Personal Chef Tips for Home
I've had a request from my husband's friend and reader of the blog to help him freeze for later. He says they are eating out too often and spending too much money but they are also spending too much time with dinners at home. He wants to be able to cook a few things on Saturday, package, freeze and have meals ready to go.
I still believe that menu planning is key to cutting time and money spent on dinners. If you have a plan and know when you need quick meals and when you can spend a little more time cooking, then you actually have a chance of making dinner at home.
I have a pretty well stocked freezer since I cook large batches of things regularly. Some of the things I make in large quantities when I have time are spaghetti sauce, chicken soup, chili, shredded beef, meatballs. When I have no time and have not thought of a menu plan, I can always pull out soup or spaghetti.
If you need to start building your freezer pantry, I can give you a few ideas. First, if you are going to cook on Saturday or Sunday, make sure to shop for all ingredients the day before you cook. You'll spend too much time getting ready if you go to the store and then try and cook. It probably won't happen and it won't be fun. Don't try to shop and cook in the same day.
I like to start with a clean sink, cleaned off counters and an empty dishwasher when I am at home. I might start with a batch of Chicken Soup that once simmering doesn't need my attention for a while. I've used this recipe often and it makes a good amount.
Chicken Noodle Soup from Cooking Light 1993
- 13 cups water
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 4 pounds chicken pieces, on bone, skinned
- 3 medium carrots, quartered
- 3 cloves garlic, halved
- 2 medium onions, quartered
- 2 stalks celery, each quartered
- 2 cups carrot, sliced
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1 1/2 cups fine egg noodles, uncooked
- Combine first 9 ingredients in an 8-quart Dutch oven or stockpot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and cook, uncovered, 1 hour. Remove from heat.
- Remove chicken pieces from broth; place chicken in a bowl, and chill 15 minutes. Strain broth through a sieve into a large bowl; discard solids.
- Remove chicken from bones; shred meat into bite-size pieces. Discard bones. Return broth to pan. Add chicken, sliced carrots, salt, and pepper; bring to a boil. Partially cover, reduce heat to medium, and cook 10 minutes. Add noodles; partially cover, and cook an additional 10 minutes.
- (serving size: 1-1/2 cups, serves 10)
When you freeze this do not add the noodles. You'll want to cook the carrots additional time until they are tender since the noodles won't take much time. You can add the noodles when you are serving the soup. You can freeze the soup in any size Gladware or Ziploc plastic containers, thaw in the refrigerator and then bring to a boil, add the noodles and have dinner.
While the soup is simmering you can make a batch of meatballs or meatloaf. When I cook for customers I always make meatloaf in individual portion loaves because they thaw and heat more quickly. I use this recipe for meatballs.
Old Fashioned Meatballs from The Kitchen Link
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 eggs, large
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup Romano cheese
- 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
- 1 clove garlic, minced .
- In large bowl combine all ingredients. Using hands, mix thoroughly
- With wet hands form 20 to 24 meatballs. Place on a cooking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes turning once.
When I make this for home I double the batch. I also make sure to cover the cookie sheets with foil for easier cleanup. Once done I cool them, place them on a cookie sheet lined with foil, freeze and then when frozen store them in a Tupperware container and pull out what I need when I need them. They are then individually frozen and you can grab what you need. If you don't eat beef, use ground turkey instead.
You can add these to purchased marinara sauce that you pull from the pantry along with pasta, I use them when I need meat on a pizza, you can use them for meatball sandwiches with melted mozzarella or provolone. Add a bag of salad and you're set.
While the soup is simmering and the meatballs are cooking, cooling and freezing you may as well make one more recipe while you're cooking. I like to have macaroni and cheese in the freezer all the time. You can make regular macaroni and cheese or make it with ham or chicken for a main course. Again add some salad or a frozen vegetable and you're set.
Baked Macaroni, Chicken and Cheese from Pillsbury One Dish Meals
- 8 ounces bow tie pasta
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 cups milk
- 1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 4 drops Tabasco pepper sauce
- 8 ounces chicken breast, cut in strips
- salt and pepper
- Spray 1 1/2 quart casserole with cooking spray. Cook pasta, drain, return to saucepan.
- Meanwhile melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink. Add garlic, cook 30 seconds.
- Add flour , cook 1 minute. Whisk in milk, cook until mixture boils and thickens, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low.
- Add cheese, stir until melted. Stir in Tabasco. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add cheese sauce to pasta, stir until well mixed. Spoon into casserole.
If you are going to freeze this, do not bake it. Place it in foil containers in a size that makes sense for your family, maybe in individual portions. Cool, wrap in plastic and place in freezer bags. When you are ready to use, you can thaw in the refrigerator or bake from frozen. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, cover the foil container with foil and bake until hot, for one portion usually about 25 to 30 minutes, you'll need to add time if frozen.
If you like the ham option, instead of the chicken use cooked ham. Publix has 8 ounce packages of cubed ham in the meat department that I use or just get a chunk at the deli and cube it. Don't cook the ham. Make the cheese sauce and add it to the cooked pasta tossed with the ham. You could change the cheese and use swiss with the ham but it's good with cheddar. I would double this if I made it and use 1 pound of pasta and have more to freeze.
It's good to make sure to have frozen vegetables in the freezer. When I see a sale on frozen vegetables I stock up on spinach since it's a favorite. Frozen vegetables are good and easy to make. If you like peas, green beans, broccoli, stash some in the freezer.
Now since I can't just talk about cooking I have my first and probably only hummingbird picture of the year. They are fast.
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