More Freezer Cooking

I was wondering around at I'm an Organizing Junkie and I found a whole page of freezer cooking information/sites.  I'm sure there's lots of great information there.  I'll have to have a closer look.

Freezer Cooking

I've been doing a little freezer cooking lately.  It was great over Christmas to have suppers handy in the freezer.  They either needed thawing and reheating or a thaw and bake.  Can't get much easier than that. Here's a couple of the websites I've tried lately.  Just Google freezer cooking and you can get all sorts of ideas.

http://organizedhome.com/freezer-cooking/freezer-cookbook-recipes

http://onceamonthmom.com/cooking/menus/

http://www.momsbudget.com/freezercooking/index.html

This week's sticky chicken recipe comes from the Orgaized Home website.  I get lots of ideas from that site.  They really help me organize our Christmas.

Time for Cooking from Scratch

I was asked last night how I make most of our meals from scratch and 'don't spend all day in the kitchen'.  That was kind of a hard question to answer.  I just make our meals, they take as long as the need too  :)  But this chicken recipe is an example of how NOT to spend a lot of time in the kitchen.  I like to watch Rachel Ray but her 30 minute meal concept is something I just don't understand.  Why would I want to spend 30 minutes making supper?  I tend to make things that take a few minutes to assemble and then bake/cook unsupervised.  Another thing I do, is when I bake I bake BIG.  I usually won't use a cookie recipe if it doesn't make at least 4 dozen.  Colin's favourite chocolate chip cookie makes 10 dozen.  I make our bread 3 loaves at a time (if we were a bigger family I'd bake a bigger batch).  I just freeze the extra to have on hand when ready.  Some weeks I'll plan an actual baking day and get a bunch done and in the freezer, that way it's ready even if we are having a busy week.  Lately I've tried making a few freezer meals.  They have turned out well.

None of this would be possible if I didn't menu plan.  We shop for groceries every other week.  I couldn't imagine trying to do that without actually knowing what I needed to buy.  It's such a relief to know what I'm going to be making today and not having to stand in front of the fridge at 4 o'clock trying to come up with something.

Oven-Fried Chicken

1/4 c butter/margarine, melted
1 garlic clove
1 c breadcrumbs
1/2 c cheese, shredded -I usually use marble or cheddar
3 T parsley
1 t salt and pepper
1/2 t sage
chicken pieces  (my pan fits about 9 thighs)

Melt butter and garlic in a 9x13 pan.  Dip chicken in butter and then in crumbs.  Press crumbs onto chicken well.  Put in pan and bake 350F for 1 hour.

Buttermilk Chicken

3/4 c buttermilk
1T grainy mustard
1 T honey
2 t rosemary
1/2 t thyme, sage, marjoram, salt and pepper
6 chicken pieces

Put everything in a large Ziploc baggie.  Mush around to mix.  Add chicken and mush again to coat with sauce.  Freeze flat.

To Cook:  thaw baggie in fridge.  Pour into a pan.  Bake 350F for about an hour.

Freezer Quiche

1 c shredded cheese
2 c milk
4 eggs
1/2 c flour
2 t baking powder

In a Ziploc bag, add any quiche filling you want; i.e. chopped ham, cooked potatoes, green onions, etc.  Also add the cheese.  In a separate bowl, mix the remaining ingredients.  Then pour into bag, squeeze out all the air and seal.  Freeze flat.

To Cook:  Thaw quiche in bag, shake well.  Pour into greased pie plate.  Bake 350F for 30-40 minutes.  Cool 5 minutes to set before serving.

Yumm

Supper New Year's day went really well and tasted delicious.  Here's a couple recipes:

Boeuf Bourguignon

6 slices bacon
4 lb stew beef, dried
2T butter
2 large carrots, quartered
3T flour
2 large onions, chopped
2T tomato paste
2c good red wine -I used a Cabernet Sauvignon
2c beef stock
1/2 t thyme
1/2 t parsley
1/2 t rosemary
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper

Cook bacon until crisp.  Drain fat and reserve (save bacon for sandwiches).  Return a bit of bacon fat to pan.  Heat till very hot.  Brown the stew beef, a little at a time, adding more bacon fat as required.  I used my 12 inch deep skillet and removed beef to dutch oven as they were done.

Reduce heat and add butter.  Saute, covered, onions and carrots until onions are soft and translucent.  Add garlic and cook briefly.  Sprinkle with flour and scrape any bits from the bottom of the pan.  Add everything else.  Bring to a boil and let thicken a bit.  Pour over meat and gently stir to combine.  If meat isn't covered, add a bit of beef stock.   Cover dutch oven and bake for 1 1/2-2 hours at 350F.  Until meat is tender.

If you make this a day ahead of time.  Reheat at 350F for 30 minutes.

I actually thought to take a picture of the finished product.  Here it is in one of my favourite Christmas presents.  My Mom got me a Kitchen Aid 5.??qt, dutch oven.  It's ceramic on cast iron.  Weights a TON but it will be beautiful for cooking with.

Freezer Potato Casserole

5lb potatoes, peeled and boiled
8 oz cream cheese
1/4t garlic powder
1t salt
1/4 c chives, I used dried from the store
shredded cheddar to suit

Mash everything together and put into freezer containers that suit the size of your family.  When ready, thaw and pour into a greased casserole dish.  Bake 375F for 30-40 min.

It was so wonderful to have all the cooking done ahead of time.  We only have a kitchen, so I can't hide dirty dishes while people eat in the dining room.  It was nice to have all the extra dishes washed and put away and not have to be scrambling to get it all done before the guests arrived.  Made for a much calmer day.  Now that I have a smaller home, the cook ahead meals really make sense.  Besides, things like stew just get better the next day!