Cook Ahead for Easter Dinner

March 18, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Easter spiral cut ham

Easter dinner is a great time to gather with family and a good way to celebrate the holiday. However, it can also be a stressful time. There are so many dishes to prepare, it can get very hectic. It need not be so, though. This is a great time to make use of your freezer and take the opportunity to make ahead part of your holiday meal.

What portions of the Easter dinner can easily be prepared within the days before the holiday and left in the freezer or refrigerator until the day of the meal? You can actually make many of the dishes that you will want ahead of time.

Dinner rolls are a great way to start your meal. These can easily be made ahead, frozen and reheated when they are needed.

Ham is a classic main dish at Easter dinners. This meat can easily be prepared ahead of time. Cook it a few days in advance, freeze and just reheat it on Easter day. Or you can buy a pre-cooked ham that keeps in the fridge a few days and just needs to be warmed up on Easter.

Another classic holiday food is turkey. Remember to leave adequate time to thaw in the refrigerator any turkey that you have prepared in advance. One of the more efficient approaches is to utilize a turkey breast rather than working with a whole bird. That will allow quicker preparation time as well as shorter thawing time. This works especially well if you are also serving another meat or are having numerous side dishes.

When it comes to side dishes, mashed potatoes are one side dish that often appears on the Easter menu. Fortunately, they are also a dish that can easily be prepared in advance and reheated. Slowly reheating them in a crock pot or preparing oven roasted mashed potatoes are two good paths to getting great results when you reheat them.

What would a holiday meal be without dessert? Pies, especially fruits pies, are ideal candidates for freezing. You can either bake them and then freeze, or you can prepare them and freeze them unbaked. Remember to allow enough time for thawing and baking, especially if they will be competing for your oven space.

With a little bit of cooking in advance, you can enjoy your dinner on Easter with a minimum of stress.

Filed Under: Easy Entertaining, Featured Content, Freezer Cooking / OAMC, Freezer Cooking: Dessert, Freezer Cooking: Pork, Freezer Cooking: Poultry, Make Ahead Meals, Meal Planning Tagged With: , ,

Corn Muffins…Fresh From Your Freezer

March 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment

13-03-11 corn muffins 500x500

Nothing beats a warm muffin just out of the oven, especially when it is paired with a nice bowl of chili or soup. Corn muffins are simple to make and easy to store in the freezer for a day when there is no time for baking. If you enjoy the taste of corn muffins, why not grab a corn muffin fresh from your freezer anytime? First you will need a good make ahead recipe like the one below.

Now or Later Muffins

1 cup of yellow corn meal
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1/3 cup of sugar
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup of vegetable oil or canola oil
1 cup of milk

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place paper liners in a 12 muffin pan--this makes clean up easier (if you do not have paper liners, grease the pan). Combine all dry ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk together. Beat the egg in a small bowl and add to dry ingredients. Add oil and milk and stir gently until combined. Spoon mixture into prepared muffin tin, filling each cup about one-half to three fourths full. Place in preheated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

When the pan cools slightly, carefully remove muffins from pan and place on a wire rack to cool. Once muffins are cool, if paper liners were used, gently remove them from the muffins. Place muffins in large (one gallon) freezer storage bags. Use two bags so muffins will stay in a single layer while freezing. As with any food, make ahead muffins can be kept frozen for months, but it is best to use them sooner for better flavor and quality.

When ready to serve, thaw the muffins at room temperature for at least an hour. Once the muffins thaw they may be eaten at room temperature. If warm muffins are preferred, place them on a baking pan and heat in a 300 degree oven until warm. If you must microwave the muffins, use a low setting since it is easy to overcook them in a microwave oven.

Enjoy these muffins with soup, chili, with a salad or with a drizzle of honey for a quick snack. Once you enjoy these muffins, you will want to keep some on hand.

Filed Under: Freezer Cooking / OAMC, Freezer Cooking Articles, Freezer Cooking: Vegetarian, Meal Planning, Quick and Easy Cooking Tagged With: , ,

I Just Got A Slow Cooker…Now What?

March 4, 2013 By Leave a Comment

13-03-04 crockpot stew 900x602

A slow cooker can be the start of a new cooking experience that leads to a more simplified, less stressful lifestyle. It can also be the encouragement you need to get more organized in the kitchen. Using this convenient kitchen appliance on a frequent basis gives you an opportunity to reduce your grocery expenses while preparing new, healthy recipes for your family.

With your new kitchen helper, you can easily prepare large quantities of food with a minimal amount of skill or effort. Once-a-month cooking marathons are a wonderful way to simplify your life. Slow cookers are an ideal accessory that makes cooking in large quantities incredibly easy. If you are a new user, there are a few additional items you will need if you decide to cook large amounts of food at one time. You will need some freezer bags and storage containers. As a new user, you may want to do some research on freezer tips to be sure that you follow the best method for the type of food you are freezing.

If you want to prepare a month of meals at one time, you will have to do some planning. First of all, you'll need to block off one day, or possibly two half days, for cooking. You'll need a menu plan. It's helpful if you can go shopping the day prior to your scheduled cooking day. Go shopping with a list in hand that includes everything you will need to prepare the items on the menu you prepared.

On the day you are doing your once-a-month cooking, start with the recipes that will go in the cooker first, then move on to baked goods or stove top cooking. As a time saver, chop all of the vegetables you will need for the recipes at one time. You can then measure out what you need for each recipe without having to switch from mixing to chopping. You'll find this really will save you some time.

Many of the recipes for your favorite soups, stews and sauces can be doubled so that you can freeze them in meal size portions. Once these have been removed from the freezer and thawed in the refrigerator, you can reheat them in the slow cooker. That makes life even easier for you. Now, go search through your recipes, plan your shopping, and soon you'll be ready to prepare recipes in large quantities, freeze them in mealtime portions, and enjoy the time you save.

Filed Under: Freezer Cooking / OAMC, Freezer Cooking Articles, Freezer Cooking Tutorials, Frugal Cooking, Make Ahead Meals, Meal Planning, Meal Planning Articles, Quick and Easy Cooking Tagged With: , ,

Fall Has Arrived: Let’s Stew! (Beef Stew)

October 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment
beef, beef stew, fall stew

Fall Beef Stew

When the days grow shorter, the weather colder, and trees begin to change the color of their leaves; once I let go of the feeling that summer was not nearly long enough, I begin to revel in the beauty of the season. I begin to think of winter meals.

The onset of colder weather starts me thinking of hearty recipes that taste so good in winter. I like to prepare pork roasts, lamb or beef stew, chicken soup and other filling, comfort-providing foods.

A hearty pot of beef stew is my favorite dish for weekday winter meals.

Ingredients:

2 pounds beef stew meat (chuck roast is a good cut to use),
buy it precut, have the butcher cube it for you or cube it yourself

1½ pounds red potatoes, rinsed, peeled and cut into quarters or eighths depending on size or

1½ pounds of baby Yukon gold potatoes - rinsed and halved

1 pound of baby peeled carrots

2 large cans of whole tomatoes, or
an equivalent amount of fresh tomatoes

2 medium onions cut in half and thinly sliced

2 hand-fulls of fresh green beans, rinsed and trimmed

1 clove garlic

Dash of allspice or ground cloves.

1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce

2 to 3 dried bay leaves

Salt and pepper to taste

This recipe takes a little time. The ingredients need to simmer for some time to become tender and the flavors of the ingredients need to meld.

Coat the meat in a half-cup of flour seasoned with a little salt and pepper (I usually put the flour and seasoning in a clean, new, brown paper bag), add the meat and shake.

Sear the cubed meat in a small amount of cooking oil just until brown.
Add the potatoes, chopped onion clove of garlic, Worcestershire sauce, seasonings and 1 cup of water or broth. Cook over medium heat for 30 minutes. Add the fresh vegetables except the tomatoes and beans and cook for 30 minutes, add the green beans and cook for 30 minutes, add the fresh tomatoes if you are using them and cook an additional 30 minutes. If you are using canned tomatoes, add at the end of the cooking process and allow a few minutes for them to heat through. The stew is ready when the meat and vegetables are fork tender.

Remove the bay leaves and garlic clove before serving.

This stew will stay fresh in your fridge for one week; the taste improves with age, or divide it into family size portions and freeze until needed. Defrost and heat gently.

It is a nutritious meal and tastes wonderful. Serve it with warm bread.

Filed Under: Easy Crockpot / Slow Cooker Recipes, Freezer Cooking: Beef, Frugal Cooking, Kid Friendly Meals, Meal Planning Tagged With: , , , ,

Easy Freezer Hash Browns…and a Quick Panini Press Tip

March 6, 2012 By 1 Comment

I always buy potatoes in bulk at Sam's Club because it's far more cost-effective to buy a huge bag there than a smaller one at the local grocery store.  However, I always seem to have too many and they start to sprout before I have the chance to use them.

Last night, I decided to use up the rest of my massive bag of potatoes with a quick and easy freezer trick.

Simply shred the potatoes using a grater or food processor.  Place the ones you aren't using on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Place the potatoes in the freezer and "flash-freeze" them for a few hours.

Freezer Hash Browns

Then, break apart the frozen potatoes into meal (or individual size) portions, label them and freeze them for future use.

Family Portions

...and another quick trick...

If you have a panini press you can cook your hash browns with little effort.  Simply grease your press (well) and place the "bricks" on the on it.  Within 10-15 minutes you'll have crispy hash-browns without flipping them.  Mine turned out AMAZING this way..although my photo didn't.  ;)

Panini Hash Browns

 

 

Filed Under: Freezer Cooking / OAMC, Freezer Cooking: Breakfast, Make Ahead Meals, Meal Planning Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,