They're hard to come by! But in my recent travels of bake / cook / bake / cook / freeze / repeat I have found some keepers I thought I'd share. Please share back, if you have the chance! I'm always looking for more.
I've had a few people ask me why John and I have devoted so much time, money & effort into freezing food when it would really be cheaper and simpler to just pick up a frosagna from the grocery store & pop it in the oven at the required time. I tell them it's because I have the time: I'm not working on very much right now, John's got johnbutlerphoto under control, and I'z bored.
(Don't believe me? Follow my Pinterest. I recently figured it out and it's the epitome of my brain: scattered pictures of pretty stuff I can click on. Time-sucker.)
And because I like to know what's in my food and have the opportunity to pop in a few healthy extras before I'm exhausted and braintired and my hair hasn't been touched in a week and a half. (That's me with a very healthy and realistic understanding of what the first few weeks of parenthood are going to be like. Am I wrong? Tell me I'm wrong.)
Here are 4 recipes to get started with - I'll add more as I find more!
Homemade Applesauce
Source |
9 apples
1.5 cups of water
6 tbsp finely ground flaxseed
3 tsp vanilla extract
1.5 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup walnuts
Berries or other garnish
This recipe is adapted from the Marilyn Denis Show website.
- Chop the apples into small cubes, discarding the centre. Keep the peels on if you want it to have a little more bite (I like it that way)!
- Boil the apples in the water for 15 - 20 minutes or until they're super mushy and most of the water has evaporated. Don't drain the water!
- Mash the apples with a potato masher and add remaining ingredients.
- Keep on hand as a super yummy & healthy snack, breakfast, or dessert. Top with whatever you want! John likes to sprinkle on coconut, I'd love to throw on some cool whip as an after-dinner treat, adding more nuts or berries adds a nice kick
- Freeze or keep on hand in the fridge
Homemade Broccolli Soup (This makes a very large batch)
Source - Note: this link does NOT match the recipe |
3 tbsp butter
2 chopped onions
2 stalks celery (If you don't mind celery, use more - it seems like such a waste to buy a huge batch then only use 2 stalks)
8 cups vegetable broth
4 potatoes (small, or less potatoes if they're med/large)
16 cups brocolli (use the stem and the florets) - this is about 3 brocolli bunches, give/take
6 tbsp butter
6 tbsp flour
4 cups milk
2 tbsp ground flaxseed (not the whole seed!) - optional
- Saute onion and celery with the butter until soft
- Add broth, potatoes, and brocolli, simmer for about 15 - 20 minutes (or until very tender and mushy)
- In a second saucepan, combine butter, flour, milk and flaxseed (flaxseed optional) until thick and bubbly
- Hand mash (with a potato masher) the potato/brocolli/broth mix until the brocolli and potatoes are to your desired texture. You can also blend them in a hand blender or use an emulsion blender, but they can become overly-blended too quickly, so I'd avoid it if possible.
- Add your cream mixture to the broth mixture
- Serve with cheese immediately, or freeze
- To defrost, simply leave it out for a few hours and simmer it on the oven at a low temp until it reaches desired temperature
Homemade Pea & Navy Bean Soup
Adapted from this Chatelaine recipe
Source |
2 tsp chopped garlic / about 2 cloves (give or take, if you like garlic definitely add more)
2 onions, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cans drained / rinsed navy beans (amazing for protein / energy)
1 bag frozen green peas (or about 8 cups if you're using fresh from the garden, oh Martha Stewart)
2 cartons vegetable chicken broth (about 8 cups)
- Saute garlic, onions and olive oil until soft
- Add beans, peas and broth
- Simmer for about 20 minutes
- Blend
- Serve or freeze
Homemade Vegetarian Lasagna
Source - Note: This photo does not lead to the recipe |
Adapted from a bunch of recipes & perfected by my Dad.
Note: The veggies included are very flexible. If you see something you don't want, use something else - whatever you have on hand / on sales at your grocery store.
1 package fresh lasagna noodles
1 package portabello mushrooms, tops peeled off and chopped to desired size
2 bell peppers (whatever colour you want - red & orange taste the best, but green is cheaper), sliced
1 onion, chopped
1 zucchini
1 carrot
4 tsp garlic / about 4 cloves
Handful of spinach, ends peeled off (or about 1 cup frozen spinach)
2 tbsp vegetable oil or EVOO
2 jars of pasta sauce, your choice
1 container ricotta cheese
5 cups mozarella
2 eggs
1.5 cups parmesan
Salt, pepper and basil to taste
- Boil noodles as the package instructs. If they claim to be no boil, don't believe them - boil for10 mins or to al denteanyway. They're out to ruin your lasagna. Rinse with cold water, drain, set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350
- In pan, fry up oil & veggies until soft (about 10 minutes)
- When soft, add pasta sauce to veggies (simmer about 10 minutes)
- In separate bowl, combine ricotta, 2 cups of mozarella, and eggs. Set aside.
- Grease your lasagna dish with butter / margarine
- Line dish with about 1/2 cup pasta sauce (give or take, make sure it's covered)
- Layer half of your lasagna noodles, pasta sauce, ricotta mix, veggies and parmesan. Repeat layering.
- Top with remaining cheese. Mmm.
- Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes.
Once the lasagna is baked and cooled, cut it up into good sized pieces and freeze the pieces individually or 2 per tupperware container. To defrost, let them thaw for about 15 minutes, scoop onto baking dish and bake at 350 for 20 - 25 minutes. It defrosts really well!
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Well, there you have it - 4 healthy, freezable meals which aren't gross. To me they aren't gross. They are all tested and thaw well, and the best part with each of them is they're flexible - if you get playing around with ingredients, you won't mess it up. Have fun!