just about a half or cup or so at the end. (I do this to my sloppy joes, too.) Also, if you don’t like jalepeno, you can try some of those canned (or fresh) green chiles – Ortega is on sale at Rainbow.
One caveat – if you’re making a huge pot of refries, divide it into smaller containers to cool in the fridge if you don’t portion to freeze right away; don’t just put the whole pot of them in the fridge. They are SO dense that if you have them all in a big pot and refrigerate it will take forever for the center to cool to a safe zone. I’ve known people who have gotten food poisoning – not prevalent, but a risk, and no one wants that.
Thanks for sharing this! I just got a freezer two weeks ago and am looking for meals/staples to freeze. Your burritos should be fine, as I have done those many times before and they are wonderful to have on hand!
Do you have a list of what you like to get at Aldi where their everyday price is equivalent or better than other stores’ sale prices? (like the turkey you mentioned)
Linda – You know, I don’t have a list for Aldi like that, but it might be worth putting together. I could start it and others could add to it. Just things that are an everyday price – not a sale. Granted, Aldi’s prices vary tremendously by region of the country, but it would be helpful for the midwest anyway.
Thank you so much!! I have a bag of potatoes I need to use…i didn’t know you could freeze mashed potatoes. Guess I know what I’m doing tonight!!
We love to freeze twice baked potatoes, too. Just stuff them however you like to do them, freeze them on a sheet tray and bag into meal size portions. I have a hard time saving them for dinners – my kids love to throw them in the microwave for snacks. I like to bake them, I think they turn out better. No need to thaw, etiher. If you plan on putting bacon on top, I find it works better to cook up some when you’re planning on baking them; it stays crisper.
Carrie, you inspired me this weekend, plus I need to inventory that freezer – seems I’ve been chucking free/cheap hot dogs in it all summer long! They’re everywhere!
Mollie – I’ve never made twice baked potatoes, but think I’ll try them. Do you have a favorite recipe or ideas about what your family loves in the filling?
Twice baked are great – they can turn any random protein into a meal with the addition of veggie. No need for gravies, sauces, etc. And like I said, my kids love to heat them in the microwave for a snack, or even a meal. (We don’t keep much junk food around, and they are very satisfying.)
I like to change up my recipe a lot, but I start like this: first buy a large, cheap *g* bag of potatoes. Usually the cheaper ones are all different sizes, and the bigger 10 lb bags tend to have larger potatoes I sort through them and try to get a bunch of uniform larger potatoes for baking and twice baked. The others I just use up for misc. applications – mashed or fried.
Prick potatoes and bake at 375 for an hour to hour and 10 minutes. I use a skewer to prick them, because if you use a knife, sometimes the potatoes will crack or leak when you’re baking, but if all you have available is a knife, don’t let that stop you. Let cool a few minutes, slice open and scoop out the interior with a spoon into a large bowl, leaving a small layer of potato in the shell. I like to use my hand held mixer and while they are still warm, but before I add anything, pulverize them. The skins I line up on a baking tray.
For every four medium russets, I use, more or less:
1/2 teaspoon salt, dash of pepper (to taste)
1/2 cup cheese (usually cheddar, colby jack, or even smoked gouda or pepperjack works – more expensive but wonderful!) You can use combinations of complementary cheeses, and even add a little bleu cheese or feta if you like that kind of bite.) You can also cut back on the cheese if you’re watching cholesterol, but we like them with cheese – and it was free at Cub last week!
1/2 cup of sour cream or cream cheese or a combination.
2 tablespoons of butter
Chives are great in this, but I tend to think onion, even green onion doesn’t freeze so well. If you have cream cheese with chives, you can use that.
Add in the cheese/s, sour cream or cream cheese and butter and mix. You want a really good stiff, thick mash here, but you may need to add some milk or buttermilk to thin it a bit, maybe just a tablespoon or so. Remember, the cheese and butter will melt when you bake them, so if it’s too thin, they’ll spread and spill over the shells. Taste the filling, make sure it’s to your liking, and seasoned correctly.
Pile into the shells, mounding them. You may want to add a sprinkle more of grated cheese. Freeze on a sheet tray and bag in portions suitable for your family in ziploc bags after they are frozen hard, and label with date. When baking, no need to thaw, sprinkle with cooked bacon bits if desired and heat in oven. Usually about 20 – 30 minutes or so, depending on the size of the potato.
Any leftover shells? Brush them lightly with oil, bake at 375 till slightly browned and crisp, remove from oven, sprinkle with cheese and bacon, and return to oven under the broiler until cheese melts for homemade potato skins. (These could be deep fried till browned and crisp, too, which makes them even better, but we just don’t do much frying at our house.)
I hope you like them – I think these are so much better than the very expensive boxed ones you buy at the store.
I have just started thinking about Once a Month Cooking (OAMC) and there are several sites I’ve found that break down how they do it from ingredient list, shopping list, recipes so that everything is streamlined. I admit I haven’t done it yet as it seems overwhelming to me but I want to try. I am just learning about all the things you can freeze that I never knew. Good job, Carrie for starting!! I will have to let you know how it goes if I get to it. I have an excuse right now as I’m hooked up to IV’s and in bed with a difficult pregnancy. But I am hoping that during this time I can learn more so that I feel less overwhelmed when I am able to start.
I think a list for Aldi’s would be great as I know more and more people are shopping there as a result of this site.
@Marie – there are a few really good cookbooks out there for OAMC. I just ordered two of the last month from barnes and noble.com when they were only $1.99! The one I like best is simple called “once a month cooking”. What really love about these books is that while I don’t always have the energy or time to actually do the once a month cooking, these recipes are proven to do well in the freezer. Score. So I can make a double batch of one recipe and throw one in the freezer for later.
I did a lot of OAMC for my mom when she was bedridden; the kids and I would travel there, and I’d fill up her freezer with portioned meals. (I never heard this term before today, though!) It tended to be an ordeal, and I haven’t done it since, partially because I like to buy on sale every week.
I’m like Brenda, I just double (or triple) my recipes when I’m making, and I also portion out leftovers into my own microwaveable meals for lunches, etc. I make big batches of soups or chiles and divide and freeze in ziploc “envelopes” for another meal- they tend to leak when thawed, so be careful! I double up lasagnas, spaghetti sauce, meatloaves, meat balls, casseroles (I wrap, put any instructions or “add ons” that are freezable, then wrap again.) We love to eat breakfast burritios and I wrap those in saran, then foil. To reheat, just remove the foil, loosen the wrap and nuke – it’s a great morning time saver.)
I also do a lot of partial cooking – for instance if I’m browning up ground beef for tacos, I’ll double it up, put half in a ziploc to use for spaghetti or sloppy joes. (It doesn’t keep as long, but it’s really nice to have it on hand.) Or if I’m making beans, the same thing – portion out in can sized portions to use for other meals. Same with chicken – if I’m roasting or poaching, I’ll do extra so I can freeze some for casseroles or enchiladas. I freeze a lot of pizza dough.
It takes very little effort to fill my freezer this way, and it’s not nearly as overwhelming. My daughter only has the small freezer on the top of her fridge and she freezes a lot in ziplocs, just lays them flat, then stacks them up.
@Mollie – could I get your pizza dough recipe for the freezer? My husband and I were just talking today about how we’d like to start making more pizzas at home, and that would be certainly help! Also, does anyone have a homemade pizza sauce that they love?
Also, I cook huge batches of chicken taco meat and freeze. Just put boneless skinless chicken breasts (or thighs if you prefer) into a crock-pot with several packets of taco seasoning (or homemade), and add enough chicken broth to cover. I usually cut my breasts in half so they cook a bit faster. Maybe 3-4 hours. Then shred for chicken tacos, burritos, taco salads, etc. I divide the shredded chicken into Gladware-type containers and then cover with the cooking liquid. This really helps the chicken not get a bit “funky” when frozen, and keeps it moist when thawing. This is a staple at our house. I usually make 8-10 lbs at a time. A huge help when trying to figure out what’s for dinner!
@Brenda – I am so going to try my chicken like that next time. Seems like it would be great for enchiladas, too. Another tip to avoid some of the funkiness that can happen, put a layer of saran wrap right on top of the item, then close up the gladware.
I like to use Tyler Florence’s dough, I just double it, divide it in two and freeze one in a gallon zip loc (so it has room to expand.) The night before I want to make it, I put it in the fridge and it’s ready to go for dinner. (I always thought pizza tasted better this way, then I saw an episode of Alton Brown and he explained that the yeast gives more flavor because of the slow rising. Who knew? I haven’t had any problems with the doubling, and as long as I have the mixer out and all the stuff, I often make a second batch. My mixer is one of the smaller kitchenaides, and I haven’t tried tripling or quadrupling the recipe.
Here’s the recipe. Note: cut back on the salt. http://www.foodnetwork.com/tylers-ultimate/pizza2/index.html He also gives a hint to heat your sheet pan before you put the pizza dough in it, and it works very well that way.
Wow, I posted on here a lot, hope there’s not a limit!
I shop Aldi about every week and Mike’s Discount Foods 2-3 times a month. Here’s a small list of what I favor for prices there. If it’s helpful, feel free to copy and paste some where.
-Potatoes-recently have been $2 for 10# bag at Mike’s
-Cantaloupes have been $1- $1.50 each at both of those stores
-A 2# package of carrots runs $1 at Aldi
-I have not discerned if rice is cheapest at Aldi, Fare-for-All, or Mike’s, but I’m pretty sure those are cheaper than at Cub or Rainbow.
-Granny Smith apples have been .69 a pound at Mike’s
-Green grapes have been around .77 a pound at Aldi and Mike’s. Cub/Rainbow are .99 a pound on a sale
-Bananas are .39 a pound at Aldi and at Mike’s
-Peaches have been .99 a pound at Mike’s
-Tomatoes have been $1 for a pack of 6-8 at Mike’s
-I think avocados generally run around .85 each at Aldi. They are over $1 at Cub. This week they were under .50 each at Aldi
-Some of the canned vegetables are cheaper at Aldi than with a coupon at Rainbow.
-1 pound of frozen broccoli is around $1 at Aldi
-I’ve gotten 12 oz bags of fresh broccoli at Mike’s for .50
-We prefer all natural chicken. Recently I’ve gotten these the cheapest at Mike’s- $3.99 for a 24 oz pack. Cub had a coupon, but you were limited to 4 packs I believe. I often buy my chicken at Fare-for-All as then you get several free items, but this was a really great deal, and if you spend $50 at Mike’s, you get 10% off of your total purchase.
-Whole pineapples were $1.50 at Mike’s this week.
Note: Mike’s does not have consistent items as does Aldi. So, each week is somewhat different as to what is available. They get their produce in on Wednesday or Thursday. If it’s produce that I know I’m going to freeze anyways, then I wait until Sunday because I’m pretty sure they mark their prices down by then.
Note that Aldi’s poultry and meat usually has more water added than at Cub or Rainbow.
I live in an apartment with a small freezer/refrigerator, but I’ve often dreamed of getting a small chest freezer that I could (I’m not kidding here) keep in the bathroom if I got the electrical outlet changed, because my bathroom is larger than my kitchen. In addition to the size of my current freezer, it is a frost-free and so my stuff doesn’t last as long as it did in the older type of freezer.
Do the chest freezers have the same issue? I find that 2 months is about the longest I can keep anything. I’d love to be able to take a day or two and make chili and soup type stuff for the freezer, but I don’t know how to protect it from spoiling in this type of freezer.
One thing to keep in mind, it’s generally a quality, not safety issue you’re looking at. Here’s the fda’s fact sheet.
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/Focus_On_Freezing/index.asp
Here’s a decent article on wrapping. http://www.tasteofhome.com/References/Tips-for-Freezing-Food
It does mention to bring hot/warm items to room temperature before freezing. Generally the quicker you freeze something the smaller the ice shards inside the product are, and the less damage they will cause when thawing. Getting food cold first in the fridge and then freezing help minimize this crystal formation – especially with meats.
I keep the frozen chiken breasts bought that way in their own package; it’s nice and thick. If I buy them fresh, I divide up and freeze in ziplocks. Hamburger I divide up and wrap first in plastic wrap, then in a freezer zip top bag. They really are nicer to use than the regular ones. Any meat I buy fresh I remove from the original plastic, break down and double wrap. Ribs, turkeys and hams I freeze as is. Casseroles, meatloaves,breads I’ve made, etc., I put together in baking container lined with plastic, freeze, remove from the container and then wrap up in that same plastic. I then double wrap it with thick aluminum foil. I don’t use butcher paper, but I do use butcher tape to seal plastic wrap and foil, and to label.
I think the key to any freezer is to keep it as full as possible, allow room for air circulation, and open as few times as possible for as short as time as possible – an inventory really helps, as does keeping the freezer organized. I mentally divide mine into zones – the poulty goes together, same with pork, meat, snacks, beverages, etc. That minimizes open time. You can use sheet pans in a chest freezer to easily life out items when searching for something on the bottom.
I literally treat mine like a store I shop at once a week. I get an idea of what I’m going to make for the week and plan my menu, decide what I want upstairs in the kitchen freezer for shorter term storage, and fetch those items out.
Cub always has a great little freezer on sale every year, generally really cheap with a bunch of coupons thrown in on the deal. I think around January, but I could be wrong. Anyone else have an idea of when those come out every year?
As for how long you can keep something in a chest freezer or free standing freezer – you’re talking zero degrees, much colder than your fridge freezer, and much less time spent with ppl opening and closing the door – it’s those changes in humidity that can really cause freezer burn. You won’t see those quality problems nearly as much in a regular free standing freezer. I’ve kept some things for over a year and they’ve been just fine.
I have cooked so much the last two days my freezer is full and I still have bread, cookies, chicken curry, and marinaded chicken to add to it. Yikes!
Nicole – How do you marinate your chicken?
I put raw chicken in a ziploc with either:
Teryaki sauce or I make greek pita mix with lemon juice, oregano, black pepper, salt and olive oil and freeze. I was thinking of making lemon pepper with lemon juice and a bunch of fresh ground black pepper.
I can’t wait to try the greek pita mix chicken!
Brenda- thanks, I will check out that book . I got one from the library called Mega cooking but the first few pages had me lost and overwhelmed!! I’ll keep reading.
The Freezer Cooking Manual from 30-Day Gourmet is also a good freezer cooking book.
This is an intersting topic as my husband and I do cooking weekends very frequently. Not only do we freeze meals, but we do tons of canning as well. We can our own chicken and beef soups, but our favorite is chili. If you have a pressure canner and some shelf space, I highly encourage anyone to try. Just do your research on how long to pressure cook and what NOT to include in the canning process (i.e., rice, pasta, etc.) Most of those items can be added later if desired. As for the freezer meals, some of my favorites are enchiladas, cornflake chicken breast, baked chicken, lasagna (this is a big one at our house!), turkey tettrazini, taco meat, pork chops, ham & cheesy potatoes, beef roast with potatoes and gravy, and the list goes on. I try to do full meals (sides included) except veggies. I do those separately as we can and freeze all of our own veggies. With two kids in college living in apartments and one child with severe food restrictions, I’ve found that these meals (both frozen and canned) save us TONS of money. The college kids come home and raid the freezer and shelves, while the one child with food restrictions knows she has specially prepared meals for her in the freezer. My advice: Start small and work your way up. Pick up some meat on sale, make meals with it, freeze it, then try it again another week. You will get to know your limits quickly as you start to increase your volume. FYI…check the dollar stores for foil pans – I’ve found one in Maplewood that carries them frequently. We usually buy a lot when they have them in stock.
That’s a great tip on the foil pans. I like to have a casserole or two on hand, also, for friends that are sick or someone who has a death in the family, etc. The foil pans would really make that easier.
I love to do this too, since my hubby and I bring lunches from home during the school year so we always cook large amounts of things! On Sundays we will cook a roast with all the fixins in the crockpot and at the same time cook a beef stew in the oven for a supper and left overs later in the week. They use a lot of the same ingredients. We also make chili to feed a crowd, just for our small family. Eat it for supper, dish out servings for lunches during the week and then freeze what ever’s left and usually at the same time either make spaghetti or lasagna b/c many of the ingredients are similar. It is so nice to do a lot ahead and not worry about “what’s for supper!”
Carrie – looks like this might be a great weekly topic! Maybe one where people can post their recipes to share? I know I’D love it!!
I agree with Brenda. I think it would be great to read about this every week. Especially through the fall and winter months. Thanks for all of your hard work.
Carrie, how did the burritos turn out? They sound good and it’s would be a great quick lunch/dinner!
Not sure how Carrie’s burritos turned out, but I’ve made these with great success. (Found them on a food blog a while back.)
Freezer Burritos
Recipe makes 20.
2 lb. ground beef
2 cans refried beans
1 1/3 c. enchilada sauce
1/2 c. water
1/3 c. minced onion
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried oregano
3 c. shredded cheese
20 flour tortillas (burrito-size)
————
Brown ground beef; drain. Add remaining ingredients (except tortillas). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Heat 3-4 tortillas at a time. Spoon 1/4 c. beef mixture down the side of each tortilla. (I like to use my cookie scoop for this. Helps me keep everything uniform without any mess.)
Roll up. Wrap each burrito in a paper towel, then wrap in foil. (See my crinkly foil? Because the foil doesn’t really touch the food, it is super easy to save and reuse!)
Refrigerate or freeze. I like to pack them in the tortilla ziplock bag. I can usually fit 10 per bag.
When ready to eat, remove foil and microwave for about a minute. The paper towel keeps the burritos moist. If you don’t use a microwave, skip the paper towel and just wrap in foil. Then heat burritos in the oven with foil. For a sit down meal they are nice topped with lettuce, cheese, salsa, and sour cream. If you’re eating on the run, though, just grab and go!
Carrie…..you mentioned a corn chowder recipe. I came across this one last month and finally got around to trying it tonight (thanks to your reminder :)). I made a couple changes (more potato, added bacon and next time I’ll probably add some green or red pepper), but we LOVED it and it’ll be popular on the fall menu at our house. In case you’re interested, here’s the link. It was super easy! http://health.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/08/09/kiddy-corn-chowder/
Per my comment above, maybe I read something about corn chowder in another thread…or maybe I’m losing my mind! Oh well…hope someone enjoys it with me :)
Tried the Refried bean recipe in the crock pot today. AWESOME! Used some of the refried beans to make Mexican Manicotti for later this week http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Mexican-Manicotti-2
Hi Molly, it’s so seldom I meet someone with my name, I had to comment. My mom originally spelled mine with a “y” and at age 13 I went through a small rebellion after finding out a friend’s new Irish Setter was a “Mollly” and I made the whole family change the spelling…at age 50, I love my name, and can deal with the dogs named Molly just fine. Now it’s the cows that bother me… I’m just sayin! Nice to meet you!
Carrie, THANKS for such an awesome topic! I look forward to trying the burritos idea. Thanks also to all of the readers — I loved their comments and ideas as well. :-D
I eat black beans frequently (love ‘em!), and also prefer to make them up from a bag of them in dry form. After rinsing and sorting them them well, I soak them overnight in a large stock pot. Then, after rinsing again, I either simmer them in new water all day in the same pot, or let my crock pot do the work. I usually buy my dry beans in a two-pound bag at Cub, their “Carlita” brand.
@jo Thanks for posting the link for the Mexican Manicotti, I do a lot of cooking for my freezer and that recipe looks delicious!
I’m heading to Aldi’s this afternoon, I’ve really become a loyal Aldi’s shopper in the last few months. Its a good half-hour away for me so I only go twice a month with a list of everything I need. A while back I did an experiment. I bought everything I needed at Aldi’s and spent about $70. I then took my receipt to Cub foods and checked prices on comparable items. I compared Cub’s lowest price, whether generic or a brand name on sale, and I stilled saved about $50.00 by shopping at Aldi’s. I knew Aldi’s was lower priced before that day, but I had never really realized by how much! Now with some good planning, I can shop at Aldi’s and get ten big casseroles in the freezer for my family for about $55.00. This feeds my family of four for about two weeks, not bad!
Carrie – want to share your crockpot applesauce recipe? :) Please!!
The Greatest Gift I ever received was the advice of a Farmer and Friend..
Buy your Ground Beef in Bulk and on sale. We do 10-15 pounds at a time.
Set aside some time to Brown it all at once ( salt & pepper,chopped onion, and even celery if you like).
Cool, and Bag in 1 pound increments -( approx 1.5-2 cups)
Freeze
When you need one- pull out a bag and defrost in microwave a few minutes while you are getting other ingredients together.
Reduces your Prep time incredably for any meal that requires Ground Beef.
Taco’s, spaghetti, Soups, Chili’s, Hotdishes, Packaged Dinners..etc etc
Try it! You’ll be amazed at how quickly you can put a Dinner on the table for your Family..