The Everything Freezer Meals Cookbook (18 page)

This soup is the perfect dinner to enjoy on a cold winter night in front of a roaring fire. Try topping your soup with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Freezing Day

Cut sausage into bite-sized pieces. In stockpot, brown sausage and onion for 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook an additional minute. Drain. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool. Freeze in a freezer bag.

Reheating Instructions

Defrost soup in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5–10 minutes.

PER SERVING

Calories: 391 | Fat: 13g | Protein: 24g | Sodium: 738mg | Carbohydrates: 45g | Fiber: 3g

These bombs are great to serve at parties. Make them a bit bigger when serving them as a side dish — the kids will love them! This is a great solution for your leftover mashed potatoes, or you can make a batch just for fun.

Freezing Day

Prepare mashed potatoes and cool in refrigerator. Form into balls the size of a golf ball. Applying breading by rolling them in flour, then in beaten egg, then in breadcrumbs. Flash freeze, then transfer to freezer bag.

Reheating Instructions

Defrost for 30 minutes, then deep fry the bombs at 325°F until they turn gold in color, approximately 3 minutes.

PER SERVING

Calories: 152 | Fat: 3g | Protein: 3.5g | Sodium: 249mg | Carbohydrates: 18g | Fiber: 2g

This thick and hearty soup makes a delicious dinner when served with a loaf of crunchy French bread and a salad.

Freezing Day

Cook bacon and cut into small pieces. Cut cooked potatoes into cubes. In a large stockpot, melt butter. Add flour and whisk. Slowly pour in milk. Continue to stir 5–10 minutes until milk thickens slightly. Add potatoes, bacon, sour cream, and Cheddar cheese. Heat until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool. Divide into serving portions and freeze in a freezer bag.

Reheating Instructions

Defrost soup in the refrigerator for 24 hours and heat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Top each serving with chopped green onions and crumbled bacon.

PER SERVING

Calories: 326 | Fat: 19g | Protein: 12g | Sodium: 311mg | Carbohydrates: 27g | Fiber: 2g

Cool Down Soup

Soup must be cool before it can be put into the freezer. To quickly cool down your soup, fill your kitchen sink with cold water and ice cubes. Place your soup pot into the cold water and stir the soup. The surrounding ice water will help it to cool quickly.

To serve, put corn tortilla chips in the bottom of each bowl and ladle the soup over them. Top with a dollop of sour cream and fresh cilantro leaves. Season with Tabasco to taste.

Freezing Day

In a large pot over medium heat, cook the chicken in oil until lightly browned, about 3–5 minutes per side. Add all remaining ingredients except cilantro and corn tortilla chips. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 60 minutes. Cool and freeze in a freezer bag.

Reheating Instructions

Defrost soup in the refrigerator for 24 hours, and warm on the stove top over medium heat for 15–20 minutes, or until desired temperature is reached.

PER SERVING

Calories: 453 | Fat: 4g | Protein: 39g | Sodium: 741mg | Carbohydrates: 69g | Fiber: 19g

This is the perfect choice to serve at a light luncheon on a hot summer day as well as an ideal complement to cool cucumber sandwiches.

Freezing Day

In large saucepan, melt butter and sauté shallots for 5–8 minutes. Meanwhile peel and chop carrots and potato. Once shallots are tender, add chicken broth, carrots, potatoes, lemon juice, and spices. Add enough water so potatoes and carrots are covered. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until carrots and potatoes are tender, about 30–40 minutes. Pour into blender and mix until smooth. Let cool. Add half and half and freeze.

Reheating Instructions

Defrost soup in the refrigerator for 24 hours and serve chilled.

PER SERVING

Calories: 207 | Fat: 10g | Protein: 6g | Sodium: 348mg | Carbohydrates: 25g | Fiber: 3.5g

Buy Whole Spices Whenever Possible

Spices such as nutmeg, cinnamon, and all-spice will last years longer when bought whole than when bought ground because the essential oils are still contained within the spice. They will also have a much stronger flavor. Purchase a spice grinder or file grader and store your whole spices in a small freezer bag in the freezer.

Jasmine or Basmati rice is a good choice for this dish because they both tend to be less sticky than other white rice.

Freezing Day

In a large saucepan, bring rice and chicken broth to a boil over medium heat. Turn the heat down to low and cover the pan. Cook for 20 minutes. Put rice in refrigerator until it is cold. In skillet (or wok), sauté shallot with ginger in vegetable oil for 6–8 minutes. Add eggs and stir until scrambled, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in rice, chicken, peas, oyster sauce, and soy sauce. Cool. Freeze in a freezer bag.

Reheating Instructions

Defrost in the refrigerator overnight and heat in skillet over medium heat for 15–20 minutes until it reaches desired temperature. Toss with sesame oil.

PER SERVING

Calories: 294 | Fat: 9g | Protein: 10g | Sodium: 1540mg | Carbohydrates: 42g | Fiber: 1.5g

Serve Corn Chowder with Cheddar Garlic Biscuits (Chapter 12). To add variety to the chowder, add cooked ham or cooked chicken.

Freezing Day

Cook bacon until crisp. Cool and crumble. In about 3 tablespoons of bacon drippings, sauté onion and carrot until onion is translucent, about 5–10 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 1–2 minutes. In large pot, add chicken broth and sherry. Bring to boil, add white corn, cover, reduce heat, and maintain low boil for 15 minutes. Add sautéed vegetables to corn stock. Add remaining ingredients except bacon, and season with ground black pepper to taste. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add bacon and simmer 15 more minutes. Cool and freeze in a freezer bag, or a plastic container.

Reheating Instructions

Defrost corn chowder in the refrigerator overnight and heat in a saucepan over medium heat for 15–20 minutes or until it reaches desired temperature.

PER SERVING

Calories: 744 | Fat: 34g | Protein: 27g | Sodium: 1516mg | Carbohydrates: 90g | Fiber: 2g

Homemade Chicken Broth When You're Ready

Anytime you roast a whole chicken, the leftover carcass is great for making chicken broth. Simply freeze the carcass until you are ready. To make broth, put the carcass in water with celery, onion, carrots, ½ teaspoon dried thyme, ½ teaspoon dried rosemary, 1 bay leaf, and 8 whole peppercorns. Bring it to a boil, skim the foam, lower the heat, and cook for 2 hours covered. Strain and you have broth.

This soup is a cinch to make using the Dried Bean Mix recipe (Chapter 13), and is delicious served with Sweet Cornbread. (Chapter 12).

Freezing Day

Put beans in a stockpot and cover them with water. Bring beans to a boil, cover, remove from heat, and let sit covered for 1 hour. Drain water and return beans to stockpot. Add the Dried Bean Mix, ham hocks, water, carrots, onion, tomatoes, green chilies if desired, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 2 hours or until beans are tender. Remove ham hocks, cut meat off, and it to the beans. Let cool and freeze.

Reheating Instructions

Defrost soup in the refrigerator overnight and warm in a saucepan over medium heat for 15–20 minutes or until desired temperature is reached.

PER SERVING

Calories: 293 | Fat: 6g | Protein: 28g | Sodium: 1075mg | Carbohydrates: 34g | Fiber: 9g

What Are Ham Hocks?

Ham hocks are the lower portion of the leg of a pig, typically around the ankle. What makes the ham hock so good for cooking is, while not very meaty, they are quite flavorful. This makes them a great item with which to season a slow-cooked dish. Fresh or smoked, ham hocks freeze well.

In a hurry? Steam baby carrots in the microwave with ½ cup of water and a tablespoon of butter. Cover and cook 4–5 minutes or until desired tenderness.

Freezing Day

Place ½ inch water and 1 tablespoon lemon juice in bottom of a saucepan. Put carrots in a steamer basket and hang over water. The basket should not touch the water. Cover the saucepan and heat to boiling. Reduce heat and steam carrots for 7 minutes until they are tender-crisp. The carrots should just begin to get tender, but still retain a crisp texture. In a skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add sage, dill, salt, and pepper. Add carrots and mix well. Allow to cool, and freeze in a freezer bag or plastic container.

Reheating Instructions

Defrost carrots in the refrigerator overnight. Sauté uncovered 2–3 minutes, stirring gently until hot.

PER SERVING

Calories: 73 | Fat: 6g | Protein: 0.5g | Sodium: 253mg | Carbohydrates: 5g | Fiber: 1.5g

Rosemary Herb Butter

Here is an all-purpose herb butter suitable for topping almost any vegetable. Mix: ¼ cup softened butter, ½ teaspoon dried and crumbled rosemary, ¼ teaspoon dried and crushed marjoram, and ½ teaspoon dried parsley flakes. Cream or whip butter until fluffy. Stir in rosemary, marjoram, and parsley until evenly mixed. Yields ¼ cup.

Prosciutto is a dry-cured ham that is sliced very thin. Try stirring Greek yogurt into your potatoes with the milk!

Freezing Day

Peel potatoes and place in boiling water with a cube of chicken bouillon. In a large skillet, melt the butter and lightly sauté the mushrooms, approximately 5 minutes. Add shallots and cook 1 more minute. When potatoes are done (a fork inserts easily into them), drain and put back in pan and mash. Add milk to potatoes until they are creamy. Mix in the prosciutto, cheese, chives, cooked mushroom mixture, and mix well. Add pepper to taste. Freeze in a freezer bag or Tupperware.