Feeding the Freezer
Posted by Andrea
Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. (Psalm 34:8)
Every few months or so, I need to “feed the freezer”. This means I spend a couple of days preparing a vast amount of homemade items to stock in our chest freezer.
Feeding the freezer takes a couple of days, but the prep time is well worth it because I end up with several “go to” goodies in the freezer. These goodies are great because later on I may not have to bake a dessert for the coming week or prepare pancakes and sausage after Sunday morning church service.
Yesterday I gave the oven and stand mixer a good workout by baking up some sweet treats. Today I have turned my attention to the stovetop and am cooking again. So, what have I been busy preparing over the past couple days? Here’s a sneak peek at what’s been going on in my kitchen.
Playgroup Granola Bars: Food allergies prevent the girls from eating prepackaged granola bars, so I’ve recently started making my own. These particular bars are yummy and very easy to prepare. I like the recipe because it includes wheat germ (one of my favorite new healthful ingredients) and because the recipe can easily be customized. In a matter of minutes, I can whip up a batch of granola bars full of nuts and a dried fruit medley for JT. Then right after, I can just as quickly make another batch of bars with dried cranberries and chocolate chips for the girls and me.
Jay’s Signature Pizza Crust: We like to eat homemade pizza, so I make up pizza kits and stash them in the chest freezer. Each pizza kit includes a ball of homemade pizza dough, a package of cheese, a package of homemade pizza sauce, and a variety of toppings. When it’s time for pizza, all I have to do is pull out a kit, defrost the dough, dress the pizza, and bake it up.
Lemon Bundt Cake: Desserts reign supreme here. Since I make desserts often I try to make them simple and then freeze them for later consumption. One of the easiest ways for me to make a delicious dessert is by doctoring up a boxed cake mix. Anne Byrn’s books, The Cake Mix Doctor and Cupcakes From The Cake Mix Doctor are my favorite sources of recipes. I don’t have a link for this lemon cake, but if you’d like the recipe, send me an email and I’ll happily pass it along to you.
Deviled Eggs: I love deviled eggs and I like to make them often. Though JT doesn’t usually ask me to make them, whenever I do, he eats his fair share. These aren’t meant to be frozen, but I like to keep them in the fridge for us to snack on.
Buttermilk Pancakes and Dairy-Free Free Pancakes: On Sunday mornings, we like to go out for breakfast after church. This isn’t always possible as sometimes the girls are tired, sometimes the restaurant wait is too long, and sometimes we just don’t want to spend the money. Rather than stand over the stove with a spatula, I simply pull out a breakfast bag. Each bag has a family sized portion of pancakes and turkey sausage. When church service is over, all we have to do is warm up the pancakes and sausage and enjoy a big breakfast right here at home.
I’m going to be honest…right now, I’m extremely tired of looking at flour, sugar, eggs! But, I’m going to get back to work now because I know I’ll be happy in the coming weeks and months when I don’t have to do quite as much cooking and baking.
Anyone wanna come and wash a few dishes?
Photo: Courtesy of special eyes (Flickr)
Tags: cooking ahead, freezer recipes
You’re a wonderful homemaker. And I love deviled eggs! Somebody provides them at our church Bible study every week, and I always take one (or two!) :~D
e-Mom, you are the queen of warm fuzzies! Thanks for the compliment. I’ll have to see if I can find somebody to make deviled eggs for us each week at Bible study and prayer meeting:)
some great ideas!
Well, believe it or not I like to do dishes… so… for a few of those freezer goodies… : )
Welcome, btw, to High Calling Blogs.
Wow, I’ve never met anyone who likes to do dishes! I’ll happily trade a few goodies for your dishpan hands! Thanks for the welcome!