Freezing Vegetables
October 31, 2009 by Quick Chef
Filed under freezer cooking
To be honest, I would say that you could freeze most vegetables, and most with very good results. I have selected a few to talk about and given you a little more information about them. Broccoli is a good vegetable to freeze but the ones with tender stalks and no flowers on the heads are better. Make sure you wash the broccoli thoroughly and blanch for 3 minutes before cooling in ice cold water for a further 3 minutes. You can pack in plastic containers or freezer packs in the freezer, which ever you prefer. Then freeze.
When choosing asparagus, if you are picking it yourself, be sure to choose round, smooth, tender and medium sized spears with tips that are closed. Make sure you break off any tough ends as far down as you can up to where the stalks can snap with ease. Was the asparagus. If needed, use a vegetable scrubbing brush to remove and sandy or rough particles. Tie the spears into bundles with aluminum foil or string, or you could cut each stalk into 1 inch sized pieces and store in a plastic container or freezer bags. Then freeze.
With peppers first you need to wash them and remover the seeds in the same manner as you normally would. Then you need to slice the peppers into strips. You can tie the strips together in small bundles with aluminum foil or string, or cut the strips into small pieces and store in a plastic container or freezer bags. Then freeze. When freezing cabbage you must first strip off the outer leaves and wash the rest of the cabbage. Cut the cabbage into small thin strip or shed it and blanch for one and a half minutes. Then cool in cold water for the same amount of time. Put the cabbage in a plastic container or freezer bags. Then freeze.
Celery needs to be washed and cut into 1 inch pieces and then blanched for 2 minutes. Then put in cold water for the same amount of time. You can tie the strips together in small bundles with aluminum foil or string, or cut the strips into small pieces and store in a plastic container or freezer bags. Then freeze. Wash tomatoes before removing the stems and cutting into halves or quarters. You could leave them whole if you wish. Dry the tomatoes and pack them into plastic containers or freezer bags. Then freeze.
Shelley Green is the owner of http://www.vegetable-delivery.com, a site that specializes in vegetable delivery including organic vegetables, organic fruit, fruit and vegetable boxes, and also other recommended sites.
Pizza Bagels
October 30, 2009 by Quick Chef
Filed under freezer cooking, recipes
I don’t know about your house, but in my house they are always asking for bagel bites. They are easy to heat up and they get eaten quick. BUT, they are so easy to make that it’s silly not to make your own and freeze. Double and triple the recipe for future appetizers.
Pizza Bagels
12 bagels or 24 mini-bagels
1 jar spaghetti sauce or pizza sauce
1 pack of mini pepperoni’s
1 pack of sliced ham
1 small jar sliced olives
8oz bag of shredded mozzarella cheese
1. Half bagels and place face up on cookie sheet.
2. Thinly spread spaghetti or pizza sauce on bagels.
3. Place toppings on bagels and sprinkle with cheese.
4. Bake in oven just until cheese starts to melt, about 12 minutes.
5. Cool completely and freeze in containers, foodsaver packages or ziplock baggies depending on how many your family eats at at time and if you made regular bagels or mini’s. To reheat, bake at 425 degrees for 10-15 minutes until cheese is nice and bubbly.
Slow Cooking Honey Wings
October 28, 2009 by Quick Chef
Filed under freezer cooking, recipes
Honey Chicken Wings for slow cooker and freezer
Ingredients:
6 lb. chicken wings or small drums
Salt & pepper, to taste
2c. honey
1 c. soy sauce
4 tbsp. vegetable oil
4 tbsp. ketchup
1 garlic clove, minced
Directions:
1. Wash and pat dry chicken wings.
2. Cut and discard chicken wing tips.
3. Cut wings into 2 parts and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. Combine remaining ingredients in medium bowl and mix well.
5. Place wings in slow cooker and pour sauce over. Cook 6 hours on low.
6. If making ahead to freeze, cook for only 4 hours and then cool thoroughly and quickly. Place wings in portion control containers with appropriate amount of sauce for each portion. When ready to reheat place in slow cooker for 2 hours or bake for 45min-1 hour at 350 degrees. I tend to take half the chicken wings out to cool and freeze and then keep heating the other half for eating at the time.
Weekly Menu Planning – Healthy Foods Instead of Fast Food
October 5, 2009 by Quick Chef
Filed under meal planning
Is going through the drive through of one of your local fast food restaurants becoming a way of life for you? Do you wish you had more time to pack your lunch daily or prepare a good meal for your family at night?
Well, you can do both, and it won’t take all day. One of the best ways to prepare your lunch daily and your dinners weekly is to plan. A good plan gets you where you want to be. Someone once said, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Don’t be a failure when it comes to preparing meals for yourself and your family.
Meal planning is a task that can easily become a part of your routine and it will save you time and money. Here’s how to get started today.
Take one week at a time. So not to get overwhelmed from the beginning try planning meals for one week at first before tackling 2 week or even monthly meal planning. One week’s meals planned and a matching grocery list will have you on your way to great homemade meals in no time.
Make out a menu. That’s right, sit down with a pen and paper make columns and rows and write out meals for each meal for everyday of the week. You know muffins for breakfast, a green salad for lunch, a hearty beef stew dinner in the crock pot for your evening meal, continue for every day of the week, taking into account busier nights so that you have time to prepare.
Write a coinciding grocery list. Using your meal plan write out a grocery list for the items not already in your pantry. A list saves you the time of wandering the isles trying to remember what you need for your meals for the week.
Stick to it! Living life with a meal plan takes some getting used to, so give it time. You might not accomplish successful meals everyday of the first week, but as time goes by you’ll grow to love having a plan set when you are hungry for dinner.
Menu planning really is a popular concept that more and more people are buying into; you can even find programs out there that will plan your meals for you. So, if you hate to plan hire someone to do it for you. Either way, make a plan so that you will have healthy meals every day of the week.
Wendy Wood is the owner of Mommies Magazine and New England Mamma, two blogs bringing together moms that love just that, being a mom. Stop by and join in on the fun with other moms.